Parent Observation

As a retail worker, I notice many parents that come into my store to shop for themselves, however, a majority of parents bring their children along with them. I have never taken into account child and parent interaction in a retail store, which is why I have decided to observe a child and parent in this context for this assignment. The child that I observed was around two years old, of male gender and caucasian descent. The parent of the child was his mother, was around the age of late twenties/early thirties, and was also of caucasian descent. The day that I observed the child and parent was on a sunny, yet chilly day in March, just shortly after the noon hour. I was working during my observation, and was sectioned in the women’s clothing
In turn, mother would often reply to the child with phrases such as “wow!” or “great job buddy!”.  Upon completing my observations, two of the biggest questions/concerns that I had, were is technology starting to interfere with the traditional role in the caregiver-child attachment relationship, and is interactive media and technology beginning to replace children’s concept of ‘play’, especially in the world we live in today? There is no surprise that the current generation of children are growing up immersed in various forms of media and technology, and young children today will most likely never remember a time when the Internet, video games, laptops and tablets were nonexistent. The media and technology surrounding children today has become a vast portion of their life experience, however, children as young as the toddler age are spending an increasing amount of time with digital technology on a daily basis, but what impact does interactive media and technology have with the child-caregiver attachment, as well as the the child’s concept of
In contrast, interactive media and technology have also enhanced children’s cognitive development, as children as young as two years old are able to use and operate electronic tablets all on their own. Goldstein further describes how “children learn to use these media largely through trial and error — through exploration, experimentation, and play”, thus play through the forms of interactive media and technology can also positively impact children’s development.
 The impact of media and technology and the importance of play can further be linked to the relationship of attachment between a parent and a child. As described earlier, traditional forms of play allow children and parents to engage with each other, which can also play a role in establishing the relationship of attachment between a parent and child. However, when a parent simply hands a form of interactive media or technology to their child to play with, how can the relationship of attachment between a parent and child be established, thus, is there any form of attachment between a parent and child when the child is so immersed in playing through interactive media or technology? When parents don’t engage in playing with their child, what effects does it have on their child, as well as the relationship of