Final Reflections

1. Ryann has been having difficulties with her friends at school which is causing some emotional problems. Instead of going out on weekends like she usually does she hangs out at home and goes to bed early. Hopefully this fight will pass like all the others and she will be fine and get over her "depression". When she was younger she only hung out with a few kids and was pretty quiet with all the others. I guess you could say because of this I always thought she wouldn't be a partier like she used to before the fighting started. Morally, Ryann is experimenting with her own ideas. She does have opinions of her own but when she was a little younger she tended to agree with some of my morals. I have strong morals and I have done my best to express them to her and teach her so after her experimenting is done, like with alcohol and marijuana, she will have strong morals. She is planning on going to a state school and work part-time so cognitively she is heading in the right direction. Her grades were never the best growing up so I didn't exactly have the highest expectations with her getting into a private school or a UC, but I am happy she is atleast going to a state school.

2. I think that when Ryann was an infant my parenting mattered because that's when her cognitive and speach development was beginning. I made sure to read to her and always tried to help stimulate her mind as young as possible. Another aspect is with her physical health. I encouraged her from a young age that exercise is important. I took her hiking and to the park, went on walks with her during middle school and high school, and got her involved in sports. Also, behaviorally, I always tried to maintain an authoritative parenting style with her; I was loving and had the right amount of discipline. She has gone throuh the normal teenage experiences but she is very well behaved and we have a great relationship. I know that Ryann has a good head on her shoulders and will make the right decisions for her future.

3. Because our family falls into the middle-class, I had to work when Ryann was a baby and I was not able to be home with her. This did however help her to be more outgoing and accepting of strangers when she was younger. She has always had a good temperament and was always very friendly with everyone. One random event that did affect her cognitive skills was when she got in an accident and had some brain damage. She was able to recover almost fully and didn't have too many problems with school but I do believe that her grades could have been stronger if that did not happen. Also, Ryann had to give up some her after-school events that were too expensive because the economy dropped and I couldn't afford everything her and her sister were doing.