To assess the development of j.g a toddler

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Development assessment

To assess the development of j.g a toddler brought to an emergency room due to elevated temperature one needs to first summarize the current condition. An examination done on j.g revealed that he had an elect posture with his abdomen still large and protruding and a swayed back. His height was two inches and he weighed 32 pounds. The other physical exam vitals revealed that had a pulse of 146 and his respiration was 56. An examination on his mouth revealed that he 15 baby teeth in total. J.g was able to walk around obstacles. He could also hold the toy in one hand. At one moment he was also seen opening the zipper of his jungle green jacket. After he was given a toy car he could only manage to squat while playing with it. It was noticeable that sometimes he was able to balance on one foot but fell often. It was also observed that j.g could throw the toy underhand without losing his balance though once in a while he could fall.

The stage of development

J.g according to Erickson is in a toddler stage of development. He is two years old. At this stage J.g is expected to put on clothing, brush his teeth with some help, combines word and know over 50 words. He is also expected to use pronouns which include (me you mine I). He should also be able to follow to step commands, know his body parts, kick a ball, throw a ball overhead and walk up steps. His speech is expected to be half understandable.

The behavior revealing the stage after interaction with the nurse

After he was given a toy car he could only manage to squat while playing with it. It was noticeable that sometimes he was able to balance on one foot but fell often. It was also observed that j.g could throw the toy underhand without losing his balance though once in a while he could fall. He could also hold the toy in one hand ( Kagan 2004). At one moment he was also seen opening the zipper of his jungle green jacket. J.g was also able to open the door of the examination room by turning the door knob. He was also able to grasps a pen on the table and scribble on a book that was lying beside it. It was also observed that j.g could climb the chair and the low lying sit in the examination room. An assessment of his cognitive development revealed that his eye and hand movements were better coordinated and he could put objects together and take them apart. He also seemed fascinated and engrossed in figuring out situation. For example when his mother at one moment left the examination room he seemed engrossed looking for her. He recognized familiar person and differentiated them from strangers. For example he was able to recognize a neighbor who had come in with the mother. He was also not friendly to stranger and rejected them when they tried to hold him. When j.g language was assessed it was revealed that he had broken linguistic cod meaning that much of his talk had meaning to himself. He could utter three to four words statement and used conventional words to form more complete sentences. When his social emotional development was assessed it was revealed that j.g used physical aggression when angry.

Growth and development study

The expected cognitive development characteristics at this stage are as discussed below. First and foremost j.g is expected to have better coordinated eye and hand movements meaning that can put objects together and take them apart. An example of this is fitting large pegs into pegboard. Another cognitive character expected at the stage is using objects for purposes other than intended for example pushing a block around for a car or a boat. The toddler is also expected to look fascinated and engrossed when figuring out a situation. For example he stare for long moments trying to figure out where a ball has rolled, what has caused some particular noise and maybe where a cat has ran past. The child at this stage is also expected recognize familiar person and knows where they are. The child notes the absence of the familiar faces (Tassoni 2002). The child at this stage also finds a hidden object by looking for it at its last hiding place. This was termed by Piaget as object permanence which occurs at the sensorimotor stage of a childhood theory of cognitive development. The child is also expected to recognize and expresses pain and where it’s located.

The social emotional development expected at this stage includes showing signs of empathy and caring. For example the child may comfort another child if hurt or frightened. The child may use physical aggression if angry or frustrated. The child watches and imitates other children as they play but seldom interacts with them. The child at this stage is also expected to be bossy with the parents and the care givers.

Assessment of the j.g cognitive and social emotional development

As it is expected for a child at this stage of development j.g showed cognitive development characteristic which included pushing around a newspaper around as a car. The child as expected at this stage may use objected for purposes other than intended (Keshan 2004). J.g pushed round a newspaper lying on a seat as a car. J.g seemed fascinated and engrossed figuring where is toy had fallen. He stared for long moment and looked around. J.g was able to recognize the face of the neighbor who had entered the examination room with his mother just as the child at his stage able to recognize familiar faces. He cried for the mother who had gone out and rejected the nurse who was a stranger. A social emotional development character that was depicted by j.g was bossing his mother around. He asked for chocolates and cried to have his jacket removed. He wanted to leaved and kept crying and telling pointing at the door and pulling his mother’s hand.

There nursing considerations to be borne in mind regarding cognitive and social emotional characters of child at this stage

First and foremost the nurse can be able to lead the child to tell him or her where he is feeling the pain since at this stage the child is able to recognize and express pain and where it is located. The child could point at his teeth and the nurse could be in a position to know that it is suffering from tooth ache. The nurse should be aware that at this stage the child may reject stranger and cry for familiar faces and he or she should be in a position to entice the child so as it may not reject him or her. The nurse should avoid as much as possible making the child angry or frustrated because they result to physical aggression which is common at this stage.

Common health problems

There are a number of common health problems that are associated with a child at this stage. Constipation is one of the very common health problems of a toddler at this stage. It is defined usually as the passage of hard and painful stools or going for about four days without bowel movement. Constipation is most commonly caused by a diet that is low fiber and also by drinking too much milk and not drinking enough water (Brown 2003). Diarrhea is also a common problem that is cause by a viral infection. It is advisable to call a pediatrician if the diarrhea has blood or has prolonged. The child at this stage is till teething and may have problems of swelling and painful gums. Vomiting is another common health problem at this stage and usually accompanies diarrhea as a part of viral infection (Brown 2003). Stuffy nose or sneezing is also very common and it is caused by irritation from smoke, dry air or dust. Another common healthy problem is upper respiratory infections. These are very common and they include symptoms of a clear or green runny nose and cough. They are usually caused by common cold viruses. The best treatment is to use salt water nasal drops. Diaper rashes are very common but they usually clear up in 3-4 day. Most of the toddler at this state may be learning how to use a portable toilet but most of the times they use diapers. The child at this stage is very vulnerable to accident and it may get injured. Fall example it may fall and get bruised. The child may use things like knife as toy and could end up get if there was no one watching at the moment. Thus accidents are common health hazards for a child at this stage.

Appropriate play activities

Children at this stage begin to play with other children but usually it is parallel play because children at this stage are very self centered and usually play alongside each other but it sometime before they actually start to play. The child may probably not be willing to share thing and may be very possessive. All play is physical for child a child at this stage that is why it’s very ideal to make a wide variety of playthings available to the child. Each of them stimulates his growth in body and brain in different ways. It is important to closely supervise children that are playing together and reassure them that the other will not be keeping its toys. Some of the appropriate activities that the caregiver could play with the child are pretend games (Simmers 2008). For example one can pretend to be an animal by walking like one. The care giver can also play ball games with the child. The child can also be left to play with other children or alone but care should be taken to ensure that the pay thing are not harmful and will not injure the child. For a child to develop motor skills at this early age the child could be give art supplies. The care giver must make available different types of paper and large sized crayons and pencils so that the child could use them in sketching (Simmers 2008). The child could also be supplied with toys that make patterns for example felt boards, magnetic boards and peg boards with large pegs. The child may be also supplied with toys to manipulate. At the age of 2 years the may still enjoy knobbed wood pieces but is getting ready to move jigsaws of up to 20 pieces.

References

Brown. J (2003). Common health problems with toddlers. United States. University Press.

Keshan. S (2000). A parent’s guide to child care. United States. Routledge.

Tassoni. P(2002) .Certificate child care and education. Stoke on Trent: Trentham Books.

Simmers. l (2008). Development of a child mind and body through play. United States: Harvard Press.

Kagan. J (2004).The stages of a child growth. Indiana. wiley