Early Childhood Development

Ella is a bright eyed thirty-five month year old toddler. She has short blond hair and she wears glasses. She attends nursery school three mornings a week, and has been attending school since she was two years old. Ella lives in Berkeley with her biological parents in a middle class neighborhood.

Ella’s infectiously playful spirit is one of her first attributes that I noticed. Often while observing Ella I would have to contain my desire to laugh and at other times I would feel joyful. She happily roamed and explored her surroundings with curiosity and delight.

Separation and Physical Proximity

Ella and her mom, Kerri, were in the same room, or if they were outside were in close proximity to one another, the vast majority of the time. During the first observation, Ella and her mom were separate from each other on only two occasions. The separation periods ranged from 25 to 55 seconds. In the following example Ella and her mom are gardening.

Ella walks away from Kerri up the front porch steps.

Mom Ella: “Are you going to come back outside.”

Ella: “After I go peepy.

The next separation between the two occurs when Kerri says in a worried tone that she is “checking on the pumpkin bread” and that she will be “right back”. After observing mother and daughter for the first time, I thought that they may be overly attached. I also considered how my presence may be contributing to their behavior, and I wondered as they became more comfortable with me if they might feel more comfortable being separate from each other.