Topic > An observation of infants and toddlers

In this assignment I will reflect on my observation of two 2.5 year old children. I will reflect on how I have used different social work observation methods in practice and whether they were actually used during my observation. I will discuss how this helped me prepare for practice in my second year and how I will use what I have learned. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayThis observation occurred in a daycare center that serves children from 6 months to 5 years of age. I focused my attention on the infant and toddler area. There were three infants, 9 toddlers, and 2-year-olds, for a total of twelve children present at the time. I arrived while they were playing free indoors, so during their play time I observed that some children were more interested in the toys they had than the toys they had. One of the children named Evan often went to one of the rocking chairs trying to climb instead of playing with the toys that were there for her. Two small children named Emma and Kristy, both 2.5 years old, were playing with dolls. Kristy sat the doll on her lap, picked up a book, and pretended to read to the doll, while Emma rocked and sang to her doll. In another corner, two 18-month-old girls named Kaia and Katherine pretended to cook and feed their dolls. While the other two 2-year-olds named Lily and Sonni dressed their dolls and brushed their hair. The three children named James, Jeannie and Gabby, aged 6 and 8 months, were sitting in the same room on the other side of the carpet and playing with some colored blocks with one of the teachers. Emma decided to go to where James was and teach him how to build with blocks. She placed one block on top of another as James handed her the blocks. Both Jeannie and Gabby tried to give their blocks to Emma too. With mutual help they managed to build a tall tower of blocks. Emma clapped and the children did too. In another section of the room I observed three children playing. Their names are Hunter Ramone and Evan. One of the boys, Evan, had just turned three and the other two boys, Hunter and Ramone, were only two. The Evan wanted to lead and control the show. They pretended to play superheroes. They acted as if they could run very fast, fly or shoot beams from their hands. Evan made suggestions on what to play and the others followed suit. Furthermore, when Hunter tried to leave and go to another area, the older child guided him with his type of language towards the group. The last thing I observed before leaving the facility was Gabby and Lily playing and interacting with each other. They were both playing with some sort of stuffed animal, really having fun and exploring. They looked each other in the eyes, smiled back, made gestures, reached out to communicate with each other. When Gabby dropped the toy she was playing with, Lily picked it up and handed it to her and Gabby kindly received it from her with a smile and they continued to play and explore with their toys. Next time I arrived at feeding time to observe them. The teacher rang the bell for lunch. Toddlers and infants were allowed to interact with each other during the meal. Babies were in high chairs and toddlers were sitting next to them. The children all sat on their assigned seats. A teacher handed out plates, cups and spoons to them. The teacher gave the napkins to Evan and he passed them out. For lunch it was mac n chesse. Some waited patiently while othersthey shouted or made noises asking for their food while one of the teachers served them. The children were not patient. Jeannie and Gabby were crying and James was banging on the high table making loud random noises to attract his teachers. The teacher arrived with their pureed food. Table for small children, the teacher read to them while they ate. The other two teachers helped feed the children while they sang to them. This calmed Jeannie and James. Gabby was still nervous. Evan and Emma finished their meals faster than the other children. They went to the teacher and asked if they could help feed James and Gabby. The teacher took Gaby from the rocking chair and sat on the carpet with Emma, ​​handing Emma a bottle. Then she feeds Gabby from the bottle, with adult supervision of course. They were both smiling and enjoying each other's company. Emma was talking to Gabby. He said, “Eat Gabby.” The other teacher then decided to get James out of the high chair and sit with Gabby and Emma so that Evan can help feed James. While the teacher held James in his arms, Evan fed him a bottle. Evan had this huge smile on his face. When the children have finished their meals and with the help of the teacher they put the dirty plates, cups and spoons in a gray basket so that they can be washed. The teacher lined them up. Everyone sang songs while going to the bathroom. They sang songs with their teacher about potty training and hand washing. One by one they used the potty and washed their hands. Then they got ready for their nap. Unfortunately, my observation was over. As I watched them, I thought about some psychological theories and theorists that showed how play and interactions play such an important role in a child's development. Piaget's theory of cognitive development, Erickson's psychosocial theory, Freud's psychosexual theory, Vygotsky's sociocultural theory, and Ivan Pavlov's learning theory have made significant contributions to understanding the relationship between social interactions through play and their development. Piaget, Erikson and Vygotsky all agree that the child uses play to teach himself. The child approaches situations very similarly to how an adult thinks about a situation. Like Piaget, Vygotsky believed that biological and social factors interact in development and that children are active in constructing their own understanding of the world. (Frank Manis,2016). Vygotsky proposed that most aspects of cognitive development take place in a social context, with adults acting as intelligent guides who anticipate what the child needs to learn and provide culturally specific learning methods. (Frank Manis 2016) While Erikson argues that there is a relationship between play and society. Play allows children to learn about their social world and try new social skills. Furthermore, play for Erikson, like Piaget, promotes a socially competent child. Therefore, every child needs play as this contributes greatly to their physical, social and emotional well-being. For example, already in childhood, play promotes physical development by encouraging the development of sensory exploration and motor skills. Through play and repetition of basic physical skills, children refine their skills and become competent at increasingly difficult physical tasks. Play promotes mental development and new ways of thinking and solving problems. For example, through block play, Emma, ​​Jeannie, James and Gabby faced many mental challenges related to measurement, equality, balance, shape, relationshipsspatial. Additionally, through imaginative play, Kristy, Emma, ​​Sonni Lilly, Katherine, and Kaia helped develop their unique perspective and individual style of creative expression. In Freud's theory, he believed that their problems stemmed from unconscious psychological conflicts originating in childhood. (Frank Manis, 2016) I once read that Freud described play as the child's mechanism for repeatedly processing a previously experienced traumatic event in an attempt to correct or correct. master the event satisfactorily. As I saw them follow certain routines or behaviors at mealtimes, playtime, and bathing, I thought about Erickson in how he felt the need for independence had to be balanced by the need for help from parents or caregivers. the child learns socially appropriate behaviors and routines. (Frank Manis, 2017) In learning theories, the key assumption behind learning theories is that much of the child's behavior is acquired through the continuous matching of the child's responses to stimuli in the environment. (Frank Manis, 2017) For example, when children heard the bell, sat down and were given cups or plates, they knew it was lunch time. Even without food they knew lunch was coming. Some children even screamed, cried or made noises for food. Food is the stimulus and crying is the response. During my time there I also observed the children using their fine and gross motor skills, such as sitting, rolling, grasping and reaching for things. In addition, the main milestones in cognitive and linguistic development according to age, such as attention, memory and the use of sounds, words or sentences due to their social interactions and communication with each other. I also perceived in my observation, how important their interactions are for their learning. Their peers contributed substantially to each other's intellectual and social emotional development. Their interactions also provided them with the context to acquire social communication and cooperation. It also provided an essential connection for their social and emotional well-being. Also, I was so amazed to see the interactions between the two age groups. Both groups seem to get along really well with each other. They liked to help each other during meals and in their free time. By observing the environment alone, he made it conducive to positive interactions between infants and toddlers. Classroom space for their infants and toddlers provided opportunities for younger and older children to interact with each other. It was possible for them to see each other at all times, I think that through their interactions and play, children will learn certain behaviors from older children, such as feeding, talking, playing, etc. to the young child and facilitates the transition from toddler to nursery school. Allowing children to assist in things like feeding children and playing with them, and in their minds help them, allows children to have a period of maturity and independence and not fearful and dependent on others, do everything for them. The children responded positively to the children when they interacted with each other. The 2-year-olds definitely showed a strong interest in children and their well-being. The children imitated the interactions they observed with each other in the classroom. In their interactions, I saw that the way children handled their dolls was much the same as how adults took such care of them. They were looking into each other's eyes, smiling back, making gestures, trying to communicate with each other. They responded with acceptance and trust. I believe the environment allows them to be.