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RUNNING HEADER: My Virtual Child Paper #4

My Virtual Child Paper #4


Steven Clark
Ivy Tech Community College

My Virtual Child Paper #4

The purpose of this paper is to describe the behavior of My Virtual Child for the teenage
period of twelve to eighteen years old. My Virtual Child is female and I have named her Ava,
which I will refer to her as through the remainder of this paper. Ava is now eighteen years of age
and the findings of this paper will be based on the seventh grade report card, the eighth grade
report card, the eleventh grade report card, her SAT and ACT scores, and post high school report
completed in the My Virtual Child Program. Included will be examples from the class textbook
and the My Virtual Child program to support the behavior of Ava at the different stages of her
development.
During the ages of twelve to fourteen years of age Ava showed signs of incipient puberty
through her actions mostly, but the obvious signs were her appearance, her body started changing
and she gained weight in the hips, etc. (California, 2015, p. 16.15). She occasionally argues
about household rules and is cranky at times. She also confines herself in her room to be alone at
times as well. She argues mostly about clothes, bedtime, and chores, but otherwise you get along
pretty well. You renegotiate household rules more with Ava than you used to, and make
reasonable concessions, such as a later bedtime in exchange for more chores. (California, 2015,
pp. 16. 2,3). An interest in boys has started during this age period particularly with various
"hottie" rock stars or actors. Also noticed was an interest in articles about sex in teen and
women's magazines. A concern of her body's image was prevalent as well with times of standing
in front of a mirror stating things like Im too fat, and refusing to wear certain clothes that she
thinks accentuate her "weight problem." (California, 2015, pp. 16. 12,15).
The activities and experiences at ages twelve to fourteen our teen was involved in that
might promote healthy behavioral practices. Ava talks quite often about what is "fair" and "not
fair", and you realize she is developing some moral principles. Her concerns were focused on

My Virtual Child Paper #4

very specific things people she knows say and do, rather than incidents in the news or aspects of
society (California, 2015, p. 16.11). You notice that she has the beginnings of some good coping
mechanisms such as calming down by going for a walk or venting by text messaging a friend
(California, 2015, p. 18.8). The activities and experiences at ages twelve to fourteen our teen was
involved in that might promote healthy physical fitness and skill in sports would be softball. Ava
tried out for the high school softball team and made it. She seemed to be very serious about
developing little nuances of the game at age fourteen. Ava does hang out with her aunty and play
some tennis from time to time (California, 2015, pp. 18. 1,15).
Avas thinking changed during this period of her life (e.g., changes in humor, abstract
thinking, or theory of mind). Ava started to show more interest in current events at the age of
twelve. She was also a bit nervous about the transition to high school and worried that her
friendships would change. She started to understand that the interests of her and her friends
would change in high school. This would be associated with her starting to understand her
identity and coming into her natural traits. Female associated traits are called expressive, and
describe emotional functioning and individuals that value inter-personal relationships (Ruble,
2006, p. 384). An example of her change in thinking during her adolescence would be; a long
conversation with another student on a bus about all kinds of issues on which they disagreed,
such as religion and politics. Ava listened to the other person's point of view, but when she came
home, she wanted to talk to us about her own viewpoints (California, 2015, p. 18.14). This is an
excellent example of her thinking in a societal stage. This is when adolescents realize that a third
persons perspective is influenced by broader personal, social, and cultural contexts (Selman,
1980, p. 340). This event occurred at fourteen which is early in the theory supported by Selman,
but children at a more advanced cognitive level tend to be at more advanced stages in perspective

My Virtual Child Paper #4

taking (Krebs, 1982, p. 340) (Gurucharri, 1982, p. 340). This would lead one to believe that Ava
was at an advanced stage in her cognitive level at the age of fourteen.
Avas relationships with her peers like with any teenager, was important to her social
development, emotional well-being and school achievement from 14-18 years of age. Ava has
had some arguments with friends and is a little subdued, but we noticed that in a few days, she is
planning activities with the same friends and acting like nothing happened (California, 2015, p.
20.16). When friends spend much of their time together discussing each others personal
problems is known as co-rumination (Kail, 2015, p. 452). Girls are active in this more than boys
as stated in this paper earlier, intimacy is more important to girls friendships. The peer
friendships are closer but more troubled due to this co-rumination which would explain the
rebound to being around her friends as if nothing had happened (Brendgen, 2010, p. 452).
Ava adjusted well at fourteen to eighteen years of age to typical adolescent issues such as
risk-taking, drugs, alcohol, and sexual interests. At the age of sixteen Ava started hanging out
with her twenty one year old cousin and her friends, we talked to Ava to let her know that what is
appropriate for her cousin may not be appropriate for her (California, 2015, p. 20.6). One risktaking issue that Ava did succumb to was she ran off with her boyfriend and got matching
tattoos. We were baffled at Ava's stupidity, but realized independence involves learning to live
with her own mistakes (California, 2015, p. 20.17).
To summarize Avas academic skills during this period of her life her seventh and ninth
grade report cards will be used to support her abilities. Her seventh grade report card stated; Ava
consistently contributes to cooperative group activities and respects the rights and possessions of
others, has consistently appropriate social interaction with peers, and even seems to be a kind of
peer leader. Her word reading, spelling and writing skills are strong. She got A's in the gifted and

My Virtual Child Paper #4

talented English-Social Studies core course and in Spanish. The teacher commented that Ava was
becoming very good at analyzing literature and was quite a good writer as well. She got an A in
eighth grade math (she had been placed a grade above in math) and an A in seventh grade
science. As a result, she was able to take honors math in eighth grade, which is basically the first
year of high school math. Ava took art in seventh grade as an option, and got an A. The art
teacher wrote a note attached to the report card that said this was a real area of strength for Ava.
She listens attentively, follows directions, and follows school rules. She is quite effective at time
management, and highly consistent in working independently in the classroom and on
homework. She has almost no problems completing assignments and turning them in on time
(California, 2015, p. 16.20). Her ninth grade report card stated; Ava got good marks for
citizenship for that year from most of the teachers. Ava was able to take Honors Spanish and
English on the basis of her eighth grade record, and got A's and commendations from the
teachers for both. She also got an A in World Geography and an invitation from the Geography
teacher to participate in the Travel Club at the school. .Based on eighth grade work, Ava was able
to take Algebra II in ninth grade. She got an A. She also got an A in Honors Biology and received
"pleasure to have in class" ratings from both teachers. She received A's in her fine arts classes
this past year and a comment that her work was very creative. She got a B in music and doesn't
seem too interested in taking music classes for the next year (California, 2015, p. 19.2). Careers
in writing, fine arts, and biology would be the strongest for her abilities as defined by the report
card summaries.
Based on Avas earlier development as a resilient temperament she has remained just that
through her teenage years. Ava has been consistent in her behavior. She is cranky at times or
needs time to talk to us, but is very open and responsible. We respond to issues with compassion

My Virtual Child Paper #4

and, if needed, an explanation of discipline. Her moral development and reasoning is developing
well. She has made statements that we are more supportive and approving of her than the
average parent. She adds "and you're stricter than the average parent." (California, 2015, p. 17.2).
This tells us that she understands why we are strict and that we love her even though we are
disciplined with her. In terms of physical development she is a member of the high school
softball team since her freshman year and by sixteen Ava was enjoying softball and had
progressed to a good spot in the line-up (California, 2015, p. 20.4). Cognitively and socially Ava
is focused on studying and is starting to look into possible colleges where she might go. She is
involved in student leadership and plays leadership roles in a couple of school clubs (California,
2015, p. 20.5). Ava received her test scores on the ACT and SAT. She scored in the top five to ten
percent on all verbal subtests and the top five to ten percent on all math and science tests. Ava
had several good friends and got invited to parties fairly often. She seemed to be one of the most
outgoing and popular seniors at the school (California, 2015, pp. 21. 2,3). Ava appears to be on
an above average path toward her physical, cognitive, social, emotional and moral development.
This may have been predicted in the way she dealt with these issues throughout her adolescence.
The way in which we parented Ava could have contributed to this by strict rules and
compassionate nurturing.
One specific way in which I believe parenting mattered for my childs development
based on evidence from the course regarding the contributions of parents to child development is
that Ava was the first born child in our family. Firstborn children typically have higher scores on
intelligence tests and are more likely to attend college. They also tend to be more willing to
conform to parents and adults requests (Beck, 2006, p. 431). Parents generally have high
expectations for their firstborns and are more affectionate, controlling, and more demanding with

My Virtual Child Paper #4

them (Furman, 2002, p. 430). One specific way in which Ava developed that appeared to be
influenced by factors outside of our control was in her experiences with biology themed
interactions. The examples are in her biology class (where the teacher has taken them on some
really exciting field trips). Ava was reading about many topics in biology on the internet and said
she would like to be a molecular biologist someday, and Ava's uncle, who teaches high school
biology, stayed with us for a couple of weeks during his year-round school's vacation time. He
was quite enthusiastic about his subject and had gotten Ava interested in human genetics,
anatomy and medicine, and had taken her to some interesting exhibits and museums in the city
(California, 2015, pp. 18. 3,4).
Ava heads into her next set of adventures, upon reflection of our relationship with her at
this point in both of our lives. You've managed to be an excellent parent in terms of both
discipline and warmth. Ava is very close to both parents now, but of the two, she is closer to you.
She seeks out your advice on important issues or questions that are a bit beyond her experience.
(California, 2015, p. 22.2). Yes, that was a shameless plug on how well I was able to raise Ava.

My Virtual Child Paper #4

Bibliography
Beck, E. B. (2006). Birth-order effects on facets of extraversion. Personality & Individual
Differences, 40, 953-959.
Brendgen, M. L. (2010). Links between friendship relations and early adolescents' trajectories of
depressed mood. Developmental Psychology, 46, 491-501.
California, U. o. (2015, February 22). My Virtual Child. Retrieved from My Virtual Child:
http://www.myvirtualchild.com/dashboard.html
Furman, W. &. (2002). Parenting siblings. Handbook of parenting: Practical issues in parenting
(Vol. 5), 165-188.
Gurucharri, C. &. (1982). The development of inter-personal understanding during childhood,
preadolescence, and adolescence: A longitudinal follow-up study. Child Development,
53, 924-927.
Kail, R. V. (2015). Children and Their Development. In R. V. Kail, Children and Their
Development (pp. 44-47). Indianapolis: Pearson.
Krebs, D. &. (1982). The relationships among the first stages of cognitive development, roletaking abilities, and moral development. Child Development, 53, 877-886.
Ruble, D. N. (2006). Social, Emotional, and personality development. Handbook of child
psychology: Vol. 3, 858-932.
Selman, R. L. (1980). The growth of interpersonal nderstanding: Development and clinical
analyses. New York: Academic Press.

My Virtual Child Paper #4

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