The context for my observation was a child in a home certain. Within, an affluent community in Kent. She was part of a family of five (5) and she was the last born.
The observation method I used was, that of the Tavistock model (Bick, 1964) my consign was to observe this child, whom I will call Baby F due to confidentiality, for an hour for six weeks and write up my observation records after each session. In this reflective report, I will include my reflections, challenges, and then the feedback I received from the class after the presentation.
The parent was aware of my role and the purpose for which this observation was being carried out (academic purpose), as I had to seek the consent of the parent even though it was very challenging at first, due to safeguarding and confidentiality issues.
The first session of my observation took place in the late morning when Baby F was playing, in the playing area in the lounge of the house. It was not a smooth start for me when I entered the house as my presence did not go well for Baby F, she began to cry at first, so I had to move to the kitchen (back of the room), independently confined in a corner wishing not to be seen and that my presence would not be felt by Baby F.
The room (lounge) was full of a bunch of colorful toys, books, toys, dressing up clothes, and the chaos of buzz and feelings that quickly forewarned me of my home, where I have younger children, where the stage of exploring the world extends their infant philosophy as to how their world performs and exist around them daily.
At first, I found the beginning very challenging and onerous to relax and focus steadily on Baby F completely, as I quite often found myself talking inwardly taking my eyes off her, and trying to make eye contact with both the mother and the baby. I found it very unusual to be in a room, and not be able to engage or communicate with anyone, it is very boring and stressful. For this session, I observed Baby F keenly and I had to try to clear my head from any thoughts that would be judgmental of her, which were only thoughts based on pieces of data, that had been shared by the mother. I had found myself forming and basing my assumptions of Baby F’s background and family lifestyle, just by looking at the surroundings and area of settlement, which were entirely my belief and poorly learned through prejudices.
This reflection has helped me balance between the facts, and perceptions and test myself on how information gained about Baby F, has given me extensive concern into how I perceived she might play, and interact with other children from different backgrounds, during her development or encounters in life. I just needed to separate these two feelings that are quite contradictory in parts (Goldstein, 1990).
I found myself watching Baby F carefully and helplessly, as she moved from one activity to the next, first playing with the colored toys that make music, to picking shapes objects that she grabs, by the hand and let it fall on the floor, enjoying the sounds that form from the toys. She slowly and gradually moved to explore different toys that seemed more adventurous and that of toddlers as she had older siblings, that poked her out of the way.
Watching Baby F through her play, I could not stop myself from thinking how her future goals, aspirations, and what she might be trying to build through her thoughts and actions of play, and this quickly made me think of Jean Piaget’s (1973) theory on children’s cognitive development as children take an active role in their learning process through the interaction of the knowledge round them by adapting to previous ideas to be able to accommodate new information. Again, I had to object to my expectations on stages of Piaget’s theory, since it is not fixed and concrete in any child as every child is perceived to be different and unique. Due to every child’s ability, variations in development, and the mind of a child.
On a few occasions, I did see Baby F coming towards my direction with toys in hand which made me wonder if she had an idea about my presence, sometimes I found myself moving further to a corner just to prevent any eye contact or interaction which made her mum stare. My eagerness to get involved with the child was very powerful and was very difficult to clearly and easily stand alone wondering. Hence, my ability to remain static in this role enabled me to stand by, while slowing down and carefully consider in greater detail the kind of relationships and attachments that exist with this child. (Bridge, G & Miles, G (eds), 1996)
With the Tavistock method, sitting while observing Baby F at the same time, made me feel more vulnerable and mostly unusual at times since there was no accepted focus other than that of the observer. This made me feel very anxious and unsure, recollected in his work that ‘ being a professional usually, is giving up all forms of authority and being open-minded to what might emerge’. (Segal, 2003).
How I identified and managed my feelings about the observation, of Baby F also reminded me of reading, Isabel Menzies Lyth’s (1989) work, “The considerable aspects in determining the personal and corporate behaviors are through the expression and self-consciousness” which she wrote in her book about anxiety and how it’s being experienced. Being able to accept and contain my inner feelings during my uncertainties which might impacted the overall observation made me appreciate the kind of challenges and difficulties that social workers go through daily in line with professional practice.
Throughout my observation, Baby F continued to move from one exercise to the next at a point involving the mum in play. At one point, I observed her running towards their mum for support, which was usually understood by her, though dancing, bouncing, jumping about in the room, then moving toward the bookshelf. The mum gently tapped and lifted her, nodding to her that she was well aware of her request when she was tired and ready for a nap. According to John B. Watson and B.F.Skinner, the behavior perspective is purely through the process of association and reinforcement as it focuses on how experiences shape who one is (classical or operant behaviors).
I thought about the uniqueness and complex ways by which children communicate, even though they can’t always use language to clarify, express their thoughts, and feelings, and explore the worlds that surround them. By carefully slowing down and observing thoroughly, through her lens, I had the edge to ruminate. Ending my first hour of observation with less moot, than I thought it would and assumed as I left the room.
During the next session of my observation with Baby F, I felt more relaxed, calm, and in assonant with what I was trying to do, this time around. I was much more pleased and complacent, as I was trying to put some kinds of theories that I had learned in class into practice. I had the added luxury of appreciating the fact that, the method I was using, by just observing with my eyes in isolation, and not having any form of writing or an assessment to complete. It was a time to observe Baby F and scrutinize my, own feelings.
During the session, I think I made eye contact with Baby F on a few occasions and I was convinced that she might have known, I was observing and watching her, hence, I thought was purely my assumption and interpretation. In this session, Baby F was in a play group, where she was enjoying her exploration of play, I saw a very different side of her that I had not noticed during her play at home and with other siblings.
During this time, I could see that Baby F was sociable, and interactive but was mostly attentive, during the play and learning from the other children. When Baby F played with other kids her age, I noticed there was some form of grouping among the different ages, and grabbed things that brought disputes, at that very moment, I felt a bust of emotion run through me, and I was reminded of my children’s learning and resilience problems. In this theory, it focuses on the role of parents and caregivers with other social influences on the child. Baby F enjoyed the playgroup a lot, According to Albert Bandura, the development of a child by learning from observing behaviors through external reinforcement is shown through the repeat pattern (observation and modeling) but (Rustin, 2004), the problem of being able to identify one’s feelings during working, is important within the social work profession, as it enables one to be aware of any risk associated with professional boundaries, that could be a potential danger to oneself. Our relationship as professionals needs to be based on a neutral awareness of ourselves, within the practice, thus being sensitive to others’ emotional needs by stepping outside our zone. I do admit that, for an intervention to be effective, a social worker should stay in an obvious and isolated manner, but be whole and flawless.
It was a good experience to have the opportunity to discuss my feelings and thoughts with the class during the presentation. According to Erikson (1950), the talk of the basic trust is the first stage of his theory of man. I understood and admit that through the discussion, which was quite similar to (Winnicott, 1965), my feelings and thoughts with regard to what I observed, were openly discussed, while we openly and freely shared various experiences.
Conclusion
Observing Baby F has helped me to make sense of focusing on a child and their world. Being, able to discuss my feelings and thoughts within the presentation and those of my colleagues helped me to understand the various psychological theories about practice and the prejudices within myself. According to Humphries (1988), the ability to reflect and challenge our beliefs, and thoughts with the transformation afterward, is described as ‘perspective transformation’
Drawing from my observation, I concluded that observation was a skill that had to be acquired through training and practice. With my experience in a social care setting, I observed service users, and made decisions that I had no prior training and knowledge about, but did it anyway. Concerning (Fawcett, 2009) stated that “We learn much from our observations but we must also welcome that, what we see is the tip of the iceberg. “Observation does help any observer to better understand the child’s inner and outer world (nature vs. nurture) (Hobart, C, Frankel, J, 2004)
I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of observing Baby F, since it helped me to understand diversity within the social work practice, and my criticism is the timing for both observation and the presentation on reflection with the class.
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