30 Months Old!

I feel that several environmental events have influenced Katie Anne’s behavior over the past 2 ½ years. Katie Anne is still slow to warm up to new situations. Perhaps that is due to the car accident I was involved in when she was 9 months old and the week I spent in the hospital with pneumonia when she was 2. Her attachment issues peaked after these two events. We attempted to make up for these by spending more time with Katie Anne and offering her encouragement when she appeared distraught. Katie Anne has a positive relationship with her dad, due in part, to the time they spent together as a result of my accident and illness. When she turned two, Katie Anne’s playgroup got a new playgroup leader. Katie Anne exhibited clinginess and lack of cooperation then. We gave her more reassurance that we still cared for her and did not push her out of her comfort zone. Her behavior improved and we lavished the praise.

Katie Anne is truly a toddler now and is progressing nicely on typical toddler issues. Katie Anne still needs reminders of the rules with step by step instructions. The experts continue to think I should offer more routines for Katie Anne. I think I have been offering routines when faced with the decision to do so. I am curious to see how these skills will be developed in the months ahead. Katie Anne wants to please my husband and me and likes to have directions to follow. Katie Anne needs to be reminded to share with others, something that most 2 ½ year olds still need reminders in. She gets along well with others once she is comfortable. She tends to observe before she gets involved in group situations.

Many theories and principals have influenced our parenting decisions among them Bowlby believed that infant’s social signals encouraged caregivers to respond to babies needs (Berk, 18, 150). In the pre-attachment phase (six weeks) Katie Anne spends time gazing into my eyes. Katie Anne and I practice that when at 3 months she begins to make “oooh”ing sounds and I respond by talking to her and encouraging her to continue those sounds. We are working at attachment in the making. At 8 months Katie Anne is distraught when strangers are near – in her clear cut attachment phase. But by 2 years Katie Anne is less able to predict my coming and going and tends not to understands my absences especially when I was in the hospital with pneumonia. She is a little behind in development as it relates to the formation of reciprocal relationship phase.

Perhaps at 2 years of age Katie Anne would not be slow to warm up to new situations if we had actively practiced Ainsworth’s Episodes in the Strange Situation (Berk, 151). Where Katie Anne and I play, a stranger enters, I leave, the stranger comforts Katie Anne, etc.

Piaget’s sensorimotor stages of development, which are my favorite to gauge her development by, (Berk, 117) are evident in Katie’s Anne’s growth. She exhibits characteristics from each substage. As a newborn her rooting and palmer grasp reflexes are evident (substage 1). Then at 3 months she studies my face intently (substage 2). At six months, she is able to imitate new behaviors (substage 3). Then at 12 months her goal oriented behavior kicked in (substage 4). She searches many locations for hidden objects and people when she is 18 months old (substage 5). Mental representation (substage 6) is clearly evident as Katie Anne engages in make believe play with a doll house and doll family. She loves to set the rooms up like rooms in our own home.

Katie Anne exhibits the stages of information processing (Berk, 122, 123). During her first year she focuses on interesting stimuli. As a toddler, her sustained attention improves. She is goal oriented with stacking blocks and potty training. Her memory improves and she can recall where blocks are hidden and loves to play hide and seek, looking for me when I hide. She hides in the same place when I seek. She is also able to categorize like items. Her vocabulary has increased and she is able to recall past events, like trips with dad to the park and zoo. She can respond and describe those events now.

All in all she is one terrific little girl!