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Slow-to-Warm
Tuisamoa exhibited characteristics of a slow to warm baby when interacting with new people and situation. Slow-to-warm babies are interactive, showing relatively calm reactions to their environment (p.186). They usually adapt slowly to new situations. This occured when Tuisamoa was 8 months of age. -
Theory of Mind at Three Years of Age
Tuisamoa deomonstrated theory of miind when he violated a rule and snuck a cookie before dinner and then lied about it. Theory of mind is a childs knowledge and beliefs about how the mind works and how it influences behavior (p. 175). Children use this to understand how others think. Tuisamoa was three years of age when this event occurred. Theory of mind usually develops after 18 months of age. This is important for a child to have an understanding of themselves and how the mind works. -
Gender Schema
Around the age of four while Tuisamoa was enrolled in preschool he demonstrated that he had developed a gender schema. As stated by Feldman (2014) "gender schema is a cognitive framework that organizes informtation relevent to gender" (p.252). He did this by not participating in any of the play that consisted of toys such as dolls because he thought those toys were only for girls. -
Egocentric Thought
My kid was turning four years old when he began to display egocentric thought. Egocentric thought is defined as thinking that does not take the viewpoints of others into account (p223). This became evident at his birthday party when he opened his gift of socks and underwear from his grandmother- he made a face so he seemed confused and then irritation, which is normal for his stage of development right now as he is of preschool age. He does not understand that others have different perspectives. -
Decentering
When Tuisamoa was 7 he demonstrated decentering which is "the ability to take mutiple aspects of a situation into account" (Feldman, p. 297). Him and his sister got in an argument but after I intervined and gave them time to think about it he took into consideration all different aspects of the situation. He then was able to come to the rational decision that there was no need to fight over the front seat. -
Development of Fine Motor Skills
Tuisamoa was 10 years old when he started to show interest in bulding things and helping with repair or maintenence projects around the house. This demonstrates the advances of his fine motor skills which is due to the increase in the amount of myelin in the brain. Feldman (2014) states the reason for childrens ability to manipulate objects better is because "messages can reach muscles more rapidly and control them better" (p. 283). -
Peach Fuzz
When Tuisamoa was 14 he proudly showed off his growing peach fuzz to his father. This is a sign he is beginning to go through puberty. As stated by Feldman (2014) "Pubertty is the period of maturation in which the sexual organs mature" (p. 354). He really wanted to start shaving but his father advised him to wait another 6 months. -
Popularity
Tuisamoa was 17 when he attained the high status of popular. The text describes this as being mostly liked by your peers, having more close friendships, and engaging in extracurricular activites (Feldman, p. 422). He frequently gets invited to parties with his close friends and he participates in activites such as science clubs. He also performed a comedy routine at the senior variety show (talent show).
