I was able to take some time observing children at the play
area inside our local mall. There was about three children playing and they
were aged range approximately 3 to 5. The children seemed to each play on the
jump on equipment in their own way and there was not much interaction between
each of the children. The youngest child kept interacting with the mother since
the mother was standing there being protective and making sure she was
following around her child. The other parents seemed to be more relaxed and
just sat on the edge and watched the children play. The one mom appeared to be
talking on the phone part of the time during the observation.
The interacting as far as communication appeared to be
effective. The mom that was talking to the child seemed to be communicating
with her child and there was constant interaction. The parent kept making sure
the child was being careful and was very firm in reminding the child of what
not to do. The other communication I saw was when the one parent was ready to
leave. The mom called the child’s name and was like we really should be going
now, mommy has to get home. This was said two or three times before the child
even went over to the mom. Her communication was not very effective and she should
have just stated it is time to go in order for the child to understand exactly
what was being expected of them.
The first parent and child interaction I think did not help
the child’s self worth at all since the parent kept reminding the child of what
not to do. It was almost as if the parent didn’t want the child to do things
because she was scared. This could make the child very timid to try things in
the future. I think the best thing I can
take from this observation is the fact that I need to be very conscious of what
I am saying when the children are trying new things in order to not deter them
of this in the future.
