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Aiden's First Tooth
Teething occurs when babies’ teeth grow in through their gums and causes pain and discomfort in those areas in their mouths- this normally starts between the age of 5-9 months (pp. 130). Common symptoms of teething include increased saliva production, drooling, biting things, coughing, and rash around the mouth (pp. 130). At 5 months, we noticed Aiden drooled a lot and was constantly biting objects, which told us his first tooth was coming in! Chewing on cold foods helped with the pain. -
Aiden's First Time Crawling
Babies begin crawling around 5-11 months of age (pp. 141). Aiden began crawling at 7 months old, it was new years day and we had family over (including babies). Some were crawling and from seeing other babies crawling, Aiden tried copying them and succeeded. A Secondary Circular Reaction occurred; babies perform an activity and receive a response, leading to repetition of the action (pp.149). Aiden crawled and everyone smiled, leading to Aiden responding by crawling more. -
Aiden's First Word
Between 12-18 months of age, toddlers start learning their first words (pp. 193). It was 2 days before Aiden’s first birthday and he said his first word, “cup”. He was actually referring to his bottle and he would say “cup” when he was hungry- so “cup” usually meant, “I’m hungry” or “I want my bottle”, which is an example of a holophrase. Holophrases are toddlers’ use of one word to representing a whole sentence or message (pp. 194). I'm so proud of my little guy! -
Aiden's First Year of Preschool
Aiden started preschool at the age of 3. About ¾ of children between the ages of 3-5 years old attend preschool or kindergarten in developed countries (pp. 246). Children who attend preschool have shown results of higher verbal, memory, and comprehension skills and more social skills (pp. 246). After one year of preschool, his evaluations showed that he was cooperative, often the group leader, and his language comprehension, counting, and reasoning skills were above average. -
Aiden Showed Lack of Understanding Conservation
Conservation is defined as the “mental ability to understand that the quantity of a substance or a material remains the same even if its appearance changes” and in early childhood (about 3-6 years old), children are unable to understand this concept (pp. 241). I started noticing Aiden’s inability to understand conservation at the age of 4- one day I gave Aiden and my niece 1 scoop of ice cream each- Aiden’s was in a bowl and my niece’s was in a cup and Aiden said “you gave her more!”. -
Aiden's Response To Divorce
Children (especially boys) tend to respond and act negatively in the first 2 years after their parents divorce (pp. 317). Aiden was 10 years old when my partner and I divorced and Aiden began acting nervous, unsure of himself, more dependent on me, and would fight with his younger sister Lani (screaming/pushing/hitting). Aiden acted this way for about a year then he slowly grew out of it. -
Start of Puberty
Puberty begins during the mid teenage years and for boys, secondary sex characteristics can start and show between and around the ages of 10-17 (pp. 343). Boys’ voices begin changing and lowering between the ages of 11-15, and I began noticing Aiden’s voice was getting a little lower/deeper. Another year had passed and Aiden started developing underarm hair, which was completely normal as boys start seeing underarm hair between the ages of 12-17. My baby is growing up! -
Aiden's First Girlfriend
After puberty begins, sexual maturity develops as well and by 11th grade, 80% of adolescents have already experienced a romantic relationship (pp. 378). In 10th grade at the age of 16, Aiden had his first girlfriend and it seemed pretty serious because after two months of dating he said they were inlove. His girlfriend’s name was Leah and they were adorable together- they did homework together, went on dates, and she spent a lot of time with our family and he spent a lot of time with hers.
