Running Head: CHILD STUDY

Child Study
Melinda Dwyer
Ivy Tech Community College

CHILD STUDY
The subject I observed is six years old girl. She was born on June 2, 2009.

2
She lives

with her father and mother. She is the only child. They have four pets. The cat is named Kiby.
The three rats are named; Spice, Butter, and Cream.
Parents married in 2006 after a year of courting. For the most part the pregnancy was an
easy one. But, at 34 weeks gestational the subject was delivered because she stopped growing in
utero. She was born 5 lbs 9 oz. After deliver when she was only three weeks old her mother
went into heart failure and was extremely sick. Thankfully she recovered. The subject was fed
formula during her infancy. She has attended three separate daycares since born. She attended
Little Angels when she was a newborn until two years old. She attended Friendship Baptist
Church Daycare from two years old until five. She returns every year for the churchs summer
program. She is currently attending a before and after school home daycare (not at my home).
She attends first grade at Clark Elementary School.
During the school week she wakes up at 7:15am. The subjects mother reports that she
usually wakes up easily. The subject does not have any food allergies. But, is cutting back on
dairy milk products. She likes to eat either a breakfast cookie or a Fiber bar. The subject dresses
herself and brushes her own teeth. She is learning responsibility when it comes to carrying for
her pets and to the care of her eye glasses. Her parents usually pack her a healthy lunch for
school. She goes to school on a school bus. During the evening her father usually cooks and the
family eats dinner together. But, on occasions they go out to eat at their favorite restaurant,
Panera. In the evening she goes to bed at 8:30pm. She always sleeps with her special favorite
toy/s, 4 Annies. Her beloved 4 Annies are very special to her. The Annies are the exact same
doll that she has collected over the years. The subjects mother sings to her almost every night.

CHILD STUDY

The subject and parents were interviewed in January 2016. Her physical, emotional,
social and cognitive skills were observed in months following. The subject is 49 or 41 tall
and weighs 61 lbs. According to those numbers and the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, 2009 she is in the 75 percentile in height and
90% percentile in weight. The subject is very friendly. She currently plays outside with a couple
of the neighborhood girls. One of her best friends is also in the first grade. Currently, the subject
does not play in any organized sports. According to my research and observations she does not
have any issues with large motor of fine motor physical milestones. The subject did have
incorrect form while performing push-ups. She had correct handwriting form and was able to
write letters on the lines. The subject was able to draw 2D shapes, but was unable to draw 3D
shapes (pyramid, cube, and cylinder). This all appears to be developmentally appropriate for her
age.
The subjects emotional, social and cognitive development seems to also be
developmentally appropriate or slightly above average for her age. The subject tells and retells
stories and events in a logical order. She is able to express ideas with a variety of complete
sentences. And she also uses most parts of speech (grammar) correctly. The subject starts
conversations, stays on topic, and take turns in conversation. The subject is able to identify
letters, words, and sentences. She can also identify all sounds in short words. She knows how a
book works (e.g., read from left to right and top to bottom in English) and is able to read. She
struggled on only a few grade appropriate sight words. She also struggled with sentence
structure and spelling. The subject does speak in highly complex sentences.

CHILD STUDY

I believe the subject is in the Eriksons Psychosocial Stage 4- Industry vs. Inferiority
(Ormrod, 2014). This stage is developmentally age appropriate for elementary students (Ormrod,
2014). This stage covers the early school years from approximately age five to eleven. Through
social interactions, children begin to develop a sense of pride in their accomplishments and
abilities. The student has begun to demonstrate industry by being diligent, persevering at tasks
until completed, and putting work before pleasure. She finds pleasure and confidence in her
capabilities of meeting others expectations. I witnessed her competency had contentment in
physical and academic accomplishments during our testing.
According to Piagets Cognitive Theory, I believe the subject is in the concrete stage of
development (McLeod, 2010). During testing she was able to understand that something stays
the same in quantity even though its appearance changes. She was able to understand that
redistributing materials does not affect its mass, number, volume, or length.
I would recommend that the subject continue to grow in all areas and continue to be
proud of herself. Concerning her large motor skills, I would suggest learning proper push-up
form and regularly jump roping with two feet on the same time. Concerning fine motor skills I
would recommend practice drawing three dimensional objects (pyramid, cube, and cylinder).
Concerning cognitive development I suggest the subject practice her writing. She has strong
verbal sentence structure/grammar. But, she could practice writing proper sentence structure
such as (capitalization, punctuation marks, and spelling). I was very blessed to have learned
more about this smart, kind, beautiful, happy and healthy 6 year old little girl.

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Developmental Charts:
I have organized these charts to record my observations on the subject in each area. I
have placed a
placed a

in either the 1, 2, 3, or 4 column. If the subject is not able to achieve goal I

in the column marked 1. If the subject was able to achieve the goal with leading I

placed the

in the column marked 2. If the subject was able to achieve the goal without leading

I placed the

in the column marked 3. If the subject was above average at achieving the goal I

placed the

in the column marked 4.

Physical Milestones
(Large Motor)
Run
Hop
Jump
Leap
Slide
Gallop
Skip
Combination of 2 above
Kicking
Throwing
Catching
Somersault
Flight (hop, hop, hop,
somersault, run, & slide)
4-10 Push ups
4-14 Crunches
Understand fitness benefits
Jump rope

Physical Milestones
(Fine Motor)
Draw a picture
Shapes

Scissors
Letters
Buttons
Zippers
Laces
Tie a knot and bow
Numbers

Comment

Was successful once demonstrated.

Was successful once demonstrated.
Was successful once demonstrated.
Overhand
Was very successful
Subject used incorrect form. She used core area only.
Can jump rope one foot at a time. Tried to jump with both
feet at the same time.
2

Comment
Scribble writing.
Subject was successful with 2D. Subject needed
assistance with 3D.
Subject uses correct form. Letters are nice and neat.

CHILD STUDY
Cognitive Milestones
Remembers information
Responds to instructions
Follows 2-3 step directions in
a sequence
Easily understood when
speaking
Answer more complex
"yes/no" questions
Tells and retells stories and
events in a logical order
Expresses ideas with a
variety of complete sentences
Uses most parts of speech
(grammar) correctly
Asks and responds to "wh"
questions (who, what, where,
when, why)
Stays on topic and take turns
in conversation
Start conversations
Create rhyming words
Identify all sounds in short
words
Blend separate sounds to
form words
Know how a book works
(e.g., read from left to right
and top to bottom in English)
Identify letters, words, and
sentences
Sound out words when
reading
Have a sight vocabulary of
100 common words
Understand what is read
Express ideas through
writing
Print clearly
Spell frequently used words
correctly
Begin each sentence with
capital letters and use ending
punctuation

8
1

Comment

Bat, Mat, & Cat

Only missed a few.

With leading
Very nice handwriting
Subject missed (her & name)
Rats name (Spice)
Subject did not always use capitalization at the beginning
of the sentence. Subject did not always use punctuation at
the end of the sentence. Subject did not always use
capitalization at the beginning of a name.

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References

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11

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. (2009).
Retrieved April 25, 2016, from http://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/clinical_charts.htm
Erikson's psychosocial development. (n.d.). Retrieved April 27, 2016, from
https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/mcat/individuals-and-society/selfidentity/v/eriksons-psychosocial-development
Fine Motor Skills in First Grade - Smart First Graders. (n.d.). Retrieved April 27, 2016, from
http://www.smartfirstgraders.com/fine-motor-skills.html
First Grade. (n.d.). Retrieved April 27, 2016, from
http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/firstgrade/
McLeod, Saul (2010), Concrete Stage. Retrieved April 25, 2016, from
http://www.simplypsychology.org/preoperational.html
Ormrod, J. E. (2014). Educational Psychology: Developing Learners, Eighth Edition. Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
Physical Development Milestones: 1st Grade. (n.d.). Retrieved April 27, 2016, from
http://www.education.com/magazine/article/First_Grader_Able_To/
Understanding Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development. (n.d.). Retrieved April 27, 2016,
from https://www.verywell.com/erik-eriksons-stages-of-psychosocial-development2795740