Late Childhood/Adolescence

1. Communication: Does your preteen own a cell phone?

No
2. Diet: What is your teen’s typical lunch?
Turkey sandwich with a banana
3. Discipline & reacting to behavior: Your 13-year-old wants to wear a t-shirt with swear
words and ripped jeans to a dinner at his grandparents’ home. What do you do?
I would talk with them about dressing according to the occasion. When going to the
grandparent’s house, it’s important to be respectful. I wouldn’t force them to change, but
encourage them to wear that outfit when hanging out with friends instead of family
dinner.
4. Social development: Will the child have sleep-over parties? Is the child permitted to
attend sleep-over parties?
They will be allowed to attend sleep-over parties as long as it is with someone I have
met before, as well as their family. If I feel comfortable that they will be safe and make
good choices then they are allowed to go.
5. Academic performance: Dice roll: 1 = above average; 2 = below average; all others =
average. Does this fit with any known genetic disorders?
Average academic performance, no known genetic disorders
6. Teasing/bullying: your teen is being teased by an age-peer (at school or in the
neighborhood). The child doesn’t want to leave the house because of this. What do you
do?
It’s important to listen to their concerns and validate how they are feeling. I would tell
them that it’s okay to tell me and it’s not tattling on their peer, but protecting their safety.
I would ask them to document incidents if possible, as well as teach them coping
strategies. This could look like walking away, telling them to stop, or finding a nearby
trusted adult. Lastly, I would help them find hobbies that they enjoy to help the find a
good group of friends to build confidence. This will affect their development because it
will teach them how to advocate for themselves and build confidence to be a strong
person.
7. Discipline: You receive a phone call from a neighbor that your child was smoking
cigarettes. What do you do?
First, I would start by asking them if this is true. Even if they say no, I would share with
them the consequences of smoking, both physical and socially. While some teens may
think it’s cool, the type of friends that you want in your life would not want you to smoke
around them.
8. Recreation: How much “screen time” does the child engage in daily?
They can earn 30 minutes of screen time a day by completing homework and chores
first. On the weekend, they would have enough time to watch a movie.
9. Weight: Dice roll: 1 & 2 = average; 3, 4, 5 = overweight; 6 = underweight. What do
you do to encourage a healthy lifestyle, including weight, for this child?
Average, I would teach them the importance of a healthily balanced meal and
consistent exercise.
10. Parenting: Your pre-teen tells you that s/he wants to attend a New Age church (or
wants to stop attending the family church or wants to convert to something totally
different). How do you deal with this?
I think that this is great! If you have questions about religion, a great way to gain a
deeper understanding of what you believe is by being educated. Exploring different
churches can share different perspectives and teachings that may align better with their
beliefs.
11. Parenting: Does your adolescent have a curfew? At what age is your adolescent
permitted to date?
Yes, they have a curfew. In middle school, the curfew for weekdays would be 8pm so
they can get enough sleep for school the next day. Weekends would be 10pm. For
highschool, weekdays would be 10pm and weekends would be 11pm. I would be
flexible with this on weekends if they ask for a later curfew. They would be allowed to
attended schools dances with a date, but would want them to wait to start dating until
they are a sophomore in high school.
12. Parenting: When, if ever, will you have “the talk” regarding sexual activity and sexual
responsibility?
Depending on if this was taught in schools, I would talk with them about this around 15
years old or if they start dating someone.
Chose one of the items from the Late Child/Adolescence section to write how it will
impact the persons development (for example Having the child sleep in a family bed
may help the feel more safe and help with attachment but this can also strain the
marriage of the parents. You can put it here at the end of the section or add it to the
item itself above.
Emerging and Middle Adulthood
Emerging Adulthood
1. Education: Dice roll: attend college? Yes = odd, NO = even.
Yes, this will help their development by allowing them a higher education and instilling
important principles of hard work and discipline.

2. Sexual orientation: Dice roll: 1, 2, 3 = clearly heterosexual; 4, 5 = clearly gay/lesbian;

6 unclear/questioning. How do you respond to your young adult’s sexual orientation?
Clearly heterosexual, I would respond by teaching them that love is love no matter the
gender.
3. Living Arrangements: Dice roll: odd = on their own; even = with you
Living with me
4. Romantic relationships/offspring: Dice roll: Married by age 25: odd = yes Have own
child by age 25: odd = yes Working by age 25: odd = yes
Not married by 25, no children, working by 25
5. Parenting: Your emerging adult wants to borrow $3,000 from you. What do you do?
I would ask them what it is for. If it is for something urgent, I would lend them the
money. If it is something for fun, I would tell them that they need to save their own
money.
Middle Adulthood
1. Long-term outcomes: Based on choices made during emerging adulthood, describe
the lifestyle of your middle-aged virtual person. Include marriage (and divorce),
parenting, career, savings/spending habits, health habits.
Healthy eating habits, married by 30, no divorce, steady career with reasonable saving
2. Grandparenting: Your virtual person has just become a grandparent. What advice do
you give your virtual person?
Leave the parenting to the parents, but always create a safe space for family to come
over to.
3. Health: dice roll health status is: 1, 2 = excellent; 3, 4 = good; 5 = fair; 6 = poor. What
can you do to support a healthy lifestyle for your middle-aged virtual person?
Health status, good. Encourage regular exercise and healthy eating habits.
4. Career: Is there a midlife career change for your virtual person?
No
5. Parental care: You are getting older and need assistance. Based on a dice roll, will
your virtual person (who is your child), or your virtual person's spouse provide you with
assistance? YES = odd, NO = even.
No, they will not provide assistance.
Chose one of the items from the Emerging and Middle Adulthood section to write how it
will impact the persons development (for example Changing career midlife might cause
a lot of stress but it could also give them more fulfillment and stimulate cognitive activity
and even development). You can put it here at the end of the section or add it to the
item itself above.
Later Adulthood
1. Long-term outcomes: Based on decisions and health at midlife, at what age will your
virtual person retire? Will s/he continue to work part-time? Based on their earlier career
and saving/spending habits, what kind of retirement lifestyle can your virtual person
expect to have?
They will retire by age 60, with an average savings amount but continue to work part
time until age 65. They will spend time outdoors and with their family.
2. Widowhood dice roll: If your virtual person was married, dice roll of ODD = widowed
in late life. How does being single/never married, newly widowed, or (re)married
influence your virtual person’s adaptation to old age?
Not widowed
3. Daily life: Describe a typical day in the life of your 75-year-old virtual person.
They wake up around 8am and begin the day with a cup of tea and a morning walk.
Midmorning consists of cooking, cleaning, reading a book. In the afternoon, time is
spent with their grandchildren or neighborhood friend. After dinner, time is spent with
their spouse before going to bed.
4. Eventually, your virtual person dies. Write a brief obituary based on their life
(including relevant information about their development, eventual cause of death, and
any surviving family members). (note: the obituary is not included in the 8-10 page limit
of the paper)
Olivia, wife, mother, grandmother, and friend to all, has recently passed. Even from her birth,
she has always been strong. Being born prematurely, we were unsure if she would experience
health complications, but she spent a life full of adventures and education, striving to make a
difference in the world. And that she did. She worked until 65 years old and always set aside
time to take care of herself and her family. She attended university and received her bachelor's
degree. Later in life, she married the love of her life and gave birth to her children. Often she
could be found on a morning walk through the neighborhood with a cup of tea in hand. She
believed that hard work and self-care were key to having a fulfilling life. She always set aside
time to spend with her grandchildren. She passed from heart failure at the age of 91 years old.