Child Evaluation, Research Paper Example

Introduction

The child I chose for this assignment is toddler Joey, my older sister’s baby. He is 3 years old, bought up in the family that is very close to me. The child has straight dark hair and brown eyes, small nose and proportional face. Joey grows up in what can be called a truly nuclear family: the child’s parents and grandparents live under the same roof. Overall, the environment at home is rather friendly and positive: no serious conflicts are present; all of the family members are friendly with one another and try to provide the best possible care and attention to the child. Overall Joey seems to be growing up in a very positive atmosphere. I chose this child, as he is my nephew and it would be rather convenient to observe him. Besides, I already know the kid fairly well, so I hope I will be able to produce an adequate, objective report.

Physical and Motor

The child is well developed for his age: height is 70 cm, weight around 12 kilograms. Large and small muscle development is normal for the age: Joey is walking, running and jumping freely. In fact, he is very movable and active. The child also enjoys climbing up and downstairs. Small muscle development is harder to trace at this age: precise motor activities are not really expected. Joey tries to draw with crayons, but the pictures definitely make no sense. The child is able to almost entirely dress himself: easily puts on pants and T-shirts, but struggles with buttons and zippers and is surely not able to tie the shoelaces. This is considered a norm for toddlers under three years old.

Motor areas are normal: the child has well-developed large motor areas, as he easily performs all of the activities related to them: climbing, running, jumping, and crawling. Small motor areas are still forming and developing, as Joey struggles with precise movements.

Joey is a relatively healthy child and seldom gets sick. No inherited or chronic diseases are observed, the kid has been sick several times, a simple cold, but nothing more serious. Until the age of one year Joey only consumed breast milk, later on caught up with light porridges and fruit (apples, oranges, etc). No malfunctions with the digestion system have been detected. The child usually eagerly eats whatever he is offered. Joey grows at a regular speed for his age: he was born 50 cm, 3,5 kilos; was 65 cm and 8 kilos; he is 3 years old and weighs 10 kilos with the height of 70 cm. The weight-height balance at this age is definitely within the medical norms.

Cognitive

Child is learning relatively fast for his age and is already capable of a number of activities that are not expected at his age. Joey knows and actively uses over 70 words, including verbs and adjectives. His speech is clear without any mumbling. The kid certainly mispronounces some words, but that is also rather normal for toddlers. Joey can form simple sentences up to four words, which describe the state of reality around him.

Visual memory is also being developed: the child knows most of letters in the alphabet, is capable of reading several words and recognizes the basic colors. Kid enjoys listening to fairy tails and playing with simple puzzles. Joey understands English language well and eagerly answers simple questions. Movable games certainly are favorite ones: Joey enjoys running in the backyard, playing with balloons, hide-and-seek. Child also likes watching cartoons and looking at pictures in the children’s books. It is hard to say which activities the kid enjoys most, as he seems to have equal liking of several ones.

Such development is actually slightly ahead of the basic norms, but not much. The children of 3 years old are expected to know several words and be able to pronounce them, building simple phrases, but forming sentences of 4-5 words is not really expected.

Socio-Emotional

Joey does not attend pre-school yet and stays at home with his mother, who temporarily does not work and takes care of the child. Therefore, the kid mostly interacts with the family: mother, father, grandfather and grandmothers. Joey eagerly plays with all persons mentioned above, respects the authority of the older ones and seldom argues.

Joey does not like to share some of his toys, especially the ones he likes most. But after he is kindly asked to “just look at the toy” he usually gives it up normally. Child does not cry too often and can be talked into reasonable activities (when he needs to go to sleep, eat, or take a bath). He is socializing with other children on the playground without any problems: Joey does not fight or take the toys from the other kids. Joey is a very positive kid; he laughs a lot, likes active games and happily talks to the people around. This seems to be characteristics of the secure and happy person.

Family or Home Factors

The family conditions are very positive: the family is full and both father and mother take active part in bringing up the child. Mother and grandmother are home most of the time and the child is not lonely. No unusual stressful conditions are present.

Conclusion

To sum up, I would like to say that Joey is a happy and secure child who develops and grows fast. The fact that the family cares about the child so much and does its best to educate him, explains the fact that he is absolutely normal and healthy and is slightly ahead in development than most kids of his age.