Examples Of Child Observation

Child observations provide us with the hand on experience necessary to succeed and understand the material. The purpose of this observation was to apply what we have read about in the book such as children’s physical, cognitive, language and psychosocial development. We are left to apply the theories and subjects discussed within the text. For this observation, I observed Bruce, a 15 month old, at the Napa Valley College Child Development Center on February 29, 2016 at eleven in the morning. They had just finished playtime outside and it was time to come in for lunch.

Before everyone came inside, I observed Bruce from afar playing with the other children, he was very responsive the environmental stimuli and continued to roam around exploring. …show more content…
I noticed the use of praise and nurturing as a form of behaviorism to reinforce good behavior. When Bruce picked up a towel, the caregiver got down to his level and thanked him; he responded with a smile. There was a brief moment when he did not see the caretaker next to him and he began looking around. Due to this being a day care, the children were never left alone so it was difficult to gage his separation anxiety and his attachment. Upon noticing that he looked around until he found the caretaker it showed signs that he may posses a secure attachment; I cannot make an exact statement on his attachment because his parent was not present while I was observing. The water was turned on and he looked back at the caretaker, she smiled and told him to wash up. I saw this as a social referencing because he looked back to gage the caretakers emotions before proceeding. After his hands were washed he was guided to the other room and given a bottle for naptime. As he walked towards the bed, he saw himself in the mirror and pointed to show me. This minor interaction with the mirror showed he was self-aware and acknowledges himself in the