Assignment 12 - Ready for College

In terms of development, I knew that Katie Anne would struggle with temperament – slow to warm up – throughout her teen years, just as she did as a small child. This was part of her nature, not something I could change with selecting the “right” parenting answer for a given situation. However, this does not define her social status. She has a close group of friends she feels comfortable with and continues to hang out with them. Katie Anne strong academic skills allowed her to be accepted to a very good out of state school for college. I knew early on that he math skills would take her far. She is a well rounded young adult and on the right path to have a successful time in college.

Katie Anne seeks out my advice on important issues or questions that are a bit beyond her experience. As our text suggests, her moral understanding is fostered by warm parenting practices, such as listening and posing higher level reasoning (Berk, 322) something I strived for as a parent.

Katie Anne voices her own opinions and is ready to separate from us as she grows. She has achieved identity achievement, in my opinion, and as our text suggests this is due to our parenting practices (Berk, 317).

Katie Anne’s self-esteem is healthy. She is capable of coping with life’s problems. Her success in academics and her musical abilities allow her to experience a high level of self-esteem. Our authoritative parenting aids in this process as suggested in our text (Berk, 315).

In terms of Katie Anne's development that is influenced by factors outside of my control, her temperament is still slow to warm up, something that is part of her nature – and no matter which choices I made to nurture her, she still struggles with this area.

All in all, Katie Anne was a pleasure to raise! At times I could identify her responses and actions to my decisions as those of my own "real" children. Hopefully as my real children grow, my parenting skills will reflect what I've done with Katie Anne.