These are other writing expected of me, but these are assigned by my Childhood Development Class.
Letter 1 Chapter 2
My teenage
daughter has a bad habit of chewing her fingernails. Someone told me it might
be because I didn’t breastfeed her. Where would such an idea come from? Could
it be true? How would you recommend we help her break the habit of chewing her
fingernails? I’ve heard conditioning is one method that can be used. What is it
and how would I go about doing it?
Dear Abbey,
I don’t believe that
there is a relation between you not breastfeeding your daughter and her biting
her fingernails. Sigmund Freud, the mind begin one of the founding theories of
human development, claims in his Psychoanalytic Theory that satisfying the
pleasure sense in the mouth when born is the beginning to a good life though.
If you have another child, I recommend that you breastfeed your child, since it
is the most natural way to give your child the proper nutrition.
Yes. Conditioning is an effective way to progress your
daughter beyond this habit. Operant Conditioning is the way that we are advised
to steer a child to have healthy habits. The theory that conditioning is from
is called behaviorism, believing in animal instincts. This is useful when
raising children, since we cannot communicate with then intellectually at
times. Conditioning is about reinforcing the desired behavior by punishment or
reward. You will need to use your imagination to discover the appropriate
awards and punishment to use especially at her age.
Maybe you should talk to her about breaking bad habits, and
if she agrees to your desire, after a week or two of forsaking her habit you
can pay for her to have pedicure done. If you already do this routinely, you
can punish her by withholding the pedicures until she quits.
You need to be careful about her personality though, finding
a punishment that would apply to her. If she does not even care about a
pedicure, the reward or punishment may not help affect her actions.
Sincerely
Alex Hicken
It seems
someone in my family is always having a crisis. My older daughter is always
worried about boys, my teenage son seems lost and uncomfortable in his own
body, and my youngest girl refuses to give up diapers and move to the toilet.
I’ve heard the theorist Erik Erikson believed crisis was part of life and that
it opened the door to growth. Is this true? What are the basic principles of
his theory and what recommendations would you offer a frustrated parent for
working through these issues?
Dear Abbey,
Erikson’s philosophy is that there is a psychosocial element
to life. He line up opposites that we face from the beginning of life that we
should be careful of especially as parents raising a child. These opposites are
personal characteristics of attitudes cultivated in life. I will list them for
you
Average ages, which we face these crises.
Trust
vs. Mistrust From
Birth to the age of one year old
Autonomy
vs. Shame and doubt From
the age of one to three years old
Initiative
vs. Guilt From
the age of three to six years old
Industry vs. Inferiority From
the age six to eleven years old
Identity
vs. Role Confusion Adolescence
Intimacy
vs. Isolation Adulthood
Generativity
vs. Stagnation Adulthood
Integrity
vs. Despair Adulthood
These attitudes are highly
influenced by how a child was raised by their parents. Autonomy and Doubt are
opposites, having to do with the trust of your physical capabilities. If a
parent limits the actions of play and activity of a child because you don’t
trust them, they will lack trust with themselves. Limiting the trust of an
individual slows progression and the person’s initiative.
I propose an attitude shift. The
plasticity of a soul is great, meaning the person’s ability to change. I
believe that your family can be built on the attitude listed on the left side.
Piaget’s Cognitive theory esteems our thoughts to be foundational to the
actions, attitudes, and (I believe) emotions of man. If you have the desire
have this change, I recommend a study of wholesome books that would be
instructive for life. The knowledge of a more optimistic philosophy will change
the attitude of the whole family, if it is led by the example and teaching of
the parents of the household.
Sincerely
Alex Hicken
I’m looking
at various preschool programs for my daughter. Several have mentioned that they
follow a Piagetian or Vygotskian approach. I’m not sure what that really means;
can you enlighten me?
Dear Abbey,
It is exciting that you can afford to put your daughter in a
preschool. Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky are both theorist of human development.
Their views on raising your child are very different.
Piaget’s theory states that your daughter is in a period
called Preoperational. This period is known for great creativity, and verbal
communication is a good tool for this age. I expect that the preschool will
embrace these attributes of the Preoperational Period. Jean Piaget believes in
the power of thought and pushing the limits of learning by thought; although,
they understand the psychology that in this preoperational age of the children
are egocentric.
Lev Vygotsky learned to respect the traditions and view of
each culture on raising children. He is the father of the Sociocultural Theory
on the development of man. The Sociocultural theory holds the interaction of
humans in our societies as most instructional. It claims that without
instruction intellectual development will be slowed. I expect that the
Vygotskian Preshool will seek to keep the learners in their ‘zone of proximal
development.’ This includes a knowledge of your children and the what should be
taught next, keeping the environment exciting and challenging.
Thank you for trusting my wisdom,
Talk to you later Abbey!
Alex Hicken
My sister is
having twins and it has raised my curiosity about my own prospects for having
twins. Do multiple births run in families? If so, is that true for both identical
and fraternal twins and/or multiples? Are the incidents of multiple births
rising or do we just hear more about them today? If one identical twin acquires
an addition or disorder such as autism, does it mean the other one will also
acquire the disorder?
Dear Abbey,
The chances that you have twins are purely by chance from
what I have learned. Multiple births are not more in your family than in any
other. Identical twins are a lot rarer than fraternal twins. It is interesting
that you wonder, if multiple births are increasing, and you observation is
correct.
It is by the modern advances of medicine, health, and
science, which is increasing the multiple births. This phenomenon is increasing
the risks for the mothers and babies. The women that were unfertile and women
seeking greater fertility have increased the multiple birth rates fivefold.
Concerning the risk of identical twins suffering the same
genetic disorder, it is true, for they both have the same genetics from their
parents.
It’s good to hear about your family. How are you?
Sincerely
Alex
We’ve been
married for several years and have been unable to get pregnant, though we’ve
tried almost from the beginning. Are fertility problems common? Is it usually
the man or the woman who may have a problem? Are there ways we still might be
able to have a child?
Dear Abbey,
I am sorry to
hear of the sorrow that you and your husband may be enduring. You desire is
great, but several years is longer than the measure of infertility.
Infertility
affects ten percent of women; however, infertility is equal among humans.
Infertility is not a permanent case in many cases. There is still hope, but
infertility deemed upon whether you failed to get pregnant trying for one year.
I am sorry
that I have to inform you of this by a letter.
Sincerely
Alex
I understand
that boys are more likely to be colorblind than girls and that the disorder is
most likely to be inherited from the mother. That makes no sense to me. Please
explain. Are there other disorders or conditions that are more likely among
girls or boys?
Dear Abbey,
I understand that genetics are hard to understand. Boys are
colored blinded a lot more than girls because the last chromosome of our DNA
decided our gender. Girls always have an X chromosome, but the sperm of a man
can have either the X or Y chromosome. Men therefore alone decided the gender
of all children. X chromosome don’t match Y very well, so when an X chromosome
has the recessive gene of color blindness. There is nothing much to fight it in
terms of the Y chromosome.
Do you have additional questions?
Sincerely
Alexander Hicken
Can things I
ate before I found out that I was pregnant impact the development of my baby? I
heard that it is really only in the first trimester that you have to be real
careful about what you eat and be careful about taking prescription
medications. Is it true that the placenta prevents toxins from influencing the
baby, unless it’s very high doses? What are the most common things I have to be
careful about eating, drinking, or taking into my body? Also, if I eat well, do
I really need to take a prenatal vitamin?
Dear Abbey,
Preparing to have a baby should not be taken lightly. The
life that you live will be reflected in the health of your child. Experts
encourage couples to “stop using recreational drugs, update their
immunizations,” and eat a “balanced diet with extra folic acid and iron.”
Foods that are recommended to avoid is prescription drugs;
mercury, which is found in a lot of fish; caffeine; Alcohol; and Tobacco. These
are the common foods, but recreational drugs in the great horror of what can be
viewed a recreational drug are to be forsaken.
A placenta is a great protection for your future child, but
they should not be taken for granted, for teratogens, a list of harmful
substances, can be absorbed through it.
Prenatal vitamins are highly recommended to take especially
when pregnant. They are provided to insure that your child gets enough
nutrition. It is difficult for people to get a good amount of nutrition for
themselves much less two people.
Good luck on having a child!
Alex Hicken
I’m pregnant
and still in high school. I’m not sure I’m ready to have a baby. I’m still in
my first trimester and my friend said the baby is more like a clump of cells
than a baby at this point. When does my pregnancy turn into a real baby? My
friend had a baby and it came several months early. Is that more common for
teenagers? How old does a baby have to be before it can survive outside the
womb? Are their certain things that have to develop before it can survive?
Dear Abbey,
I am grateful
that you are asking good important questions to be mature and informed about
taking care of the possible child that you will be bearing.
The child
that you are developing in your body should not be underestimated. 4 weeks into
your pregnancy the embryo most likely already has a primitive heart pumping
blood throughout his body. You child has developed his eyes, nose, and
digestive system three weeks later. You
child should have most everything beginning to be forming by week 8. The child in
you is developing at a rapid pace. If you are late into you first trimester,
you have already reached the few stages final stages of your child’s
development, since your child would already a fetus. The age of viability, the
stage in which is can survive without further development is usually at the age
of 22 weeks old.
At this age
of viability the development of the brain in the fetus as grown to be
self-reliant, regulating needs such as the breathing and the sucking.
Preterm
births are more common among teenage mothers because they are more immature and
irresponsible than that of an adult. The unstable and unbalanced diet has
become a concern for professionals for symptoms of low birth weight and small
for gestational age are often the case for these new mothers. These symptoms
are caused by a slowing development of the expected growth of a child.
I hope that I
was informative enough to answer your questions, but don’t quit learning how to
take care of your child.
Sincerely
Alex
We’re
expecting our first baby and are so excited. My husband laughs at me because I
want to read to our baby even though it’s still in the womb. Are a baby’s
senses active before he or she is born? If so, how early in the pregnancy are
they functional?
Dear Abbey,
Congratulations. I am happy to
inform you that your child has been hearing and absorbing in his soul the love
of your household since the age of viability about 22 months into your
pregnancy. The bond that you create with your child will be very powerful
especially since you cared for your child before be felt the world beyond your
womb.
Thanks for keeping in touch
Alex
No comments:
Post a Comment