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Maya displays Object Permanence
Maya displayed object permanence at 8 months after finding a rattle I hid under a blanket. Object permanence is the idea objects and people can exist even if they’re not in sight (Feldman, 145). Object permanence usually develops around 8-12 months of age and is crucial for child development because it leads to strong social attachments in life. Object permanence also leads to an increase in infant’s assertiveness and visual representation of objects they can't see. -
Maya establishes Self-Awareness
Maya recently displayed the emotions of guilt, embarrassment, and shyness at 24 months when she broke a vase or had an accident that indicates a sense of self-awareness. Self-awareness is having knowledge or recognition of oneself and generally develops between 17-24 months (Feldman, 175). Self-awareness is important for development because it displays infants recognize they exist independently from others and it helps develop empathy, or the emotional response directed toawrds another person. -
Maya exhibits Gender Roles
Maya establishes strict gender roles at the age of 4 when she told me females can’t be police officers after I got a ticket from one and believes boys should only play with trucks while girls play with dolls. Gender roles and differences is the idea different societies and cultures establish norms of appropriate careers, apparel, and toys appropriate for males and females to abide by (Feldman, 188). . Gender roles are important in child development because children learn the rules of society. -
Maya Learns the Letters and Sounds of the Alphabet
At 5 years old, Maya is rapidly learning the alphabet necessary for her growth in language development. Maya ‘s syntax of forming complex sentences, combining words and phrases, and learning new words can double each month (Feldman, 231). In addition, Maya’s ability to learn and understand new words through fast mapping significantly increases when she knows the alphabet. Ultimately, knowing the alphabet increases Maya’s language and reading abilities crucial in subsequent development stages. -
Maya Reads 6th Grade Level Books
At age 8, Maya reads 6th grade books; displaying advancement in reading development. Given her age, Maya should be at the 2nd stage where she learns to read fluently. However, she’s in the 3rd stage and reads as a means for learning (Feldman, 306). Her advanced reading skills indicate a significant growth in cognitive skills of identifying single/multiple words and meanings, long-term memory capacity, and phonics of sentences (Feldman, 306-7). This will prepare her for advanced reading classes. -
Maya Enters Puberty
At age 12, Maya entered puberty by growing several inches, gaining several pounds, and experiencing menarche. Puberty is a period of sexual maturation in adolescence where the sexual organs mature (Feldman, 354). Maya is also having psychological reactions to puberty because she thinks she’s fat and refuses to wear clothes making her look fat; possibly decreasing her self-esteem. Puberty often has psychological affects in females because early maturation decreases their self-esteem and concept. -
Maya Develops Morality
At age 14, Maya displays morality after a student got caught stealing by saying she agrees with the punishment because they didn’t live up to their parent’s expectations. Maya’s in Kohlberg’s conventional morality stage because she’s basing moral reasoning on being a good member of society (Feldman, 383). Moral development is important because it shows Maya can think abstractly and advanced cognitively. In addition, it marks an increase in Maya’s intelligence and ability to reason. -
Maya Becomes Independent
At age 16, Maya displays independence by getting tattoos without telling me. During adolescence, teenagers gain autonomy, or a sense of control over their lives and resent their parent’s control; resulting in conflict (Feldman, 416). Autonomy is important for development because parents realize their child is growing up and no longer has total control over them. By getting a tattoo without my permission, Maya’s letting me know she no longer did my approval and can make her own decisions. -
Maya Graduates High School
At age 18, Maya graduated high school and begins college this fall. She’s was accepted into several prestigious schools by making top 5% on her SAT scores in English and math and wants to major in Biology. I hope she goes into this field because women are underrepresented in the sciences (Feldman, 395). In addition, she may face difficulties with academic disidentification with succeeding in science classes because it’s a male dominated field. However, she has high self-esteem and will succeed.