Running head: HD 300 REFLECTION EARLY CHILDHOOD THEMES AND LIFE CYCLE

ISSUES
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HD 300 Reflection Early Childhood Themes and Life Cycle Issues

Pauline Abu-Tayeh
Ralph Pascual
Pacific Oaks College

HD 300 REFLECTION EARLY CHILDHOOD THEMES AND LIFE CYCLE ISSUES

Through this class, I was able to gain insight and acknowledge that human development
covers the full birth to death process. Throughout my years of education, I have focused on the
preschool years from ages 3 to 5. One of my most powerful learning experiences in this course
was when we had to do four interviews or observations. The first observation was of a child
aged birth to 5 years. I was able to understand the early childhood themes visible in a child who
was 4. Although he needed redirection throughout his daily routine, the consistency provided
from the adults helped him focus on specific tasks such as handwashing, and tooth brushing.
Consistency also helped him during his transitions. I observed how his support system with
adults helped him to engage in positive behaviors with his peers as an adult was always in close
proximity to him. The child needed extra guidance in order for him to interact with his peers in
his school environment. The second observation dealt with a child aged 6 to twelve. I observed
a 7 year old child. I observed how she interacted with her peers and how they responded to her.
She assisted them with their tasks when the other children needed help. This young girl stood
up for herself when another child called her names. This observation helped me to think about
how children at this age support themselves through tough times of interaction with each other,
especially through bullying. Throughout the observation, I noticed her curiosity for what the
teacher was doing in the classroom. She asked many questions in order to satisfy her need to
know. I also observed her interest in literacy. Even though she was done with her homework,
she walked over to the bookshelf and took a book and sat down to read. When another child
joined her, they were both discussing the book. They young girl demonstrated positive
interactions with another child for pleasurable reading and participation in group discussion.
Furthermore, when they were outside, I noticed how she and all of the other children were more
creative with their movement in group activities. Some of the group games that they engaged in

HD 300 REFLECTION EARLY CHILDHOOD THEMES AND LIFE CYCLE ISSUES

were jump rope, kick ball, and dancing to music. For the interview with a teenager aged thirteen
to nineteen, I interviewed a child who was thirteen years old. I learned about how this age is
concerned with identity and cultural factors. This young girl was concerned about how others
saw her including how her family saw her. She expressed to me her need to be listened to and to
be liked by others for who she was. In this interview, she discussed body excessively and how
she was feeling emotionally and physically. She expressed how it was tough being a teenager
and that there was peer pressure at school to participate in substance abuse with drugs and
alcohol. I noticed identity issues when I asked her about herself. Sometimes, she was positive
about her body image. At other times during the interview, she said that she was depressed with
her life because of where she lived and how she did not like her family. In this interview, I did
notice that in this age group teenagers are better able to express feelings through talking when
someone else is intently listening. I also observed in our conversation that she had a stronger
sense of right and wrong. The fourth interview I did was with a young adult. This young woman
was twenty-seven year old. She had it together and seemed ambitious. She expressed how she
volunteered in many programs. She also spoke about her college experiences were very positive.
She had high self-esteem. She also mentioned that she had a supporting mother who was
involved in all of her school and extracurricular activities.
Throughout these observations, I realized that all ages desire protection, safety, and
acceptance with themselves and with others. This corresponds to Maslows Hierarchy of Needs
theory in a book called Motivation and Personality. Abraham Maslow wanted people to
understand that we are motivated to achieve needs from birth to adulthood. He believes when
we fulfill one need then we move to the next need whether it is physical or emotional. He
believes that people are motivated to achieve their needs but have to take steps toward each need;

HD 300 REFLECTION EARLY CHILDHOOD THEMES AND LIFE CYCLE ISSUES

for example, food needs, safety needs, love and esteem needs, and then to growth needs. Maslow
believes that people could actually get to a level called the self-actualization. He states that
everyone can reach that point but may also slide down the ladder when they were confronted
with divorce, death, job loss, etc. happens in a persons life. (Maslow, 1970). I believe that the
children and young adults in my observations and interviews connected with Maslows theory
because each of them were intrinsically motivated to support self-esteem and the desire to be
loved.
This class emphasized to me that we all need nurturing relationships. These relationships
should be supported by positive engagement. Healthy and productive relationships create the
strongest bonds. I have learned in this course that consistency is important for all ages. In this
course, I have learned that consistency helps us to build structure in our environment. I have
gained insight that in order to feel positive about oneself, then that person needs to be surrounded
by a nurturing environment.
In a group project, I was able to explore the Chinese Spring Festival before the Chinese
New Year celebration began. For my portion of our presentation, I provided food and customs
that the Chinese people used during a very important part of their traditions. I chose this
presentation topic because I know very little about the Chinese culture. I know many families
that are Chinese in our program. I never thought to learn about their culture so that they can
share in our classrooms. What I have learned from this experience is that I will continue to
stimulate my thinking in my exploration with different cultures. I will become more aware of the
different cultures in my classroom so that I can know the children better and bring the parents in
to volunteer and share their culture. The most important thing that I have learned is that culture
is not only a one-time-a-year deal but also should be shared throughout the year.

HD 300 REFLECTION EARLY CHILDHOOD THEMES AND LIFE CYCLE ISSUES

I am deeply involved in parental involvement in a childs life as well as the impact on

how parental conflicts occur between the parent and child. Although I had one daughter and
raised a nephew, I had my share of conflicts. Whether it was about food, shelter, or clothing or
about what he/she wanted to do, it was how I handled the situation. If I handled it firmly, it
worked out well. However, when I said no instead of engaging in choices and listening, it
turned into a conflict, and I had to figure out a way on how to handle it.
I did a paper in this course on Parental Conflicts and the Impact of the Adolescent. I
was able to make a connection from my life to several theorists, through the research for this
paper. The Social Learning Theory, by Albert Bandura, it states that humans learn from one
another through observation. I agree with Bandura that humans learn through imitation and
modeling (Bandura, 1977). If we do not handle situations with our children well, then we reap
the consequences and can see later our own behaviors in how they handle things.
The other powerful connection to my life was through the examination of Eriksons
Psychosocial Stages theory. These eight stages of development begin with infancy and end with
the final years of life. In Erik Eriksons Stages of Psychosocial Development human
development is seen through a series of tasks, as positive framed, versus a negative aspect of
human experience at that point in life; for example, Trust vs. Mistrust, Autonomy vs. Shame, etc.
(Cherry, 2016). Presently, I reflect upon my middle adulthood life. Because I am finishing
college, I am feeling content and fulfillment that my education for my BA degree is almost
completed. I am also feeling challenged to complete my MA in Early Childhood. I feel I have
lead a meaningful life raising two children who are leading productive lives. I also connect to
Eriksons theory with purpose because I feel I have contributed to society with assisting the

HD 300 REFLECTION EARLY CHILDHOOD THEMES AND LIFE CYCLE ISSUES

homeless and helping women out of domestic violence. I feel I have accomplished many things
in my life such as caring for myself and others. I also feel that there is still much more to do.
As I reflect upon this course, I understand that I am a better person for appreciating who I
am as a human being. I understand that I have acceptance needs from the time that I was a child
to the present day as an adult. I can see that I desire families and children to feel accepted for
who they are. This course has helped me to understand the importance of family, culture, race,
disabilities, etc. as part of the bigger picture of what acceptance means. Identity and
individuality are what we strive for at every age. The early childhood years are pivotal, as each
child seeks attachment, understanding, competency, and independence. This course helped me to
understand how these needs come back to us again and again.

HD 300 REFLECTION EARLY CHILDHOOD THEMES AND LIFE CYCLE ISSUES

References

Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. New York, NY: General Learning Press.
Cherry, K. (2016). What is psychosocial development? Erik Eriksons Stages of Psychosocial
Development. Retrieved from http://www.verywell.com
.Maslow, A. H. (1970). Motivation and personality 2nd Ed. New York, NY: Harper and Row.

HD 300 REFLECTION EARLY CHILDHOOD THEMES AND LIFE CYCLE ISSUES