Observations

3 months

- Starts home daycare @ 3 months

You and your partner chose for you to be artificially inseminated so you could give birth to
Noah. You chose a sperm donor from the on-line files at the sperm bank who resembled
either or both of you in terms of skin tone, hair color, educational level and personality
traits. Noah had a normal birth. Labor was about ten hours long, and you gave birth
naturally. You are proud that your "team" could make use of natural childbirth breathing
and relaxation techniques.

When you got to hold Noah in the delivery room, you were amazed that you and your
partner had brought this new being into existence.

After only a week with Noah you can already feel a hormonal connection. When Noah 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 have not been feeling very energetic since shortly after Noah was born. You are listless
and don't take much interest in activities around you.

You complain that you don't have enough energy to deal with the baby.

Noah is able to focus his eyes on you.

He spends a lot of time studying your face and the faces of anyone who comes close to him.

At 3 months of age, Noah is showing more intense interest in his surroundings.

Noah 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.

Noah is sometimes a little reluctant to part from you at daycare and starts crying.

He usually gets over it quickly after you leave.

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 Noah, and his crying jangles your nerves.
Sometimes you feel like you have to get away for awhile.
8 months

- Hair trigger reaction to everything often fussy

- Preference for you over others

9 months

- Began to understand a few words

- Pointed at what he wanted
As Noah 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 Noah in the playroom:
Noah has an obvious attachment to you and prefers you over other people, but seems to have fun
playing with your partner. He was cautious at first with the nurse and doctor, a normal reaction to
strangers at this age.
Based on your report, Noah is able to digest new foods well, so the doctor recommends that Noah eat a
variety of foods from the family dinner (ground up).
Noah 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.
Noah has strong emotional reactions and has difficulty soothing himself back down. The doctor advises
patience in dealing with Noah's emotions.
Noah's motor skills are typical for age: crawling, sitting up, and standing up, but not walking yet.

Virtual Child uses five dimensions of temperament to describe the child's behavior in the
first 30 months. These dimensions are influenced by your questionnaire responses, and
change gradually over time in response to events and parenting decisions. They include
four dimensions that overlap with the Big Five personality traits, Sociability
(extraversion/introversion), Emotionality (neuroticism), Aggressiveness vs. cooperativeness
(agreeableness), and Self-control (conscientiousness), and a fifth dimension, Activity level.
Twin, adoption and longitudinal studies indicate there are genetic and environmental
influences on the five types of traits in the program.
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 (ranging from
low to high)
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 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 ADHD and a 5% chance of
having mild ADHD.
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.

12 months

A college friend of yours who speaks Mandarin visited and named a few things around the
place.
Noah tried to imitate the words but his attempts sounded more like English than Chinese.

- Achieved object permanence and loves the game

- Clearly understand a couple dozen words
- First word: dog
- Partner receives pay raise noah doesnt understand whats happening
- Starts crying after getting close to new people warms up after 2-3 visits and
 smiles
- Invite relatives for 1st bday
- Angry at change in routine or new foods

15 months
-often studies things in his environment experiments with them i.e pouring water on
a mound of dirt

18 months
-caught a cold and has an ear ache reoccurs over the past few months wakes up
crying at night irritable parents

-hesitant to part with parents at daycare

-Calms down when parents leave
- noah helps take care of plants child safe balcony
- Plays with blocks and puzzles
- isnt able to clap or move to rhythms and doesnt sing along
- tremendous drive to use his motor skills quickly toddles into the crowd at public
places
- acts shy when looking in the mirror, uses the word "me" a lot, and wants to do things himself.
- Noah sometimes takes on problems that are too difficult for his age level. He sometimes
gets frustrated and gives up.
- Noah prefers quiet activities
- Noah's language skills are developing rapidly, and he wants to talk to you almost all of the
time. Noah seems to know an unusual number of names for things. Sometimes you hear him
talking to himself as he plays alone in his room.
- Able to walk run and climb now
- Noah is able to imitate actions or words that he has seen or heard days before. This greatly expands
his ability to learn new things.
- Noah also seems to be aware of basic categories, such as big or little, and blue or red.

19 months
- The preschool that you are considering for Noah offers low-priced developmental
assessments. Noah is able to enroll when he becomes reasonably well potty-trained.
He is 19 months old now. Just to find out how Noah's development compares to
other children of his age at this point, you have an assessment done. The early
childhood specialist observes Noah in free play with other kids and does a little
testing of cognitive skills. She reports the following:
- Noah was not very aggressive with the other kids, unless one of them tried to grab a
 toy from him and then he resisted. The examiner recommended that Noah continue
to go to toddler play groups/daycare to develop his 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 Noah
wanted something.
- The specialist thought that Noah was securely attached, but that the
communication system between parent and child could be improved. She
recommended that both parents try to read Noah's reactions more carefully and
work on interpersonal communication.
- The specialist noted that Noah readily engaged with her socially and made good eye
contact. He seemed at ease with the examiner throughout the session.
- Noah was generally in a positive mood during the play sessions, but occasionally
could be irritable or impatient when things did not go his way.
- Noah scored above average in all aspects of language development, and is ready to
be read aloud to more frequently, as he can follow typical story lines. The examiner
also noted that his memory was pretty good and recommended that you frequently
ask Noah to recount experiences as a way of encouraging more language growth.
- Noah was above age-norms for 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.
- Noah was about average for gross motor development. The examiner
recommended that you give him plenty of opportunities to play on indoor and
outdoor play gyms and to play games of catch and kickball with you.
- The examiner commented that Noah was able to concentrate on activities for 10-15
minutes, which was age-appropriate. Noah was coming along fine, but she still
recommended trying to engage Noah's attention in something really interesting for
longer and longer periods of time, to gradually build up his tolerance for preschool-
type activities. She also recommended getting Noah to follow simple directions at
home, gradually increasing the complexity and length of the directions.

3 years
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 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.
From time to time Noah overhears some arguments you and your partner have about
household chores and other issues - Noah thinks im going to run away
Noah is throwing tantrums - count to five to calm him, remove him from the situation. Next
time you explain what you expect and reward him for good behaviour
Financially tight and stressed about the violent neighbourhood
Kids musical theatre and puppet shows at the library
Your family has grown with the addition of a baby girl! She was born last night at 11:30 P.M.
Noah is a little over three years old now, and has been eagerly awaiting the baby's birth.
Noah holds and rocks the baby, and even feeds her with a bottle of pre-pumped breast milk
or formula. Noah is fascinated with the baby and tells everyone about her.
You notice as the weeks go by that Noah likes to imitate Mia's sounds and movements, and enjoys
play-acting a baby role. He sometimes seems to be regressing and becoming more demanding and
whiny, and less cooperative, but other times prides himself on being a competent older sibling.

Misbehaving at meals - tell him what behaviour we expect - remind him and reward him if he is good

Settling to preschool - slightly aggressive but is learning to play well - invite his friend over to play

Plays sports but gets tired easily - play sports with him even if he doesnt understand the
rules - develop ball-handling skills
Likes animals - give him lots of experience with them
Noah communicates very well now, relying primarily on complete sentences, and seems to
understand most of what you say. He enjoys watching children's TV and listening to books.
He occasionally makes charming errors such as "I beated you in the race."
Noah enjoys fantasy play and tends to enact scenes with his toy animals and cartoon
figures, sometimes playing for a half hour at a time - play with him when asked
Let Noah watch educational TV
Organise play dates with other kids because he is outgoing and social
Incorporate sternness and praise
Noah likes to tell people about things he has done, but he usually leaves out some key
details.
You listen to his telling of the story with great interest and ask questions to prompt him to
fill in a few details.
Noah has begun occasionally lying to you about accidents or rule violations (such as
sneaking a cookie before dinner). The lies are pretty lame (e.g., there is a trail of cookie
crumbs).
You recognize this as a sign of a theory of mind, but you wait until you catch him in the act,
explain that lying is wrong, and put him in time-out. For good measure, you also explain
that being lied to you makes people feel bad.
Move house - new preschool for Noah
Financial problems - works part-time - send Noah and Mia to daycare

4
Let Noah paint
The leadership changed at Noah's preschool and his favorite teacher resigned. Noah has had
a hard time adjusting to the new teacher, and seems to be regressing (acting babyish) and
acting up a bit more - play more attention when Noah is acting maturely - ignore babyish
behaviour - put him in time-out for bad behaviour after repeated warnings
Noah isnt interested in ABCs so you begin to ready books to encourage interest
Noah likes building - partner likes to build with him - have a building corner
Noah loves to make up stories about animals, people, or characters on his favorite TV show,
and will spin these tales to anyone who will lend an ear.
Noah was excited about the birth of Mia a year ago and participated in her care. But he
occasionally shows signs of jealousy, such as taking his sister's toys. He is also showing
regressive behavior (e.g. clinging, throwing temper tantrums and thumb sucking). - get Noah
involved with taking care of Mia
Noah is no longer having problems behaving poorly in restaurants. You are relieved, and
you begin to fade out the rewards that you gave Noah for good behavior in restaurants, but
make sure to remind him of the rules and to praise good behavior.
A bit distractible - get down to his eye level to make sure hes paying attention and praise
him
Introduce Noah to some new computer games involving counting and reasoning - play with
him when possible
Noah has a best-friend - invite the friend over for activities
Encourage gender-neutral activities if he likes them
Noah is getting rigid about gender role - model gender neutral behaviour to time and take
about gender roles
Not great at reading - likes art and maths - affectionate and disciplined
5
good first day of school - was tired afterwards - played with people
Has made friends at school - can follow rules
Concentrate on developing cog skills - reading, maths and playing games
Having trouble reading - help him using alphabet apps, sound-learning apps and books
Average at maths so you encourage interest in science and maths with everyday activities
6
There are a variety of approaches to the study of individual differences in
cognitive ability. Three areas that are commonly assessed by current cognitive
abilities tests are verbal ability, spatial ability, and logical-mathematical ability.
Howard Gardner's multiple intelligences approach added additional domains of
intelligence based on developmental and neuropsychological evidence: musical
ability, physical/athletic ability, intrapersonal skill (understanding of the self and
others, theory of mind), interpersonal skill (social competence, perspective
taking), and more recently, naturalistic intelligence (understanding of the natural
world). In the program, levels of verbal, spatial, logico-mathematical, musical
and bodily-kinesthetic ability are influenced by your questionnaire responses.
These abilities can be changed slowly by a large number of environmental
factors.The behavior of the child at any given point is consistent with the child's
developmental level. For example, a child with high musical ability in middle childhood will
be enthusiastic and talented in the school instrumental program, a child with average
musical ability will take up an instrument, learn something about music, but not become
accomplished at it, and a child with low musical ability will be uninterested in playing an
instrument and unable to carry a tune. Another example is that children who are low in
verbal ability go through the language milestones (such as speaking in grammatical
sentences) at a slower rate, and have lower interest in reading and lower reading
comprehension later in childhood, than children of average or above average ability.The
student parent has choices whether to push the child in each ability domain, and in some
cases this can result in steady progress. Intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligence are
captured by underlying variables in the program such as attachment security, emotionality,
peer competence, self control, and the three personality types. These aspects of the child are
also influenced somewhat by your questionnaire responses, and can change in response to
cumulative effects of social experiences and parenting choices.

Noahs best friend moved away - he is claiming to have no friends but this isn't
what is teacher says

Noah seems to be generally very responsible and helpful, but sometimes he is

busy playing when it is time for homework, dinner, bath or bed, and he doesn't
want to stop the activity. You have usually given him "5 minutes" to finish up and
he has been very cooperative about it. - start giving him chores
Can hold a convo - has great vocab - read him 3rd grade level books

Noah has joined choir - but he cant hold a tune

Occasional bed wetting - calm him and make him help with the cleaning up
Trouble reading - is behind and cant read a book by himself - get some fun games and
computer programs that teach phonological awareness
Good memory - still having trouble telling cohesive stories
A bit distractible - help him with homework and reward him
Fish dies - becomes aware of mortality - comfort him - tell him that people live longer than
fish
Average at science and maths - start doing experiments with him to get him interested
Starting playing swimming and water polo
Noah is about ready to finish first grade. Both parents are working full-time now, and
Noah's sister is in preschool.

8
Your favorite uncle had a heart attack last month and is recuperating at home after heart-
bypass surgery. You have been busy helping your aunt with chores, errands, and the kids'
activities (they have a 12- and a 15-year old child). Noah and his sister have been less
cooperative, more moody at home, and have even had a few problems with friends in
school.
Play with Mia - supply with with material to build outdoor forts - volunteer to help
Wasnt great at water polo or swimming but continues swimming - liked the social aspect
Noah is now more interested in maths because of a good 3rd grade teacher - help him with
homework and puzzles and do science experiments
Understands what is expect of him and follows rules - give him more responsibilities
If sad comfort him and let him know that he can talk about it
Is a daydreamer - teach him time management
get a puppy
did a hip hop routine - still cant sing
encourage noah to play with Mia
sign him up for painting classed because he likes craft
joins a tape book club - continue to read to him because he struggles
NOAH HAS A READING DISABILITY - IS GETTING 1 HOUR A DAY OF SMALL-GROUP
INSTRUCTION - USE FLASH CARDS AT HOME, QUIZZES, PHONICS COMPUTER GAMES AND
CONTINUE READING BOOKS OF INTEREST
Not liking maths too much - use science experiments to teach him the importance of maths
(because he loves science)
Not fat but begin to control what he eats because he eats a lot
Noah is cheating less often at games (or has gotten sneakier about it!), but recently he has
been lying about things that happen at school, or blaming messes on his sister. You realize
that Noah is still at the preconventional level of moral development. You tell Noah stories
or fables about people who lied ("The Boy Who Cried Wolf"), and talk about how people
feel when other people lie to them. When Noah does occasionally confess, you praise him
for telling the truth.
The psychologist gave you and the teacher a questionnaire on behavior and attentional
problems, and reported that Noah showed borderline high scores on the inattentiveness
scale. impulsivity and hyperactivity were within the normal range. The psychologist noted
that Noah maintained concentration pretty well throughout the exam, and only occasionally
seemed to respond slowly or to be lost in thought.
10
Noah is very enthusiastic about both science and math this year - new science program in
5th grade
Noah fell off a skateboard onto a retaining wall and hit his head pretty hard. He
lost consciousness and you rushed him to the emergency room. Noah woke up
after 30 minutes but was very weak, in pain and throwing up. After over a day of
testing, the neurologist comes to you with some bad news. Noah has sustained a
closed head injury to the left hemisphere and is expected to have some
significant learning and concentration difficulties for at least a while. The extent
of problems is uncertain, although the neuropsychological testing indicates a
drop in cognitive abilities. They will follow up with further testing every 3 months
or so. Fortunately there is no paralysis and only minor speech and motor
disability. keep in regular classroom but arrange after school tutoring to help
keep up with work (stay with friends)
educate him in arguments

popular with other people - has a lot of after school activities - allow for friends to come
over

Noah's fifth grade class is just about to leave on the fifth grade science camp trip (a week
spent in cabins in the mountains). The fifth grade teachers have been preparing the kids for
weeks, alternating with each other in the teaching of science units on ecology, astronomy,
geology, botany and zoology. The kids are also learning all of the rules of camp (they will
have to keep their cabin clean, wash dishes, turn the lights out at 9, etc). This is Noah's first
extended stay away from home. Noah has been very involved in gathering all of the
clothes, supplies, etc he will need for the trip, and is enthusiastic about most of the science
topics. You figure it will be a great hands-on science experience and a good life-experience
as well.

Invite boys and girls over - boys are more tolerant of girls now

Noah has been invited to place an artwork in the art fair - raise his allowance to motivate
him to but art supplies

Has trouble remembering and managing assignments and also daydreams - tighten up on
time and behaviour management and communicate more with the school

Noah's reading, spelling, and writing skills have improved to within one year of grade level
thanks to intensive training in these skill areas at school and after-school. You are pleased
and you think this has helped his self esteem. However, he still struggles to keep up with the
increased reading demands in fifth grade, especially his history and science books. The
school recently asked you if Noah could move out of the special education sessions to make
way for students with more serious problems - keep him in the special education program -
continue tutoring - continue helping with homework in fun ways

Resistant to cold - talk to him about how to avoid the flu

Is conscientious with homework - praise him, monitor his schedule so he doesnt get
stressed and provide mild reminders if he lapses

Chooses to play basketball - still swimming

Loves telling stories, great vocab and memory - encourage him to write his stories down and
read them to the family (they are very funny and insightful)

Noah and Mia are fighting verbally and physically - separate them for 10 minutes and then
let them play together again if they do so calmly

Struggles with wordy maths problems - empower him with sample problems and clear up
misunderstanding and encourage him to complete problems on his own

Transitioning into middle school - Noah is nervous but excited

More chores for more money

11

He has become more interested in his appearance as a result of some compliments

from a girl in his grade (relayed through another girl, of course!) - give him more chores
so he can buy cool clothes

12

Noah is average in oral communication skills, and thanks to all of the remediation and
tutoring, he can now decode and read words at grade level. However, he is still a slow
reader, and struggles with spelling and writing. You still find it necessary to take Noah
to a tutor, especially for writing, and this, combined with your help at home on the
word processor, has enabled Noah to do well in English and History this year.

Lately Noah has his ups and downs, sometimes coming home from school cheerful and
friendly, and sometimes sullen and cranky. When he is sullen and cranky, he either
plays video games or shuts himself up in his room - give him more chores to keep him
occupied

Noah is hanging out at school and after school with a different group, and you are not sure
why. These kids seem to be less academically engaged, and it is having an impact on
Noah's attitudes toward schoolwork. This is frustrating because you can't do much to
change Noah's friends. All you can do is emphasize the value of schoolwork and provide
alternative activities to keep Noah busy after school, but this is difficult because Noah isn't
interested in some of the activities you suggest and just shrugs when you ask what HE
would like to try. You hope this phase passes soon!
Dawdles at chores - give him money based on the chores he completes

Noah began to argue with you and your partner more in 7th grade. He argues mostly about clothes,
bedtime, and chores, but otherwise you get along pretty well. You renegotiate household rules
more with Noah than you used to, and make reasonable concessions, such as a later bedtime in
exchange for more chores.

Noah is self confident and relaxed in social situations. He has some close friends, seems to be
somewhat of a leader in the group, and is not pushy or overbearing - joins teams and scouts

Wants a racy misogynistic video game - make him pay for it, express disapproval and ensure it is
not played in front of his sister

Buy healthy snacks because he is a hungry boy

Noah is getting sassy - laugh along with him but clarify views and rules

Noah needs braces - discuss positive point with him

Noah has nearly fully recovered from the brain injury two years ago. The only remaining
effect seems to be a slight slurring of speech, but the speech therapist thinks it may go
away in time - encourage him to join debating

Noah talks quite often about what is "fair" and "not fair", and you realize he is developing
some moral principles. His concerns are focused on very specific things people he knows
say and do, rather than incidents in the news or aspects of society - having moral
discussions, asking his opinion, sharing experiences

Noah is doing OK in English, social studies, math and science but is not outstanding in any
one area this year. He acts bored or angry when you try to talk about it or help him with
homework assignments - arrange tutoring and encourage him to develop his interests

Noah has been putting comments on an internet application where other students can
respond with their own comments but not reveal their identities. He got burst out with
"what a jerk!!" recently when someone made some negative comments about his clothing.
He was upset about it for a while but called a friend and soon they were deep in
conversation about how to get revenge - tell Noah that the person is mean and has no
friends

Noah occasionally gets bored over the summer, and doesn't initially seem to like any of
your suggestions about what to do, but you notice he starts in on some of them later as if it
was his own idea. He usually is anxious to show you the latest results on his project when
you come home from work. You have a little lighter work schedule over the summer, and
are able to take Noah and his sister out to the movies or for dessert on some weeknights.
You also plan some interesting outings and a couple of 3-day weekends, as well as a short
family vacation relaxing at the beach.

13

about to start high school - try to increase interest in bio

is nervous

Noah recently said that you are more supportive and approving of him than the
average parent. He adds "and you're more strict than the average parent."

14

Noah came home yesterday very upset, and when you finally got him to talk, you
found out that he had an fight with one friend, and is being ostracized by most of his
other friends. You try to comfort him but nothing seems to work.

Noah has a couple of grades that are below his ability level in a couple of subjects in the
current progress report. You think his study habits need improvement. You let Noah
experience the consequences of the first poor progress report and then arrange a talk with
a favorite teacher about study habits.

You hear Noah talking to one of his friends on his cell about a party he has been planning to
go to this weekend. You overhear something about some kind of game (you don't
recognize the name) but it sounds sexual in nature. You had already agreed to let Noah go
to this party until 11 PM, but now you are having second thoughts. - call parent to make
sure there is supervision

Noah wants to shave - your brother shows him how to shave

Occasional arguments but get along fairly well

The transition to high school is occasionally stressful for Noah. He sometimes gets angry or
rebellious. Usually it is because of something hurtful a friend said or because of problems in
school, such as lost homework. Usually he retreats to his room - listen, share similar story
and laugh

Reading/watching porn - talk openly about sex and sexual issues, even if it is embarrassing
for Noah - he need to know it is ok to communicate

Discus laws and morality - give him hypothetical situations

Encourage independence by allowing Noah to plan his schedule - but still have a set curfew

Noah mentions that he had a long conversation with another student on a bus about all
kinds of issues on which they disagreed, such as religion and politics. Noah listened to the
other person's point of view, but when he came home, he wanted to tell you all about his
own viewpoints - expose Noah to different viewpoints to encourage him to be more open
minded

16

Your partner was laid off due to an economic slowdown and you are not making enough
money to support the family fully. You love your house and neighborhood and vow to stay
on.

However, this means cutting corners on all non-essentials. There have been arguments
about the most trivial things at home. Possibly as a result of this, Noah is having some
trouble with friends and his grades have been suffering a bit.

Noah is occasionally moody due to fatigue or things that happen outside the home.

When this happens, you say something sympathetic and make it clear that you are
available to talk, but don't press anything on him.

He has started to enjoy cycling and is saving up to buy a good bike.

deferred uni because of finances, and took up part time work

As Noah heads into his next set of adventures, you reflect on your relationship with him at
this point in both of your lives.

You've managed to be an excellent parent in terms of both discipline and warmth. Noah is
very close to both parents now, but of the two, he is closer to you. He seeks out your advice
on important issues or questions that are a bit beyond his experience.