Assignment 5

1. My parenting style is definately authoritative. I think it is important to lay down the rules, but also not be too harsh when doing so. We don't spank our child but we do give timeouts. I expect Ryann to follow certain rules and as she is growing older she is starting to understand why I ask her to follow those rules. I am very affectionate towards her and even though I have another baby, I make sure to spend one on one time with Ryann so she knows that she is still my child and doesn't get jealous of her new sister. I encourage Ryann to do things on her own. At some points I will help her, like if we are playing together, then I will help her clean up, etc. I am trying to get to her to not be so clingy. I let her know that she is a big girl and can handle certain things on her own. I think my culture has influenced my parenting style a lot. Culture is important in everything we do. The fact that we eat dinner together as a family, that my partner and I both spend time taking our child out for fun events, and the fact that we allow our child to be so active. Sports are a huge part of American culture and my partner and I are definately encouraging Ryann to start being interested in things other than quiet time.

2. Ryann's language ability has definately approved. Before she was scoring well under below average on language tests and she had a low vocabulary overall. Now that we are reading together and watching educational TV her vocabulary has expanded. I'm starting to buy her books with pictures and words so that she will be able to be ahead of the curve in kindergarden. Ryann is also gaining more knowledge of the world. She knows all about gender appropriateness. She is able to tell what kind of activities are usually for girls and which ones are usually for boys. My partner and I are trying to help her understand that although our culture does put different roles for the male and female, it is okay for the roles to switch.We are encouraging her to play sports and we are trying to expose her to all activities regardles of gender appropriateness.

3. My child is both slow to warm up and resilient. In social situations she will make a few friends and be very playful, cooperative, and friendly with them. However when new situations arise she needs some encouragement to get involved. Ryann is always very cooperative and positive. She does not get aggressive and she loves to be very helpful with the new baby. Hopefully Ryann will get rid of her slow to warm up side soon since she will be in kindergarden shortly. I am taking her to play groups on the weekends so she can meet some children that are her age.