Assignment 5, 4 years

1. How would you characterize your parenting style? How have your specific parenting techniques changed since infancy? In what ways do you think your parenting style, or any other aspect of your parenting, has been influenced by your cultural background or other experiences?

We enrolled Sam into a kindergarten prep session over the summer.  Upon completion Sam received an assessment.  With in the assessment the observer noted that my parenting style fell with in the average when it came to affection and warmth and within the average range for discipline and control. I feel the assessment was quite accurate.   I feel that my spouse and I are exibiting an Authoritative parenting style.  Affection and warmth is difficult to evaluate in this medium, however I have always tried to keep his feelings into consideration when ever confronted with a problem. As for discipline, I have not felt the need to "spank" Sam,  or be overbearing.  I feel time outs and verbal reprimands are adequate punishment.  

My parenting has not changed much since infancy.   Although it has grown and adapted as Sam has grown and adapted.  I think in the beginning I realized that Sam was very attached to me and my spouse.   We made attempts to help him socialize with other adults.   We just have not been able to break him of his clingyness to his teachers.  All along we have realized that he was above average in his spatial and vocabulary skills and continued to foster those skills.  

Culturally, I feel that my parenting style was influenced by my SES status.  I was able to stay home with Sam which gave me a tremendous amount of one on one time to with Sam.  It also gave us the opportunities to go to museums, and zoo's and have playdates with other children at young ages.  A working mother would not have the ability to spend as much time fostering there children's interests, purely on the stand point of time alone.

2. Describe two specific examples of changes in your child’s behavior at age 4 that seem to stem from growth in cognitive and language ability since the period of infancy (e.g., improvements in symbolic thinking, reasoning, knowledge of the world, theory of mind).

Sam loves make believe play.  He frequently will act out adventures with his action figures and loves to pretend to be someone or something else with friends and family.   I think this is a direct relation to cognitive growth as seen through Piaget's early childhood schemes.  Sam's play is less self-centered and he is including more complexity in his play, by making his action figures act out adventures.  

Sam's reasoning skills are advancing so quickly.  I feel language development has hugely influenced this.  Sam now has the words to articulate a question and the language and  reasoning skills to interpret the question.  

3. How would you characterize your child’s personality? Would you say that your child is primarily overcontrolled, undercontrolled or resilient? Support your argument.

Sam's personality is a mix of characteristics.  Mostly he would fall into over controlled.  He follows the rules and isn't aggressive, yet when he is faced with an uncomfortable situation he becomes shy and clingy.   I feel resilience is beginning to come out in him.  I think his cognitive abilities and reasoning skills are helping him break out of the overcontrolled and he is realizing he is able to do more and enjoy more if he participates.