For this assignment, you will complete an observation of a child between the ages of 1 and 10. You will write a essay (with APA format) which carefully describes the behavior and discusses that behavior in terms of child developmental psychology. You can choose to visit a day care or nursery school and observe a randomly chosen child for an hour, or you can choose to observe the child of a friend or family member or even a child in Youtube. Observe different types of play involvement and other interactions. You should be an unbiased observer, meaning that you should not interact with the child yourself. Take note of everything the child says and does, everything that is said or done to the child, and every gesture and facial expression or movement he or she makes.

Designing a chart of anticipated behavior prior to your observation should prove helpful. Leave space for unanticipated behaviors. You should be unbiased and remain uninfluenced by your own attitudes and opinions when observing. Don’t be judgmental or condemnatory – just record your observations. Note the time of your observations every 10 minutes and include reference to these notations in your paper. It is important to observe the amount and variety of activity that occurs within a specified time interval. However, do NOT specifically identify the child by name, only by gender and age.