Female Toddler, Three and a Half Years

¶ … female toddler, three and a half years old. She is my niece, the daughter of my sister and the other children specifically mentioned in this observational study are my other nieces and nephews. The subject has two siblings, a brother age 9, and a sister age 12, and the block party will be held at my other sister's house who lives on the block. The sister who lives on the block has two children, aged 6 and 3, both females.

The subject and the younger of the girl cousins, attend the same day care center and spend a great deal of time together. My sister, the child's mother suggested I use my niece in this paper as I was also invited to attend the "block party" at which the observations took place. The "block party" setting was a section of a city block, a side street, with traffic restricted and residents barbecuing, drinking, and general partying.

There are groups of children playing in different spots, as well as an inflatable "bouncing castle" which will be open to the children to play in at 1:00 PM. The party has loud music from different sources, and there will be organized events for both the children and parents. The observation will be taking place at the block party setting between 1:00 PM and 2:15 PM. The subject arrived shortly before 1:00 PM, the party's official start was scheduled for 1:00 PM, and arrived on her bicycle with her father, older brother and sister.

She immediately left her nuclear family to spend time with her cousin, the younger girl. The older cousin went to spend time with the subject's older brother and sister. There was a distinct separation between the subject and her cousin, and the older children. But all the children, including neighbors, head for the inflatable "jumping castle" when it is fully inflated, shortly after 1:00 PM. All the children play in the inflatable castle for about 10 to 12 minutes when the subject and her cousin emerge for some rest.

The castle is filled with approximately 20 children and it is difficult for the smaller ones to enjoy themselves as much. The subject asks her father if she and her cousin could have some soda pop, which he and the child's parents allow, and the two sit at the table talking to each other for around 8 to 10 minutes. They then return to the inflatable castle where the two continue to jump around, some of the older children have left, maybe 7 or 8, and there is a great deal more space inside.

The children are beginning to jump, with the subject and her cousin holding hands at first, but eventually jumping on their own. With the older relatives as their guides, the subject and cousin begin to make higher and more difficult jumps until the subject collided with another child. The subject immediately started crying with her cousin being the first to her aid. It was the cousin who called for the subject's brother and sister to take the subject out of the castle.

The subject ran over to her father, crying all the while. The father put some ice in a napkin and held it to the subject's forehead, on which there was a small red area, but not even a bump or bruise. As the subject was plainly not in any serious trouble, just upset over the incident. However, the cousin of the subject was constantly providing reassurance and worry over the subject and continually tried to comfort her.

A quarter of an hour or so after the bump to the subject's head, the subject was back to laughing and playing with her cousin. They wanted to return to the inflatable castle, but were not allowed to as lunch was almost ready. Then at 1:45 the hotdogs were given out and the subject and her family were laughing and singing and eating. The subject ate only half of the hotdog before she and cousin begin to lose interest in eating and begin playing with.