Monday, September 22, 2008

Assignment 4

1. Ryann is one of the most active children at her preschool. She loves playing catch, kicking around a soccer ball, riding her tricycle around the block, and playing basketball. My partner and I are definately encouraging this kind of behavior by taking her to activities at the childrens museums and going to the gym/play centers to try and channel activity into "learn by doing" activities. Ryann is starting develop some not so great behaviors. She lies about little things so we let her know that lying is hurtful and wrong. We also started playing some more aggressive games at home because even though she has been more cooperative, at school she sometimes gets pushed around and is starting to become a follower. Ryann recieves time-outs when she misbehaves, gets whiny or aggressive, or doesn't follow directions at home.

2. Ryann is beginning to show an interest in educational TV. She sings along and repeats what the characters say, playing along with the show. We try and watch the shows together so that if she has any questions I can answer them, and that also allows us to spend more time together. Sometimes she does get scared of TV dramas even though they are G rated. Again, we watch it together and I limit her tv use. We allow her to watch educational shows and a few cartoons. Her language skills are not up to par. She likes to tell people about things that she did that day but often leaves out important details. I try asking her questions to prompt her to fill in the rest of the story. She still uses gestures and talks in two or three word sentences. I encourage her to use her words and we are working hard to help her develop her language skills. This problem is making her more aggressive. She gets very frustrated when she doesn't understand a part of the conversation and even throws a tantrum. We are reading her books and taking time in conversations with her. Hopefully the educational TV will help.

3. Ryann is very social. She has a few friends at preschool. At home we had new neighbors move in and Ryann became very close with their 4 year old. She also loves playing in groups. She has even gotten in trouble for talking at innapropriate times, like while having rug time at preschool. Ryann is cooperative and friendly, she is albe to focus well on tasks, but she is sometimes unsure and anxious of herself in social situations. She is also a bit clingy with the teacher and she has to be encouraged until she would join in. When she did play cooperatively and non-aggressively. To help better the situation we are going to start inviting friends over for play dates at our new house. We are starting to work on her manners so she will learn when the appropriate times are to speak. For example we are taking turns in converstations and she gets a warning and then a time-out whenever she interrupts. My partner and I are fighting a lot. It sometimes gets so bad that one of us has to leave the apartment. Hopefully purchasing our new home and having more space will make some of our issues go away. We try not let Ryann see them but sometimes she does and I think that's what is affecting her change in behavior.

3 comments:

Colleen Mullendore said...

When 3 year olds start to lie, of course, parents need to address it so it doesn'e become a pattern of behavior, but they can be so imaginative. I remember when my son was three and when asked, told me that a dinosaur drew on the wall. And my girls have imaginary friends who misbehave and get time outs, too.

Jamie Heller said...

I must agree we have similar children and life situations. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. You mentioned several incidents that happened to us which I failed to write in my blog.

Emily Paterson said...

This sounds so much like Vidura. I think I say this every time I post a comment on your blog. We must have gotten the same brand of virtual child. But I, too, freaked out when Vidura began to lie. I hoped it wasn't because my parenting has made him feel unsafe about telling the truth (fear of punishment). I hardly ever punish him, so I happily blame the bad habit on preschool, and I try not to wonder if it stems from the fights I have with my partner.