My Virtual Child, Essay Example

My virtual child is male, and I have named him Alexander. He is currently 12 years old, and throughout the process of raising Alexander, he has gone through a change in appearance and behavior over time. The change in appearance has been evident in his maturing body, where he is starting to have broad shoulders and having different taste in clothes (Özdemir, Utkualp & Pallo?, 2016). Moreover, he starts to show a change in voice and body shape. His voice begins to deepen while his chest also broadens. Alexander has displayed good progress in most of the developmental domains, most notably social, cognitive and emotional. One of my favorite interactions with Alexander is when we get to spend time together watching or even talking about life. For instance, when we get to discuss an interesting article or an online news magazine.

During this timeframe, Alexander is having problems with classroom behavior and fights with his friends. This change in behavior seems to be because of puberty, which causes mood swings and aggression. Moreover, his attentiveness to studies is a bit distracted from the changing behaviors. The conflicts with friends also alleviated as Alexander wanted to portray superiority among his teens. Alexander’s development can be related to the behavioral development theory. The theory associates development and growth with how an individual interacts with the environment (Shute & Slee, 2015). In the case of my virtual child, I ensured that his associates and activities that he engaged in, contributed positively towards his personal growth.

During the age of 12 to 14 years, most teens experience significant social, emotional and physical changes(Stimson, 2018). In the period, a parent may note that their child has more attitude than normal and can be either social outgoing or withdrawal. Alexander has started developing physically since he has been experiencing mood swings and he does take lightly. Alexander and I used to do homework together when he was younger, but currently, he has lost interest in me helping him. Alexander is also disinterested, angry and bored when I try to engage in a conversation with him. Additionally, Alexander sometimes talks back at me, which at times is very annoying. His behavior is typical since most teenagers at his age experience major attitudes, talks back and their parents and some even use abusive language.

One of the main emotional problems every teenager experiences are engaging in unhealthy eating problems. He has also started to eat a lot, but unfortunately, he satisfies his hunger with Junk food. Therefore, as a concerned parent, I am trying to advocate for healthier snacks. I usually buy him healthy snacks at home. I have given him MyPlate, an app that will assist him in making healthier food choices. Other teens usually show less love towards their parents as they grow, a behavior that Alexander is exhibiting. He does not want to associate with me as often as he used to. He also portrays interest in a peer group. Currently, Alexander is seeking peer approval where he has enrolled in the online website to seek people who probably share the same interests as he does.  Alexander is also interested in current news and to encourage to grow the behavior I encourage him to watch more online news websites and national news.  Nonetheless, Alexander has not yet started noticing girls yet or feeling queer at the company of girls.

Alexander was affected by the separation that occurred in our family a few years ago. He depicts some problems that may be a part of the normal teenage hood. Nonetheless, some of the issues like getting into arguments and fighting with his friends are challenging for my ex and me to handle. Separation processes are usually hard especially for teenagers who are trying to mold their self-identity. Teens acts out through anger, withdrawal, lashing out and violence. Of late, Alexander has become withdrawn and he sometimes acts angry and lashes out at me.

The experience has been very informative yet challenging. Raising a child requires a lot of dedication and perseverance but my experience while raising Alexander has taught me that in every developmental stage, a child needs a different parenting style. I think that my constant encouragement, educating and advocating for proper nutrition are some of the tips I will use when raising my children. I have also learned that my decisions do ultimately affect the outcome of my child.

Actual child rearing and virtual child rearing are very similar, where both children develop at almost the same age. A child the same age as Alexander will start experiencing physical changes like mood swings, broad shoulders, change of voice texture, the growth of hairs among others (Driessen, 2003). A teenager is also prone to peer pressure or seeks peer approval a developmental stage that is similar in both sets. Emotional and cognitive development is also similar in the bot cases.

References

Driessen, G. (2003). Family and child characteristics, child-rearing factors, and cognitive competence of young children. Early Child Development and Care, 173(2-3), 323-339.

Özdemir, A., Utkualp, N., & Pallo?, A. (2016). Physical and Psychosocial Effects of the Changes in Adolescence Period. International Journal of Caring Sciences, 9(2), 717.

Shute, R. H., & Slee, P. T. (2015). Child development: Theories and critical perspectives.  Routledge.

Stimson, J. (2018). Public opinion in America: Moods, cycles, and swings. Routledge.