Chapter 1: History, Theory, and Research Strategies

Reading this chapter while taking this class concerning infants and toddlers at the same time had me to go back a month or two back while I was taking a Parent-Child Relationships class. However, the only thing is I am learning how things are in way more detail than I could ever imagine while reading about it. I like the section called Studying the Child because of the fact it helps to really observe children by what they do differently knowing that not everyone is the same. There is more than one way to studying them besides doing a hypothesis. Research methods, research designs, naturalistic and structured observation, clinical interviews as well as questionnaires and tests are other alternatives of seeing what a child likes to do. In addition, it is also a way to find out whether or not an IEP (Individualized Education Plan) can help meet their goals when going to school. Taking the Parent-Child Relationships helped me to hear about the stages of life from childhood on up to late adulthood. Treating issues today I had to learn that it is not nowhere in comparison to how things are back in the thirties and forties when all of the psychiatrists and social workers went to not only the psychosexual theory of Freud, but also the psychoanalytic perspective. At the same time, Erikson was building on the theory in which he emphasizing the development of culturally relevant attitudes of skills. I learned a lot from this chapter because I used to work in daycare for five and a half years when I saw children grow up between birth and a year old playing with different toys and games. The best part learning about children is watching them grow into their own person and coming to know what they love to do!! I am not saying that just to say that it does not have its ups and downs because it does, but in the end, it is really worth it!!!