Tracy Smith
PSY-2050
Infant Observation
I did my observation on a friend’s 12-month-old son. His name has been changed to protect his privacy. I went to their house where as I thought he would be the most comfortable to get a good idea of his growth and development. We were in the living room which is where his toys are, and he spends a lot of his time.
Shamus is sitting on the floor with his toys around him. His mother sits on the floor next to him, and he begins to hand his mother a series of toys. He is interested in the reaction of his mother as he hands her his blocks, one by one. Shamus leans forward, grabs a block, and gives it to his mother. He watches her face and sort of drops his mouth open as he waits for her reaction. She then tells him the letter and color on the block. He nods his head forward, reaches his arm out, and proceeds to pick up another block. After picking up five blocks and handing them to his mother, he then crawls across the floor to a toy car and pushes it for a moment. He looks up at his mother to see what she is doing and pushes the car toward her. He smiles at her, and she smiles back and says, “Is that your car?” He smiles again and nods his head forward. Shamus is very interested in his mother’s reaction to him. She continues to watch him even when he is interested in a toy or moving away from her. He does check to see if she is paying attention to him as he plays. His mother starts picking up toys and organizing the room, and he periodically goes over to her and becomes interested in what she is doing. Shamus seems very dependent on his mother's mood. He smiles when she smiles, and if she is distracted, he wants to obtain her attention and appears to gauge and react to her facial expressions. It seems that their relationship is positive, and his mother is very attentive.
Shamus sits up with ease. He seems very balanced and sure of himself. His legs are spread apart, and his feet point outward. He can lean forward with his stomach to the floor and sit back up with some effort. Shamus crawls across the floor with his hands flat on the ground. When he goes from crawling to a sitting position, he raises his right leg up and puts his right foot flat on the ground and then leans back on his bottom. When Shamus goes from crawling to a standing position, he crawls to the couch and puts one hand up on the couch while leaning his head backward and plants his right leg on the ground to steady himself. Then he puts his other hand on the co...
