What questions should Carla and Paul consider asking the teachers?

Psych 441 Spring 2022 Thought Paper Assignment Case Scenarios: Choose only ONE to review and analyze in your paper.

Case Scenario Four: Carla and Paul, protective parents, have boy toddlers entering childcare. A meeting with teachers is needed as part of planning for placement given the boys’ history and medical needs.

Carla and Paul are married parents in their late thirties. Carla and Paul are raising fraternal twin sons, Aaron and Alex, age 16 months. Carla’s pregnancy was the result of in vitro fertilization (IVF). Carla and Paul were thrilled to have their twins after several years of fertility treatments. Both parents work; Carla currently teaches college math classes, and Paul works in the IT field. Boys were born early at 33 weeks gestation, but their weight was appropriate for gestational age. Due to borderline APGAR* scores at 5 minutes and sucking and feeding concerns, the boys were placed in a special care nursery for several days as a precaution. They improved quickly and left the hospital with no major medical problems

Since the birth of the twins, Carla and Paul had been able to keep the boys in their close care by relying on family support, modifying their work schedules, and working from home when possible. Aaron and Alex have been well cared for at home by parents and extended family relying primarily of paternal and maternal grandparents, and until this point parents and toddlers have not had to adjust to the demands of a structured out-of-home schedule.

While the boys still have some needs that require special attention, most of their friends who are parents had encouraged Carla and Paul to put the boys on a wait list and consider out-of-home care. Their friends told them that their toddlers would love the social aspect of center-based care and education. Carla and Paul always felt concern when they thought about their boys entering care, wondering how their boys will adjust to new people and new routines. Now that Carla and Paul’s work schedules have shifted, the timing for out-of-home care schedule may be right.

With the shifting work schedules, once the boys were accepted into a highly recommended center-based care and education setting, Carla and Paul thought it over and began to prepare for the transition. Given Carla and Paul have been highly involved and protective parents, they are still uncertain and feeling a bit unprepared for the change. If they feel this way, how will the twins feel? They are also now faced with sharing decisions about their boys’ needs and development with the center’s teachers and staff. The teachers have asked to meet with Carla and Paul about the twins’ transition to care, their developmental needs, and general childcare planning.

Respond to the case. What concepts apply? What questions should Carla and Paul consider asking the teachers? What should the teachers know? What are some factors and concepts to consider regarding this family, the family history and current roles? What more would you like to know to better analyze the case? Consider family structure, family work patterns, types of transitions, morphostasis and morphogenesis, adaptability and/or interdependence as concepts for discussion.

Note: The APGAR test score indicates the health of newborn babies. The APGAR assesses five areas and is an acronym for Activity, Pulse, Grimace, Pulse, and Respiration. Another way to remember the areas assessed is “How Ready Is This Child?” a mnemonic phrase for Heart rate, Respiratory effort, Irritability, Tone, and Color. The APGAR test is typically administered one minute and five minutes after birth (and in some cases ten minutes after if needed). Scores range from 0-10 with 10 being a perfect score. The scores are relied on for an immediate assessment of a newborn baby’s need for medical assistance.