The subtopic I would like to research is the impact of age, gender,
and number of siblings on a preschooler’s social-emotional development. My
interest on the topic is driven mostly from a personal perspective as I watch
the interactions of my two young daughters, ages 4 and 3. I am
curious how their social –emotional trajectory will be impacted by the constant
presence of a playmate who, for example, plays with them in the bathtub, as meals
are being prepared, in the shopping cart at the grocery store, during hours set
aside for play, and all times in between. How is this experience different from a child
who has a sibling of a different gender and of a greater age gap than my two
girls? In going through the steps of the
simulation process to pick this subtopic, I see how important excitement will
be to motivating me through the research work.
If I am not interested in the results of the research, I cannot see
myself putting forth the needed effort to produce quality research. I am encouraged that not only this topic is
exciting to me, but that other topics of research interest me very much, which I
realized when having to choose one topic from the three subtopics, and while
doing the Reflection section of the Research Chart. In this section, I listed two topics of
research which I think the field of early childhood should learn more about,
and which I personally would like to see the results of. So long as I am eager to learn more about
early childhood, I am encouraged that I am pursuing the right field of study
for me. To my fellow classmates who have more
experience than I in the field, I welcome any help you can give in directing me
to resources on the social-emotional development of preschoolers and the
specific influence of age, gender and siblings on a preschooler’s development. Also, please share with me any potential
trouble spots you see in this research topic, or personal and/or professional experience
you may have with this topic.
Allison,
ReplyDeleteI think your subtopic is one that I would love to read. I currently have a child in my class that is the youngest of 7. The oldest sibling is 21 and then the range goes 19, 16, 13, 5, 4 and then the 3 year old in my class. I have concerns about her and talked with the mother, but all she says is that she is her special child. I don't know what that means. She still talks like a baby and I can't understand anything that she says. I work with her one on one a lot to see if that will make a difference, but it doesn't. I asked the mother if I could do a referral, but she doesn't want that. She says the child is playing a game with me and talks a lot at home. I have almost reached the end of my rope. This child is 3 years old and is still being breastfed. Could this be part of the problem. If you have any information that you could share with me I would really appreciate it.
The story of your young student and mother is intriguing. To be the youngest of seven children must impact a child's social emotional development. As I read about sibling make-up in families, I will be sure to share with you things of interest.
DeleteAllison,
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting topic! I have two grown children, a boy and a girl, who are extremely close. They are like best friends. I encouraged them to be so as my husband was a United Methodist pastor so we moved every few years. For them, I think part of their ability to be close was having the boy first and then the girl as girls generally mature faster than boys. In that way it was almost like they were the same age for many years.
I did find a couple of articles that you might want to read about your topic.
Sibling Relationships
ehlt.flinders.edu.au/education/DLiT/2002/family/sibrel.htm
Examining the Role of Communication on Sibling Relationship ...
digitalarchive.gsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1080&context
Good luck with your topic! I look forward to reading more about it.
Carol,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for directing me to these articles!
Allison