Lucas Carneiro CHLD 10 June 4, 2013

Virtual Child Summary

1. My virtual child, Caue, is now eighteen years old and is on his way to college to study at a "prestigious out-of-state institution". For the most part, he has shown to be a responsible child, especially in the area of academics. Physically he's never had any problems, no hospital visists, broken bones, ecognitive development has always been above averge. During parenting I tried to let his interests guide him, but at the same time I tried to encourage positive behavior and challange him as much as possible. The only area where Caue showed any trouble was socially. In his early years, he was very shy and took a while to warm up to new people and places. During his teens he got into some trouble, like drinking, coming home past curfew, getting a tattoo, and a car accident, which can be partially attributed to hanging with the wrong crowd. His emotional development however seemed stable throughout. He never had any emotional outbreaks or episodes. I believe he is more than well prepared for

college life and will be very succesfull 2. To consider if I've met my goal as a parent I must first define what I think my goal as a parent should be. I believe that the ultimate goal of a parent should be to produce a young adult who is physically, cognitively, socially, and emotionally ready to live life independently. When raising Caue I couldn't help but reflect back on my own parent's parenting style, which was for the most part, permissive. Looking back now I realized things for me could've turned out different if they had exerted just a little more control and guidance, because a lot of the time as a child and teen we really don't know what is best for us and it helps to be pointed in the right direction. That is what I tried to do with Caue. I wanted him to experience as much as possible, but in controlled postitve environments which would foster his development. I opted for a authoritarian parenting style, believing that this method would be most effective in getting Caue to make correct decisions for himself. I'm really happy, and even pleasently surprised, of how well he turned out to be. 3. As a former child, I can remember that during schoolyears, especially in middle and high school, your peers are at the center of your focus. I'd imagine it was virtually the same for Caue. Many firsts happen with friends instead of family. Like first a first kiss, first drink, first social event, among other things. One of the

things that I'm reminded is when Caue began asking questions about different religions and world views. He seemed interested in the questions of religion even though that was something I hadn't emphasized in his upbringing. Also the fact that he joined his school's humane society was a surprise for me because it was something that he did all on his own. It was fun to see that the concepts of caring and kindness that I tried to foster in him as a young child were now coming to manifest.