Choose one of the parenting dilemmas.
In 3 pages
1. Explain in detail
a. what you would think if you were this child's parent
b. what you would do if you were this child's parent
2. Then explain in detail why you would think and do that.
- You will use information from two academic sources to support your interpretation and behavior in APA style.
Parenting dillemas:
• Nevaeh is 3 years old and has recently become a big sister for the first time. Her parents have been busier than usual getting used to having two children to take care of, and Nevaeh hasn't seemed like her normal self since the birth of her brother. She has had several episodes involving tantrums and aggressive behavior, which is unusual for her.
She is normally a well-behaved child and hasn't had issues with aggressive or inappropriate behavior in the past. Nevaeh's mother has been a stay at home mom since she was born, therefore she has not experienced day care or settings in which she is exposed to other children for extended periods of time until this point in her life.
• Carsten (Age 4) is the son to a loving mother and father. He has recently started kindergarten and is having fun making friends with his classmates. One day, his mom and dad got a call on their home phone asking them if they had some time after pickup to chat with his teacher. The mother and father agreed to stay after and have a talk with Carsten's teacher. The parents arrived at the kindergarten at the designated pickup time.
Once all of Carsten's classmates had been picked up, the teacher sat down with the family in her office. The teacher then informed Carsten's parents that he is having trouble paying attention in class and is becoming a distraction to the other students. The teacher also expressed her concern with his learning progress as Carsten is having a difficult time learning to read and write. The teacher concluded with telling the parents that Carsten has made minimal progress in the 3 months he has been in Kindergarten. Carsten understood what the teacher is saying and is clearly distressed and upset. He told his parents that he doesn't want to leave his friends and is sorry that he isn't doing well.
• Ben and his father are new to the community and have decided to attend library programs to meet new friends. Ben is in preschool and loves coming to the library. Ben and his father are both engaged in story time and song with the librarians. When it is time for individual activities, Ben will choose one game and stay there for the entire time. One day, Ben was playing with Play-Doh for the majority of the independent activity time.
Another child wanted a turn at the station, so Ben's father asked if he would like to try a new activity so the other child can have a turn. Ben ignored his father and grabbed onto the Play-Doh tray. After asking Ben again, he began to groan loudly and rock back and forth. At this point, Ben began to scream.
• Kayla (Age 5) and Kyle (Age 8) are the daughter and son of a young married couple. The mother had her boy Kyle at the age of 16 and had to make the difficult decision to drop out of high school. Both children are healthy and do not possess any sort of disability or developmental delay. However, Kyle has recently been having some serious behavior issues in school and at home.
There is currently a high amount of parental conflict in the home including: loud arguments, swearing, and physical abuse. One day after arriving home from school, Kyle and Kayla immediately started fighting over the TV remote in the living room. After a few minutes of constant pulling and tugging of the remote, Kyle got fed up and shoved his little sister Kayla to the ground. Kayla almost instantly burst into tears and Kyle responded with calling her stupid followed by an inappropriate swear word. Kayla then ran to her mom crying uncontrollably while Kyle sat on the couch on turned on his favorite show.
• Jacob is a happy-go-lucky 8-year-old boy. He makes friends easily and while he does fine in school, his favorite time of the school day is recess because he is able to play sports with friends. Jacob has played baseball for several years and he is in the middle of the spring season. He has recently moved up a level in baseball; now the kids are pitching and many of the boys on his team are older than him.
He is struggling to keep up with the kids on his team and seems to have lost his confidence. When he gets up to bat, the kid who is pitching throws a fast, but wild pitch that hits Jacob in the forehead. OUCH! Jacob is hurt, but not badly. Luckily there is no worry of a concussion. He sits out for the rest of the game. The next day, Jacob tells his dad that he wants to quit playing baseball and not finish playing the rest of the games this season.
• Taylor is in 5th grade and has a stable family life. She lives with both of her parents and her younger brother. She excels in school and is often a favorite among her teachers because she is responsible and well-behaved. The beginning of her 5th grade year started off well and she was enjoying spending time with her friends at recess. However, after a couple months, her two best friends tell her that they want to play together just the two of them. Taylor isn't sure what happened or if they are upset at her for something. She is feeling confused, sad, and angry all at the same time. When her mother picks her up from school that day, Taylor is crying and tells her mom that her friends don't like her anymore.
• Brianna (Age 13) is the daughter to a single, widowed father. Brianna is an only child and is currently in middle school. Brianna has recently started puberty and is feeling uncomfortable with her body. She is the only one in her friend group currently going through puberty and feels too embarrassed to discuss her experiences and troubles with them. Her dad is aware that she has her period, but isn't aware of her feeling and emotions regarding the developmental changes she is going through. One day in the car on their way home from school, Brianna asked her dad if she could ask him a question.
Following the dad's agreement to hear his daughter's question, Brianna asked her dad when she should get a bra. Brianna then followed her question by informing her dad about the uncomfortable feelings she is having about the changes that are happening to her body. She asked her dad when the changes will stop and what to do when her classmates notice that she is wearing a bra. The questions and comments kept on coming during the ride home from school.
• Connor's parents have found that he snuck out of the house at night three times in the last month. Connor is a freshman in high school and is attending a new school this year.
Connor lives with his two moms and has a good relationship with them; however, recently he has been quieter and less talkative to them. His moms don't know where he goes when the sneaks out of the house. He's too young to drive, so he has been riding his bike. They believe he has been gone several hours each time. When they ask him where he has been, he just says he couldn't sleep and went out for a bike ride.
• Ryan is a 15-year-old sophomore in high school. He is the second of three children. Ryan is constantly trying to outdo his older brother, because he is always recognized by his parents for his academic and athletic achievements. Ryan sometimes acts out in class and makes inappropriate comments in front of groups of students.
Last week in an assembly, Ryan raised his hand and asked the presenter something in order to make the entire student body burst out in laughter. Ryan's most recent act was that he wrote a suicidal comment on an exam in the space provided for a test response. This set teachers and guidance counselors off. When he was called to the office to discuss his comment, he kept insisting that it was just a joke.
• Mariah, a 16-year-old sophomore has recently started dating her first boyfriend. Her new relationship has resulted in her loss of interest in family events. Her parents would like her to be home for family dinners and for her to keep up with her chores like she has always done in the past. Mariah is constantly asking for her parents' permission to stay out late and to miss dinner so she can spend time with her boyfriend. Her parents want to be supportive, but are having mixed feelings about all the time she is spending away from home, unsupervised.