1. My Virtual Child
(Infant and Toddler)
Student Name: Lekha Rajiv
Student #:300667208
ECEP 103- Section 002
November 7, 2011
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2. Table of Contents
I. Introduction
II. Stages of Development
III. Health and Safety Concerns
IV. Environmental Events
V. The Future
VI. Self-Evaluation
VII. My Virtual Child reports
VIII.Bibliography
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3. Maya is born!!
Maya was born on the 9th of October 2009 in Kottayam, Kerala, India in Sacred Heart Medical Centre Hospital
at 12:14 A.M. The situation was one of great pomp. The family was present in the hospital and everybody
wanted to take a peek at Maya and they were all pleased and extremely happy to see a cute little baby girl. They
set about distributing chocolates and traditional Indian sweets to family, friends and members of the
neighbourhood. It was a joyous occasion.
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4. Stages of Development
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5. Naming Ceremony
On the 28th day of the child’s birth, according to traditional customs of noble Nair community, indigenous to the
state of Kerala, Maya had her naming ceremony. The child is placed on the lap of the father or the grandfather
(pictured) of the child and the name, Maya, is whispered into the ear of the child. This is done with family and
friends surrounding the area. This ceremony is conducted with great pomp and celebration. After the ceremony,
the child is adorned with gold jewellery and dressed in traditional clothing in preparation for the festivities to
begin.People who are invited bring gifts and huge banquets are organized in honour of Maya.
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6. The Infant Years (0-4 Months)
How does your baby’s physical, social/emotional and intellectual domains compare to the developmental
milestones patterns? Is it typical?
Developmental Answer Prove It (give Example (give examples from the book)
Domain (Your original examples from (cite your references)
thoughts) your reports)
(Cite your
references)
Maya was born She was a little Apgar score is a numerical scale used to rate a
four week underweight (4.5 newborn baby’s vital signs. A score to four to six
premature and the pounds). Her Apgar means the baby needs special attention and care.
Physical birth was quite score rose from six A score of seven or more means the baby is in
typical and she is to eight in five days. good physical condition. (Children: A
meeting her She gets hungry Chronological Approach, p.100)
developmental “more often than the
milestones. pre-natal pamphlets” Babies are able to hold both eyes in a fixed
every one to two position. (Ages and Stages: Newborn to one year,
hours.After three By four months)
weeks she becomes
lethargic and doesn’t
eat much and she
hasn’t gained much
weight. (virtual
child report)
She is able to focus
her eyes on you. She
spends time to study
the faces coming
close to her.
(virtual child report)
It seems that She has a piercing Crying is the first form of communication.
Maya shows good, and rhythmic cry Babies cry to get attention (Children: A
typical social and which is moderately Chronological Approach, p.101)
Social / emotional skills. loud. The crying is
Emotional She cries and due to her feelings Babies respond with smiles to people they
smiles. These are of hunger, wetness, recognize and like. (Ages and Stages: Newborn
characteristics of cold or if she meets to one year, By four months)
typical new people and
social/emotional situations.(virtual
developmental child report)
milestones.
She smiles at
familiar people.
(virtual child report)
Maya shows very She shows great A major accomplishment of infancy is the skilled
Intellectual little intellectual interest in use of hands. (Children: A Chronological
developmental surroundings. “She Approach, p.129)
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7. traits during this starts learning one 0-4 Month olds usually show recognition to
time or two things, and is bottle or breast.(Ages and Stages-By four
developing cute months)
little
habits.”However,
she doesn’t use her
mouth to explore
objects, yet. She
hasn’t started using
her fingers and toes
for playing. She
hasn’t shown any
recognition for
bottle or breast
yet.(virtual child
report)
The Infant Years (5-8 Months)
How does your baby’s physical, social/emotional and intellectual domains compare to the developmental
milestones patterns? Is it typical?
Developmental Answer Prove It (give Example (give examples from the book)
Domain (Your original examples from (cite your references)
thoughts) your reports)
(cite your
references)
Maya shows good Maya seems to be May sleep 11-13 hours at night although this
typical physical close to establishing varies greatly.(Ages and stages-By 8 months)
growth and seems a regular bedtime. “Diarrhoea is the most common symptom of
Physical to be reaching her (virtual child report) gastrointestinal infection”.(Healthy Foundations-
developmental Maya seems to have Pimento-Pg173)
milestones. She is digestive problems Babies are able to “rise up on arms and knees
developing a regularly. (virtual into crawling positions” (Ages and Stages, by
regular sleeping child reports) eight months). Babies also “use finger and thumb
habit and seems to She has advanced to pick up an object” to manipulate things.
have advanced gross motor skills
gross motor skills. and is able to crawl,
stand up and
manipulate objects.
It seems like This quote shows “Responds to distress of others by showing
Maya shows good how much Maya is distress or crying” (Ages and Stages-By 8
improvement and attached to me: months)
Social / she seems to be “Ithas become clear “Responds differently to strangers and family
Emotional reaching her that Maya shows a members” (Ages and stages, By 8 months)
developmental preference for you Babies “imitate sounds” and “”squeal, laugh, and
milestones. over others smile.” (Ages and stages, By 8 months)
(especially when Babies “show mild to severe anxiety at
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8. distressed), with separation from parent.” (Ages and Stages, By 8
your partner a close months)
second”.
Maya begins to
make new sounds
(my virtual child
reports)
Maya cries when I
leave her at the
daycare center.
(virtual child
reports)
It seems that She is interested to “Searches for toys hidden under a blanket,basket,
Maya is find hidden objects, or container”.(Ages and Stages-By 8 months)
developing like playing hide “Recognizes and looks for familiar voices and
Intellectual herintellectual and seek. (Virtual sounds”.(Ages and Stages-By 8 months)
abilities according child report). “The term object permanence is used to describe
to the Maya is making a child's ability to know that objects continue to
developmental different sounds and exist even though they can no longer be seen or
milestones. She I encourage her to heard.”
has undergone the improve language (http://psychology.about.com/od/oindex/g/object-
object permanence and communication permanence.htm )
test and has done skills. (Virtual child
reasonably well. report).
In the object
permanence test,
Maya does
reasonably well;
however, she gets
confused if the
hiding place is
changed.
Rice Ceremony (Choroonu)
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9. In traditional Nair custom, originating in the state of Kerala, the Choroonu (rice ceremony) which signifies the
start of the child eating solid food is of great importance. This ceremony is usually held between the sixth and
eight month of the child’s birth. Maya had her choroonuin a temple as custom dictates amid the presence of
close family. She is dressed in traditional costumes and adorned with gold ornaments and is placed on the lap of
the father is fed rice with a mix of pappadam (form of cracker), payasam(sweet liquid pudding), and salt. She is
first fed by the parents, followed by grandparents and then the extended family. Maya seemed very happy with
this and she was excited to be part of this tradition.
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10. The Infant Years (9-12 Months)
How does your baby’s physical, social/emotional and intellectual domains compare to the developmental
milestones patterns? Is it typical?
Developmental Answer Prove It (give Example (give examples from the book)
Domain (Your original examples from your (cite your references)
thoughts) reports)
(cite your references)
Maya seems to be She is advanced in Babies “crawl well” and “pull self to
showing good gross and fine motor standing position.” (Ages and stages, By 12
physical skills, enjoys crawling, months)
Physical development and pulling up to stand and Babies “begin to eat finger foods.” (Ages
she seems to have manipulating objects. and stages, By 12 months)
some advanced (9 month
skills for her age. Paediatrician’s report).
She begins to eat bland
foods, albeit with some
difficulty. (virtual child
report)
Maya seems to be Maya is cautious with Babies “expresses fear or anxiety toward
showing good the nurse and doctor; strangers” (Ages and Stages, By 12 months)
typical patterns and this is a normal
Social / is reaching the reaction to strangers at
Emotional developmental this age. (9 Month
domains. She Paediatrician’s report) Babies “imitate actions of adults.” (Ages
remains attached to She is shy and waryof and stages, By 12 months)
me and she seems to new people whom she
be wary of strangers. met at a party. (virtual
child reports)
She imitates actions at
a party which
celebrated my
husband’s new job
without knowing what
she was done. (virtual
child report)
Maya seems to be Maya begins to Babies at this stage “say their first word.”
showing good understand a few (Ages and Stages, By 12 months)
patterns of words and she has “The term object permanence is used to
Intellectual intellectual progress. already said her first describe a child's ability to know that
She has mastered clearly pronounced objects continue to exist even though they
the object words. (virtual child can no longer be seen or heard.”
permanence test and reports) http://psychology.about.com/od/oindex/g/object-
she has even said Maya does the object permanence.htm
her first words!! permanence test again
and this time she
passes with flying
colours. She wants to
keep playing the game.
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11. The Toddler Years (2 Years old)
How is your child progressing based on typical toddler development?
Give specific examples in the areas of Physical, Social / Emotional and Intellectual domains.
Developmental Answer Prove It (give Example (give examples from the book)
Domain (Your original examples from the (cite your references)
thoughts) report
(cite your references)
Maya seems to be Maya is able to throw a Toddlers are able to “walk without help’
well developed ball against the wall. (Ages and Stages, two year olds)
according to the (virtual child report) Toddlers are able to toss or roll a ball (Ages
Physical domains. She can She is able to walk and and Stages, two year olds)
walk, run, etc. run without any help.
(virtual child report)
Maya has Maya acts shy around Toddlers “acts shy among adults.” (Ages
progressed adults. (Virtual child and Stages, Two year olds)
extremely well reports). Toddlers “like to imitate parents.” (Ages
Social / under her She imitates actions of and Stages, Two year olds)
Emotional developmental other people and Toddlers “begin to trying to do tasks
domain. She is now expands her ability to independently.” (Ages and Stages, Two year
able to show a lot of learn new things. olds)
emotional and social (virtual child reports) Toddlers “enjoy make-believe like talking
behavioural She begins to want to on phone (Ages and Stages, Two year olds)
characteristics. take independently. Toddlers are “capable of frequent tantrums,
(virtual child reports) which often result of their inability to
Maya likes to play express themselves.” (Ages and Stages, Two
games with toy year olds)
telephones and her two
dolls with whom she
converses. (virtual
child reports)
Maya also gets upset
very easily and then
begins to lose her
temper. (virtual child
reports)
Maya seems to be Maya is interested in Toddlers try to “hum and sing.” (Ages and
showing good singing and dancing. Stages, Two year olds)
patterns of (virtual child reports) Toddlers are “interested in learning how to
Intellectual intellectual progress. I showed Maya how to use common items.” (Ages and Stages, Two
She is able to use take care of plants and year olds)
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12. sentences and how to grow plants. Toddlers “seem to enjoy simple stories,
attempts to sing, etc. She is able to rhymes, and songs.” (Ages and Stages, Two
communicate with year olds)
small sentences. Toddlers tend to “use 2-3 word sentences”
(Ages and Stages, Two year olds)
Health and Safety Concerns
B. Identify specific health and safety considerations that you will have to consider during the infant
years. How will you address these issues?
Cleaning and Sanitizing
Cleaning and sanitizing is an important health practice to control the spread of infections. “The rationale for the
cleaning and sanitizing routines is to focus on objects and surfaces that pose the greatest risk to children.”
(Pimento, Page 139). Toys that are mouthed should be cleaned and sanitized daily. Maya was prone to catch
cold all the time, and she had ear infections in the infant years, this could have been due to the mouthing
unclean and un-sanitized toys. Although this is common to catch infections in the early years, I need to practice
cleaning and sanitizing habits.
Breast feeding
Infants must be provided mother’s milk at least for 6 months.” The best nutritional choice for infants is breast
milk, for a multitude of reasons.”(Pimento, Page 251). Human milk provides the right balance of most essential
vitamins and minerals which is required for an infant. The milk is easily digested and it contains antibodies
which provide immunity against infections. Breast feeding promotes mother-baby attachment, which increases
baby’s cognitive, social and emotional development.”(Pimento, Page 252). No specific examples from the
virtual child report. However, based on the virtual reports, Maya develops her most close personal relationship
with me. This might be due to the “mother-baby attachment” as mentioned by Pimento (Page 252).
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13. Immunization
Proper immunization must be provided in correct intervals in order to prevent illness and diseases.
“Immunization is one of the most important ways of promoting the health of children.”(Pimento, Page 123). No
specific examples from the virtual child report.
Diapering
Suitable hygienic diapers must be used for the comfort of the child and to also prevent infections and rashes.
“Change diapers often and clean the child properly. The cloth diapers are more environmentally sound, but a lot
more work than the disposable diapers.” Studies have shown that the amount of fecal contamination is
significantly reduced when children wear clothes over their cloth or disposable diapers.”(Pimento, Page 135).
No specific examples from the virtual child report.
Identifying cries
The parent or the caregiver must identify the manner in which the child is crying in order to find the cause.
“Scientists and parents can identify three distinctive types of cries. A basic cry starts softly, then gradually
becomes more intense and usually occurs when a baby is hungry or tired; a mad cry is a more intense version of
a basic cry; and a pain cry begins with a sudden, long burst of crying, followed by a long pause, and gasping.”
(Kail, Page 101) Maya had rhythmic cries and hunger cries, and sometimes cried after meals. She often (in the
third month) cried with an intake of long breaths and long wails.
Exclusion criteria
If a child is found sick and the symptoms and signs are specific, and if it is contagious, then the child must be
excluded from the program.This is done to avoid infections spreading to other children. Exclusion policies
should be implemented when the illness prevents the child to participate in all program activities and a serious
risk if spreads to others. No examples from the virtual child report.
Administering Medication
Both parents and early childhood educator must be very careful in taking wise decision on when and where to
administer medications to children in case of emergency. “Educators have a legal and a professional
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14. responsibility to be familiar with the child care regulations on administering medication,” (Pimento, Pg.180)No
examples from the virtual child report.
Environmental Events
C. Have there been any environmental events that you think might have influenced your child’s
development? Does this create any health or safety concerns for your toddler?
i. Accidents: Children are more prone to accidents when they start to walk and run. “The Five W’s of
safety.” Safety is an important consideration in everyone’s life.”(Pimento, Page 356) Injuries occur
more at home than the child care centre. When Maya was 2years she went off a curb while riding
cycle. I should pay more attention at this age.
ii. Toilet training: By 18 months, children must be taught the toilet routine. The educator or parent
must help the child in learning this routine by encouraging the child. “Assist the child in toilet
routine. Record the child’s use of the potty, any bowel movements, and any skin condition as
necessary.” (Pimento, Page 139)Maya was well trained to use potty in the 19th month.
iii. Control of pets: Including pets in the early childhood programs must be controlled in order to avoid
the spreading of communicable diseases. “Reasons cited include the following: diseases can be
passed from the animals to us and can pose issues for children, parents, and staff with allergies or
weakened immune systems.” (Pimento, Pg.145) Maya doesn’t have a pet at home.
iv. Indoor safety: Maya as she began to run during her toddler years and began to run she developed a
habit of climbing onto the back of the couch. This is extremely dangerous and she could have been
hurt. This is a safety concern. Mayas also enjoys playing hide and seek. Although, the game is fun,
running around the house is dangerous and there is a potential of falling down. All breakable items
must be kept away while playing.
v. Outdoor safety: Maya tends to run onto the street. This is a major safety concern. This could be
contained by installing proper grills and through active supervision (Pimento, page 368). Maya once
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15. fell of a bicycle and it scrapped her knees. This is another safety concern. This could have been
avoided if she had been taught bicycle safety rules (Pimento, page 368). While going out to the
garden onto the balcony, safety measures need to be taken. A child-safe balconyis necessary.
vi. Relationship with parents: Maya had a close relationship with my husband and me. This has
helped to foster our relationship with Maya and it has given us perspective into the interests and
needs of our child. Maya has a normal family life and having a stable relationship helps her in the
development of her social and emotional domains. This does not create any health or safety
concerns.
vii. My husband had more time to spend with Maya: My husband enjoyed spending time with Maya
and vice versa. Their cohesion made Maya realize that he could also have fun with other people and
not just me. This helped Maya’s social development as she became accustomed to being friendly and
familiar with new people and not just me. This does not create any health or safety concerns.
viii. A sibling soon? She will have a sibling soon with whom she would be able to share stories, play
with and love soon. This companionship with her new sibling will help Maya to become a sharing
and caring individual in the future. This will help Maya’s development in the social and the emotion
domain as she gets a new play-mate to interact and play with. She will also be able to teach her
sibling new things and this would be beneficial for her development in the cognitive domain. This
does not create any health or safety concerns.
ix. Influence of Melody:Melody’s relocation to our house has given Maya a new companion. Melody
is the first person Maya is comfortable with other than her parents. She considers Melody to be an
attachment figure. This interaction with Melody, a member outside the nuclear family, helps Maya
establish relations with other people. This helps Maya develop socially and emotionally. She also
learns new things from Melody and this helps Maya develop in the intellectual cognitive domain.
This does not create any health or safety concerns.
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16. x. Father work situation: Maya’s father lost his job and this led to some argument and tension within
the house. This sort of environment is not good for a growing child. The child’s needs would be
pushed to the back because of the urgent needs of the household. This was potentially dangerous for
the development of Maya. The tension in the household would have affected Maya’s social and
emotional development in a negative manner. She would have also felt neglected due to the tensions
within the household and this would have affected her cognitive development. This could have led to
a feeling of non-attachment and could have developed an inferiority complex if the situation hadn’t
been rectified. This would have affected Maya adversely in school.
xi. Switch of day care: Maya had to switch daycare and although she was initially excited, she did not
like the daycare provider and she cried a lot. Maya did not like the change. This lack of trust of
people other than her parents shows a lack of prowess in social interaction. This lack of social
interaction and lack of adjustment shows that Maya would be ill-equipped to cope with certain
alterations in her school life. This experience would have negatively affected the social and
emotional developmental domain of the child. If this situation hadn’t been rectified, and Maya
hadn’t been able to interact with other people she would have done poorly in school
The future
Think ahead to what might happen to your virtual child in the preschool and school-age years, why
do you think these things might happen? Predict their development in the physical domain, the
social/emotional domain and the cognitive language domain. Explain why you think this might
happen and link to your text book or other resources.
Maya will be successful in a pre-school or school setting. According to virtual child developmental report,
Maya is doing well in some developmental areas and is not doing well in others. Physically, Maya is in
prime condition. She has above average gross motor skills and she is good at climbing, throwing, catching,
balancing and skipping (virtual child reports).Maya is able to climb and play with balls even before she is
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17. three years old, This is advanced for her age (Pimento, page. 309). Maya’s social and emotional skills are
average and she seems to be hesitant to join new groups and doesn’t seem to trust people other than my
husband and me. However, once she gets used to people, she seems to have a good time (virtual child
reports). Maya is aggressive enough for her age and she demands her toys back if necessary by saying mine
(Ages and Stages, Two year olds). Maya seems to be positive and unusually persistent in the face of failure
for her age. Maya’s cognitive development seems to be average. She is average in copying shades, solving
problems, and groups objects into categories. Maya had the ability to focus for up to 40 minutes on tasks for
extended periods of time which is much higher than normal children whose attention-span is only about 3-
10 minutes. 1 Maya’s language domain is below average. Her free speech, grammatical features (past tense,
etc.) are still missing. Maya seems to be above average or average at all developmental domains except the
language domain. This could be rectified if my husband and I converse more with Maya on topics of her
interest and by taking her out to more outings (virtual child reports). She has developed will for her age and
will continue to develop in all the developmental domains and do well in pre-school and school.
Self- Evaluation
Through this assignment and by completing Virtual Child questions online, I have a detailed understanding on
the proper way to raise a child. This assignment provides insight in to details of the physical, social, emotional
and intellectual ability of the child through the stages of the child’s development. The developmental reports on
Virtual Child (Paediatrician’s, temperamental) are very useful. I found the completion of the assignment fairly
straightforward, although, time-consuming. The online-section of the assignment was enjoyable and
informative. I also enjoyed drawing up plans to make the assignment more imaginative. I cited the traditional
aspects of my (Indian) culture into this assignment incorporating it into the different stages of development of
the child.
1
http://www.earlyinterventionsupport.com/parentingtips/behavior/attentionspan.aspx
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18. The time-consuming nature of the project was challenging. Spending hours on this project was a real test of
nerves and stamina. I found referencing and citing information from the text-book fairly hard to complete
without the help of the class notes.
To avoid the challenge and race against time, I would cite and take note of important references and take
important notes to better collect organize and analyze data. Through this method, I would be more efficient and
better suited to finish the project.
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19. My Virtual Child Reports
When Maya was 0 months old
Maya was born about four weeks premature, and a little underweight (four and a half pounds). She seemed
healthy otherwise. A few days of neonatal care were needed to deal with jaundice, and to make sure Maya was
able to regulate her body temperature. After five days, her Apgar score had come up from a six to an eight. You
were able to bring Maya home. The doctors said Maya should be fine, but they scheduled follow up visits to
check on her growth and responses to the environment. You notice that Maya gets hungry more often than the
prenatal pamphlets said (every one to two hours), and has a particularly piercing cry. You and your partner are
coping with it well, but sometimes your nerves are jangled from lack of sleep, and you feel somewhat annoyed
with Maya. Most of the time, though, you are having a good time taking care of her.
After only a week with Maya, you can already feel a hormonal connection. When Maya cries, you begin to
lactate! This will increase if you choose to breast feed, but it will die off gradually if you do not.
What kind of diapers will you use? The cloth diapers are more environmentally sound, but a lot more work than
the disposable diapers. And those diaper safety pins are hard to work on a squirming baby!
You want Maya to be active and curious about her environment.
Maya sleeps for about two hours at a time, but then is awake and ready to party (baby-style).
Will you breast feed Maya?
You are starting to notice that Maya's crying is rhythmic and moderately loud when she is hungry, wet, or cold.
If she is startled, there is a sudden intake of breath and a loud wail, followed by more deep breaths and loud
wails.
After 3 weeks, Maya is still somewhat lethargic, doesn't want to eat very much, and she still hasn't gained much
weight. You have been to the paediatrician who says it is nothing serious.
Maya at 3 months
As you return to work, how will you feed Maya?
Grandma has been coming over the past few weeks to take care of Maya on weekends or in the evening for a
couple of hours. This has put everyone in a better mood and gives you and your partner a chance to go out once
in a while. However, you generally end up talking about Maya and calling home a couple of times to make sure
she is OK
Maya is awake more often than most babies and seems to be in constant motion. What will you do?
Maya is able to focus her eyes on you. She spends a lot of time studying your face and the faces of anyone who
comes close to her.
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20. Maya is easily irritated by loud noises and intense stimuli. She wakes up often at night in a random manner.
You are getting grumpy. How will you deal with this?
At 3 months of age, Maya is showing more intense interest in her surroundings. Maya smiles at familiar people
and toys, is able to laugh at surprising or funny things (such as a little dog), and is developing lots of cute little
habits.
Maya tends to cry when introduced to new people or situations. What will you do?
As a family with two working parents, what type of daycare will you choose?
When hanging out with Maya your favourite activity is
You notice that Maya can learn a thing or two so you start working on her baby IQ!
Maya cries often after meals and frequently has diarrhoea. What will you do?
Maya at 8 months
Maya is sometimes a little reluctant to part from you at daycare and starts crying. She usually gets over it
quickly after you leave.
Frequently Maya becomes quite upset and clings to you while sobbing. This usually occurs whenever she is in a
new situation, or meeting new people.
You try the object permanence test. Maya is able to find a hidden object, as long as you don't wait too long or
distract her in the middle of the search. Maya really likes this hiding game and shows by her interest that she
wants it repeated. However, if you hide the object in the same place repeatedly, and then change the hiding
place, Maya has a strong tendency to look in the old hiding place, and then get confused about where the object
is, or forget about it. This curious error was first discovered by Piaget, but researchers have some new
explanations for the error.
Lately Maya has had frequent problems with indigestion and diarrhoea, and seems prone to catching colds.
Naturally, Maya doesn't have much of an appetite, and cries a lot during these illnesses
Your partner lost his job about a month ago, and you are both feeling financially distressed. There have been
arguments over money and priorities and you both have been more irritable with Maya and have been spending
less time in relaxing activities with Maya
Maya is making some different sounds now, and you encourage language and communication by responding to
them. What kinds of sounds do you think they would be?
It has become clear that Maya shows a preference for you over others (especially when distressed), with your
partner a close second. How will your partner become a stronger attachment figure for Maya?
Maya seems to have a hair-trigger reaction to everything, and is often fussy. When she is fussy:
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21. You want Maya to establish a regular bed-time and sleep through the night. You think she's almost there
9 -Month Pediatrician’s Report
As Maya turns 9 months, the paediatrician has the following to say after a routine physical exam, a few items
administered from the Bayley Scales of Infant Intelligence, and some observations of Maya in the playroom:
Maya has an obvious attachment to you and prefers you over other people, but seems to have fun playing with
your partner. She was cautious at first with the nurse and doctor, a normal reaction to strangers at this age.
Maya has been ill several times this season from colds or digestive upset. The doctor advises keeping her away
from sick people, and checking out a new food for a few days to test for allergies.
Maya is cautious and shy in most new situations or with new people. With you present, she will eventually
explore, but rarely warms up completely to the strange situation or person.
Maya has strong emotional reactions and has difficulty soothing herself back down. The doctor advises patience
in dealing with Maya's emotions.
Maya is advanced in her gross and fine motor skills and enjoys crawling, pulling up to stand and manipulating
objects.
How does your baby's eating, sleeping and motor development compare to the typical developmental patterns?
Infant-Toddler Temperament at 12months
Virtual Child uses five dimensions of temperament to describe the child's behaviour in the first 30 months.
These dimensions are random at birth, are influenced by your questionnaire responses, and change gradually
over time in response to events and parenting decisions. The five dimensions are activity, sociability,
emotionality, aggressiveness vs. cooperativeness, and self-control. There is behaviour genetic and longitudinal
evidence for varying numbers of temperamental traits and the five traits used in the program are on a lot of lists.
Studies also show that temperament changes in response to strong environmental pressures.
ACTIVITY refers to the physical and mental energy level of the child. Highly active children may sleep less, be
more restless, and engage in more physical activity. Less active children may sleep more, enjoy quiet pastimes,
and show less interest in vigorous physical activity.
SOCIABILITY refers to the child's friendliness and desire for social interaction. Highly sociable children are
sometimes given the label "extroverted" and less sociable children the label "introverted."
EMOTIONALITY refers to the intensity of emotion experienced by the child. Highly emotional children may
show more of everything (anger, joy, sadness) and more fluctuation in moods. Less emotional children may
show less extreme emotions and less fluctuation over periods of time.
AGGRESSIVENESS VS. COOPERATIVENESS refers to the tendency of the child to be aggressive in social
situations with the parent, day-care provider or other children. Highly aggressive children may be quite resistant
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22. to parental demands and throw tantrums or even lash out at the parent or other children. Less aggressive
children tend to be more cooperative, or to whine and fuss rather than actively resist the parent. Research
indicates that boys are somewhat more aggressive than girls, but there is a great deal of overlap between the
sexes, and this is reflected in Virtual Child.
SELF CONTROL refers to the child's ability to control his or her behaviour, delay gratification, plan out a
course of action, or inhibit responses to a typical situations. This is not exactly the same thing as aggressiveness
or emotionality. For example, a child with low self-control might take a cookie when asked to wait, not out of a
spirit of lack of cooperation, but just due to low impulse control. Children who are extreme on this dimension
may fit typical criteria for attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity. The Virtual Child has a 5% chance of
having moderate to severe hyperactivity and a 5% chance of having mild hyperactivity.
GOODNESS OF FIT is a concept that is closely related to temperament. It refers to the tendency of the parent
to adapt his/her behaviour to the child's temperament. For example, suppose you have a very active child, and
you are trying to promote exploration and learning. Rather than "going against the grain" and attempting to
quiet the child down to look at a book about bugs, you might appeal to the child's active nature and choose to go
on a walk and talk about the bugs you see. Goodness of fit also applies to developmental level. For example, at
6-8 months most infants are at least somewhat anxious around strangers, so you would want to introduce the
child to a new person gradually rather than thrusting the child into the person's arms. Parents desiring to change
their child's temperament, or help their child develop a particular skill, can benefit from the principle of
goodness of fit, and the related concept of moderate novelty. Parents desiring to encourage growth in their child
should introduce moderately novel activities and experiences, because children are more likely to pay attention
to and profit from such experiences.
Maya and you seem to be getting more and more in sync. Maya is happier and more willing to try new things
when you are around.
Maya's first birthday is coming in a few days! You invite all the relatives over and throw a big party
Maya enjoys throwing every toy out of her crib and watching what happens. Maya seems to expect you to keep
putting them back!
Maya has had constant colds and ear-aches for the past two months. Her frequent fussing and crying is really
getting on you and your partner's nerves. Sometimes both of you are just too tired to respond
Maya is constantly trying to expand her motor skills
At nine months old, Maya began to understand a few words and point to something she wanted. At twelve
months old, Maya now clearly understands a couple of dozen words. In fact, Maya just recently pronounced her
first clear word and pointed at the object in question.... Maya seems to be as comfortable with Melody as an
attachment figure as you and your partner. You are pleased to have a built-in babysitter. Moreover, Melody is
willing to do light housework for the opportunity to live with you while she goes to school.
Maya learned to walk early (9 months), and even knows how to climb. She is constantly into everything! When
she does something dangerous, such as running into the street or climbing onto the back of the couch
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23. You try the object permanence test again. This time, Maya is able to find the object even after long delays and
seems to think this is a great game! You set up two hiding places for the object and hide it under one of the two
covers repeatedly. When you switch it to the second hiding place, she no longer has the problem you saw earlier
of searching at the more common of the two hiding places. You can't even trick her by hiding it in your hand.
Maya likes this game and wants to play it over and over.
When strangers come to visit, they think Maya is really cute so they want to hold Maya. But she starts crying
and is inconsolable until the person returns her to you. In response to this you typically:
Your partner got a new job after looking for 2 months and the location, hours and pay are slightly better. The
three of you have a celebration, and Maya laughs and has a good time even though she doesn't know what the
party is about.
Maya is able to imitate new words and actions now
Maya often has negative reactions to new foods or to a change in routine. She will switch from happy to angry
in a heartbeat. You can't help being irritable yourself.
Maya still has occasional problems with indigestion, but is tolerating most baby foods as well as several bland
foods chosen from those that you eat.
15 Months
Maya just turned 15 months of age, and you notice she often studies things in her environment and performs
simple little "experiments" with them, almost like a little scientist. For example, she throws a ball against the
wall repeatedly, varying the strength or angle of throw and delightedly watching how the ball rebounds.
Sometimes she gets hit in the face, but fortunately it's a soft ball
18 months
Maya has a tremendous drive to use her motor skills. You have to keep an eye on Maya because she will
quickly toddle off into the crowd at public places or even into the street!
Maya is calm when things are going smoothly, but gets very irritable and cries easily when tired or hungry.
Sometimes she throws tantrums when pushed beyond her limits.
Maya is sometimes interested in dancing or singing along with music and sometimes doesn't seem to notice or
care. You teach her some simple preschool songs and try to encourage her to respond to music
Maya sometimes likes to explore the different ways that toys and blocks can be stacked or manipulated, and
sometimes just stacks them the same way over and over again.
Maya has learned a few words in Spanish from a neighbour child - mostly things that are important to toddlers,
such as "No" and "Mine
Maya continues to be shy around adults, and has only two or three adults that she will rely on for emotional
support. You also notice that she is standoffish with other toddlers in her daycare or play group.
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24. You are showing Maya how to take care of the growing number of plants you have on the sunny balcony of
your apartment. Fortunately the balcony is child-safe, and there is no danger of Maya falling
Maya caught a cold a week ago and now has a painful earache that requires immediate attention. The doctor
gives you ear drops for the pain, but says there is no clear evidence that antibiotics are beneficial. The earache
has tended to reoccur over the past month or so, and everyone is bleary-eyed and irritable due to the number of
times Maya wakes up crying at night
Maya likes to play make believe with cups, dolls, and toy telephones. She sometimes talks to herself or makes
the dolls and toy figurines talk to each other.
You notice that Maya is less clingy lately, and often wants to be put down to explore rather than to be held. Her
favourite places to venture out are the park and the store.
You are a little concerned that Maya still communicates with gestures, and seems to have a vocabulary of only
ten words at this point. She mostly uses action words such as "up" and "outside" (meaning "I want to go
outside").
Maya has recently become resistant sometimes to your requests for cooperation. For example, she says "no," or
refuses things that she accepted before such as food or bath time.
Maya is almost always on the go from morning to night, and usually only takes a short nap during the day.
Maya is frequently awake late into the evening or early in the morning as well!
Maya is in a group day-care setting now. She settled in nicely, but in the past couple of weeks she has been
hesitant to part with either you or your partner at daycare. She greets her main caregiver enthusiastically, but
when you try to leave Maya wants to leave with you. The caregiver keeps assuring you that Maya calms down
after you leave. What should you do?
You know that by age two and a half Maya needs to be toilet trained for daycare/preschool. You buy a potty
chair, training pants, and a little storybook about a child learning to use the potty.
19 months
Maya is able to imitate actions or words that she has seen or heard days before. This greatly expands her ability
to learn new things. Maya also seems to be aware of basic categories, such as big or little, and blue or red. You
can tell because of the way she is sorting her toys.
19-month Developmental Testing
The preschool that you are considering for Maya offers low-priced developmental assessments. Maya is able to
enrol when she becomes reasonably well potty-trained. She is 19 months old now. Just to find out how Maya's
development compares to other children of her age at this point, you have an assessment done. The early
childhood specialist observes Maya in free play with other kids and does a little testing of cognitive skills. She
reports the following:
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25. Maya was not very aggressive with the other kids, unless one of them tried to grab a toy from her and then she
resisted. The examiner recommended that Maya continue to go to toddler play groups/daycare to develop her
skill in interacting with other children. At home, her general advice for the toddler negativism that was bound to
happen at this age was to use clear and simple explanations for rules, warnings and time outs for misbehaviour,
and encouragements to "use your words" if Maya wanted something.
The specialist thought that Maya was securely attached, but that the communication system between parent and
child could be improved. She recommended that both parents try to read Maya's reactions more carefully and
work on interpersonal communication.
Maya was shy with the examiner, who thought she was nervous around new adults or just didn't know what to
do. She recommended that Maya stay with one primary preschool or daycare provider during the day and get to
know other new adults slowly.
The examiner observed Maya become moody and irritable several times during the play session, when things
did not go her way. The examiner recommended that you help Maya regulate her moods gradually by not
overreacting to mood changes, and by patiently waiting for him to calm down and communicate his desires.
Maya scored at about the 12-15 month old range in terms of communication skill, language comprehension, and
language production. The examiner recommended that you spend more time talking with Maya, even if her
replies are short or hard to understand. She also recommended asking questions that require some kind of
extended answer (rather than just "yes" or "no"), and looking at and naming things in picture books, etc.
Maya was age-appropriate on tasks such as building a block tower to model one made by the examiner and
other spatial skills such as copying shapes, coloring within the lines and solving picture puzzles.
Maya was advanced in her gross motor skills. The examiner recommended that you expose Maya to a variety of
indoor and outdoor activities and let her interests be the guide as to what to pursue.
The examiner commented that Maya was able to concentrate very well during all of the informal testing, and if
this continues, she would be more than ready for preschool-type activities, which typically require children to
stay on task or remain in "group time" for 10-15 minutes. She also recommended getting Maya to follow simple
directions at home, gradually increasing the complexity and length of the directions.
2yrs
Maya is able to imitate actions or words that she has seen or heard days before. This greatly expands her ability
to learn new things. Maya also seems to be aware of basic categories, such as big or little, and blue or red. You
can tell because of the way she is sorting her toys.
Maya has a very close relationship with both you and your partner and has been exploring greater and greater
distances from you, smiling and running back to share little things with you.
Your partner is spending more time with Maya lately. Money is tight, because you are saving to buy a house,
but your partner and Maya have fun in inexpensive activities like going to the zoo, the petting farm, museums
and the park.
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26. Maya has been sick a lot lately, with colds, earaches and stomach aches. You think it might have to do with
greater exposure to other kids
You notice that Maya has some new emotions over the past few months. Some things you have noticed are shy
smiles when asked to be in photographs, looking guilty when she breaks something, and embarrassment when
she has a potty accident. You realize these new emotions are related to her developing self-awareness.
Maya recently has become good at solving problems that she plans out in her head, such as how to get toys or
other objects that are hidden or out of reach.
Maya seems to be very concerned with pleasing you and following the rules, but seems to need a lot of support
and guidance, for example, step by step instructions on getting ready for the bath.
Maya seems now to have a goal of becoming potty trained and makes it to the potty about 60% of the time. A
couple of other parents you know were bragging that their 2 year old was already potty-trained.
Maya's communication skills are growing, but you are concerned that she did not start combining words in two-
word sentences until just recently, and much of her communication is still with gestures and grunts. Maya
sometimes doesn't seem to understand simple instructions, such as "Put the cup in the sink."
Maya is getting much better lately at playing hide and seek and at searching for things around the house. You
play lots of hide and seek games. Amusingly, when you find a good spot to hide yourself, Maya uses that for
herself the very next turn!
Since Maya is two, and the daycare group is only for infants, she has to make a change in daycare. You choose
a day care center close to your home. Maya is initially excited about the move, but within a week is clinging
and crying more often and has difficulty cooperating with the daycare provider
Maya was having problems a few weeks ago with the transition from infant care to the toddler care group.
Things have gotten a bit better, but Maya still has not built a good relationship with the new caregiver.
You just found out you are pregnant! You are holding off on telling Maya for a while until the pregnancy
become more noticeable. But sooner or later you'll have to face the inevitable question of 3-year old inquiring
minds: "how did the baby get in there?"
Maya can remember recent experiences and provide simple descriptions of what happens, such as a trip to the
petting zoo or the amusement park. You are impressed that her memory is working so well, and you suspect that
she has had the ability to remember these experiences for quite some time, but hasn't had the ability to express it
until recently.
Maya is toilet trained now, and rarely has any accidents. She is communicating better, but has difficulty
understanding other people's perspectives. Maya knows her gender now, and has begun to categorize
behaviourand objects as suited to boys or girls. She prefers playing with girls, but gets along pretty well with
boys. You figure she is ready for a more structured preschool experience.
Age 21/2 Developmental Testing
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27. Maya is going to be starting in a new preschool program soon, so you take advantage of the fact that a friend of
yours is an early childhood development specialist. You ask her to evaluate Maya, who is 2 1/2 years old. The
specialist evaluates Maya's language, motor and cognitive skills using some developmental scales, and observes
Maya interacting with other children in a toddler play group. This is her report:
Maya was somewhat hesitant in the group of children and spent a few minutes watching them before joining in.
After a while she latched on to a couple of the other children and had a good time. By the end of the session
they were smiling and imitating each other.
Maya was generally not very aggressive with the other kids, but would sometimes say "Mine!" if there was a
toy both children wanted. However, Maya would usually smile and give up the toy a few moments later and
seek out a different toy. The specialist said that Maya was ready for preschool already in terms of aggressive
behaviour.
Maya tackled challenging tasks readily and with a positive attitude. The examiner commented that she was
unusually persistent in the face of failure for her age.
Maya's scores on measures of language comprehension and production were below average. Her free speech
was still missing some common grammatical features, such as the past tense, present progressive and plural.
The specialist recommended that you spend a lot more time conversing about things of interest to Maya, taking
more outings, etc.
Maya is about average in solving problems with more than two steps, and grouping objects together in
categories. The specialist recommended that you help Maya "talk through" the steps in solving problems, and
that you expose Maya to more hands-on learning activities (e.g., at the children's science museum).
She is in the average range in copying shapes with a pencil, working with picture puzzles and constructing
things out of blocks. The specialist recommended offering Maya a range of these activities to choose from and
to go with the ones that seemed of most interest to her.
Maya was above average on nearly all gross motor skills, such as climbing, throwing and catching a ball,
balancing, and skipping and enjoyed these activities quite a bit. The advice was to continue these activities,
emphasizing Maya's interests and focusing on having fun with them.
Maya was able to focus on the tasks given by the examiner for the entire 40-minute session. The examiner said
this was unusually good for the age. She recommended that you ask Maya to carry out more and more complex
daily tasks (such as getting dressed) and read longer stories in preparation for preschool.
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28. Bibliography
1. Ages and Stages- Handbook
2. Virtual Child Reports
3. http://psychology.about.com/od/oindex/g/object-permanence.htm
4. Pictures:
i. Personal
ii. Google Images
5. Pimento, Barbara, and Deborah Kernested. Healthy Foundations: In Early Childhood Settings. 4th ed.
Toronto: Nelson Education, 2010. Print.
6. Kail, Robert, and Theresa Zolner. Children: A Chronological Approach. 3rd Canadian Edition. Toronto:
Pearson Canada, 2012. Print.
7. http://www.earlyinterventionsupport.com/parentingtips/behavior/attentionspan.aspx
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