early childhood interview

Student Tanya

I interviewed, Sonya, a 33-year-old Asian, single mother from West Virginia that has a 4-year-old daughter. She resides in a 2-bedroom apartment subsidized by the state (section 8 housing). I started off asking questions about her pregnancy, her delivery and general physical development since birth. She indicated to me that her daughter, Kayla, was a full-term birth but slightly underweight at 4 pounds, 10 oz at delivery. Sonya informed me that she suffered a lot of food insecurity because of severe poverty and couldn’t get good pre-natal care nor eat healthful foods while pregnant. As a result, her baby suffered malnutrition and has suffered some physical and mental delays. Sonya informed me that her daughter was delayed in walking, not taking her first steps until she was nearly two years old. Cognitively, she’s on par with a typical two and half year old but she is getting services to try and catch her up. Kayla has also been experiencing a lot of emotional frustration, anger, and impulse control issues. She lashes out, kicks, punches, and tries to bite her mother and other children. Her language is delayed and because of this, she struggles to express herself appropriately. She also struggles with insomnia and will often roam the apartment at night. This behavior has caused Sonya to move her daughter’s bed into the master bedroom to keep a closer eye on her daughter and keep her safe during overnight hours. Sonya indicated that she is exhausted trying to manage all the physical and behavior consequences of Kayla’s development thus far.

Sonya currently works two jobs as a result of trying to support her daughter on her own, and because of this her daughter is left in the hands of a state run daycare center during the day. She admits that she feels like its not the best environment for Kayla, but because it is funded in large part by state funds, it the best she can afford right now. Sonya feels like her daughter doesn’t get the attention she needs at the daycare and behavior problems have escalated lately to the point of the center threatening to terminate care. Socially, Sonya is isolated as her family all resides in the mid-west and her daughter’s father has never been involved in Kayla’s life. He does pay Sonya about $25 per month in court ordered child support which she indicated does not even cover a month’s supply of milk for their child.

According to our textbook, Invitation to the Lifespan: Chapter 5, children experience a tremendous amount of physical growth from birth to age six. During each year of early childhood, well fed, healthy children grow about 3 inches per year and gain about 4.5 pounds (Berger, 2019). Sonya informed me that at 4 years old, Kayla currently weighs about 30 pounds, which according to the website kidshealth.org, is a full 10 pounds under the average weight of a typical 4-year-old, North American female child (Gavin, M.L; 2019). Aside from weight and stature considerations for Kayla, at this stage of development she should also be able to catch a ball most of the time, serve herself food and pour herself a drink with adult supervision, as well as unbuttoning a button and

holding a crayon or pencil between fingers and thumb, developing fine motor skills (Centers for Disease Control, 2022). I inquired about Kayla’s development in these area and Sonya stated that she does attempt to catch a ball and unbutton her sweater but its not long before frustration at being unable to master it takes hold and results in a temper tantrum that is very hard to control and reign in once it begins. Because of this, Sonya does most of her care without assistance from Kayla as her frustration takes center stage and the pay off in learned skill isn’t worthwhile in the moment.

Socio-economic status has taken a great toll on Sonya. Her daughter and herself have missed out on opportunities, not just financial but also in material and social impacts. The dynamic of her and her relationship with her daughter’s father has also had a profound impact on both of their lives, in the present and possibly into the future (Khadijah, 2012).

Culturally speaking, Sonya is Asian, which makes her a bit unique, ethnicity wise in West Virginia. Asian Americans are among the fastest growing ethnic groups in the United States. In Asian American culture, parents support their children and regulate their behavior, but in very different ways than White American parents. Asian American parents have the reputation of appearing stricter and lacking in warmth. Asian immigrant parents believe that control is not only necessary, but a key role in parenting. To these parents, strictness is an attempt to protect children, not inhibit them. In other words, control and warmth are defined differently for Asian parents, so authoritarian parenting means something different, too (Van Campen, KS. & Russel, T., 2010).

As I asked about culture and the impact it may have on Kayla, Sonya stated that her parents were often cold and unfeeling when it came to discipline, behavior or even accomplishments and achievements. She felt that her parenting of Kayla would reflect the same parenting style that she grew up with, and given Kayla’s developmental limitations, that she felt that that type of parenting would hold her daughter back, not promote her. Sonya also felt that her daughter’s gender was also a hindrance, she noted that boys at her preschool were often allowed to “play fight” with each other, while highly discouraged for girls in the class.

Sonya disclosed to me that because of her lack of resources, she has experienced profound depression and anxiety which has made parenting to Kayla that much more difficult. She said she feels like she parents through guilt and that she lets behavior “slide” that she wouldn’t otherwise let go. She told me she feels guilty and like it’s her fault that her daughter is so delayed and has so many issues. She states that she lacks any professional support as she cannot afford it, and access even if she could, is severely limited.

Sonya applied to college this past month to get her associates degree in criminal justice, she is hoping for a better life for herself and Kayla, and that many more

opportunities avail themselves so she can afford a higher standard of living. Poverty has clearly held Sonya and Kayla back and the only way out of the cycle according to Sonya, is education. Sonya is also hoping for consistently better services so that Kayla can catch up and develop appropriately going forward.

Sources:

Berger, SB. (2019). Invitation to the Life Span (4th. Ed.). New York: Worth Publishers. Gavin, ML. (June, 2019). “Growth and your 4-5 Year old”: Kids Health (Video). https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/growth-4-to-5.html#:~:text=An%20average%204%2Dy ear%2Dold,arts%20and%20crafts%20and%20puzzles