My Virtual Child

1. My Virtual Child Michelle Lowe

2. My Virtual Child Congratulations! You are the proud parent of a virtual child! You will be raising this virtual child from birth to 18 years of age. Your virtual child has a unique set of characteristics at birth, some of which were influenced by your answers to the assessments you completed.

3. My Virtual Child As your virtual child progresses through each age level, you will read about events occurring in his or her virtual life and you will be asked to make decisions about your virtual child. Answer the questions the way you think you would act as a real parent. You should assume that a week or more passes between each event or question at a particular age level.

4. My Virtual Child The events that happen in your child's life, and the decisions you make as a parent will gradually change your child's inborn characteristics, and will shape other characteristics of the child that emerge after birth.

5. My Virtual Child The virtual child's behavior may vary across ages and settings, although there are basic personality and intellectual traits that remain generally consistent. You will receive the following reports on your child periodically throughout the program. • pediatrician's report • developmental assessment • psychologist's report • school report cards

6. When Michael was 0 months old….. Michael sleeps virtually all of the time, only waking when hungry, cold, or wet. He usually drifts back to sleep toward the end of feeding. • You talk quietly to Michael during the feeding, making sure Michael sees your face a great deal of the time. • You try to wake Michael up for some parent-baby interaction time. You dance gently around with him in your arms, and talk or sing out loud. • You figure that Michael needs the sleeping time for brain development so you don’t disturb him.

7. When Michael was 3 months old…. You notice that Michael can learn a thing or two so you start working on his baby IQ! • You show Michael interesting objects such as rattles, mobiles, and stuffed toys and watch how interested he is in looking at them or reaching for them. • You talk a lot to Michael even though you know he probably doesn’t understand you. You hope this will promote language skill later on. • You walk around outside a lot carrying Michael or pushing him in the stroller so he can hear and see things such as birds, trees, cars, and dogs.

8. 9 month report • As Michael turns 9 months, the pediatrician has the following to say after a routine physical exam, a few items administered from the Bayley Scales of Infant Intelligence, and some observations of Michael in the playroom: • Michael has an obvious attachment to you and prefers you over other people, but seems to have fun playing with your partner. He was cautious at first with the nurse and doctor, a normal reaction to strangers at this age. • Michael has been ill several times this season from colds or digestive upset. The doctor advises keeping him away from sick people, and checking out a new food for a few days to test for allergies. • Michael is cautious around new people and situations, but warms up fairly quickly to friendly people and to new and interesting activities and then begins to vocalize a lot and make eye contact. • Michael had fairly mild to positive reactions to most of the situations and people in the pediatrician's office and the playroom. He cried when given the vaccination, but calmed down rather quickly. The only problem came with a brief separation from you, but that would be expected. • Michael's gross and fine motor skills are a little behind for his age and he did not do much exploring of the playroom. The doctor advised you to engage in more one-on-one gross and fine motor play with Michael.