Essay On My Virtual Child

As a mother of three school-aged children, I assumed this my virtual child project would be redundant. Naturally, I thought what could this project teach me about parenting that I did not already know. Consequently, as it turns out, there are a lot of things I did not know or wish I had known before I became a mom. I assumed the My Virtual Child project would be unrealistic and lacking in real life situations. Consequently, the program turned out to be exciting and very realistic. This paper will discuss my virtual child experiment including my daughter, parenting skills, and overall course reflections.

This test observed patterns in the infants’ experiences of separation and reunion with their mother, and their reaction to a stranger, in order to evaluate the type of attachment relationship the infant shared with their mother (Ainsworth, 1978). Ainsworth found a significant consistency between the mothers’ interactive styles and the reactions of the infants. The results of this test led Ainsworth to classify the behaviours into three main categories. She identified the infants to have secure attachment, or one of two forms of insecure attachment, avoidant or ambivalent (Music,

The unique bond that exists between a mother and her child is practically unbreakable. A mother’s love is unselfish, unconditional, and knows no boundaries. Without the love and support of a mother, a child is like a ship lost at sea. The only way one can possibly repay their mother for all they have done is by giving her the same relentless love and affection that she have always given. In “The Lanyard”, Billy Collins implements juxtaposition, humorous comparisons, and metaphors to refrain the poet's message of love from lapsing into a cliché about parental love and convey the theme of a mother’s love.

Sigmund Freud (1982) also known as the “Father of Psychoanalysis” claimed that the mother-child connection is an unconscious bond between the infant and the primary caregiver which becomes the dominant force for a pattern of behaviors throughout the infant’s entire lifespan. However, John Bowlby, a British psychologist, psychiatrist and psychoanalyst developed Freud’s claim further and introduced the attachment theory. According to the US National Library of Medicine National Institute of Health “Attachment is one specific aspect of the relationship between a child and a parent with its purpose being to make a child safe, secure and protected. Attachment is distinguished from other aspects of parenting, such as disciplining, entertaining and

When becoming a mother, the first instinct is to protect and raise a healthy child at whatever cost. Habits are drop as well as large life changes. The last bite is given as well as altering one’s life style to insure the child has no needs. This could mean getting rid of negative, toxic people who could pose as a threat or even a sleeping pattern may need to be altered. However, the child comes first and the mothers wants are secondary.

The secure babies used their mothers as a base to explore and as a protective safe haven. They were upset when the caregivers left but when they returned, they brought safety to the baby. Babies who had an avoidant attachment, didn’t want their caregiver upon return to the room. The caregivers for these babies may have been unresponsive to their signals of distress. Some babies were also classified as having resistant attachments, and tried kicking or arching their backs when comforted by the caregiver. The last insecure attachment is known as disorganized which usually results in relationship and behavioral patterns for the children later in

My child’s name is Carter Pirnuta. He was born at full-tem with no complications. He typically sleeps 15 hours a day with increments of around 2 hours at a time. Carter is able to digest new foods well, so the doctor recommends that he eat a variety of foods. Carter has typical emotional reactions of his age, such as fear of total strangers, separation anxiety and a quick, loud cry when upset or in pain. His motor skills are typical for his age that includes: crawling, sitting up, and standing up, but not walking yet. Because of his high energy, he tends to be more restless, especially when it’s bedtime. We were able to afford placing him in a preschool program, which we thought

In the virtual simulation, I was faced with multiple unexpected challenges such as my daughter’s diagnosis of ADHD and her temporary drug use and felt uncertain of what to do. So like most new parents, I took it one day at a time and accepted the fact that I might not get it exactly right every time. I also took advice from professionals, close friends and family when it was necessary. As long as I was putting my daughter’s well-being first and continuously showing her how much I loved her, I was satisfied with the decisions I made. My ultimate goal was to guide her and make sure she grew into a responsible, mature, and intelligent woman. This paper will seek to describe how the collective difficult parenting choices I made for my virtual daughter

My Virtual child has been a great learning experience. Even though it did cover birth up until the age of 18 it nearly scratched the surface of what raising a child reaslly is. Raising children takes a financial, physical, and emotional toll on married couples or single prents. Although I did not have to wake up in the middle of the night to change diapers, physically take my child to the doctor, or even feed my child, I had to make impoirtant decisions for my childs well being which is a huge part of being a parent. This program taight me that raising a child takes huge responsibility. I had to recall what I learned thrououhgt the semester to be able to make the right decisions for my child. I had to m ake important decisions that not only affectred me, but it also affected my child. I had a natural

Differences occur in the degree to which infant-mother relationships are characterized by experiences of security (Levy & Blatt 1999). Some mothers are slow in response to their infant cries. The infants of these mothers cry more often and explore less than securely attachment infants (Levy & Blatt 1999). Many infants eventually try to avoid mothers who previously had frequently rejected them or turn deaf hears to their cry. This establishes the avoidant attachment in kids (Levy & Blatt 1999).

How infant and toddlers are given the time, space, engagement have huge impact in children later years. Experts too has agreed that all these factor are important to the development of children socio-emotional and cognitive (Scroufe, 1988; Howes, 1999). Secure attachments support and help children to be able to regulate emotions, reduce fear, building relationship with other adults, empathy for others and appropriate moral reasoning. Bowlby calls this as the internal working model. In the opposite direction, insecure attachments, has negative impact on child overall development for instance they are be able to manage their emotions or engage in reciprocal relationships. In a longitudinal study by Waters, Merrick, Treboux, & Albersheim (2000), they monitored 50 individuals over a period of 20 years found that there is a stable secured attachment over that period, with a greater percentile for individuals without any major negative life events, and less stable (less than 50%) for those who had experienced a major negative

Attachment theory tries to describe the evolution of personality and behaviour in relationships and it gives a reason for the difference in a person’s emotional and relationship attitudes.

Attachment in early life is a fundamental aspect of child development and the establishment of intimate and reciprocal relationships with caregivers. Shaffer & Kipp (2007) define attachment as ‘a close emotional relationship between two persons, characterized by mutual affection and a desire to maintain proximity’. Contrary to the original view of infant attachment as a ‘secondary drive’ of the dependency on caregivers for physiological needs, such as hunger; Bowlby (1969, 1973) proposed that all infants are born with an innate bias to form an attachment to a primary attachment figure to whom they can seek comfort, or a ‘secure base’ during stressful circumstances. It is proposed by Ainsworth (1967) that parental sensitivity is crucial to shaping the security and development of the initial infant-parent attachment relationship, however the phenomenon of attachment requires both infants and caregivers to contribute in the formation of the attachment bond. Ultimately, the quality of attachment in early life shapes both the social and emotional

One of the most important factors that affect a child 's development is the relationship and attachment of the child with their primary caregiver. John Bowlby studied the development of the child; he was interested in how childhood relationships affected kids as they grew older and became adults. He was also concerned with the relationship of the child and primary caregiver and how they interacted, and the effect this had on later life. Bowlby 's theory established that children’s earliest relationships shaped their later development and characterized their human life, "from the cradle to the grave"(Bowlby, 1998). The attachment style that an infant develops with their parent later reflects on their overall person. Bowlby 's attachment theory had vast investigation done by Mary Ainsworth, who studied the interactions between mother and child, specifically, the theme of an infant’s investigation of their surroundings and the separation from their mother. This essay will focus on Bowlby’s attachment theory and Mary Ainsworth’s experiments and findings, discussing their views on the development and importance of attachment in early life.

Raising a child is full of surprises. No matter how many books, parenting forums, and Dr. Sears articles you read, nothing can completely prepare you for becoming a parent. If I could go back to before my daughter was born and tell myself what I didn’t know I would experience, this is what I would say.