CASE

STUDY OF
A CHILD
AGE 4
Cassandra Rasmussen

EDU. 220
 A Brief overview of 4-year-old observation

Physical Development Emotional Development Cognitive/Intellectual Development

- Coordination skills - Withdrawn - Doesn’t engage with others

- Balance (walking, running) - Temper tantrums - Doesn’t speak
- Nonverbal - Inquisitive behavior

Psychosocial/Social Development Moral/Character Developments

- Doesn’t engage with other children. - Doesn’t follow rules or instructions

- Doesn’t ask questions - Does not seem to understand right and wrong
- No attachment to toys
 Typical Physical Developments

• Confident in gross motor skills

• The Child is constantly on the move
• Improving fine motor skills
• The Child can be physically aggressive (Coloring within the lines, using a fork, using a
zipper, etc)
• Rapid muscle growth

(University of Washington, 1993)

• May be able to dress and eat without assistance

(Child Development Institute, 2015)

• Enjoy physical play outside

• Able to control bathroom habits

except for bedwetting or occasional
accidents.

• Picky eater

(Ellsworth J., 1998)

 Typical Physical Development Level According to Snowman

• No noticeable difference of physical development or motor

skills between genders.

• Bones in the head are still maturing.

• Eyes are still maturing, therefore hand-eye coordination is also

still developing. This also results in clumsiness.

• Extremely active

• Needs frequent and structured rest periods.

(They don’t often know when they need to slow down.)

(Snowman, J. & McCown, R., 2015)

 4-Year-Old Physical Development Characteristics (Observation)

The 4-year-old girl I observed is afflicted with Autism. She is the correct height and weight for her age.
However, she has missed/delayed several developmental milestones throughout her development thus
far. She is extremely active, particularly with running and jumping. She has not developed any verbal
skills or significant fine motor skills. She is not potty trained, nor can she go without a diaper.

While she used a fork for eating her lunch, she struggled. Food was frequently falling off the fork and
getting all over.

Additionally, while playing she was frequently falling. Her balance didn’t appear to be as developed as
the other children her age that were present.
 Physical Development Recommendations

• Lock doors that allow access to inappropriate/dangerous environments

• Keep child away from potential kitchen hazards

(Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019)

• Provide healthy food choices, with a focus on protein, for your child.

• Provide a safe environment for physical activity.

• Provide structured rest time to recover from physical exertion.

(University of Washington, 1993)

 Typical Emotional Behaviors

• Temper tantrums • Can be demanding and bossy

• Encouraged by freedom of choice • Tries to test boundaries and limits

• Mimics behavior of role models • Starts developing insecurities

(Ellsworth J., 1998) • Self Confidence grows

(University of Washington, 1993)

 Typical Emotional Behaviors According to Snowman

• Express emotions freely and openly

• Feelings of Jealousy develop, as peer approval begins to become important.

(Snowman, J. & McCown, R., 2015)

 4-Year-Old Emotional Behavior Characteristics

The 4-year-old I observed didn’t express her emotions openly. She did have a bit of a temper
tantrum when her father told her no when she attempted to climb up onto a large rock. Later when
another child took one of her toys she didn’t seem fazed or to care. There didn’t appear to be any
signs of jealousy regarding his enjoyment of her toy.

Additionally, she didn’t seem to be socially engaged with the other children. Emotionally, she
seemed as though she didn’t care that they were present.

She seems to be very withdrawn and “in her own world”. When I asked her father about this he told
me he contributes this emotional behavior to her autism.
 Emotional Development Recommendations

• Allow the child to have an outlet for freedom of expression through verbal, physical activity,
and/or through creative methods. Thus, allowing the child to express him/herself in a
constructive and healthy way.

• Bolster self-esteem by enabling and encouraging self-reliant behavior. Additionally, be sure to

point out when the child is self-reliant, and give praise.

• Establish clear limits and enforce them.

• Show and reassure the child they are loved.

(University of Washington, 1993)

• Stay calm while addressing backtalk

(Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019)

• Encourage perseverance with difficult tasks

(PBS, 2019)
 Typical Cognitive/Intellectual Developments

• Has a large vocabulary consisting of 1500-2000 words

• Consistently asks questions fueled by unending curiosity

• May have nightmares

• Has a great imagination, manifesting with imaginary friends or fantasy.

(University of Washington, 1993)

• The ability to count begins

• Understanding of simple colors

(Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019)

 Cognitive Developments According to Piaget and Vygotsky

Vygotsky
Piaget
• Vygotsky believed that culture,
• Ability to engage in pretend play. social interactions, and
environment helped to develop
• Ability to mimic peers or adults cognitive function.
without them being present.
• To enhance cognitive
processing help facilitate
answers by walkthrough vs
giving the answers directly.

(Snowman, J. & McCown, R., 2015)

 4-Year-Old Cognitive/Intellectual Characteristics

The 4-year-old that I observed does not fit into the ”typical mold” of an average 4-year-old.
She is completely non-verbal, unable to engage in pretend play with other children. It is
unclear if she is engaging in pretend play on her own, or has the cognitive development to
understand that yet. She does seem to enjoy tv but doesn’t seem to but it is unclear if she
understands what is transpiring on the screen.

Due to the lack of communication and lack of social interaction, it is unclear whether or
not she engages in fantasy such as imaginary friends.
 Cognitive/Intellectual Development Recommendations

• Play word games and tell stories
• Don’t talk down to the child
• Help the child face his/her
nightmares
• Limit television to 2 hours a day of
quality programming
• Engage in healthy cognitive
activities by talking and reading to
the child during the day.

• Answer questions that arise

(University of Washington, 1993) (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019)
 Psychosocial/Social Developments

• Social interactions aids in social and • Interested in participating in role-

psychosocial development. playing

• Developing social conventions such as sharing, • Privacy in the restroom is desired

taking turns, rules, lines, etc
• Friendships are formed and are
(University of Washington, 1993) important to the child.

(Ellsworth J., 1998)

 Psychosocial/Social Developments According to
Erikson

Initiative versus Guilt

Parents should nurture a child’s inquisitive nature. By answering

their questions, children gain tools and confidence. This will
encourage the child to take initiative for tasks that some children
may lack the confidence to undertake. If children are treated as if
their questions are annoying or a bother, then the child will start
to feel guilty upon taking initiative.

(Snowman, J. & McCown, R., 2015)

 4-Year-Old Psychosocial/Social
Characteristics

I noticed that the 4-year-old I observed didn’t ask any questions. While playing with her
toys you could see an inquisitive nature of what the toy does or touching things that
she shouldn’t based on her curiosity.

Her cousin who is 7 tried consistently to get her to play with him. However, she was
only interested in parallel play. She doesn’t seem to bond with the people around her
but then does seem happy when she first sees you. Additionally, her cousin tried
taking her toys out of her hands to “get her attention”, but she expressed no emotion
about it, but rather went to playing with something else.

Additionally, privacy in the restroom is not desired yet as she is still in diapers and
doesn’t seem to comprehend that step yet.
 Psychosocial/Social Development
Recommendations

• Have the child engage in group play

• Have the child engage in adult responsibilities that he/she

can handle

• Have the child follow simple rules

(University of Washington, 1993)

 Typical Moral/Character
Developments

• The child starts to develop a sense of
what is morally right or wrong
• Usually, a child will do what is right but
may scapegoat for their wrong actions
(University of Washington, 1993)
• Cheating is typical but done without
malice. Cheating is done for the
intention of achieving success.
• Taking objects is normal however the
intention is more inquisitive then with
ill intent.

(Ellsworth J., 1998)

Typical Moral/Character Developments According to
Kohlberg

2 Stages:

Punishment Obedience Orientation:

The consequences of an action taken by the child

determine whether the child executes said action

Instrumental relativist Orientation:

An action that obeys the rules should be rewarded in

return.

(Snowman, J. & McCown, R., 2015)

 4-Year-Old Moral
Characteristics

The 4-year-old I observed did not seem to struggle or have a grasp of moral
characteristics. She did have an understanding of when her dad when say “yes” or ”no”.
She would have a temper tantrum when told ”no” then proceed to continue the same
thing she was just told not to.

Once she commenced doing the same task she didn’t seem to understand that she was
just disciplined for the same task a minute earlier.
 Moral/Character Development
Recommendations

• Hold the child accountable for his/her behavior

• Help the child understand that actions have

consequences

• Try to understand from the child’s point of view

(University of Washington, 1993)

 References:

Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019). Child development. Retrieved
from https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/childdevelopment/facts.html
Child Development Institute (2015). The ages and stages of child development. Retrieved
from https://childdevelopmentinfo.com/ages-stages/#.WR3Id_QrLrc
Ellsworth, J. (1998). Online lesson: PEPSI as a screening tool. Retrieved from
http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~jde7/ese504/class/pepsi/lesson2-1-1.html
Medline (2017). Adolescent Development. Retrieved
from https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002003.htm
PBS (2019) Learn & grow by age. Retrieved from https://www.pbs.org/parents/learn-grow/age-3
Snowman, J. & McCown, R. (2015). Psychology applied to teaching, 14th ed. Stamford,
CT: Cengage Learning.
University of Washington. (1993). Child development: Using the child development
guide. Retrieved from
http://depts.washington.edu/allcwe2/fosterparents/training/chidev/cd06.htm