Critical Thinking and Assessment
For one to understand a child’s life stage and development, a sophisticated approach entailing cultural influences, theoretical frameworks, and personal differences is highly recommended. This is essential as it gives more profound insight, not only about the child but also into several deeper issues about human development like moral, social, emotional, and cognitive aspects. This paper critically assesses the growth and life stage of a 12-year-old child, with only an hour of interaction, in an attempt to better understand all the stages of development.
The choice of a child, who is our primary subject, was an intentional procedure that was meant to ensure a representative and diverse sample. While doing this, ethical considerations and privacy of the main subject were aligned with the requirements of this assignment. The child chosen for this assignment was a 12-year-old girl who was still in her junior educational level. The main reason for choosing her was that she was easily accessible, and her parents were more than willing for her to participate in this activity as they also wanted to understand their daughter well from a third-party perspective. Other than that, the child was very willing to participate and also aimed to achieve an impactful interaction from all this.
All in all, the ultimate purpose was to gather more insight into the child’s strengths, weaknesses, and general life experiences that could highly contribute to comprehensive life development. During my interaction, I took a holistic approach guided by various theories of development, which were proposed by Lawrence Kohlberg, Jean Piaget, and Erik Erikson. All this was with the aim of elucidating the complex interchange ranging from socialization, biological maturation, and environmental impacts on the life stages of the child. A deeper look into the cultural factors greatly aided in this interaction, as I was able to understand how different cultural practices affected the behavior and personal identity of the main subject.
As mentioned above, the subject was a female adolescent who resided with both parents, although the father was unemployed, while the other worked as a nurse. The father had been involved in a car accident that left him vulnerable and half-paralyzed, thus unable to continue with his previous work as a tutor. The accident had happened about five years ago, and due to the accruing hospital bills and maintenance costs, the family had spent most of their savings and left in a terrible state financially. The child’s body was a complete reflection of their current lifestyle; she was emaciated, and even her health was not really there. The child had been transferred from a boarding middle-class school to a less costly school that was just in the neighborhood. However, one positive thing about this family was how close they were to God; they were strong Christians who made sure they attended every church service. As a matter of fact, during weekends, the girl would be involved in various church programs like cleaning the church and even choir. This had made the child a firm believer in God and could be easily noticed by anyone, based on how she talked, dressed, and even her manners generally.
In an attempt to gather more information, especially considering the developmental theories of Kohlberg, Piaget, and Erikson, I went ahead and asked the child some personal questions. During our interaction, I asked the child about her friends, whom she liked to hang out with, and also went a step further to ask about their physical description. One thing I noticed that was similar among them was that all of them had dyed their hair. This was because they believed that that was the new trend and that they looked prettier in dyed hair. She went ahead to inform me that she dyed her because it made her comfortable, knowing she looked like her peers. According to Erikson’s theory of development, our subject was in the Industry Vs. The inferiority stage, where most of the subject’s decisions are influenced by her peers, who also significantly boost the self-esteem of the child. In this stage, the child also celebrates her little wins and successes (Friedman & Scholnick, 2022). For instance, the subject, through our interaction, had informed me about the trophy she had been awarded for being the best vocalist in her choir.
Piaget’s theory was one theory that was easily visible in our subject. The subject was a very bright girl in school, and even though the words she uttered, you could clearly tell that the subject was mature and clearly knew what she was doing and what she aimed to achieve in life. The subject informed me about her ambitions of becoming a registered nurse so that she could take care of patients, especially those with conditions related to her father. This made me very curious, and I decided to ask her about her father’s condition, what had changed during this period, and how it affected her. She informed me that at first, when the accident happened, she was younger, and it really affected her and even her grades in school. However, later on, as she continued growing up, she learned to accept that it was all God’s plan and that she thanked God that her father was still alive. That answer was so mature, and I hadn’t expected it at all. According to Piaget’s theory, it is very evident that the subject was in the formal operational stage, where she was able to reason logically and come up with upright conclusions and decisions (Unit, 2021).
As we continued with our interaction, I noticed that the subject had a few issues that she differed from her peers. I asked her about how she feels about the church and whether she goes to the same church with her peers. The subject went ahead to reveal that she goes to church every Sunday and that her relationship with God is very tight. She also confided in me how her peers lie to their parents that they go to church, yet they don’t. The subject stated that she cannot lie to her parents, and if she prefers to go somewhere, she would instead tell her parents the truth rather than lie. The only place she differs from her peers is on the issue of going to church. She states that she has tried on several occasions to change her peers’ opinions about going to church, but they would not listen to her. According to Kohlberg’s theory of morality, the subject is in level 3, the post-conventional morality, whereby individuals start accounting for different beliefs, opinions, and values of other people, especially people of the same age (Spielman, 2021). Kohlberg emphasizes more on moral reasoning, where a person should make personal decisions according to their own personal beliefs and values.
From a researcher’s perspective, the subject demonstrates a healthy development in several ways. First of all, in terms of spirituality, the child is well-raised and is brought up according to the christian values and virtues. These values are clearly visible, and one notable is how she prays before having meals. Emotionally, the child is at a good place and she is fast to accept a situation. I noticed this after she described to me how her father’s accident affected her but despite that, she had to accept because she knew it was God’s deeds. Her social behavior is very good, as she is able to interact with members of her community freely and even tries to help her peers. The only development issue I discovered with this subject was her physical appearance, whereby she appeared slim and a bit emaciated. However, I realized that this was because of the current financial state of her family; a lot of money had been spent on medication, therefore they can just afford normal basic meals. Other than that, the subject is very normal and is developing at a required normal rate.
Engage Diversity and Difference
This child, from my perspective, has significantly been shaped by her culture in several ways. First, she has been brought up in a very prayerful family, who strongly believe in God. Thus, she has also grown up knowing who God is and has strictly stuck to that. Their culture of praying before a meal is instilled in her, and she carries it everywhere she goes. Another culture I noticed is that, in her school, cleanliness is the number one priority and one can’t just go ahead littering anywhere. This is very evident in her and even when out of school, she doesn’t litter anywhere, rather she disposes litter at the required place. In school, students are encouraged to use common sense and always do the right thing and avoid mistakes, which she stands up to. This is very contrary to my adolescent days, where after leaving school, you were on your own and could do everything. In my days, it was very normal to see kids littering everywhere, even next to the litter bins. My only concern, or rather bias with this culture, is that you can’t expect everyone of the same age to use common sense. Yes, they might be agemates but the way they grow and mature is very different; others mature fast while at a tender age, while others mature in their adulthood. If I had chosen a subject from a different race, I think I would have a difficult time interacting with them because I would lack proper knowledge and background about their lifestyle.
Human Behavior and the Social Environment
One major aspect that has shaped the individual behavior of our subject is the Christian religion. The subject has been brought up in a strong Christian background, both in school and at home. Furthermore, the parents are strict disciplinarians, and they believe in correcting a child early before the bad character develops into something uncontrollable. Society also plays a great role in shaping the behavior of an individual. In the subject’s community, the parents know each other, and a parent can’t stand seeing a child misbehaving without correcting them. Infact, the neighbors organize annual meetings, just to get to know each other and discuss ways of ensuring their kids are brought up in proper environments. The school is also another important force that has greatly shaped the subject’s behavior. The school highly discourages vices and encourages students to behave in moral ways. Students engaging morally are often punished, while those with good behavior are highly rewarded. Rewarding has worked very well for the subject as she has received various awards, both from school and church because of her excellence.
In conclusion, according to my interaction with the subject, I think she is developing normally, apart from the physical aspect. If she feeds on a proper balanced diet, I believe she will eventually gain proper weight and become one healthy child. Other than that, in terms of spirituality. Emotionally and socially, she is developing very well and I believe she will create a huge impact in her society in future. All these thanks to the family and school, which raises her in a proper christian nature, following and respecting whatever the bible says.
References
Friedman, S. L., & Scholnick, E. K. (2022). Theories of Human Development1. Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics E-Book, 19.
Spielman, R. M., Dumper, K., Jenkins, W., Lacombe, A., Lovett, M., & Perlmutter, M. (2021). Lifespan theories. Psychology-H5P Edition.
UNIT, I. (2021). Growth and Development Across the Lifespan. Elsevier’s Canadian Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN Examination-E-Book, 217.
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