MY LIFESPAN DIGITAL SCRAPBOOK PROJECT Abigail Leathorn Lifespan Psychology
Co-Sleeping ■Co-sleeping is when an infant sleeps in the same bed as an adult and is one of the most controversial decisions of parent hood. Many people question the safety of co-sleeping as it is related to SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome). SIDS is when an infant dies unexplainably when they were presumed healthy. I feel that is in the baby’s best interest to sleep in their crib or bassinet to make sure they are as safe as possible. Along with cosleeping there is the argument that parents should place their infants in the supine position (placing an infant on their back) for bed to prevent SIDS. In the study, Knowledge, Opinions, and Practices of Infant Sleep Position Among Parents, that gave a 19-item questionnaire with 161 participating adults, it was discovered that only 40% of the participants were aware of infant bed-time safety and 86% felt that supine position was safest for infants but only 67% of the adults used supine position (Chung-Park, 2012). Additionally, 13% of the parents co-sleep with their infants (Chung-Park, 2012). In order to bring more awareness to SIDS and proper sleeping habits for infants, more education needs to be provided to parents.
Obesity â– Over the past several decades, obesity has become an increasing problem in adults and children. Due to poverty and the affordability of fast food, over-priced healthy food, lack of exercise, increase in use of technology, and the convenience and time-saving advantages of fast food, people have exposed themselves to unhealthy foods that have caused them to gain weight over the years. The graph on the right from the CDC shows the steady increase of obesity in adults and children from 1999 to 2014 and we can only assume these numbers have continued to increase. Obesity not only takes a toll on your health but also on how you interact with and are accepted by others.
Body Image
■Starting at a young age, we all begin to worry about our appearances and how we appeal to others. By the time we are teenagers it is clear to us that depending on how we look, our peers will treat us and react to us in different ways. Our society has evolved the idea that if we are thin and attractive, we will be accepted by others and we should strive to be nothing less than perfect. Even as we age, our self-esteem is greatly impacted by how we look and how others react to our physical traits. Besides the pressure for men and women to products to make them more attractive, there is the additional pressure for them to be a certain weight and have a thin figure. With all of this pressure, many people resort to drastic measures such as anorexia or bulimia, both of which are eating disorders. Colbie Caillat, a singer and song writer, wrote “Try� to remind people (specifically women) that the most important thing is to be ourselves and not worry about trying to impress others as long as we love ourselves.
Toddlerhood ■ In Erik Erikson’s second psychosocial stage of “toddlerhood” (autonomy v.s. shame and doubt), children begin to become independent and want to learn and do tasks on their own, otherwise known as practicing autonomy. Toddlers also start to display self-conscious emotions, being able to recognize our actions from another person’s point of view (Belsky, 2012). My 2-year-old son, Eli, realizes when he does something he’s not supposed to do that he should say sorry, he also is aware when his 5-month-old brother, Carson, is upset and he will try to comfort him. As children excel through the stage of toddlerhood, they constantly fight the battle between autonomy v.s. shame and doubt. Toddlers strive to do tasks without any help; succeeding results in a sense of pride but failing or being denied the opportunity of independency creates feelings of shame and doubt. You can see that my son, Eli, tries to complete many tasks, such as giving a toy to his brother, “folding” the laundry, and climbing the slide all by himself. When is he is able to do these things he gets excited and claps for approval but if he doesn’t succeed, he throws a typical 2-year-old tantrum.
Autism Spectrum Disorder ■ Theory of mind is the understanding that we all have our own thoughts, points of view, and motivations (Belsky, 2012). One of the illnesses that affects the ability to comprehend theory of mind is autism spectrum disorder. “Autism spectrum disorder is identified by the problems understanding social cues, impairments in the ability to form give-andtake friendships, using stereotyped motor actions (like flapping hands), and being preoccupied with objects rather than the human world” (Belsky, 2012). Having autism affects a person’s ability to have a normal life and being accepted into society. The umbrella picture shows the multiple disorders that fall under the “umbrella” of autism spectrum disorder while the rainbow diagram displays the wide “spectrum” of autism. Autism can range from someone who is high functioning with little to no signs of having this illness. Autism can also occur where someone is completely mentally unable to communicate with others, tolerate touch, and they inflict unintentional self-harm.
Child Abuse
■ One of the things children should never have to worry about as they grow up is child abuse. Abuse can happen in many forms such as neglect (failing to give proper care), physical, emotional, or sexual. Belsky points out that some of the risks for the abuse occurring are the parents having personality problems, parental stress combined with social isolation, and a child’s personality. Sadly, a form of neglect is the act of parents leaving their children in the car that result in an average of 25 deaths per year (Gouveia, 2014). In Aaron Gouveia’s article, he admits that he forgot his son once in the vehicle for less than a minute but was shocked that he could forget. I personally don’t feel I could ever forget my child in the vehicle but regardless of whether you honestly forgot or you purposely left your child, it is considered neglect and could result in the death of your child. Even if it is accidental, child abuse is not a joke.
Parenting Styles
â– When it comes to parenting, there are many ways parents can enforce rules. Authoritative parents are nurturing and enforce certain rules but do allow exceptions during certain occasions. Authoritarian parents may be loving but they have very strict rules that are not easily broken. These two forms of parents know how to enforce rules while permissive parents give full freedom to their children along with there unconditional love. Basically the worst type of parent is the rejecting-neglection parent who does not show any form of love or rules towards their children. In the comic above, starting at the top, the parent begins a authoritative/authoritarian punishment, evolves into more of an authoritative parent, and ends up as a permissive parent (although she may also be viewed as an authoritative parent at the end as well).
Triangular Theory of Love â– In adulthood, many people strive to find a loving relationship with a partner who will spend the rest of their life with them. The triangular theory of love consists of the three components of love: intimacy, commitment, and passion. By combining these three parts of love, we create different types of love. There is romantic love (passion and intimacy), companionate love (intimacy and commitment), and consummate love (all three traits) (Belsky, 2012). Love Types and Subjective Well-Being: A Cross-Cultural Study was performed to see the correlations involved with companionate and romantic love. With a total of 217 American and 182 Korean participants answering a questionnaire, the study discovered that romantic love was more correlated with strong positive and negative emotions rather than overall life-happiness while companionate love was more associated with stronger feelings of lifehappiness and more stable emotional feelings (Kim & Hatfield, 2004). The study also found that females associate more with companionate love opposed to males who associate with romantic love (Kim & Hatfield, 2004). Overall the study concluded that companionate love can create a more stable relationship that may possibly give a couple a more fulfilling life.
Alzheimer’s Disease ■ Alzheimer’s Disease is a form of dementia that deteriorates our neurons in the brain and replaces them with neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaques (Belsky, 2012). People who fall victim to this illness will slowly lose their memories, first everyday memories, and then more vital memories that make the person who they are. The illness will cause a person to act in ways they never would and result in the person being unable to take care of any of their daily activities by themselves, being incontinent, and finally bed-ridden until death. The poem “I Am Still a Person” portrays a man with Alzheimer’s who shows the typical symptoms of the disease (memory loss, loss of speech, ability to eat and swallow efficiently, and incontinence).
Old-Age Discrimination ■It is well-known that there are many stereotypes about people as they get into their young-old and oldold years. Those who fit into these age groups may experience the discrimination that can occur in the work place or even in normal settings of society. People tend to feel that when people become old, they become senile and are slow, non-modernized, and not capable of the things younger generations can do. In The Intern, an older man gets a position as an intern for a company that designs and sells clothing on the internet. Although his coworkers feel at first that he will be slow, not understand current technology or the aspects of business, and that he is not “cool�, the older man surprises everyone with his business background and stunning capabilities in the work place. The movie also explores the feelings the old man has with his experience as a widower, one of the many things those who are in their old-old age have to go through.
References ■ Belsky, J. (2012). Experiencing the lifespan. New York, NY: Worth Publishers. ■ Caillat, C. (2014). Try [Audio file]. ■ Chung-Park, M. S. (2012). Knowledge, opinions, and practices of infant sleep position among parents [PDF]. Military Medicine, 177, 235-239. ■ Gouveia, A. (2014, June 20). Yes, you could forget your kid in the car - I did. Time. ■ Kim, J., & Hatfield, E. (2004). Love types and subjective well-being: A cross-cultural study. Social Behavior and Personality, 173-182. ■ Lauer, J. (2015, June 26). I am still a person [Illustration]. Retrieved from http://www.alzheimers.net ■ Meyers, N. (Director). (2015). The intern [Motion picture]. United States: Warner Brothers.