Oglesby
Child Case Study
Identifying information
Lauren: age – 6 years, sex – female, birth order – first born, height – 4 ft., weight – 50 lbs.
Megan: age – 2 years, sex – female, birth order – second born, height – 2 ft. 9in., weight – 25 lbs.
Parents: Mother – Amanda, age – 38 years, occupation – Stay at home mom/physical therapist,
educational background – AA from Oxford College in 1991, BS in Physical Therapy from Chicago Medical
School in 1994.
Father – Frank, age – 42 years, occupation – Urologist, educational background – BBA from University of
Minnesota, Duluth in 1990 went back for premed, MD from University of Minnesota, Minneapolis in
2002, Residency at LSU-Shreveport, MD, urology in 2007.
Community: live in Macon, population – 92,775 people. The New Georgia Encyclopedia states that
Macon “…is the retail, medical, financial, educational, and cultural center of a still predominantly rural
section of middle Georgia”.
Physical development
Lauren: appearance – sandy blonde hair, clean, healthy and athletic, motor coordination – good motor
coordination and plays sports, muscular strength – average for age, growth pattern – in 90th percentile
in height and weight, degree of activity – very active, comparison with peers – on same level with peers.
Megan: appearance – sandy blonde hair, clean, healthy and small stature, motor coordination – average
for age and stature, muscular strength – average for age, growth pattern – below average in height and
weight and small stature, degree of activity – very active, comparison with peers – smaller than peers,
runt of class.
Emotional development
Lauren: extent of self-control – shows self-control, no incidences of temper tantrums, general
disposition is happy and serious, and has a very healthy self-esteem. When nervous or tired, Lauren will
pull at the skin on her neck.
Megan: incidences of temper tantrums – will cry and go limp when does not get her way, general
disposition is happy and silly, shows self control when given consequences, can be aggressive at times,
has a good self-esteem for age. When nervous or tired, Megan will pull at the skin on her neck.
Social development
Lauren: expressions of basic courtesies - very courteous and minds her manners most of the time, peer
relations – easy to make friends and has a lot of friends, sibling relationships – gets along well with
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Megan, enjoys playing together but also enjoys playing by herself, more of a loner and self-independent,
relationships with adults – respectful to adults and very inquisitive when adults say something that she
does not fully understand. Lauren, to me, is between Erikson’s Initiative versus guilt stage and the
industry versus inferiority stage. She has directed her energy towards school, but she has not
encountered the development of a sense of inferiority.
Megan: expressions of basic courtesies – learning basic courtesies, peer relations – gets along with
children of the same age, sibling relationships – gets along well with Lauren, enjoys playing together,
enjoys playing with others and can also play well by herself. Megan, to my observation, is in Erikson’s
Autonomy versus shame and doubt stage. When she is scolded she will hide things behind her back and
get a sad look on her face.
Cognitive development
Lauren: Intelligence – maybe a little above average for age, academic success/failure – exceeded in all
areas on report card, thought process – she thinks before answering questions that are detailed, interest
in school – very interested in school, enjoys art, reading, science, music, and the library, attention span –
good attention span, memory – very good memory, ability to reason – is able to explain reasoning
behind science experiments that have done in school. I would place Lauren between Piaget’s
Preoperational stage with the intuitive thought substage and the concrete operational stage. Lauren
can reason things out, but she is not at the level where she does not have to imagine the steps that are
in experiments.
Megan: Intelligence – maybe a little above average for age, academic success/failure – not measured at
this age, thought process – developing, when answering questions she sometimes pauses but not
always, interest in school – likes attending school for her age and enjoys playing and coloring, attention
span – depends on if she is interested in what has attention, memory – very good memory, ability to
reason – just beginning to develop. Using Piaget’s Cognitive Development theory Megan would, to me,
be between the sensorimotor stage and the preoperational stage at the symbolic function substage.
Megan is beginning to scribble drawings, but she does not attach meaning to the scribbles. Based on
that she is still sensorimotor stage but she is moving towards preoperational.
Language development
Lauren: vocabulary – extensive vocabulary for age, grammar – good grasp for age, intelligibility – speech
is clear and easy to understand.
Megan: vocabulary – extensive vocabulary for age, grammar – good grasp for age, intelligibility – speech
is easy to understand for age.
Moral development
Lauren: view of right and wrong – Lauren is in Kohlberg’s preconventional reasoning stage and she is not
quite at Stage 2 yet, but she is close.
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Megan: view of right and wrong – Megan is in Kohlberg’s preconventional reasoning stage and at Stage
1 due to her age.
General Assessment
Both girls show advanced intelligence for their ages, this is due to the fact that parents
encourage learning and take the girls on outings that involve creativity and interaction. Lauren reminds
me of children who are encouraged to explore and learn new information and a child whose parents are
actively involved in their development and education. Megan, who will be three in August, will have to
work towards getting what she wants in settings with more children because of her smaller size. Both
Megan and Lauren are timid at times when approaching something unfamiliar, Megan more so than
Lauren. I believe that Lauren and Megan are right on schedule with their growth and development.
Lauren was very interested in being observed and would ask questions that helped me in the
observation. Megan acted very natural during the observation and went about her business as if I was
not there. Additional information that I would like to have includes being able to observe them in their
home and to be able to observe them without them knowing I was there. Because we are family
members who do not see each other on a daily basis, they enjoy showing me the new things they can do
and telling me about things that have happened since the last time we saw each other.
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Resources
Observation of Lauren and Megan Casey, parental permission granted by Amanda Casey,
mother of children.