Lisa Pennington – Week Three
Lisa is 4 years old. Marsha and Scott have managed to stay
together, but it has been, to say the least, difficult. Marsha keeps saying
that if it happens again, she’s going to leave. Scott’s temper has only gotten
worse, and he sometimes hits Marsha. Lisa asks her mom why daddy is always so
mad, and Lisa doesn’t have a good answer – she doesn’t know herself. She’s not sure how much more she can take.
* What are the major developmental milestones for a 4 year old?
What should Lisa be doing physically, cognitively, and emotionally at this
point?
* What is the impact of domestic violence on the family?
What options does Marsha have?
* What services would you recommend for the family at this
point?
* What else is important for you to know about Lisa’s family
at this point? (Hint: Think about all that you don’t currently know about the
family that could be helpful for you with regard to demographic information.)
By the age four, Lisa should have passed several developmental milestones. At this age, children start to exhibit a vivid imagination and show curiosity for their surroundings. Lisa may confuse reality and fantasy due to her imagination, and not know whether unfamiliar images are “monsters” or not (CDC). Emotions, feelings, and coping strategies will also be learned as Lisa makes “further progress in social interactions with peers” (PBS Parents). Cognitively, Lisa should now be able to “name colors”, “understand the concept of counting” and “know a few numbers”, “have a clearer sense of time”, and “recall parts of a story” or even recent memories (CDC). PBS Parents suggests that she should be very active, playing for extended periods of time, walking, jumping, skipping, hopping, throwing, catching, and kicking. Lisa's physical development should include finger dexterity to hold objects correctly and the ability to use her hands to help her with everyday activities.
ReplyDeleteReferences:
CDC. (2010, April 1). Important Milestones: By the End of Four Years (48 Months). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved September 19, 2011, from http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/milestones-4yr.html
PBS Parents. Child Development Tracker - Your Four Year Old. PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. Retrieved September 19, 2011, from http://www.pbs.org/parents/childdevelopmenttracker/four/index.html
Domestic Violence has severe impacts every member of a family, “Children who witness family violence are affected in ways similar to children who are physically abused” (ACADV). If Lisa has seen her father hit her mother, she may experience pain and feel as if she were being hit herself. She may experience a sense of “uncertainty and helplessness” in her environment (NCCEV) and may feel guilty or blame herself for the actions going on. Marsha may fear that since the likelihood of “parents who are violent with one another are at a higher risk for physically abusing their children” (NCCEV), she must take action. Her options can possibly include leaving her husband, ultimately ending in divorce, leaving the family altogether, “accessing domestic violence crisis hotlines, shelters and counseling” (NCCEV), retaliating in the same manner, being passive and ignorant of the severity of the situation, going to a church, or going to a friend or relative’s house either temporarily or permanently.
ReplyDeleteReferences:
ACADV. Children And the Effects of Domestic Violence. ACADV - Alabama Coalition Against Domestic Violence Home Page. Retrieved September 19, 2011, from http://www.acadv.org/children.html
NCCEV. (2006, March 20). Domestic Violence. The National Center For Children Exposed to Violence - Home Page. Retrieved September 19, 2011, from http://www.nccev.org/violence/domestic.html
The Pennington’s are going through a rough time right now and we would like to recommend some services that could be helpful for their family. We want to encourage both Mr. and Mrs. Pennington to spend time with both Lisa and her brother. They could all go to a sporting event, to the park, take a class of their interest, have a game night, see a movie, or anything that would allow them to spend time together. Research has shown that parental time is crucial for Lisa and her brother, “particularly in early childhood, parental time is important to child health and development and even in middle childhood and adolescence, parental time matters (Waldfogel, Craigie, & Brooks).” We also suggest that Mr. and Mrs. Pennington attend both marital counseling and individual counseling. Waldfogel, Craigie, & Brooks say that “parental mental health is also an important influence on child well-being, and one that differs across family types”. Counseling can help maintain and foster a positive mental health state and form healthier relationships for the family. There are free counseling clinics in Virginia which are listed on the following website: http://www.vafreeclinics.org/virginia-free-clinics.asp. Another beneficial service the family should utilize is after-school programs or tutoring programs for their children. In doing so, the Penningtons will avoid “dysfunctional social interactions in children” and threats to the children's "academic success (Waldfogel, Craigie, & Brooks).” Lisa and her brother would benefit from healthy social interactions with other children. Likewise, they would benefit from extra assistance in school so that "at-home" stress does not overwhelm them at school. Lastly, Waldfogel, Craigie, & Brooks say that “parents also engage in a range of activities that may promote or impair children's health—among them, arranging for their health care, managing family meals and nutrition, providing direction regarding exercise and television watching, and being attentive to safety hazards”. If these activities are not feasible for the Penningtons, we suggest that they contact a social worker or counselor to find the resources they need and implement these activites ASAP.
ReplyDeleteReferences:
Waldfogel, J., Craigie, T., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2010, October 1). EBSCOhost: Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing. EBSCO Publishing Service Selection (p 90-91). Retrieved September 20, 2011, from http://ehis.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=05e8e65a-ccc8-48d4-b212-048634cdd6ef%40sessionmgr112&vid=4&hid=102
There are several aspects of Lisa’s family we are unaware of. It is important that we find out the followings things about Lisa’s family:
ReplyDelete• Where do the Pennington’s live – specifically what city, state, county?
• What ages are Lisa’s parents?
• What language is spoken at the Pennington house?
• What is the highest educational attainment of Steve? Of Marsha? Of Steve’s parents? Of Marsha’s Parents?
• What race and ethnicity are Mr. Pennington and Mrs. Pennington?
• Are the Pennington’s “native” Virginians (Trippett)? If not, where are they from?
• How long has Lisa’s family resided at their current location?
• How many people live in Lisa’s home?
• What occupation/industry did Mr. and Mrs. Pennington previously engage in and what are they currently engaged in?
• Does anyone in Lisa’s immediate family suffer from a health-related issue? If so, what?
• What is the status of Mr. and Mrs. Pennington’s parents? Alive? Still married? Divorced? Remarried?
• Does Mr. or Mrs. Pennington have brothers or sisters? Did those siblings get married and/or have children?
• Are either of the Pennington’s religious in any way?
References:
Trippett, R. (2011, September 12). Virginia Now and Then: Demographic Trends over the Decades | Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service. Cooper Center Home Page | Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service. Retrieved September 20, 2011, from http://www.coopercenter.org/demographics/publications/virginia-now-and-then-demographic-trends-over-decades-0
1. How are Lisa's interactions with her father, is she afraid of him or does she just not understand why he gets mad?
ReplyDelete2. Since the parents spend a lot of their time fighting do they have time to show love, affection, and care for Lisa?
3. Although they are tight on money do they plan on entering Lisa into a daycare to get her to interact with children her age and further develop.