Facilitating the Empowerment That Olivia Desires

Toddlers' Independence: Facilitating The Empowerment That Olivia Desires

Georglyn Joseph Williams

ECE 313: Collaboration with Parents & Community

Instructor: Brandy O'Leary

December 13th, 2010

Child development is deeply influenced by the cultural environment and the people he or she meets. The communication and language, ideas, feelings, and relationships and other cultural elements among which the child is brought up influence development very deeply. Consequently, in order to provide a developmentally appropriate environment for Olivia, it is important to understand the paces and phases of her development. Her language development and communication, as well as, the way she represent her experiences, the way she behaves, her movements, her ideas, her skills, attitudes, feelings and relationships, independent or self-help skills, and the patterns of her behavior, which she uses in different situations and settings, need to be learned. Toddlers develop either a basic sense of being able to do things, or a basic sense of doubt and shame in themselves; during this phase of autonomy development is really about toddlers self-identity. As result of this knowledge, a developmentally appropriate environment, which will help Olivia to learn most of the time becomes necessary. This environment must care about Olivia as an individual as much as it cares about getting things right in general.

The developmentally appropriate environment needs to offer experiences which are appropriate for Olivia's age and her autonomous stage of development. Olivia needs adults, who observe, support, and extend her development and learning because Olivia will become bored and frustrated, resulting in her being a challenged to be with.