2. My Virtual Child: Part 1
Q. 5.a. How does your child compare to the typical patterns of development at the following
ages (0-4 months, 4-8 months, 9-12 months, and 12-24 months)?
Ans. The infant’s years (0-4) months
Faeza was born pre-mature and she had juvenile jaundice. She underwent neonatal care to treat
the jaundice and to make her able to regulate her body temperature. After five days, Faeza’s
Apgar score rose from a six to an eight. We know an Apgar score of seven or more indicates a
baby in good physical condition (Kail, R. & Zolner, T., 2009, p 105). Moreover, jaundice in a new
born baby is normal and in most cases, juvenile jaundice disappears after a few days
(http://www.californiawebsites.com/neo/). Faeza sleeps virtually all of the time. When she is
awake, she calmly examines objects, which indicates her intellectual development is quite
normal; she also gazes quietly at people indicating her social and emotional development (Ages
and Stages - Newborn to One Year) . At three months of age, my baby’s physical and intellectual
development is around the norm; her social and emotional development is also above norm
because she cries to signal different states (Kail, R. & Zolner, T. 2009, p 101).
4-8 months
Intellectual development: Upon completion of the object permanence test at her eight months
of age, it is found that Faeza likes hiding games and is normally able to find hidden objects.
However, when the hiding spot changes, her first target is to look in the original spot and when
unable to find it, she gives it up. According to “Cognition Infants and Toddlers” by Robert V. Kail
and Theresa Zolner, my baby is around the norm. Also, According to the norms set in the
chapter “Ages & Stages – Newborn to One Year” in the book titled Ages and Stages - A Brief
Overview Birth to 12 Years, Faeza’s intellectual development is up to the norm because she
enjoys throwing objects out of her crib. Her langue development is normal because she sounds
like consonant and vowel.
Social and emotional development: In accordance with the norms set in the chapter “Ages &
Stages – Newborn to One Year” in the book titled Ages and Stages - A Brief Overview Birth to 12
Years, Faeza’s social and emotional development is around the norm because she spends a
great deal of time watching and observing, responds differently to strangers and family
members, responds to distress of others by showing cry, and shows mild to severe anxiety at the
separation from parent.
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3. Physical development: According to the chapter “Ages & Stages – Newborn to One Year” in the
book titled Ages and Stages - A Brief Overview Birth to 12 Years, children should be able to crawl
well, pull up to stand, and manipulate objects. Faeza is way above the norm in both gross motor
and fine motor since she enjoys crawling, pulling up to stand and manipulating objects. It seems
that Faeza is above typical and she is meeting her developmental milestones.
9-12 months
Intellectual development: When the object permanence test was redone at 12 months, she is
able to find the objects in the non-common hiding spot. In the chapter “Cognition in Infants and
Toddlers” of the book titled Children (Kail R. & Zolner, T., p162), it states that “At about 12
months, rather than accepting that the object has disappeared, infants will look for a missing
object in several different locations.” Faeza’s activities indicate that she is above the norm since
she finds the object instantly. In language development, she pronounced her first clear word
and pointed at object in question. According to the chapter “Ages & Stages – Newborn to One
Year” in the book titled Ages and Stages - A Brief Overview Birth to 12 Years, infants usually say
their first word at 12 months of age. Therefore, Faeza is in the term of language development.
Social and emotional development: Faeza is cautious about new people and situation; she wants
parents to be in constant sight. She has fairly mild to positive reaction to most the situation and
people. According to http://www.child-development-guide.com/child-development-12-
months.html, in a loving environment my child will easily bond with me and a close bond
provides a foundation for future relationships. She is lovely towards familiar people and feels
shy with stranger. This indicates that she is above the norm.
Physical development: In accordance with the chapter “Ages & Stages – Newborn to One Year”
in the book titled Ages and Stages - A Brief Overview Birth to 12 Years, in terms of physical
development, my child is a advanced in her gross and fine motor skills and enjoys crawling and
pulling up to stand and manipulating objects. Faeza is age-appropriate in terms of fine motor
and gross motor skills.
12-24 months
Intellectual development: According to the chapter “Ages & Stages – Two-Year Olds” in the book
titled Ages and Stages - A Brief Overview Birth to 12 Years, my child is above average because
she knows how to solve problem more than two steps, and to group objects together in
categories. In terms of language, her score is above average range on tests of language,
comprehension and production, and she provides unusually complete and grammatically
mature sentences in a conversation the examiner and she have about a picture.
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4. Emotional and social behavior: In the chapter “Social Behavior and Personality in Infants and
Toddlers” In the book titled Children (Kail R. & Zolner, T., p208) it is said that children begin
referring to themselves as “I” OR ‘me” between the ages of 18 and 24 months. According to this,
Faeza is at the norm because she frequently calls herself “me”.
Physical development: In terms of physical development, my child is above the norm, especially
when it comes to gross and fine motor skills. This is because at two years old (24 month), she is
able to do balancing and skipping and also enjoys that. In accordance with the chapter “Ages &
Stages – Two-Year Olds” in the book titled Ages and Stages - A Brief Overview Birth to 12 Years,
the average child does balancing and skipping at age of 3 years.
It seems that Faeza’s birth was quite typical and that she is meeting his development
milestones.
Q. 5. b. What health or safety concerns might you have for the following ages (0-1 year) and (1-2
years)?
Ans. Specific health and safety consideration that I will have to consider with Faeza during the
first year of age are:
1) SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) (Kail, R. & Zolner, T., 2009, p107): Babies are
more vulnerable to SIDS, if they are born pre-maturely or with low birth weight. Faeza
was born as a premature baby with low birth weight. I always remove pillow and soft
blanket from her crib, because those can cover her crib and face that may cause choking
or breathing hazards.
2) Breast feeding. “Breast feeding is the best way to ensure that babies get the
nourishment they need. Breastfed babies also are ill-less often because breast milk
contains the mother’s antibodies.” (Kail, R. & Zolner, T., 2009, p107). I would like to
prefer to give Faeza breast feeding because it is healthier. When I give her breast
feeding I would take precaution about some important things, such as cleanliness.
3) Immunization: I would like Faeza to stay healthy and keep away from infections.
Currently, there are 12 serious infections /communicable diseases that can be
prevented through routine immunization, which can be started in infancy. (Pimento, B.
& Kernested, D., 2010, p123)
4) The Common cold: The health issue that I have to greatly consider during the infancy
year is the common cold. Some ways I could address the common cold issues and try to
prevent them by modeling and encouraging my baby to cover her mouth when coughing
and sneezing, and discard used tissues. I could also address the issue of the common
cold by keeping her away from sick people. ((Pimento, B. & Kernested, D., 2010, p172)
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5. 5) Introducing new foods: Another specific health consideration I will have to consider is
her digestive upsets. According to a doctor’s advice (refer to
http://myvirtualchild.com/), I could address this issue by checking out new food items
for a few days, which will test for allergies.
During 1 to 2 years:
1) Indoor safety consideration: Since Faeza is advanced in her gross motor skills and enjoy
crawling, pulling up to stand. Some safety considerations I will have to consider are to
ensure child- proofing some areas of the home, specially the edges of the tables. This
will be because in case she falls back while pulling up, she will not hurt herself. Also, I
could place padding under the areas of where she usually pulls herself up, and place
items that consider for her to hold. (Ages and Stages: A Brief Overview Birth to 12
Years).
2) Outdoor safety consideration: When Faeza become 18 month old, she started to walk
off into a crowd at public places. To ensure safety, I am holding her hand, so that she
will not get the opportunity to walk away. Faeza often likes to go to park, and wants to
ride many toys. I encourage her always to wear helmet and supervise her activity.
(Pimento, B. & Kernested, D., 2010, p363)
3) Motor vehicle collision: Motor vehicle collisions are the leading cause of injury-related
death of children in Canada. (Pimento, B. & Kernested, D., 2010, p362). Now Faeza and
her father have fun in expensive activities like going to zoo. We take precaution about
traffic law and always maintained safety and use car-seat.
4) Gastrointestinal infections: Diarrhea: Effective hand washing, strict diapering and
toileting routines and food safety every day are the important preventive measures
against spread of gastrointestinal infection (Pimento, B. & Kernested, D., 2010, p173).
Now Faeza needs to learn toileting routines and I will provide her with toileting routines
gently and effectively.
5) Burns: Childs are not mini-adults. Their skin is thinner and softer than skin of adults.
Toddlers are susceptible to scald from hot tap water, and drinking soups or hot
beverages as they cannot realize the danger of hot liquids and other burns hazards.
(Pimento, B. & Kernested, D., 2010, p369). So I am very alert about this.
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6. Q.5.c. 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?
Ans. “Children in centers can get as many as 8 to 10 colds a year” (Pimento, B. & Kernested, D.,
2010, p173). When my child was infant and toddler, she did not encounter many health
concerns except for the seasonal cold and digestive upsets at eight month and nine month. My
prediction for preschool and school age is that she will not develop a food allergy. Also, I predict
that since the cold and digestive upset have decreased over the months that they may return
during the growth progress. Due to the greater exposure to other children in child care centre,
Faeza generally has positive reactions to new foods and tolerates changes in routines.
When it comes to potty training, I predict Faeza will be fully potty-trained by preschool age, with
no more accidents occurring at the child care centre. Because at 18 months, Faeza seems now
to have a goal of becoming potty trained, makes it to the potty about 60% of the time.
During 0-3 months, Faeza’s gross motor and fine motor skills are around the norm. Her Apgar
score range is from a six to an eight. During the infant period, my child is advanced in her gross
and fine motor skills and enjoys crawling, pulling up to stand and manipulating objects. In
toddlers period, my child was age- appropriate on tasks, such as building a block, model tower
and other special fine motor skills, such as copying shapes, coloring within the lines and solving
puzzles. She was advanced in her gross motor skill. My prediction for the upcoming years is that
she will continue to grow and use her gross motor skills to be above the norm in running,
climbing and jumping. In regards to fine motor, my prediction is that she will be able to nicely
complete the building replicated block tower without any help, to color within the lines, and
copy shapes, and create a new picture. While her fine motor skills continue to improve during
the school year ages, I predict my child will be able to tie up her laces and cut with scissors.
According to Dynamic theory, motor development improves many distinct skills, organized or
unorganized, over time to meet demands of specific tasks. For example, walking requires
maintaining balance (Kail, R. & Zolner, T., p134).
For cognitive/ intellectual development, I predict my child will be more experimental in her
environment with objects in her surroundings. Also, I predict she will do excellent in hands-on
learning activities (e.g. at the children’s science museum). I predict it because when she was
toddler, she was about average in solving problems with more than two steps, and grouping
objects together in categories. I predict my child will do very well in math at her preschool and
school age. According to Piagetian Theory, children’s knowledge about the world always
involves some kind of experience with world, which helps a child to develop more knowledge
and then move through a process of maturation to a higher level of cognitive development (Kail,
R. & Zolner, T., p158).
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7. In language development, I predict that Faeza will grow and be able to speak at the above
normal range of preschool child. Because of during toddler period, Faeza’s language score was
above average in all aspects of language development; she could follow typical story lines. The
examiner also noted that her memory was pretty good. I predict my child will handle her
preschool and school age very efficiently. “Language is primarily an intellectual tool for
referential children and primarily a social tool expressive children” (Kail, R. & Zolner, T., p182).
In social and emotional development my predictions for preschool and school age is that she will
be less clingy to her mother over the period of when she is in childcare. Also, I think Faeza will
be learning the routines pretty well and she will reasonably cooperative for age at both home
and preschool. She will be less aggressive to adults and others. For emotional aspect, I predict
that she will be much less shy with photograph and mirror- looking, feeling less guilty in
accidental doings, and finally become aware of herself and will build positive self-esteem.
I predict that Faeza will be quite interested in her surroundings like music, movies, people, etc.
from preschool to school ages. I think she will remember the most memorable and “catchy”
parts of her surroundings and will try to repeat over and over again in order to get some kind of
understanding of it.
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9. Virtual child report:
When Faeza was 0 months old...
Faeza 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 Faeza
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 Faeza home. The doctors said Faeza should be fine, but they scheduled
follow up visits to check on her growth and responses to the environment. You notice that Faeza 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 Faeza. Most of the time, though, you are having a good time
taking care of her.
You processed this event on: Friday, October 21, 2011 at 23:54:36
After only a week with Faeza, you can already feel a hormonal connection. When Faeza cries,
you begin to lactate! This will increase if you choose to breast feed, but it will die off gradually if
you do not.
You want Faeza to be active and curious about her environment, so you
Faeza sleeps virtually all of the time, only waking when hungry, cold, or wet. She usually drifts
back to sleep toward the end of the feeding.
After 3 weeks, Faeza is still somewhat lethargic, doesn't want to eat very much, and she still
hasn't gained much weight. You have been to the pediatrician who says it is nothing serious.
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!
Will you breast feed Faeza?
You are starting to notice that Faeza'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.
When Faeza was 3 months old...
Faeza is generally calm, in a good mood, and is easy to soothe when upset.
You processed this event on: Thursday, November 03, 2011 at 10:03:27
The lack of sleep during the work-week has been getting on everyone's nerves, and recently you
and your partner had some uncustomary arguments. You try getting to bed earlier on weeknights
and sleeping in more on weekends.
Faeza is often drowsy, and even when awake spends a lot of time calmly examining objects or
gazing quietly at people. What will you do?
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10. Faeza 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.
As a family with two working parents, what type of daycare will you choose?
At 3 months of age, Faeza is showing more intense interest in her surroundings. Faeza 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.
You love to hear Faeza make those little "ooo" sounds.
As you return to work, how will you feed Faeza?
Faeza is getting more curious about the world around her.
You notice that Faeza can learn a thing or two so you start working on her baby IQ!
Faeza cries often after meals and frequently has diarrhea. What will you do?
When Faeza was 8 months old...
You try the object permanence test. Faeza 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. Faeza 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, Faeza 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.
You want Faeza to establish a regular bed-time and sleep through the night. You think she's
almost there.
Faeza is sometimes a little reluctant to part from you at daycare and starts crying. She usually
gets over it quickly after you leave.
At this point, Faeza is less physically active than other babies you know.
You are feeling more pressure at work lately. You have been feeling irritable, not sleeping well,
and feeling somewhat depressed lately. Sometimes you are just not in the mood for Faeza, and
her crying jangles your nerves. Sometimes you feel like you have to get away for awhile.
Faeza 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?
Lately Faeza has had frequent problems with indigestion and diarrhea, and seems prone to
catching colds. Naturally, Faeza doesn't have much of an appetite, and cries a lot during these
illnesses.
Faeza is showing some fearfulness around unfamiliar people and clings to whoever is holding
her. What is your typical response?
It has become clear that Faeza 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 Faeza?
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11. Faeza sometimes cries when you put her to bed at night even though she is obviously sleepy.
You are usually exhausted and have to get up early the next day. How do you typically handle the
situation?
You notice that Faeza seems to have little goals that involve two steps of planning ahead, so you
encourage these cognitive advances by:
As Faeza turns 9 months, the pediatrician 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
Faeza in the playroom:
Faeza 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.
Faeza is cautious around new people and situations, but warms up fairly quickly to friendly people
and to new and interesting activities and then begins to vocalize a lot and make eye contact.
Faeza had fairly mild to positive reactions to most of the situations and people in the
pediatrician's office and the playroom. She cried when given the vaccination, but calmed down
rather quickly. The only problem came with a brief separation from you, but that would be
expected.
Faeza 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?
When Faeza was 12 months old...
Virtual Child uses five dimensions of temperament to describe the child's behavior 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 behavior 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 to parental demands and throw tantrums or even lash
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12. 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 behavior, 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 behavior 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.
You processed this event on: Thursday, November 03, 2011 at 23:48:39
Faeza enjoys throwing every toy out of her crib and watching what happens. Faeza seems to
expect you to keep putting them back!
A college friend of yours who speaks Mandarin visited and named a few things around the place.
Faeza tried to imitate the words but her attempts sounded more like English than Chinese.
Faeza still has occasional problems with indigestion, but is tolerating most baby foods as well as
several bland foods chosen from those that you eat.
Faeza's first birthday is coming in a few days! You invite all the relatives over and throw a big
party.
Faeza is constantly trying to expand her motor skills so you:
At nine months old, Faeza began to understand a few words and point to something she wanted.
At twelve months old, Faeza now clearly understands a couple of dozen words. In fact, Faeza just
recently pronounced her first clear word and pointed at the object in question.... Faeza 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.
Faeza is able to imitate new words and actions now, so you focus on:
You try the object permanence test again. This time, Faeza 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
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13. 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. Faeza likes this game and
wants to play it over and over.
When strangers come to visit, they think Faeza is really cute so they want to hold Faeza. Faeza
usually starts crying if the person tries to get too close. However, after meeting a person two or
three times, you notice that Faeza is staring at the person and manages a shy smile. Typically
you:
Your partner has received an advancement and a pay raise. The three of you celebrate, and
Faeza is very happy, but doesn't have a clue what the party is about.
Faeza generally has positive reactions to new foods and tolerates changes in routines. She is
typically in a happy or at least neutral mood, making it hard sometimes to figure out if she is
hungry, tired, wet, etc. You:
Faeza and you seem to be getting more and more in sync. Faeza is happier and more willing to
try new things when you are around. You:
Faeza 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, you:
When Faeza was 15 months old...
Faeza 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 builds a little
mound of dirt and then studies the effects of pouring water on it.
You processed this event on: Friday, November 04, 2011 at 00:35:17
When Faeza was 18 months old...
One of your favorite cousins, a cheerful and energetic 18 year old named Melody, is staying with you while
she works to save money for college. She is sleeping in a bed that you have set up in Faeza's room, and the
two are becoming fast friends. She is willing to babysit for you, so both you and your partner have felt less
stressed. You have more time for yourself, your partner, and Faeza.
You processed this event on: Friday, November 04, 2011 at 00:37:34
Faeza 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.
Faeza 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.
Faeza tends to be slow to warm up to new people, but is outgoing and friendly with familiar
people.
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14. You are showing Faeza 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 Faeza
falling.
Faeza sometimes takes on problems that are too difficult for her age level. She sometimes gets
frustrated and gives up. When you see this happening, you:
Faeza has a tremendous drive to use her motor skills. You have to keep an eye on Faeza
because she will quickly toddle off into the crowd at public places or even into the street!
Faeza 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.
Faeza has shown some interesting new behavior. She acts shy when looking in the mirror, uses
the word "me" a lot, and wants to do things herself. You think the new behavior is a sign of self
awareness, and you have to decide what the balance will be between allowing Faeza to be
independent and teaching her to follow your rules.
Faeza 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.
Faeza is usually calm and cheerful and seems to tolerate minor problems (hunger, fatigue,
stress) easily.
Faeza 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 Faeza wants to leave with you. The caregiver
keeps assuring you that Faeza calms down after you leave. What should you do?
You notice that Faeza is less clingy lately, and often wants to be put down to explore rather than
to be held. Her favorite places to venture out are the park and the store.
Faeza sometimes prefers quiet activities in her room, and sometimes likes more active games or
sports.
You know that by age two and a half Faeza 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.
Faeza's language skills are developing rapidly, and she wants to talk to you almost all of the time.
Faeza seems to know an unusual number of names for things. Sometimes you hear her talking to
herself as she plays alone in her room.
When Faeza was 19 months old...
Faeza is able to imitate actions or words that she has seen or heard days before. This greatly expands her
ability to learn new things. Faeza 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.
You processed this event on: Friday, November 04, 2011 at 01:03:24
The preschool that you are considering for Faeza offers low-priced developmental assessments.
Faeza is able to enroll when she becomes reasonably well potty-trained. She is 19 months old
now. Just to find out how Faeza's development compares to other children of her age at this
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15. point, you have an assessment done. The early childhood specialist observes Faeza in free play
with other kids and does a little testing of cognitive skills. She reports the following:
Faeza 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 Faeza 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 misbehavior, and encouragements to "use your
words" if Faeza wanted something.
The specialist thought that Faeza was securely attached, but that the communication system
between parent and child could be improved. She recommended that both parents try to read
Faeza's reactions more carefully and work on interpersonal communication.
The specialist thought that Faeza was slow to warm up to new situations with adults, but that if
you gave her time, she usually came around.
Faeza was cheerful throughout the play sessions and the examination session and rarely became
tense or emotional during the period of observation.
Faeza scored above average in all aspects of language development, and is ready to be read
aloud to more frequently, as she can follow typical story lines. The examiner also noted that her
memory was pretty good and recommended that you frequently ask Faeza to recount
experiences as a way of encouraging more language growth.
Describe and give examples of changes in your child's exploratory or problem solving behavior
from 8 through 18 months and categorize them according to Piagetian and information
processing theories. Note that 8 months is included, so you'll need to use the time-line to look
back at 8 months for examples
When Faeza was 2 years old...
The economy is in a down-turn, and unfortunately your partner has been laid off. There is no immediate
prospect of a re-hire. Your Partner decides to go back to school for more advanced training. The family
finances are taking a real hit and you have had to move into a two-bedroom apartment in a poorer section
of town. You have taken on a bigger work-load to make up for the financial problems and you both are
feeling stressed out.
You processed this event on: Friday, November 04, 2011 at 01:07:37
Faeza 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.
A side benefit of your partner's layoff and enrollment in advanced schooling is that your partner
has more time to hang out with Faeza. Money is tight, but your partner and Faeza have fun in
inexpensive activities like going to the zoo, the petting farm, the children's museums and the
park.
You want Faeza to put on a jacket before going outside to play since the weather is cold. She
says "NO!" and proceeds to throw a temper tantrum. How do you deal with this behavior?
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16. Cousin Melody continues to live with you and has become one of Faeza's best buddies. Melody
plays the guitar and is teaching Faeza to sing along. Faeza 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.
Faeza's communication skills are growing by leaps and bounds. She is speaking mostly in three
to four word sentences and her vocabulary is expanding greatly because of her intense desire to
learn new words.
You notice that Faeza 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.
Faeza's health has improved recently, but she had a couple of colds in the past few months.
Since Faeza 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. Faeza is initially excited about the
move, but within a week is clinging and crying more often and has difficulty cooperating with the
daycare provider.
Faeza 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.
Faeza 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, Faeza uses that for herself the very next turn!
Faeza has a close relationship with you and your partner, and in new situations seems to need to
check back with you regularly.
Faeza was having problems a few weeks ago with the transition from infant care to the toddler
care group but now seems to be adapting pretty well to the toddler group. One of the issues was
making a transition from a 3 to 1 child-adult ratio to a 5 to 1 ratio, but Faeza's new primary
caregiver is highly skilled and Faeza is building a good relationship with her.
She doesn't seem to need a lot support and guidance to get basic things done, such as putting on
her slippers.
Faeza is toilet trained now, and rarely has any accidents. She is communicating better, but has
difficulty understanding other people's perspectives. Faeza knows her gender now, and has
begun to categorize behavior and 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.
You just found out you are pregnant! You are holding off on telling Faeza 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?"
Faeza 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.
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17. Faeza 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
Faeza, who is 2 1/2 years old. The specialist evaluates Faeza's language, motor and cognitive
skills using some developmental scales, and observes Faeza interacting with other children in a
toddler play group. This is her report:
Faeza 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.
Faeza was generally not very aggressive, but at one point became somewhat aggressive over a
favorite toy, and had to be reminded by the group leader to share. The specialist advised you to
seek out more group experiences for Faeza.
Faeza handled challenging tasks fairly well except for an occasional need for encouragement.
Faeza scored in the above average range on tests of language comprehension and production,
and provided unusually complete and grammatically mature sentences in a conversation the
examiner and she had about a picture. She recommended several appropriate activities that
might interest Faeza such as going through a book without pictures and making up a story, or
going to a children's museum and talking about the things that interested Faeza there.
Faeza is about average in solving problems with more than two steps, and grouping objects
together in categories. The specialist recommended that you help Faeza "talk through" the steps
in solving problems, and that you expose Faeza 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 Faeza a range of these
activities to choose from and to go with the ones that seemed of most interest to her.
Faeza 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 Faeza's interests and focusing on having fun with them.
Faeza was able to focus on the tasks posed by the examiner, but her attention began to wander
after about 20 minutes. The examiner said this was typical for the age, and took a short play
break. She recommended that you involve Faeza in preparation for scripted activities such as
bath and meal time to help enhance her ability to listen to and follow directions.
Have there been any environmental events in your child's first 2 1/2 years that you think might
have influenced his or her behavior? On what do you base your hypotheses?
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18. Feedback
9- Month Pediatricians Report
As Faeza turns 9 months, the pediatrician 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 Faeza
in the playroom:
Faeza 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.
Faeza is cautious around new people and situations, but warms up fairly quickly to friendly people and to
new and interesting activities and then begins to vocalize a lot and make eye contact.
Faeza had fairly mild to positive reactions to most of the situations and people in the pediatrician's office
and the playroom. She cried when given the vaccination, but calmed down rather quickly. The only
problem came with a brief separation from you, but that would be expected.
Faeza is advanced in her gross and fine motor skills and enjoys crawling, pulling up to stand and
manipulating objects.
Infant/Toddler Temperament (12 months)
Virtual Child uses five dimensions of temperament to describe the child's behavior 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
behavior 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 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 behavior, 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
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19. 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 behavior 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.
19-month Developmental Testing
The preschool that you are considering for Faeza offers low-priced developmental assessments. Faeza
is able to enroll when she becomes reasonably well potty-trained. She is 19 months old now. Just to
find out how Faeza's development compares to other children of her age at this point, you have an
assessment done. The early childhood specialist observes Faeza in free play with other kids and does
a little testing of cognitive skills. She reports the following:
Faeza 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 Faeza 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 misbehavior, and encouragements to "use your words" if Faeza wanted something.
The specialist thought that Faeza was securely attached, but that the communication system between parent
and child could be improved. She recommended that both parents try to read Faeza's reactions more
carefully and work on interpersonal communication.
The specialist thought that Faeza was slow to warm up to new situations with adults, but that if you gave
her time, she usually came around.
Faeza was cheerful throughout the play sessions and the examination session and rarely became tense or
emotional during the period of observation.
Faeza scored above average in all aspects of language development, and is ready to be read aloud to more
frequently, as she can follow typical story lines. The examiner also noted that her memory was pretty good
and recommended that you frequently ask Faeza to recount experiences as a way of encouraging more
language growth.
Faeza 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.
Faeza was advanced in her gross motor skills. The examiner recommended that you expose Faeza to a
variety of indoor and outdoor activities and let her interests be the guide as to what to pursue.
The examiner commented that Faeza was able to concentrate on activities for 10-15 minutes, which was
age-appropriate. Faeza was coming along fine, but she still recommended trying to engage Faeza's attention
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20. in something really interesting for longer and longer periods of time, to gradually build up her tolerance for
preschool-type activities. She also recommended getting Faeza to follow simple directions at home,
gradually increasing the complexity and length of the directions.
Age 2 1/2 Developmental Testing
Faeza 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 Faeza, who is
2 1/2 years old. The specialist evaluates Faeza's language, motor and cognitive skills using some
developmental scales, and observes Faeza interacting with other children in a toddler play group.
This is her report:
Faeza 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.
Faeza was generally not very aggressive, but at one point became somewhat aggressive over a favorite toy,
and had to be reminded by the group leader to share. The specialist advised you to seek out more group
experiences for Faeza.
Faeza handled challenging tasks fairly well except for an occasional need for encouragement.
Faeza scored in the above average range on tests of language comprehension and production, and provided
unusually complete and grammatically mature sentences in a conversation the examiner and she had about
a picture. She recommended several appropriate activities that might interest Faeza such as going through a
book without pictures and making up a story, or going to a children's museum and talking about the things
that interested Faeza there.
Faeza is about average in solving problems with more than two steps, and grouping objects together in
categories. The specialist recommended that you help Faeza "talk through" the steps in solving problems,
and that you expose Faeza 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 Faeza a range of these activities to choose from
and to go with the ones that seemed of most interest to her.
Faeza 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 Faeza's interests and focusing on having fun with them.
Faeza was able to focus on the tasks posed by the examiner, but her attention began to wander after about
20 minutes. The examiner said this was typical for the age, and took a short play break. She recommended
that you involve Faeza in preparation for scripted activities such as bath and meal time to help enhance her
ability to listen to and follow directions.
Personality Types
There is evidence that there are three main personality types in childhood and the Virtual Child's
behavior beginning at age 3 and 4 is designed to resemble one of these personality types. The
personality types combine some of the temperamental traits with which you are already familiar. The
overcontrolled category refers to a child who is cooperative, and follows the rules, but is shy in social
situations and anxious and clingy under pressure. The undercontrolled category refers to a child who
is uncooperative or even aggressive, does not follow the rules, is not particularly shy in social
situations, and has a tendency to become distracted and overly emotional, particularly when under
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21. stress. The resilient category refers to a child who is cooperative and follows the rules, is friendly,
non-aggressive and outgoing, is able to focus on tasks without being too distracted, has good
regulation of his or her emotions, and is adaptable to new situations.
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