Children are our pillars for tomorrow. It is therefore important to study children in different ages. The main goal of this project is to understand child development by using case study method along with child observations and parents interview. Given the circumstances of long distance, Skype is used to observe the child and parent interview. Matthew, who is born and raised in Hong Kong, is an outgoing and smart 7th grader. He is a 10 year-old Chinese boy growing up in a middle class family with nuclear family structure, also lives with married parents and a 19 year-old sister who is a college student. Middle childhood is the best period to describe the age Matthew is in (Konner, 2010). In order to understand a child’s development in middle
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For play pattern, he has PE class at school once a week, play sports with his dad during weekends. He also plays the piano and likes to play online game the most. This information is vital for analyzing his physical, cognitive and social-emotional development. In middle childhood, child is generally healthier than before, growing steadily and have developed better fine and motor skills. Based on the naturalistic observation, 26.7% of Matthew’s behavior is related to physical activity. Children in the middle childhood might not be as active when they are younger but physical growth has still grown steadily. Matthew reported that he has grown 3 inches and gained 5 pounds over the past year. This is a shown as a steady growth when compared to infancy because children tend to grow around 2 to 3 inches taller and 5 pounds for weight in middle childhood (Laura, 2012). He is also healthier than when he was younger because he reported that he visited the doctor less. National Center for Health and Statistics has also showed that middle childhood has a lesser possibility of ear infection, infected tonsils and flu due to better medicine and immunization (National Center for Health and …show more content…
The brain of the child is developed significantly during middle-childhood where child in such age thrives at concrete operational thought according to Piaget (Kathleen, 2014). Interactions and information obtained from Matthew’s observation has supported this as well. Among the time during the naturalistic observation, 45% of his behaviors are related to verbal or language. This shows how significant cognitive development is occurring in Matthew’s middle childhood development. Among all, he has shown significant development in Math and reading skills. He was placed as a 9th grade abilities in both areas from the online tests. This could be explained by international contexts and culture. According to TIMSS Ranking and average Scores of Math Achievement for Fourth-Graders, 2011 (Provasnik, 2012) and PIRLS Distribution of Reading Achievement (Mullis, 2012), Hong Kong has been ranked the third and the first in the world respectively. This shows that schools in Hong Kong has emphasized and train children well in both of this aspects. As a result, child like Matthew has received intense training from these areas, which resulted in a growth of math, problem solving and reading skills. For instance, Kumon Math class after school has helped him to improve in math and problem solving skill. Children who learn math outside class are able to solve math problems better at school (Abreu, 2008). Exceptional language skill is also
For play pattern, he has PE class at school once a week, play sports with his dad during weekends. He also plays the piano and likes to play online game the most. This information is vital for analyzing his physical, cognitive and social-emotional development. In middle childhood, child is generally healthier than before, growing steadily and have developed better fine and motor skills. Based on the naturalistic observation, 26.7% of Matthew’s behavior is related to physical activity. Children in the middle childhood might not be as active when they are younger but physical growth has still grown steadily. Matthew reported that he has grown 3 inches and gained 5 pounds over the past year. This is a shown as a steady growth when compared to infancy because children tend to grow around 2 to 3 inches taller and 5 pounds for weight in middle childhood (Laura, 2012). He is also healthier than when he was younger because he reported that he visited the doctor less. National Center for Health and Statistics has also showed that middle childhood has a lesser possibility of ear infection, infected tonsils and flu due to better medicine and immunization (National Center for Health and …show more content…
The brain of the child is developed significantly during middle-childhood where child in such age thrives at concrete operational thought according to Piaget (Kathleen, 2014). Interactions and information obtained from Matthew’s observation has supported this as well. Among the time during the naturalistic observation, 45% of his behaviors are related to verbal or language. This shows how significant cognitive development is occurring in Matthew’s middle childhood development. Among all, he has shown significant development in Math and reading skills. He was placed as a 9th grade abilities in both areas from the online tests. This could be explained by international contexts and culture. According to TIMSS Ranking and average Scores of Math Achievement for Fourth-Graders, 2011 (Provasnik, 2012) and PIRLS Distribution of Reading Achievement (Mullis, 2012), Hong Kong has been ranked the third and the first in the world respectively. This shows that schools in Hong Kong has emphasized and train children well in both of this aspects. As a result, child like Matthew has received intense training from these areas, which resulted in a growth of math, problem solving and reading skills. For instance, Kumon Math class after school has helped him to improve in math and problem solving skill. Children who learn math outside class are able to solve math problems better at school (Abreu, 2008). Exceptional language skill is also