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Tristan is Born
Viritual Child Experiment Started
Birth of baby boy "Tristan" -
Solid Foods Mishap (Part 1)
Tristan cries after meals and has been frequently experiencing diarrhea. Introduced bland solid foods like rice and strained fruits. I originally thought that it would be good to help against the diarrhea, so I started to introduce the foods. -
Solid Foods Mishap (Part 2)
Although weaning can take place as early as three months (Feldman, 2012, p. 130), I should have instead continued to have him be breastfed and introduce foods more gradually along the way. After all, most pediatricians and child care authorities recommend that breastfeeding is done for a full 12 months after birth (Feldman, 2012, p. 129). That being said, it was a little early to start feeding Tristan like this, but we learned our lesson. -
Object Permanence! (Part 1)
I tried the object permanence test on Tristan by hiding things and having him find them. So long as he wasn’t distracted by something else in the environment, he was able to find the hidden object. This behavior is part of substage four of Piaget’s six substages of the sensorimotor stage, usually occurring around 8 to 12 months of age (Feldman, 2012, p. 144). At 8 months old, Tristan seems to be on track with others in his development in this area. -
Object Permanence! (Part 2)
This new skill will help Tristan in times to come because he will be able to apply this concept to people as well as objects, thus realizing that his mother and I don’t continually cease to exist and then reanimate (Feldman, 2012, p. 146). When I hid something repeatedly in the same place, then switched it up, Tristan would look in the original place. This is normal as it just simply represents the beginnings of the fuller understanding of object permanence to come (Feldman, 2012 , p. 146). -
He's Learning (Part 2)
Scaffolding is the support provided by others around the developing child, and it helps out in a way that fosters the child’s continued independence and self-reliance with only assistance being provided when the child is stuck (Feldman, 2012, p. 229). Once the child masters the task and solves the problem, the scaffolding can be removed to allow the child to grow and achieve self-confidence (Feldman, 2012, p. 229). -
He's Learning! (Part3)
This is important because it allows the parents to interact with the child and not just do everything for them. As Vygotsky contended, challenging them mentally in this manner will help improve their memory and a host of other cognitive abilities in the long run (Feldman, 2012, p. 229). -
He's Learning! (Part 1)
Tristan sometimes will take on tasks that are too mentally challenging for his age. He then gets upset and starts whining for me. I pay attention to Tristan, go over to him and provide comments, actions and hints to help him when and if he gets stuck. The action I was taking in caring for Tristan is technically known as scaffolding. -
Theory of Mind (Part 1)
2 Years Old: LIttle Tristan is starting to become more self-aware. The other day he accidentally bumped into a vase and broke it. When I went around the corner to see what had happened, he had a really guilty face. According to Feldman (2012), this bodily awareness usually occurs within 12 to 24 months. Experimenters were able to show proof of self-awareness via placing a powder on a child's nose and putting them in front of a mirror. If the child wiped it off, it represented that they had..... -
Theory of Mind (Part 2)
at least some knowledge of how their body was interacting with ....the environment (Feldman, 2012, p. 175). This is good to see, as it should eventually lead to theory of mind as the child figures out a little bit about how their minds and others’ work in addition to what they’ve discovered about their body in the physical world (Feldman, 2012, p. 175). -
Potty Training! (Part 1)
Tristan has become pretty excited about being able to use the toilet! What a relief! He still has accidents, but I’d say he’s using the toilet more than half of the time, which is nice. He’s about two and a half right now. Experts recommend putting off toilet training until the child shows readiness (Feldman, 2012, p. 213). Considering Tristan’s enthusiasm, I’d say he’s definitely ready for continued improvements in this area. -
Potty Training! (Part 2)
If he ends up being fully trained in the next 6 months, he’ll be ahead of almost 40 percent of his peers, so he’ll be well within the normal limits of potty training (Feldman, 2012, p. 213). As such, I’m not too worried about it, just excited he’s taking the initiative! -
Supportive Parenting (Part 1)
My wife and I have been mostly handling things in an authoritative type of way, as far as parenting goes. We’ve decided that this is the way to go, both based on our past experiences in our childhoods as well as the fact that children of authoritative parents typically perform the best throughout childhood in terms of independence, friendliness, assertiveness, and cooperation in groups (Feldman, 2012, p. 259). -
Supportive Parenting (Part 2)
We hope that this will set Tristan up for future success and also help him understand the ways the world works, as we will be explaining our actions we take to him while ensuring his compliance to our rules. We want to be there for him, but we also know that discipline will ultimately help him later in life when he needs to get a job, apply to college, and other things that take motivation and self-reliance (Feldman, 2012, p. 259). -
It's A Girl!
Nothing about Tristan here (yet), but we’re having a second baby! We just found out today it’s going to be a girl. So excited! Tristan will have baby sister a little after he turns three. -
Routines, routines (Part 1)
3 years old. Part of setting up good disciplinary tactics is the development of a routine that stays consistent (Feldman, 2012, p. 261). For Tristan, my wife and I have set up meal, bath, and bedtime routines. Sometimes we’ll go out to a restaurant or something else out of the ordinary, and Tristan will call us out, noticing that we’re not doing things in the right order! -
Routines, routines (Part 2)
We think this is a strong indication of his growing theory of mind, as he can use his imagination to call attention to something that is not physically present or currently happening (Feldman, 2012, p. 256). We’re proud of our growing boy. As a side note, he’s also entered in pre-school, and we’ve been working with him to socialize him some more and reduce any fits or tantrums he’s been having. So far, so good. We see improvements almost daily. -
Fantasy Play (Part 1)
I was so surprised the other day. I was cooking dinner, and I could hear Tristan off in the side room playing with his toys. At one point, he quoted something I had said two days ago almost verbatim! Supposedly children start getting this Piagetian skill of deferred imitation somewhere around two years of age (Feldman, 2012, p. 147), but I hadn’t really caught it until the other day. -
Fantasy Play (Part 2)
His imagination is blossoming; he’s getting more sophisticated in his pretend play. We like to foster an environment where he can play like this, as we are certain he will make cognitive improvements due to figuring out the world through play (Feldman, 2012, p. 147). -
Fantasy Play (Part 2)
His imagination is blossoming; he’s getting more sophisticated in his pretend play. We like to foster an environment where he can play like this, as we are certain he will make cognitive improvements due to figuring out the world through play (Feldman, 2012, p. 147). -
Gender (Part 1)
4 years old. We’ve noticed a bit of a change in Tristan recently. He used to play with all sorts of toys, regardless of which gender they were intended for (we don’t really feel like reinforcing gender roles, as we are quite egalitarian in our marriage), but now he seems to be more drawn toward what the boys around him in the neighborhood are doing. He’s developing a gender schema based on the experiences happening around him (Feldman, 2012, p. 252). -
Gender (Part 2)
Alas, society’s reach is inescapable! He has to have been categorizing as he forms his gender identity and becomes increasingly aware of gender constancy (Feldman, 2012, p. 252). Although we’re accepting of his changes, we’ll be careful to be strong role models in his life so that he doesn’t end up holding a bunch of gender-based negative stereotypes. -
Tristan Learns to Help (Part 1)
Tristan has started acting out a little at home, upset that his infant sister is getting more of our attention. I saw a little bit of an increase in aggression in him, so I came up with a solution. Since children can find the disruption of routine difficult, and having to share affection can be a hard concept to understand for them, they end up having a higher sense of self-esteem and comfort if the family can share a sense of togetherness (Feldman, 2012, p. 344). -
Tristan Learns to Help (Part 2)
So, I decided to explain to Tristan different ways that we needed to take care of Aria, and involved him in her care. He has responded quite well to this now that I have involved him and made him feel useful, appreciated and loved again! Plus side, this will also serve as the building blocks to future responsibilities that he will have, so it’s been a win-win so far. -
Approaching Kindergarten (Part 1)
Tristan has been able to start playing catch and kicks around the soccer ball with us outside. He has drastically improved his comprehension of spatial relationships, one indicator that his brain has begun the process of lateralization (Feldman, 2012, p. 200). He’s also shown high competence in his letter learning, reading comprehension and language skills, also indicative of the brain’s specialization process through lateralization (Feldman, 2012, p. 200). -
Approaching Kindergarten (Part 2)
We’re sure his development coupled with our conscientious approach to enriching his learning experiences and being involved with his everyday learning has led to his performing above average for his age. We took him in to be assessed for a Kindergarten prep course over the summer. He scored really well and will be joining Kindergarten in the fall at a relatively early age—he’ll just have turned five. -
Happy Birthday, Tristan! (Part 1)
Five already. Tristan’s advancing in reading (we keep having to find him more challenging material as he has memorized many of his favorite books!) has led us to believe that he might be on track toward being considered a gifted student, that is, one who shows a high degree of stellar performance in creative tasks, intellect, and capacity for leadership (Feldman, 2012, p. 320). -
Happy Birthday, Tristan! (Part 2)
For the future, these signs indicate that we should most likely look for alternative ways to keep him excited about school, so that he doesn’t become complacent (Feldman, 2012, p. 321). My wife and I have been leaning more toward the enrichment method, so he can still stay with his peers while practicing in special programs that will provide more in-depth instruction with the topics covered (Feldman, 2012, p. 321). However, that won’t be for another few years yet, so we’ll hope for the best! -
Cheating vs. Morality (Part 1)
6 years old. So, we love playing new games with Tristan, but I’ve noticed that he’s been cheating sometimes so that he can win. When I called him out on it, he became upset. He only cheats when we’re not looking. This is representative of Stage 1 of Kohlberg’s Preconventional Morality (Feldman, 2012, p. 384). -
Cheating vs. Morality (Part 2)
Under this moral orientation, a child will obey rules and conventions to avoid punishment (Feldman, 2012, p. 384). That’s why Tristan only cheats when he thinks we’re not looking. I don’t get too mad at him though, as I’m proud to see he’s starting to form his sense of morality. Very neat thing to witness! -
Nutrition (Part 1)
It's been 8 years already! Tristan has been gobbling up food quite fast these days. He definitely has an increased appetite and a faster metabolism. Even though he’s only 8, over 16% of his peers are dealing with obesity (Feldman, 2012, p. 279). I know it’s important that he eat right and maintain himself so that he is not malnourished, but he’s been drawn to junk food lately, which isn’t good. -
Nutrition (Part 2)
Together, we went on the MyPlate.gov website and I showed him the foods he should eat, and explained how good nutrition will make him big and strong (Feldman, 2012, p. 277-278). After that, I think he understood why I didn’t want him to be eating junk food. Next, I’ll show him how to prepare some of his favorite meals, so he can pick it up when he’s a little older. Good habits starting at this young age will help him stay healthy as he ages and matures. -
Baseball (Part 1)
10 years old. Tristan’s interest in baseball the last few years has only increased. Along with his increased interest, came the further development of his gross motor skills. At age 10, children are quite accurate at judging directionality of small objects being thrown from various distances—like a baseball (Feldman, 2012, p. 284). His coach suggested that we enroll him in travel baseball, so we have. -
Baseball (Part 2)
Not only is Tristan quite proud of himself, he has started to make more friends, a pattern that we both hope will continue, especially since children who excel in physical activity tend to be more popular and well-liked by other children (Feldman, 2012, p. 284). -
Back to School (Part 1)
So, sometimes it seems like Tristan is already becoming an adult! But he’s so young! The other day, he got super excited when we were in the store and he saw all the back to school clothes and supplies. Even thought it was summer, he took great pleasure in trying on outfits and that he deemed “cool”. -
Back to School (Part 2)
My best guess here is that he was exemplifying social comparison, in that he was evaluating his own dress and comparing it to that of similar others, and thereby making judgments and decisions as to what is or is not acceptable attire (Feldman, 2012, p. 330). All that processing going on inside of an 11 year old? -
Back to School (Part 3)
Well, it is about this time that one’s understanding of oneself transitions from one of knowledge and confidence in one’s physical abilities to one’s psychological traits (Feldman, 2012, p. 329). As such, his views of himself are now understandably less simplistic than they were just a year or two ago (Feldman, 2012, p. 329). This also represents new components to be considered now and in the coming years in Tristan’s sense of self-esteem (Feldman, 2012, p. 331). -
Oh, Puberty... (Part 1)
Well, Tristan is 12, and he has started puberty—a typical age to start (Feldman, 2012, p. 354), although I found myself that it might have been just a tad bit early, possibly from the decent nutritional habits we’ve instilled in him since he was very young (Feldman, 2012, p. 356). -
Oh, Puberty... (Part 2)
Anyway, how I found out that he had likely started puberty was due to his constant insistence that I buy him this videogame—a videogame that happened to be chalked full of scantily-clad, racy images of its female characters. In other news, he’s been doing well at school, and has a lot of friends in spite of the moves we’ve had to make over the years. He’s been quite adaptable, even though I know it hasn’t always been easy. -
And so he shaves (Part 1)
14 years old. Today, Tristan was talking about shaving. He said all his friends had started shaving. At this point, as I scrutinized his face finding only peach fuzz, I knew he was acting on behalf of peer pressure and possibly motivated by desire to maintain his popular status in school (Feldman, 2012, p. 422). I care about Tristan and his academic success, and part of that success will continue if he stays engaged with his friends and his studies the ways he has been. -
And so he shaves (Part 2)
Since it is relatively harmless, I bought him an electric razor and showed him how to use it. He’ll probably really need it in about six months anyway. Typically, this is the last of the hair to grow during puberty and usually coincides with changes in voice (Feldman, 2012, p. 356). -
Teenagers. (Part 1)
Teenagers. Win a poetry contest one day, get suspended from school the next. So, Tristan and his friend thought it would be cool to dare each other to do things they’re not supposed to at school. Long story short, Tristan threw his shoes over the fence at school. This type of impulsive behavior should be expected more or less, as Tristan’s prefrontal cortex (responsible for impulse control) is still in the earlier stages of its development (Feldman, 2012, p. 361). -
Teenagers. (Part 2)
It’s not until about age 20 that it will be fully developed (Feldman, 2012, p. 361). Fortunately, I was able to get his disciplinary action down to a warning; he’s never gotten in any trouble at school before. I had a talk with him, and he admitted it was a pretty stupid, spur of the moment type of thing that he won’t repeat. Live and learn I guess. -
Job, College? How did this happen? (Part 1)
Having started early, Tristan has about 1 year left until he’s out of the house. He’s already started looking into colleges and preparing for the SATs. I’m very proud of him, but scared at the same time. Tristan has become more adult and independent than ever. Like most people his age, he got a part-time job, and works at the grocery store down the street (Feldman, 2012, p. 389). -
Job, College? How did this happen? (Part 2)
His work will help him fund his recreational activities that he and his friends enjoy as well as help him save up money for college, all while providing him irreplaceable experience in responsibility, work ethic and money skills (Feldman, 2012, p. 389). -
Job, College? How did this happen? (Part 3)
). It’s been shown that high school grades are negatively related to number of hours worked (Feldman, 2012, p. 389), but I’m confident that Tristan will be prepared as he’s always maintained balance of plenty of extra-curricular activities throughout his entire school carrier with after school clubs, baseball, soccer, art classes, homework, and hanging out with friends. He’s a smart kid, and I believe in him. -
Success!
Such a happy day, such awesome news! Tristan got accepted into a very prestigious school out of state. He’s not out of the woods yet, as only around 40% of the students entering college to pursue a degree end up obtaining that degree within the first four years (Feldman, 2012, p. 392). Tristan has always loved furthering his learning, especially in the sciences, so I don’t have any doubts that he will continue his good habits and pursue his dreams to the fullest. Way to go, Tristan! -
He's Off! (Part 1)
Well, it’s been 18 years. Tristan has about 3 weeks until he starts college. He’s been working his summer job in the meantime while we get him all set to go. It’s been a challenging but rewarding 18 years with Tristan; he’s never failed to impress us. It was a pleasure watching him grow into the fine young man that he is today. He’s very close to his mother and I, and doesn’t have any issues coming to me for advice when he needs it. -
He's Off! (Part 2)
I would call this a parenting success story. We didn’t know what we were doing at times; we weren’t sure if we made the right decisions, but in the end, he turned out to be quite alright. But who am I kidding, it’s not the end, he has his whole life ahead of him yet!
