Virtual child development and applications

Virtual Child

My parenting philosophy has been formed as a conglomeration and synthesis of research. Each theory of child development has something to offer, and there is no one right or universal theory. Situational, psychological, biological, and cultural variables will all impact which theories work, when, and why. Two principles that have most often guided my personal philosophy of parenting include social learning theory and Piaget's theories of cognitive development. In particular, I appreciate Piaget's explanation of the stages of development. Any parent or anyone who works with children can observe the often dramatic changes in the ways children manipulate objects, make inferences and judgments, and develop ethical schemas. Understanding stages of development can help parents be more patient and tolerant of certain phases their children go through. Social learning is, I believe, of the utmost importance because children do model their behavior after adults, and it is not just the parents who can become influential role models in a child's life.

2. My child was a difficult toddler and seemed to get frustrated easily. He went through what is commonly known as the "terrible twos," and now I know this is a natural developmental stage influenced in part by environmental but also innate psychological or even genetic features. In retrospect, I can see that perhaps I was too hard on my child during this time, because I did not fully grasp developmental psychology. I expected my child to be able to communicate with me better, before he even understood how to read. Understanding age-appropriate tasks is important for parents, but at the time, I did not have access to the wealth of information contained in books or blogs. Kail's book outlines the foundational theories of child development in a way that makes perfect sense to me. I also appreciated Section 1.3, related to hereditary issues and environmental constraints, the "nature vs. nurture" debate. In retrospect, I could have done a better job with offering specific activities and tasks to promote my child's sensory-motor development and language development. When my child was older, I spent more time with him on learning tasks.

3. I do not believe that I could have predicted exactly how my child turned out based on his earlier development, because as Kail points out, later development is often unrelated to early development (Section 1.3). My child is a lot different now than he was when he was younger. Specific ways in which my parenting mattered for my child's development include the evolution of healthy attachments, as per both Bowlby's and Ainsworth's attachment theories. I was home for my child, and offered an abundance of nurturing. I believe that my child's current ability to trust people and his self-confidence is owing in part to my encouragement of healthy attachment but also my willingness to let go when it was developmentally appropriate, as the child grew older and more interested in pushing boundaries. I also know that my child had other role models, revealing the efficacy of social learning theory on child, adolescent, and adult development.