NSG FINAL PROJECT

Bronwyn Thomas14/04/2015NSG 432

NSG Final Project

Lesson 1 - Description:

The infant I am focusing on throughout the quarter will be a three month old baby boy.

He is quite a focused baby who makes you work for a smile, but once he decides he wants to

reward you with one, he will smile and smile. However, the older he gets, the more smiley he

becomes! He willingly gives plenty of intense stares too. Making eye contact is his biggest

strength as he seems purely fascinated with everyone he comes across. He is a squirmy baby who

loves to lay on the ground and grab the toys that dangle above his head. He can also bring his

feet up in the air. He loves to watch TV or look at pictures around the house. He is very

interested in his surroundings. He is a tactile baby and therefore his favorite part of the day is

when he is rubbed down with lotion and coconut oil. Apart from being squirmy, he is a docile

and content baby who is easily comforted and sleeps peacefully though the majority of the night.

Most importantly, He is very vocal. Although he doesn’t cry too often, he loves to coo and

gurgle and make a lot of noise in an almost peaceful way that suggests he’s happy.

Lesson 2 – History/Milestones/ACE’s:

His mother mentioned that her pregnancy went smoothly with no problems. She

described it as an ‘easy pregnancy’. The parents went through genetic testing which came up

negative. His mother also worked out throughout her entire pregnancy, taking part in decathlons

and other various activities. He was born about a week early but weighing in at a very healthy

weight of 8lb 5oz. He seems to be very ‘typical’ in his development. Babies typically begin to

‘social smile’ around 6-8 weeks. He started smiling around 2 months. He also began to put more

weight on his feet, although he is still too young to walk or stand on his own which usually

happens around 12 months. He was able to self soothe easily from an early age. From 2-3

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months he continually used his own hand to soothe himself. Recently, he is beginning to use a

pacifier more frequently to soothe himself. His ability to self soothe means he is able to put

himself to sleep instead of being rocked and is also able to sleep for most of the night, only

waking his parents by crying one time per night on average. He is beginning to be comfortable

laying on his front as he is now able to lift his head off the ground for short amounts of time.

While on his back, he can lift his feet in the air while touching them with his hands. His grasp is

also improving dramatically. He has always had a healthy palmer grasp; however, now his grasp

is a lot stronger and he is able to grab permanent objects. As mentioned earlier, He began to

make a lot of noise around 2.5 months. Babies tend to get more vocal from birth up to age three

which suggests that He is developing appropriately. The most fascinating thing about He is that

he is able to make extremely intense and intimate eye contact. He will hold eye contact for as

long as you decide. Typically, babies begin to make intimate eye contact around three months

old. Lastly, He is able to track sounds and voices. He will turn his head to follow his mother’s

voice if she is walking around the room while he is laying on the ground or being held by

somebody else. He does not fall into any ACE category. As far as I know, He has no sever risk

factors as of yet that are likely to impact his development. He has two present parents who are

involved in his life and who also, as far as I know of, do not take substances that will interfere

greatly with his development.

Lesson 3 – Ecological model:

The context in which he lives will in no doubt play a part in his development. Focusing

more on the microsystem of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems model, his mother is very

much involved in his life. As an early childhood educator herself, she sees the importance in her

involvement with her son during her maternity leave. One her maternity leave comes to an end,

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her mother, the baby’s grandmother, will be looking after him the majority of the time. His father

has taken off every Friday for a few months to be with his son so they spend time bonding. I

think the planning that has gone into his care will promote healthy attachment bonds between

himself and his parents. Another key player in his life is his best friend. His friend is slightly

younger than himself but they spend a large amount of time together. This actually made me

wonder whether babies form attachments with other babies that they spend a lot of time with.

I’m sure that the time He spends with his friend and his friend’s mother promotes healthy

development for them both. Factors in the Exo-system will also contribute to his development.

His grandma will act as another support system for him distinguishing another healthy bond

between himself and a family member. He lives in a house surrounded by four other houses. The

neighbors have created a tight community in which they support each other when needed.

Growing up in this community should only affect him positively. It means that he can receive

optimal care when his parents are unable to provide it. There will also be a lot of opportunities

for him to have human contact leading to the development of communication skills, socio-

emotional development etc. His parents have also completed college undergraduate and graduate

degrees meaning that he will grow up in a household that uses a large vocabulary benefiting his

literacy development. Lastly, looking at the macro-system, it’s clear that his socio-economic

status being middle-class will largely benefit his development. He already has access to plenty of

resources that provide him with opportunities to learn and develop. His room is filled with

colorful toys that aid development, he is able to travel to many places around Seattle which I

believe is important as children can learn a lot from interacting with the environment around

them and lastly, his parents don’t have the burden of worrying about finances which can cause

chronic stress in parents which receptive children pick up on.

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Lesson 4 – Attachment:

Due to his young age, I was not able to complete the NICHD questionnaires about child

pick-ups and drop-offs as this wasn’t applicable to him. However, I have had the opportunity to

observe him and his mother. I’ve paid close attention to their attachment. To look more in depth

at his attachment, we completed a tracking exercise together. While a caregiver (not related to

the family) held the baby on her lap, his mother moved around the room calling his name. Not

only was he intently moving his head to find his mother, he would actively look away from the

unfamiliar person holding him. He moved his head from side to side as the unfamiliar person

would attempt to make eye contact with him in order to avoid looking at said person. This

supported the idea that he has a healthy attachment with his mother. I’ve witnessed a lot of

comings and goings from his parents. He is always perfectly happy when they leave. He never

cries of fusses. When they return, he is happy to see his mother. He always gives her plenty of

smiles and snuggles in very close to her. It’s interesting because from what I’ve observed, the

mother is always the one carrying or playing with her son. I seldom see the father interact in such

a personal way. The mother is also very much attuned to her baby’s cry. She seems to be able to

differentiate different cries meaning she can respond effectively to her child’s needs.

Lesson 5 - Temperament/Sensory Profile:

I would describe this baby as having an ‘easy temperament’. His sleep cycle is regular,

his moods are consistent and he is receptive when brought to a new surrounding or when meeting

a new person. He mostly seems very content. When he cries, it’s fairly clear to me what he

wants. To his mother, it’s extremely clear. From what I’ve seen, this baby is sensation seeking.

He loves to grab everything he sees. He focuses on whatever he has grabbed and will engage

with it. It could be hair, his toys, a hand etc. If I’m holding him near the TV or near a photo, he

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will stare at it for however long you hold him there for. It’s extremely fascinating the way he is

paying attention to the detail. Stimuli, such as a lot of movement, loud noises or a lot of contact,

does not seem to bother him.

Now focusing more on the Neuro-relational framework in infant and early childhood

mental health, he shows great strength when adapting to stress. However, he is still young and

has not yet been exposed to damaging risk factors. The stress I’m talking about would be when

he is hungry, hurt or sleepy. His stress responses differ depending on the type of stress he is

experiencing. He shows fast recovery when the stressor is solved. If he is crying because he

doesn’t want to lay on his stomach, maybe it’s uncomfortable for him, once turned over, he

adjusts quickly to his new and more comfortable position and the crying will come to an end. It’s

hard to say how a child this young ‘uses’ his energy. When he seems to be getting tired, he will

become calmer, he will self soothe a lot more and will grab onto toys less. It seems to me that

this is his way of conserving his energy until he can fall asleep. As mentioned earlier, he sleeps

very well. He’s very consistent with his awake and sleep cycle. He’s also consistent in his energy

levels throughout the day. His use of energy doesn’t seem sporadic or erratic. The child seems to

process sensory information well. He is given plenty of sensory stimuli throughout the day. He

loves to play with the various toys he is given. He likes to listen to music – it often calms him

down when he seems fussy. He loves to look at faces and changing facial expressions. He

doesn’t find them daunting, in fact, they make him smile. I mentioned earlier that he’s a tactile

baby. He loves to be touched, especially if he is being rubbed down with lotion. He smiles

uncontrollably. This suggests to me that he loves sensory stimuli. He loves to stare at things, he

loves to be touched etc. He isn’t old enough yet to choose what stimulus he wants to play with

and therefore, I can’t assess whether he is more drawn to safe or risky sensory information. He is

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very able to express positive and negative emotions flexibly. If he is upset, he expresses negative

emotions visibly, but once the stressor has been removed, he will clearly show it through the

noises he makes or his smile. You can clearly see who the loving relationships are in his life. His

mother makes him smile and squirm with happiness. However, a stranger has to work a lot

harder and has a good chance of not being successful. He doesn’t cry around strangers and looks

very comfortable around them; however, he makes it clear that this is not someone he loves in

his life. Although young, he shows meaningful movement. He wants to touch the ones that he

feels comfortable around. He reaches out to their face as if he wants to explore them. He moves

his hand towards toys that he wants to play with. He grasps his hands around them when he

wants to hold them. Lastly, his head will turn when he wants to focus on someone nearby.

Due to the easy-going nature of this baby, I think he has an easy time creating healthy

relationships with the people around him. His mother mentioned she is fairly stress-free as he

doesn’t create too much to worry about. His temperament means he can easily connect with

people he isn’t familiar with. I also think that because he actively seeks out sensory stimuli, it

helps to even his mood. He always seems content when he is playing with all the stimuli that is

provided for him. He never seems to become bored which means he can be left there for minutes

on end which gives his mother a little more time to re-gain energy to become an even more

effective caregiver. She doesn’t become frustrated when he cries because he doesn’t do it often. I

feel very connected to this child. After thinking about it, his sensory profile and temperament

play a key role in this. It makes me feel more comfortable when I’m acting as his caregiver. I

feel happy when I care for him and my stress levels are extremely low. I can only think of one

time when I wasn’t sure why he was crying which caused me to feel uneasy. I had just swaddled

him and was about to put him down for bed after I rocked him. However, he began to cry. Once I

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could see that he was squirming a lot, I decided that maybe he was hot, or felt too constricted by

his swaddle. I took the swaddle off and opened up his pajamas. It worked perfectly. He became a

happy baby. Now that I reflect back, I was stressed for a small amount of time as I was able to

read his cues and respond to his needs effectively. His easy-to-read cues and easy-going

temperament means it’s easier to bond with him, making the people around him more effective

caregivers.

Lesson 6 – Trauma History:

Knowing this baby from birth, I know that he has experienced no traumatic events as of

yet. Therefore, his behaviour is unaffected by traumatic experiences. Instead, his behaviour is

shaped by his un-eventful experiences. He knows that when he cries, his needs will be met and

therefore he can take comfort more easily. He is happy and easy-going around his mother

because he knows she will respond quickly and effectively to all his needs. He sees her as a

secure base. Since the baby feels he has a secure base to fall back on, he seems more able to

explore his environment. He can explore strangers, unfamiliar faces and animals. His easy-going

exploratory nature most likely impacts his relationships positively. He can form attachments with

more people and more things in his environment because he feels comfortable enough to do so.

People love to be around him and find it relatively un-stressful because he has an easy

temperament. However, this might change as he reaches around one year of age

Lesson 7 – Relationship Based Practices:

The baby in focus appears to have a healthy and secure attachment with his mother. I

believe the relationship-based approach that really benefits their attachment is the idea of ‘being

with’. When I observe the baby, he seems as if he knows someone is holding him in their mind.

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He has just learned to sit and will occasionally turn his head to check for his mother, but apart

from the occasional head turn he appears to sit extremely comfortably and contently. Pawl

(1995) states, “By the time you are a sitting baby, with good enough ordinary experiences, your

very back feels safe, held. You know you are being watched – that is, that you exist, are held, in

someone’s mind. You feel secure, and secured.” (p. 5). I see this in the baby. He seems to know

as if his mother is watching him. I also know from my interactions with the mother that she

thinks about him a lot. She constantly holds her baby in her mind. I think together, they perfectly

exemplify the idea of ‘being with’. If I were to implement this strategy with the family myself, I

would be vigilant in regards to the baby and his mother. I would let the family know that I’ve

been thinking about them, a strategy I use with a child at my service learning site just to let them

know that they are important to me. If the baby’s mother or father needed guidance with

interacting with their child, I would guide them through the process teaching them how to

adequately care for their child. However, I would do so in a way that focuses on their pre-

existing strengths with the child. I would follow their lead and build on it. I understand that there

are various ways of raising and experiencing a child. I should and would understand and value

this while working with the family. There is no one right way! The ‘being with’ strategy would

be challenging because as of now, I wouldn’t feel completely confident in my abilities as an

early childhood specialist. This would also be challenging because I spend a lot of time alone

with the baby. The ‘being with’ strategy is most effective with both mother or father and the

baby together. In this case, because the baby’s father, who would most benefit from this practice,

seems to have withdrawn from him since birth, it would be especially difficult as I am rarely

with the father and baby together, if at all. Before this class, I most likely wouldn’t have taken

any measures to develop relationships between myself and the parents or between the parents

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and the baby. It’s difficult to intervene when you have no knowledgeable basis of relationship

based approaches and its implications. A challenging situation I’ve had in regards to this family

would be when the baby’s parents returned home after I had been looking after him for a couple

of hours. The father came over to the baby and said hello. He attempted to hold the baby but the

baby started to cry so he handed him back to me. The baby stopped crying when I changed his

position a couple of times. He walked straight upstairs without any further interaction with the

baby. The mother occasionally mentions the father’s lack of involvement with the baby. Upon

reflection of this interaction, I thought about what the father did not say. In other words, his body

language and facial expression. It seemed as if the father was slightly uncomfortable when he

took the baby from me. He seemed reluctant to do it but when he decided he wanted to try, he

couldn’t decide how to take him from me (how he should be held). I think the baby was probably

tired because he was due a nap and also maybe, a little uncomfortable. All babies cry quite often

but as soon as this baby started to cry, the father withdrew. Maybe he seemed slightly rejected by

the child. I managed to stop the crying by finding a position that the baby felt relaxed and

comfortable in. I spend a lot of time with this child and I know when he needs to be moved

around. He has a lot of warning signs such as becoming a lot more verbal, squirmy, he will stop

playing with his toys and of course, he will eventually cry. After reflecting, I believe the father

may just need more time to understand his son’s queues. He needs more interaction with the

child, not less. It’s important that I don’t judge the father, but instead understand why the

insufficient reactions are happening between himself and his child. I empathize with the father

because babies are not easy, especially without coherent verbal queues to guide us in their needs.

I might feel rejected too, especially because the child seems so connected to his mother.

However, his mother had a couple weeks of maternity leave whereas the father was in work

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throughout the whole pregnancy and after birth. The mother had more time to ‘figure out’ the

child. Their age also comes into play here. They are young and new parents and this most likely

plays a part in parenting confidence.

Lesson 8: Neglect/Abuse

If I was ever concerned about abuse of neglect of the child I would address it using

appropriate protocol because my primary obligation is to keep the child safe. This might entail

making an official report to Child Protective Services. Prior to this I might look towards

Washington State’s department of Social and Health services website to find state laws regarding

child maltreatment and mandated reporting. I don’t want to turn against the family, but instead,

understand where they are coming from and support them through the difficult process. As an

early childhood educator, I see it as my job to partner with the family. For example, I really liked

a subtle intervention method discussed in class and if I knew there were no potential risks posed

on the child, I might decide to utilize the method. The intervention strategy consisted of narrating

for the child. If the father, for example, decided to hold and feed the child, I might say “Thank

you daddy, this tastes really yummy; I love it when you hold and feed me. I feel really safe and

secure and I don’t feel hungry anymore”. I feel this provides the father with the opportunity to

understand his child and what the child might be thinking or feeling at that given moment. The

experience becomes more real. I would engage in subtle strategies similar to the one mentioned

as a way to support and partner with the family. I’m sure the relationship between myself and the

family would be strained if I suspected abuse of neglect of the child, especially if I found cause

to report. The family would lose trust in me as a caregiver and support system for their child

even though I would still want to be there for them. I’m sure there would be anger towards me

for risking their relationship with their child. However, I’d accept this anger as it’s

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understandable; I’m interfering in their family relationships. However, the child’s safety is

always priority!

Lesson 9 – Classroom:

The baby I’m focusing on is too young to attend school. However, once he reaches the age where

he is able to attend daycare, I would like to know about his sensory profile, his temperament, his

triggers and his interests. I also need a support system. Throughout my time in the ECFS major,

I have used my peers for reflection and stress relief. I talk to them about certain children in my

service learning. I use their expertise and seek their advice. We discuss potential strategies for

maximizing children’s potential. I need this if I was to teach the child in focus. It helps me make

sense of the child and his characteristics. I won’t know exactly what his character will be like

when he’s older but having a support system will help in any situation. Having a support system

or a discussion group used for reflection will help me maintain a neutral and curious stance as I

will be able to hear outsider perspectives. Reflecting with peers has been an extremely effective

practice for me in the past. Also, learning about family backgrounds has been useful when I aim

to understand the child. When I find out what a child’s experiences are at home, I can pinpoint

why they become frustrated and then implement preventative measures.

Personal responses/reactions to child and family over course of quarter:

Over the course of the quarter, I’ve been delighted with the progress that the focus baby is

making. As I wrote this paper, he learned to touch his toes, roll over and sit. I can see his

exploratory nature gradually blossoming as he explores animals and objects through touching. I

have seen a secure attachment develop between baby and mother. Throughout the quarter, I

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found myself becoming slightly more aware of the baby’s father and his lack of interaction with

the baby. However, as I wrote this paper I found myself reflecting on these lack of interactions.

In a way, I feel like I have gained a more unbiased stance of their relationship. I appreciate his

relationship with his son. I recognize his strengths and all he has to offer his son. Now I’m

focusing more on strategies that could be implemented to help bridge a connection between the

father and his baby. For example, if I’m holding the baby, I could ask the father to show me how

to burp him or wrap him in his sleep suit. I want to provide opportunities for confidence

building.

What do I wonder about?

I wonder if the father will become more involved as the child gets older. Sometimes people feel

more comfortable with slightly older children that they can more easily communicate with. I

wonder what will be the most determining factor that shapes the baby’s character. I also wonder

how he will react when his mother leaves the room when he is around two years of age. I know

that children around this age are more aware of their caregiver’s absences. I wonder if this will

impact my relationship with the child too. I wonder if the vast amount of time I spend with him

now will impact our relationship as he gets older. Will he feel comfortable around me without

his parents there (he does now but he’s extremely young still). Lastly, I wonder how he will

interact with other children when he’s old enough. A lot has happened in a couple of months and

I can’t wait to watch him continue to develop and reach his next big milestone!

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NSG FINAL PROJECT