This document summarizes an observation of a child's development in a nursery play setting. It describes the importance of naturalistic observation for social workers and child development. The observation allowed the author to assess the child's developmental levels, interests, and strategies used to achieve goals. It also highlighted the strengths of naturalistic observation in understanding how the child communicates, behaves, and learns from others in a play environment encouraging self-expression.

1. Essay on Child Development Observation
In this assignment I am going to describe a child observation that I have done in a nursery for twenty minutes in a play setting. I will explain the
strengths and weaknesses of naturalistic observation through the key developmental milestones based in Mary Sheridan (2005) check–list and provide
a theoretical explanation to support the naturalistic observation.
First of all I would like to explain why the child observation is important for social workers. It is important because it focus on the problems that arise
when a child's situation is not taken seriously and consequently have harsh consequences for both worker and child (ClimbiГ© Report, 2002).
Observation is something that leads to formation of hypotheses and gives new insights...show more content...
At this stage, the child's thinking changes over time.
The observation made me reflect and discover the child's interests, I could assess his developmental levels and I have observed what strategies were
being used to attain their goals. After the observation I reflected upon it and realised that I have learned a lot about their personalities and skills that
they need to practice.
Secondly, it is important to consider the strengths of naturalistic observation as a method. This was identified when the child was consistently moving
and doing different activities that allowed me to understand how he communicates with other children, how he behaves and what he learns from others.
In the play setting the child was able to develop his thinking and according to the Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families
(DOH, 2000) through social relationships, the child was encouraged to express his feelings, emotions, which was achieved by the setting creating an
enjoyment environment.
Cognitive developments allow the child to begin to understand and interact with the environment and see things from the carer's point of view,
adjusting behaviours accordingly and understanding that the carer has goals and plans, therefore, and the relationship is seen as partnership. Cognitive
skills are necessary in adapting to the environment. As Hendey and Kloep (2002)
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2. Child Development Interview Essay
Latoyac11
M. White
March 4, 2011
Child Interview Questions 4–12
Emotional Development:
Are you afraid of anything?
Yes, when my mom walks to the gas station and when she takes a long time to get back it scares me.
I am afraid of spiders, because when I watch them on TV and they are in people's bed and houses and if they bite you it makes a giant bite mark as big
as a your hand, its inside is blue and the outside is red.
What makes you angry?
When people talk about me and my brother
Who do you look up to and why?
My dad, because he has a good job and he can be lazy whenever he wants to and he gets to buy whatever he wants.
What makes you cry?
I cry when my mom or dad gets mad at me and they scream at me. Why do they...show more content...
A friend is a person in school you like to be around and being a friend they like to play with you and sometimes you can call them best friend like me
and Jalen.
What do you and your friends talk about?
We mostly talk about Ben 10 because it's an AWESOME show! Jalen,
Jan Kelly, and I like to talk about games we should play outside when at school on the playground.

3. Summary:
Bryce enjoys being around his friends and enjoys the extracurricular activities they get to participate in. He does a great job in expressing his idea
and viewpoint on things he is passionate about and receiving feedback on even though I think sometimes feedback from his peers doesn't matter to
him. Most times in group or when with teachers Bryce is the example child or the child that would be most trusted to be the leader but if chosen not to
be the leader he does good in following directions.
Cognitive Development:
Memory test: items and ask the child what items they remember.
I showed him a picture of a ball, pencil, the number 8, a book, a toy car, and a chair. He remembered the number 8 because that's how old he was, the
chair and ball because they were too easy, and the toy car because he loves cars.
How do you remember the things you need to do in school?
I don't know I'm just smart and my brain works really good! If I forget to do something like not follow
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4. Essay on Child Development
There are multiple factors in a child's development. Parents have a responsibility, as well as a privilege, to contribute to every milestone. Most parents
stress over physical and mental stages so much so that play–time is ignored. By making decisions that sacrifice play parents hinder their social
development. Parents must take action and encourage their youth to play more, before childhood is lost forever. Play–time is an essential part of early
childhood development as well as their most primitive form of expression. In an article titled "The Importance of Play" by Bruno Bettelheim, he refers
to Sigmund Freud's thoughts that play is a child's first step in attaining "cultural and psychological achievements". (Bettelheim 324) The...show more
content...
(Par 10) Television is affecting childhood on many different levels. "Many parents have misgivings about the influence of television" states Marie
Winn author of "The End of Play". (Winn 76) One concern is the introduction of adult issues. Marie Winn's article reflects on what children are being
exposed to. Stating today's "Counterculture kids were [are] casually exposed to all sorts of adult matters–drug taking, sexual intercourse". (Winn 77)
She then points out the "interest in boy–girl interactions is replacing play in preadolescents". (Winn 78) Our sex saturated media is also generating
conflict in young girls' development. The portrayal of women as sexual objects is discussed in the article "The sexualization of Girls is Harmful" by
Olivia Ferguson and Hayley Mitchell Haugen. The article cites statistics of "prime–time television shows popular among children" remarking that "12%
of sexual comments involved sexual objectification toward women" and "23% of sexual behaviors involved leering, ogling or catcalling at female
characters".(par 6) The feature provides www.aboutkidshealth.ca/ as an "online resource for information about areas of children's health and family
life". (Par 1) This web site states "depression, low self–esteem and eating disorders" as consequences for media sexualizing women. (Par 2) The
research defines "the objectification theory as a psychological theory explaining the
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5. Essay on Child Development
The cognitive process of child development and learning has influenced theorists such as Piaget, Vygtosky, Montessori, Bruner and Dewey to develop
learning theories which highlight how the cognitive operation of learning occurs and how it is best achieved. The work of these theorists has become
the foundation for much research and insight into how children develop on their journey towards learning.
To understand how and when children begin to learn, it is important to look at why we value the process of learning, as Peller (1946) expresses, "The
function of early education is to initiate, support and accelerate developmental processes, leading from child to adulthood."
It is also important to consider the environment that learning...show more content...
Montessori believed a child friendly environment which is accessible and understandable to children, is the best setting for cognitive development and
the learning process to begin.
The two main psychological theories which we can observe to study the process of learning are Cognitive Development theories, and Social
Constructivism theories.
Cognitive development theory refers to knowledge generated through learner's active exploration of the world and environment. It focuses on
developmental stages children pass through, and how learning expands with maturity. This psychological theory is most commonly associated with the
work of epistemologist, Jean Piaget. The basis of Piaget's theory underpinned how children arrive at what they know (Mooney, 2000). The two main
stages associated with early year's education are the Sensorimotor and Preoperational stages. Piaget proposed children arrive at rational thought when
they pass through these two cognitive developmental stages.
From infancy, babies show signs of a strong urge to adapt to their environment. Piaget noted that children's thought journey was a process of adaptation,
assimilation and accommodation (Morse et al, 1962). He observed this adaptation as a child adjusting their behavior to
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6. Essay on Child Development
Introduction In developing countries, a large number of children are exposed to various risk factors in their early childhood. These include
malnutrition, poor health and reduced levels of home stimulation. The risk factors including poverty, low levels of maternal education, child
malnutrition, teenage parenting, increased levels of maternal stress and depression, low weights during birth, unsafe neighborhoods, and reduced
stimulation at home, and those children that are exposed to a variety of risk factors are at a higher risk of poor development. For instance, a study
carried out by Save the Children .(2003), estimates that more than 200 million children below the age of five in developing countries are not able to
reach to their...show more content...
the general programs of basic health care and short term initiative programs that are disease–specific. These two types of programs can help
significantly in the strengthening of the health systems and enabling communities and households improve their health and sanitation, thus betterment
in their standards of living. New strategies are needed in order to continue impacting positively on the health of children and the population of
developing countries in general. The intervention programs are usually affected by economic, political and social factors that sometimes cause more
harm to the childhood and child care health instead of being beneficial. This means that attention should be paid to these interventions that affect issues
concerning health not only during childhood but also in later stages of life (Brooks–Gunn et al 2003). This therefore means that the intervention
programs can either be harmful or beneficial depending on these factors affecting them or the program appropriateness to the child's characteristics, the
surrounding environment and the existing transactions between them. Traditionally, childhood intervention programs believe that the more the
stimulation the better, but this has not always been the case; there is a maximum level or specified stimulation amount for individual children, which is
usually determined by both internal and external stimulation sources. Increase in
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7. Essay on Children's Social Development
PSYC – 1000 Introduction to Psychology
Melissa Pascoe
U10a2
The topic that I have chosen to research for my course project is children's social development. I have had a love for children ever since helping take
care of my younger brother when he was a baby. I have two children of my own and my four–month–old nephew living with me. Eventually, I would
like to be a youth counselor or probation officer so researching social development would be very interesting to me. Social development is a very
important part of healthy growth and development in children. They need to learn how to interact with others in an acceptable way so that they are
able to eventually form relationships and comfortably fit into any social situations they...show more content...
Children understand more when they pretend play by joining in with others in imaginary situations that provide social opportunities and consequences.
Social Competence with Peers in Third Grade: Associations with Earlier Peer Experiences in Childcare
This is a peer–reviewed journal article from the PsycINFO database. The research methods for this article are empirical, longitudinal, and quantitative
study. Longitudinal study is a correlation research study that involves repeated observations of the same items over long periods and psychologists use
it to study developmental trends.
When children are in daycare, they establish formative relationships with peers and adults. There has been research that has consistently shown that
toddlers and preschoolers who have had experience with other children in daycare and have been more engaged in activities are more cooperative and
positive during the preschool years.
Social Information Processing and Children's Social Adjustment
This source was found using PsycBOOKS and is from a chapter in a book. The research method used for the source information is literature review.
All children are different from one another. One of the differences is the ability to maintain relationships with peers. Some of the children are always
cooperative, liked, and establish lasting friendships. Others are aggressive towards other children and have few friends. Some
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