Parent Child Observation Paper Sample

Brief Introduction A two-and-a-half-year-old girl, referred to as DA, was chosen for this paper. She is the client of a friend and Spanish speaking, Parent Child Educator (PCE), from the communities Head Start program. DA is the youngest of four children, her siblings range in age from ten to sixteen. She lives with both parents. Dad works two jobs and the older boys each have jobs, while mom stays home with the girls. The Family came to the community ten years ago. They moved to the Midwest from Mexico to be close to family. Spanish is the only language spoken in the home. Mom knows very little English, but dad speaks in both Spanish and English. The observation took place in DA’s home in Bloomington, Illinois. The family lives in a mobile home that was decorated with religious paintings and Hispanic culture. DA’s mother, sister, Parent Child Educator, and observer were all present for the observation. The Parent Child Educator did activities with the mother and the two girls during the observation and then translated for the interview between the observer and the mother, after the observation.

DA’s social connections consist of mainly family members. She does not attend daycare and is with mom all the time. When asked about how social DA is mom states she is shy and not very social. DA and mom attend activities at 2 agencies in the community and these are the only times DA is socialized with anyone other than family. Keller et. al. (2006), would consider this to be interdependence, because of the dependence the family has on one another and the fact that socialization is built around strategies that focus on the acceptance of norms and hierarchies that contribute to the harmonic functioning of the social unit, in this case, the family. Cabera et.al. (2011), says the value of interdependence is manifested in familism, respeto, educacion which leads to feelings of closeness and allegiance to the