Part A (50 points)

Emotional
1a. Record an objective observation of a display of fear or anger (include
exact age of child and setting).
In this video, a 13 month old girl is angry because she does not want to
stop walking and playing in order to have her diaper changed. The child is
in what appears to be a bedroom with a tan carpet. There is a wicker
basket filled to the brim with stuffed animals in the corners and other toys
scattered all throughout the room. The child displays her anger through
crying, whaling, turning away from her mother, and continually attempting
to get away from her mother’s grasp.
1b. How is this handled by the caregiver?
The caregiver (in this case the child’s mother) handles the child’s anger by
speaking to her in a calm and steady voice. She talks the child through the
entire experience and empathizes with the child’s anger. She states things
such as “I’m sorry- I know that you are going to get angry but you must be
changed because you are dirty.” and “If you help me we can change you
quickly.” The mother remains calm and communicates with the child
throughout the entire process. When the child is finally changed, the
mother playfully helps her back to her feet and explains that they can now
fold and dispose of the dirty diaper.
1c. Was the response appropriate or inappropriate? Why or why not?
I feel that the caregivers response was appropriate because she
empathized with the child’s emotions. She did not take the child’s anger
and protest personally, and she did not punish the child for expressing their
emotions. Instead, the caregiver explained that she knew the child was
upset and why and explained why she still needed to change her diaper.
She remained calm and in control despite the child remaining upset
throughout the process, and kept the child involved through to the very last
step where she explained they can finally throw the dirty diaper away.
2a. Using the nine temperament traits, observe and give examples of
EACH in ONE child (you may need to interview the caregiver/parent to
answer some). (Include exact age of child and setting)
I observed my 3 year old nephew in his bedroom for this evaluation. His
bedroom is carpeted with a wooden dresser filled with clothing. His bed is
against one wall and there are several stuffed animals piled on top of the
mattress. On the opposite wall next to the dresser, there is a large bin
overflowing with toys. There are mega bloks, super hero action figures,
plastic dinosaurs, toy cars of various sizes, toy swords, toy trains, and a
medium sized bouncy ball. There are also a few coloring books and
crayons scattered on top of his dresser.
Activity Level: The child was very active during this observation. They
constantly picked up toys, showed them to them enthusiastically, played for
a few minutes, and then switched to another game.
Rhythmicity: The child, according to their mother, does not follow a
predictable schedule.
Approach-Withdrawal: According to their mother, the child is very
enthusiastic about new experiences and new people. They enjoy testing
their own limits and are a bit of a “dare-devil.”
Adaptability: According to their mother, the child is very adaptable. They
enjoy making friends.
Attention Span: I observed the child switching from one activity to the next
in quick succession. The longest time spent on one activity was
approximately 6 minutes.
Intensity of Reaction: I observed the child laughing heartily and loudly when
they did something they found amusing with their dinosaur. They placed a
dinosaur on top of a truck and pushed in forward causing a crash where the
dinosaur flew aways across the room.
Threshold of Responsiveness: The child did not seem to notice anything
during our playtime interaction. I made noises and dialogue as we played
with trains and superheroes, but the child did not seem distressed.
Distractibility: I observed that the child was fairly distractible. At one point
while playing with trains, a dog began to bark in the living room and he
insisted on seeing what was happening. At another time the child was
building with mega bloks when I had picked up a toy sword. His attention
instantly went to the sword and he wanted to have a sword fight
abandoning his mega bloks.
Quality of Mood: I observed that the child was in a pleasant mood. They
were frequently giggling, hopping, twirling, climbing, and smiling throughout
my observation. The mother confirmed that the child has a generally happy
disposition.
2b. In which of the 3 temperament categories would you place this child
and why?
I would personally place this child within the easy, flexible temperament
category. I would select this category because the child exemplified a
positive mood, adaptability, and approachability. These traits were also
confirmed during my interview with the child’s mother.
2c. What advice might you give to the caregiver/parent of this child based
on your assessment?
I would give this child’s parent the advice to work towards creating a more
structured schedule for this child. Although they are joyful, the child is
naturally all over the page and could benefit from a routine in their home.
Beyond this, I would suggest the mother do different activities (reading
books, practicing writing, drawing, ect.) with the child and to see if the child
can attend to these tasks for at least 8 minutes. Over time she can increase
the time in order to help with the child’s focus.

Part B
Social
1. Record an objective observation of a child displaying Erikson’s “trust vs.
mistrust” (identify the exact age of the child and whether positive or
negative)
In this video, I observed a 30 month old girl exploring a clown pop-up toy
with her mother. The mother prompted the child to make the clown come
out and the child obliged. When the clown finally popped up the child
gasped in fear and slightly jumped back exclaiming “I’m scared mommy.”
The mother calmly explained that it was just a little toy clown and that they
could put it away. The mother put the clown back in the box and
demonstrated how to make it pop up again. This time when the clown
popped out, the child laughed instead of gasping. The child once again said
“I’m scared mommy” and the mother calmly explained that it is just a toy
with a little nose and red cheeks. The child said “okay” and then decided to
put the clown away themselves. I believe this is a positive example of trust
vs mistrust because the child was initially afraid to be near the toy. After the
mother’s responses, the child was less frightened and willing to interact
with the toy once again.
2. Record an objective observation of a child displaying Erikson’s
“Autonomy vs. shame and doubt” (identify the exact age of the child and
whether positive or negative).
In this video, I observed a 19 month old child as they attempted to put
cream cheese onto a bagel. The child used their limited fine motor abilities
to scrape a butter knife into a small bucket of cream cheese. The mother
assisted by holding the bagel still and encouraging the child. At one point
the child got stuck, and the mother offered brief hand over hand assistance.
Afterwards, the child once again attempted to spread cream cheese onto
the bagel while the mother held it flat. The mother suggested that the child
turn the knife another way but did not interfere with the child’s attempts at
spreading the cream cheese. I would say this was a positive example of
autonomy vs shame because the child was insistent upon completing this
task on their own. The mother provided very limited assistance and the
child continually attempted their task.
3a. Record an objective observation of a guidance situation between
caregiver and child (due to individual action). Give the exact age of the
child.
In this video, I observed a 3 year old boy in his classroom playing with a toy
next to his teacher. The child wanted a toy (a plastic fireman) that his
classmate was playing with at the time. The child became upset that they
could not have the toy right away and they began to cry incessantly. The
teacher then intervened to validate the child’s feelings and to help them find
a solution.
3b. How is this handled by the caregiver? Was the response appropriate
or inappropriate? Why?
In this situation, the caregiver started by calmly asking the child how they
felt, why they felt that way, and empathizing with their feelings. Next, she
asked the child with the fireman toy to come over and to explain that they
would share the toy when they were done playing. This did not work to
pacify the crying child so the teacher continued to validate the child’s
emotions and reiterating that they have to wait for their turn although
waiting is hard.
The teacher offered to hold the child but the child did not want to be held.
Then, the teacher asked the child if they would like to talk to their
classmate with the fireman toy to see if they would be done soon. The child
agreed, and they walked to the classmate with the fireman toy. The teacher
attempted to facilitate a dialogue, asking the crying child to explain why
they felt they needed that particular toy. The classmate still insisted that
they were not done playing with the fireman toy, and the other child
continued to cry in frustration.
Finally, the teacher walked the child to the other plastic toys. She picked
them up one by one and asked if they would be suitable to play with. The
child said no to every option. This prompted the teacher to suggest they
find a different toy like the dump truck to play with while he continued to
wait for the fireman toy. The child slowly calmed down and agreed to use
the dump truck.
I think that this response was very appropriate. The teacher was calm
throughout the entire interaction. She empathized with the child’s
feelings,however, she still gave the child limitations. She did not allow the
child to take the toy from their classmate and reiterated the fact that they
would need to wait their turn. She also helped the child to express their
feelings, and offered several potential solutions. The child was allowed to
choose how to handle their feelings, and eventually reached a solution.

4a. Record an objective observation of a guidance situation between two

children (due to interaction between children). Give the exact age of
children, both must be in the appropriate age range for assignment.
For this observation, I was able to view a video sent by my friend. In this
video, there are two children that are half siblings. The children are both 2
years of age. The video begins with one child crying loudly while the other
is standing nearby. The context I was given is that the child standing to the
side pushed the other child over because they were arguing over
something. The caregiver (in this case the mother) is asking the child
standing to the side why they pushed their brother. The child attempts to
explain but the mother interjects and tells them that it is not okay to hurt
people. She then tells the child to apologize to their crying sibling. The child
quietly utters “sorry” and the mother ends the video.
4b. How is this handled by the caregiver? Was the response appropriate
or inappropriate? Why?
The caregiver did not ask the children any clarifying questions. She
stepped in and guided one child to apologize for their actions. I think that
this was a somewhat inappropriate response. Making children apologize is
not very effective. They are learning to please you and to follow instructions
but they are not truly learning empathy or analyzing the situation. Young
children do not fully understand their own emotions let alone the emotions
of others. They are also still learning about the consequences of their
actions. When conflict arises, children need time to reflect on their feelings,
others feelings, and their actions. If you step in and take control of a
situation between two children you are disrupting their ability to truly learn
from the situation.