Child Development Case Study

Felicia Samuel
20 July 2015
Case Study #1
Case Study Introduction I am conducting my case study on a two in a half year old African American child that attends a daycare center in the upstate. The child will turn 3 years old on September 14, 2015. The child’s father works at a welding facility and the mother is a clerk. Because this is the only child, he is the center of attention to both his parents and grandparents alike. The commute for his parents was an hour each way so they decided to move closer to their jobs. They moved to the city in early July. It will be interesting to see how this impacts the child’s development because he has now moved from the country to the upstate.
Cameron’s Physical Development Talking with the child’s mother,
The child’s cognitive development has been normal for his age. The mother had no prenatal complications. He began talking around 11 months and his first word was bye-bye. According to his mother, the child began to pick up new words quickly and said dada and papa soon afterwards. He spoke mama later (mother, 2015). I feel that children usually speak their first word between the ages of ten months and fourteen months. According to my notes on sensorimotor stage, I feel that the child is close to the end of Piaget’s sensorimotor stage. This means that he understands object permanence and his language development is rapidly growing. He is able to use words to express his wants. For example, at lunch time I observed the child asking for more cookies and milk. He is able to speak in short sentences and ask questions. The child is able to tell you what he is doing and will ask what you are doing because he is curious. The child enjoys tractor books and gets excited about each one. He has no difficulty answering yes or no questions.
Cameron’s Emotional/ Social
I had the opportunity to observe the child and spend time with other children as well ranging in age six months to three years old. I normally do not have the opportunity to observe the way I did in this case, so I absolutely enjoyed this great experience. I love being able to experience things through the eyes of a young child. While I was observing I saw that the teachers had to complete daily information sheets on every student to keep the parents informed about what their child did. For example, the sheet included a spot to say what the toddlers worked on in class. This is a great way to help open communication among the parents and teachers. Depending on what grade I teach I might be able to implement a similar system into my classroom. I think that communication with parents is essential when teaching children. It allows for the parents to know what is going on in the classroom and what their children are learning. I had an incredible time with my observation and to be able to take the time to be with children which is my passion for doing so. During my childhood, I did not have the proper teachers that children have today. For instance, my teachers back then never had the type of creativity we have today. It was more learning instead of having that creativity while you were being taught. I feel that creativity