Bonus

1. Are there any issues you had with your parents, your school work, your friends, or your romantic involvements in the last year of high school that continued to be issues for you in college? I had a very hard time concentrating in class, I would find myself daydreaming and wanting to socialize with people.I found when I started college my problem with daydreaming followed me, I have socializing under control.Well in the last year of school I got pregnant, and started a family at age 17 putting college on hold for me till my youngest started 1st grade. I love how everything worked out and would never change a thing. I feel going back to college being older is a benefit for me, I work harder and am more focused on my goal.


2. Reflect on your own personality, interests and cognitive abilities at the time you graduated high school. How did these personality characteristics and abilities manifest themselves in subsequent years? How have they changed since your high school days, if at all? My personality has stayed the same. I have always had a very positive out look and laughed when life was hard. My interests and cognitive abilities have changed greatly since high school. For instance, I'm less interested in hanging out with friends or being social. I feel my attention needs to be on my kids. I care less about drama with friends, I want a healthy stable home for my family. My alternating attention has greatly approved, I'm able to shift my focus from work and school to home and family very quick and easy. I feel these abilities come with having kids and being a good parent.

18 years

1. As the program ends, what pathways does your child appear to be on in terms of physical, cognitive, social, emotional and moral development? To what extent could you have predicted these pathways based on what you knew of your child's earlier development? Angel has always loved to learn new things. Her cognitive development and emotional and moral development has never been in question due to Angel being very social. Angel has been very open with her feelings, as well as being there for all her friends’ feelings. Angel signed up for a Psychology class the first semester of her senior year. She really enjoyed the class, and talks about it often with me. Angel jokes that she's always acting as a therapist to one friend or another! After hearing this and knowing how caring Angel is, I almost could have predicted Angel becoming a counselor. The other career I see Angel doing is a foreign language teacher. Angel is very well rounded, she loves people and life. Angel and I get along great, and it’s comforting to know she still comes to me for help when things get rough.

2. Describe some specific ways in which you think your parenting mattered for your child’s development, based on evidence from the course regarding the contributions of parents to child development. When Angel was little around 6 or 8 she had an accident on her skateboard which caused her brain damage. My husband and I worked very hard long hours with Angel teaching her how to walk and talk again never doubting for a second that everything was going to be fine. We made sure to keep our home life as normal as possible, and had Angels friends over to see her. We never wanted Angel to feel she was different from other kids her age. Another time I feel my parenting played a huge part in Angels life is when she became a teen. Angel started to socialize more and go to parties where drinking and drugs were at. My husband and I stayed firm to our beliefs against drugs and drinking, we talked with Angel about situation that could arise as a teen. Angel did very well during this period in her life; she never got in trouble, and would come home at her curfew time. One time Angel decided not to call, I knew of a huge party that Angel’s friends were going to. But when Angel got home I found out she and a guy friend of hers had been doing community service. I feel by being a loving, firm, and firm again, caring parent allowed Angel to grow beautifully.

3. Describe some specific ways in which your child developed that appeared to be influenced by factors outside your control, such as genes, random environmental events or the general influence of contemporary middle-class American culture. When Angel was little she would get few if any colds, I feel this has to do with my genes. I never got sick as a child. Some other things I had no control over was the time I had to take a pay cut do to the economy. This really affected our family, for example, Angel had to drop some of the more expensive activities she participated in. Another thing out of my control is how curious and social Angel is. Angel wanted to know everything about everything; she was always making up games and finding new friends. I definitely feel this is genes, I was the same way as a child.

16 and 11 months

1. Think about your teen’s cognitive strengths and weaknesses and how they are reflected in his or her school grades and activities from 14-16 years of age. What careers or courses of study might be best suited to your teen’s abilities and interests? Angel has been developing some new interests lately. She has been spending time with the "Habitat for Humanity" club after school and on weekends, and has been reading about the American Civil Rights Movement and Apartheid. We have encouraged Angel to enroll into different classes in order for her to figure out a career path. I really believe Angel will do well in Foreign Language, and a history major.

2. How important have your teen’s relationships with peers been to his/her social development, emotional well-being and school achievement from 14-16 years of age? Angel is in Honors English and History and is one of the strongest students. She loves to read. She has written some good pieces for the school literary magazine and is involved in the school newspaper. We enjoy talking about books with her and reading her stories. Angel’s relationship with peers is very good, although at Angel allows peer presser to get the best of her, in a negative way. Angel’s report card was pretty good, she received three A’s one B and two C’s. Angel is trying very hard at being a good well rounded teenager; I feel her emotional well-being isn't in question what so ever.

3. How has your teen adjusted at 14-16 years of age to typical adolescent issues such as risk-taking, drugs, alcohol, and sexual interests, and how have you responded to your teen? Well Angel has been dating someone for 2 months now. My husband and I are very worried. Angel says that she's in love, and I’m nervous that Angel may be having sex. My husband I talked with Angel and tried to convince her that she should wait until they are more mature, and sure of the relationship to engage in sex. However, just in case, we talked to Angel about safe sex, condoms, and birth control. Angel has come home from parties smelling like marijuana and alcohol. When I ask her about trying drugs Angel said, “No mom I would never do drugs!” My husband and I just go over our home rules again and enforce our beliefs on drugs. Angel has been taking some risks for instance; Angel is becoming more and more independent. In one of Angel's attempts to assert her independence, she spent the day with her boyfriend without telling me where they were going. It turned out they were doing community service work (and I have proof of that!), but I still took away some privileges on principle.

14 years

1. What activities and experiences at age 12 and 14 years has your teen been involved in that might promote healthy behavioral practices, physical fitness and skill in sports? Angel tried out for the high school softball team and made it! She seems to be very serious about developing little nuances of the game. We are happy she is having such a good time with the sport and enjoy going to the games. Angel has also been playing tennis with her aunt, and enjoying clubs at school with friends.
Angel is also looking forward to taking several art/design classes and is pleased that there are so many to choose from.


2. Have there been any changes in your teen’s behavior toward you or your partner? Why are these occurring and how are you responding? Angel occasionally gets upset and becomes cranky or gives us the silent treatment when we have discussions about issues such as bedtime, chores, curfew, clothing choices, music choices, etc., but otherwise we get along pretty well. I know we aren't going to get anywhere by continuing the discussion, so I drop it and let her calm down for a while before speaking to her again. My husband and I have a very open relationship with our daughter. For instance, while Angel was on the school bus, Angel mentioned that she had a long conversation with another student about all kinds of issues on which they disagreed, such as religion and politics. Angel listened to the other person's point of view, but when she came home, she wanted to tell use all about her own viewpoints.


3. Do you see any examples of how cognitive and physical changes in early adolescence (ages 12-14) relate to your teens social or emotional behavior? Some of the experiences of high school are stressful for Angel, such as hurtful things said by a friend, or lost homework. She usually shrugs these off and stays in a good mood. I noticed that Angel has the beginnings of some good coping mechanisms such as calming down by going for a walk or venting by text messaging a friend. Angel and some her friends went camping with a close friend's parents. Angel had a great time, and learned to use a compass to navigate in the woods. Angel has also started to completely understand different types of personalities. Angel likes to joke about her dads and my personality, “saying she got trouble making from us.” Angel is doing great! She is a very well balanced child and understands a lot about people and life. Angel is able to make decisions on her own and good ones at that. After the move from her smaller middle school to the much larger public high school, Angel seemed energized by all the possibilities of the high school, and has had a busy social calendar, including hanging out with some new friends, and getting involved in a couple of social activist clubs. Sometimes one of her friends comes over to your place and they have a great time joking around. They usually end up laughing uncontrollably about something.

12 years old

1. Describe any physical or behavioral signs of incipient puberty.
Angel talks quite often about what is "fair" and "not fair", and I realized she is developing some moral principles. Her concerns are focused on very specific things people she knows say and do, rather than incidents in the news or aspects of society. Angel is also looking at herself more in the mirror, she has even made a few comments about her weight.Angel has started to like boys as well.

2. How would you characterize your child at this point in terms of the under-controlled, over-controlled or resilient categories? Have there been any changes since the preschool period and why might they have occurred? I would defiantly categories Angel as resilient, she is way to easy going. I feel Angel is still the same when it comes to doing what she is told. The only thing we do different now is, I will compromise on more chores for more money. If Angel wants to go shopping at the mall then she needs to work for her money, Angel respects my rules and doesn't complain.


3. Using the 7th grade report card and your own observations, summarize your child’s academic skills at this point. What specific activities might promote some of these skills? Angel consistently contributes to cooperative group activities and respects the rights and possessions of others, and shows age-appropriate social interaction with peers.Her word reading, spelling and writing skills are strong.
She got A's in 7th grade English, Social Studies, and Spanish.
She got C's in 7th grade Math and Science. The teacher thought that she could do better with some tutoring and more studying.
She listens attentively, follows directions, and follows school rules.She needs to improve time management, and needs to be more consistent about working independently in the classroom and on homework. She has fairly frequent problems completing assignments and turning them in on time. Angel however has great academic skills, especially in drama class, and anything that involves Angel to be social. Angel loves art class and is looking to sign up in high school.

10 years old

1. Describe changes in your child’s academic skills between ages 6 and 10 and assess how well these skills are developing. The 5th grade report card will be useful for this but you should also incorporate your own observations. What are you doing to help your child? Angel works cooperatively in groups, usually respects rights and property of others, and usually demonstrates appropriate peer social interaction. Angel also "demonstrates strength" in all areas of reading, and in spelling and "appropriate for grade level" in writing.Angel has improved in math, and word problems as well.When Angel gets stuck on a problem I let her work it out with my help, but I make sure she comes to her own conclusion.

2. How well is your child adapting to social situations in the home and outside the home? Does your child have any behavior or emotional problems at this point? Why do you think these problems are occurring and what are you doing about them?
Angel had a serious fight with her best friend at the beginning of fifth grade and has not made up. She has also been moody lately. Angel is hanging out with a different group of friends at school, and there is some taunting going on between the two sides in the quarrel. Angel's teacher has commented that her classroom behavior has been problematic as well. I believe these problems are arriving due to Angels hormonal changes.

3. Has your parenting changed since the preschool period and if so, why do you think it has changed and what effect might this have on your child? Refer to your textbook or lecture notes for evidence on typical changes in parenting that occur in middle childhood. I don't feel my parenting has changed much. The only thing I've noticed is I'm strict then before, I won't even let Angel ride her bike to the school, I feel she is too young.

8 years and 11 months

1. How smart is your child, and in what areas? Think back to the blurb on multiple intelligences that appeared at age 6. Find specific evidence regarding your child's verbal, logical-mathematical, spatial, musical and bodily-kinesthetic intelligence from your observations of your own child as well as the psychologist's report at age 8 years, 11 months. Angel is very intelligent in almost all areas. Angels vocabulary, and comprehension of material is above average. Angels logical- mathematical problem solving have not approved much since she was 6, but we are working on her math skills with books and a positive,"you can do it attitude." To me Angel is a well rounded child who loves to try new things. In my observation Angels musical and bodily- kinesthetic intelligence are fantastic, Angel has great control over her self and enjoys doing things like dancing with friends in font of the school.Angel is a great story teller, in fact she has already written a book, in which she loves to read to everyone. According to the examiner Angel's scores on tests of visual-spatial ability (spatial rotation, copying of designs, etc.) were slightly below average. this gives us something to work on with Angel!


2. Describe some examples of your child's behavior or thinking that you think are due to typical American gender role socialization and explain why you think so. Several examples can be found at ages 6 and 8. How closely does your attitude toward gender roles correspond to typical American attitudes, and if there is a discrepancy, to what do you attribute this (e.g., cultural background, attitudes of your own parents, etc.)? Well Angel loves to play sports, she plays soccer and baseball with all the boys on our street. Most all of Angels friends are tomboy, who play sports as well.We raised Angel to believe boys and girls can do the same things, most the time. Angel knows boys don't wear skirts and makeup, she may have thought that when she was six, but now she understands the difference between both male and female. We encourage Angel to believe if she wants to be a cop,firefighter, or president she can.I feel women are strong and have the ability, and choice to be who they want. That's the way I was raised by my mom, a single parent who is just as strong as any man.


3. How might your child's development have been different if s/he was raised by people with a different socioeconomic, ethnic or cultural background? Base your answer on specific evidence of SES/cultural differences from the textbook and class lectures.I feel Angels development would have been way different. For one reason I raise Angel with a belief in God. My husband and I use rules that Angel has to follow.For example of a different cultural background lets look at the kids of Korean-American parents. They believe in more unoccupied play time for their kids as a base for learning.As opposed to Caucasian-Americans who believe in joint make-believe play. Angel wouldn't have the social knowledge and excellent story telling ability if she was enabled from using her imagination.