I spent little time with my younger sister during her infancy ages because she moved to the United States from Nigeria when she was almost about 5 years old. I could relate a lot of experience I had while we lived together to this chapter. This was a very interesting chapter and it answered countless questions about babies, and mostly why they act so stupid. I was a 9 years old kid who looks after his younger sister while my mother takes care of her other business, my mother used to be an authoritarian parent, while my dad was more of permissive parent.
My mom made me learn how to change diapers, make baby food and some other girly things, and when I ask her why I am doing all this, she says because “I told you so and she is your sister, you need to learn how to care for her when I am not there “but sometimes my dad would help me instead. This chapter revealed to me, why I think my baby sister got more attached to me than every other person in the house and why she always comes to me when she need anything.
My baby sister coming to me whenever she wanted something was a bit problem, because my mom would say you are spoiling my baby, which I thought I was never spoiling my sister by giving her all she wanted and asked for. To me I was just been a sweet brother, who loves his baby sister and gained her trust. Although sometimes she acts like a brainless human being, this was so annoying and frustrating.
When she was about 12 months, her brain developed physically; she could crawl, sit by herself and walk. This was good because 25 percent of babies walked by 11 months, 50 percent within a week after their first birthday, and 90 percent by age 15 months (Frankenburg et al. , 1992). But still she was a lazy baby, she could walk but still decide on to crawl, sometimes she would cry for me to carry her instead of walking or crawling like she does to where ever she wanted, she manipulates me.
When she was almost about 3 years old, some part cognitive mentality was a bit reasonable because from 3 to 6, the most rapid brain growth was in your frontal lobes which enable rational planning, control of your attention and behavior development (Garon et al. , 2008). During this period, my sister had stranger anxiety. She wouldn’t let any other person touch her or carry her, whenever I am getting dressed for school in the morning, she cries and wants to go with me. So one day my dad thought they should sign her up for a preschool.
On her first day at school, my mom said she cried all day. She was crying until my dad had to go pick her up, that’s when she stopped crying Children this age have schemas for familiar faces, when they cannot recognize new faces they become distressed (Kagan 1984). Because of that, she was signed up in a preschool where my aunty was a caregiver. So because she was familiar with my aunty and my little cousin, going to preschool was more different and enjoyable. As time passed by, her brain was more developed and she knew a lot better .
She was no longer the little baby that touches her poop after she’s done pooping . I get so mad and disgusted because my mom makes me clean it, and tell me she’s just a baby. My baby sister is now 13 years old . Who’s about to be in high school and has reached the state of adolescence. She now talks back to me and wants to stands on her words and thinks she is always doing the right things ,well Puberty’s hormonal surge and limbic system development help explain teens’ Occasional impulsive and risky behaviors, and emotional storms ”slamming doors and turning up the music” (Casey et al. 2008). Sometimes I feel like beating her ass up and remind her;
I was the person you always ran to when you were still a baby, I cleaned up all you poop and watched you grow into what you are. But the truth is, we are bows from which children as living arrows are sent forth (Khalil Gibran, The Prophet, 1923), I have been in this same stage and I know what it is feels like to be a teenage and how we think about certain things ,because we still going through cognitive development of childhood, so don’t judged us.
