Essay - Infant Observation Was Given the Opportunity to Observe a Female...

Infant Observation was given the opportunity to observe a female infant in a rather unique setting. "Herself" is the name that the child's mo*****r, a modern-day flower child *****d Aloe, has ***** to the baby until ***** child ***** old enough to chose her own name. ***** runs a small cruelty-free bakery and vegan ice cream shop in a rural community several hours from my home. I first met Aloe and ***** then unborn child on a road trip with friends, and I have stayed ***** e-mail c*****tact with her on occasion since then because she was such an interesting person. When given the assignment ***** observe an infant, I decided it would be nice to catch up w*****h ***** and meet her now one-year-old child. Aloe's shop is located on a small plot of farmland which is used for animal rescue, and since it ***** also her home, she is able to care for Herself throughout the day while working. A corner of ***** ***** near the counter is surrounded by a beautifully carved *****-safe border, and within it is a full nursery setup. However, the m*****jority of the time *****loe carries the child close to her body in a sl*****g, because ***** believes very strongly in ***** importance of loving touch ***** maternal bonding for healthy child development. ***** spent about eight hours with Aloe and Herself, however I will focus the majority of this study on ***** time Herself ***** in ***** nursery corner while Aloe tended to some farm work, ********** earshot of the child and myself. The two domains of development on which I focused ***** observing Herself were her language and motor skills.

***** showed slightly different ***** patterns than I ***** previously observed in infants her age, largely, I am guessing, due to the ***** unconventional way in which she is being raised. Herself was extremely vocal, and seemed ***** be ***** content to experiment with different sounds and pitches while left alone. She spent several minutes singing what almost sounded like scales from music lessons, though not as formed ***** planned. The child seemed to express a lot of happiness through sound, like cooing and giggling and *****ed sighs. Herself did not have any angry or harsh tones in her voice at all, even when she ***** frustrated *****cause ***** could ***** reach something she wanted. From observing Aloe, it seems that the child has never been exposed to yelling ***** grunting or angry vocalizations, and ***** has picked up on the very positive and pleasant tone of voice that Aloe always uses.

Herself enjoyed the phrase, "AE*****OU" and would repeat the *****s ***** ***** vowels many times over in slurred excitement. ***** child also ***** a lot of time mak*****g random barnyard animal *****s, ***** ***** interspersed with her regular speech. For example, she ***** be babbling and singing, and ***** begin to moo like a cow, gobble like a turkey, and oink like a pig. However, these were not the