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What are the underlying assumptions about child development in Mrs. Winger’s comments? What is your assessment of her concerns based on what you know? How would you respond to her concerns? 1. Consider Mrs. Ramirez’s statements. What are her beliefs about child development? How would you go about helping her resolve her problem? How have her assumptions about development affected her family relationships?
1. Mrs. Winger’s concerns regarding front-loading technological education to preschool-aged children is based on the assumption that toddlers need to be exposed to the technologically-advanced world we live in as soon as they are capable of handling it (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015). While I do understand where Mrs. Winger’s concerns are coming from, and agree in somerespect, I do not think that her assumptions are correct. Children progress through many stages ofdevelopment and need to be exposed to learning opportunities that are aligned with those stages (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015). By solely focusing on technology, the children would not be exposed to the myriad of developmental activities needed for their own cognitive development. I would discuss these aspects of cognitive development with Mrs. Winger to help educate her. Additionally, I would assure her that when and if exposure to technology is beneficial and appropriate it will occur in a manner that is most fitting for the children’s cognitive development. Mrs. Ramirez appears to believe that just because her daughter, Tina, is the oldest child that she should be able to understand the concept of sharing with a younger sibling, even though Tina is only two years old. Mrs. Ramirez doesn’t understand that children of Tina’s age are very egocentric (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015). Egocentrism is defined as a child’s inability to see things outside of their own perspective (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015). Tina is in a stage of cognitive development where is not able to share her favorite toys because she sees it as only hers. To help resolve Mrs. Ramirez’s worries and misconceptions, I would help educate her on the cognitive development of young toddlers and explain the stages of cognitive development that Tina will progress through. The lack of knowledge and understanding of Mrs. Ramirez has negatively affected her family relationships because she sees Tina’s egocentrism as unnatural and
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