Observing Communication

Provide an account of your observation.  The setting is the 2-year-old classroom; the time is 5:40 p.m., purpose: mother is picking up her daughter.  The little girl is putting a puzzle together on the table, insists she put the puzzle together again after mom has arrived.  Mom allows the child to regulate the situation and time.  She and mom play peek-a-boo over and under the table several times.  The mother tells her it is time to go; daddy is waiting so they can go to dinner.  Again, the child decides to dump the puzzle again.  Mom says to come and the child says no.  Mom stands there while she puts the puzzle together.  Then she says that she is ready so mom goes to her cubby and gets her jacket.  The child goes running across the room and insists mom come over there to put on her jacket, then the child proceeds to look in her bag for her little bear.  She finds it, comes over to me and wants me to kiss her bear good night before she leaves.  I kiss the bear, Mom says lets go and the child cuddles up to me and kiss me on the cheek.  Mom thinks this is so cute. 

This is a regular occurrence when either parent arrives.  The child holds the reins and the parents follow her guidance. I noticed that mom is frustrated but does not know how to get control of the situation.  With the questions, that mom has asked me about discipline: the couple is not on the same track: therefore, they do nothing. 

Make connections between what you observed and the effective communication strategies presented in this week’s learning resources. What could have been done to make the communication more affirming and effective?  

Lisa Kolbeck says that we need to leave ourselves open to surprised; because children have so many surprises inside, we can learn about if we are quite enough to see their imagination.  She says that we can tell by children’s body language (Laureate Media, 2010). I think that next week when the parents are picking up, I will try to listen more carefully to the language between the two.  As Alison Stephenson talks about, I need to “step back” (Stephenson, A, 20009).

Share your thoughts with regard to how the communication interactions you observed may have affected the child's feelings and/or any influences it may have had on the child's sense of self-worth.

The child laughs and runs from her mother or father, I think that she is playing and wants them to play with her.  If the father would run after her, or walk fast she would probably come to him readily without having to be coached.  This next week I will try to look at it from her perspective and analyze why she becomes excited and acts silly. 

Offer insights on how the adult-child communication you observed this week compares to the ways in which you communicate with the children. What have you learned about yourself this week with respect to how well you talk with and listen to young children? In what ways could you improve?

I think that when the parents come to pick her up, they are not taking time to communicate with her.  Their business and desires come first and she is determined that she get the attention she desires.  The father is a high-ranking officer in the Army, a helicopter pilot and mom is a veterinarian.   They have committed and busy lives, the child fits in their lives.  I will encourage them to listen more carefully to what their child is saying. 

            References:

            "Communicating with Young Children", (2010), Laureate Media

           Stephenson, A. (2009). Conversations with a 2-year-old. YC: Young Children, 64(2), 90-95. Retrieved     from the Walden Library using the Education Research Complete database. http://ezp.waldenulibrary.org     /login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=37131016&site=ehost-live&scope=site