Scotty Smalls and the Sandlot Days

Scotty Smalls and the Sandlot Days Growth and Development Created By: Paula Taylor

Scotty Smalls Who is Scottie Smalls Scottie Smalls is an 11 year old boy growing up in 1962 who recently moved to a suburban neighborhood with his mom and new stepfather. He is an only child and is adjusting to life in a new town, as well as a new stepfather. Due to changes in his lifestyle, Scottie is a little awkward and hesitant to try new things and make new friends. He is smart and has always excelled in school, never participating in sports. As he slowly immerses himself into the Sandlot crew, he becomes more outgoing and connected with his peers.

He progresses by becoming less self conscious and more self assured.

Family Matters The Family Structure Scotty lives with his mother and stepfather in a middle class neighborhood in the suburbs.

His father died when he was 9 and he is still having a difficult time adjusting to the changes in his family structure; building a relationship with his new stepfather who always seems to be busy with work is also difficult. Scotty primarily seeks guidance from his mother and uses baseball as a way of communicating with his stepfather. The smalls’ do not have much interaction with extended family due to geographical location. Mother stays at home doing house work and preparing meals while his stepfather travels for business and provides for the family. This is very much a traditional 1960’s nuclear family structure with the exception of his biological father dying, and his stepfather taking over that role. The parents are authoritative in their parenting style. They are forgiving with mistakes and supportive in disciplinary measures. Finally, according to the family life cycle stages, they are currently in stage 4, families with school age children. His parents encourage Scotty to participate in social activities and be active in school (Perry et al., 2014).

Screen Shot from movie by Paula Taylor

Social Networks The Sandlot Crew Scotty is friends with a close knit group of neighborhood boys his age. They spend almost every waking hour outside of school and family obligations playing baseball together. This attachment to peers is congruent with social developmental milestones of a schoolaged child. Becoming friends with members of the same sex and becoming competitive are all part of this stage (Perry et al., 2014).

Screen shot from movie by Paula Taylor

Social Networks Play Ball!

The time Scotty spends with his friends helps to meet physical activity needs.

Playing baseball, spending time swimming at the pool, and riding bikes from activity to activity keeps him appropriately active for a school aged child.

Screen shot from movie by Paula Taylor

“I’m Just and egg head!”

Before becoming involved with the Sandlot boys, Scotty spent most of his time working on school work and making robots. He enjoys school work, science and mathematics in particular. He feels a sense of accomplishment after successfully completing a task with the robots that he makes.

School Age Growth & Development Expected Milestones

Scotty’s Achievements

Height and Weight: According to Ward, Scotty should grow 4-6lbs and 2in in height per year (Ward, 2014).

Fine Motor Skills: A school aged boy should be able to demonstrate good hand-eye coordination, accept dexterity challenges, and be able to print and write (Ward, 2014).

Gross Motor Skills: A school aged boy should have coordination and balance skills, should be able to ride bikes, skip and jump. They should learn how to swim and cooperate in competition and games (Ward, 2014).

Sensory and Language: School aged children should engage in long conversations and have fully developed senses (Ward, 2014).

Height: 57 inches Weight: 89 pounds BMI: 19 Scotty is in the 50th percentile for his age, height, and weight.

Fine Motor Skills: Scotty meets achieves fine motor skill milestones by assembling robots manipulating small pieces and by demonstrating good hand-eye coordination playing baseball.

Gross Motor Skills: Scotty demonstrates age appropriate gross motor by participating in baseball, riding bikes, and swimming at the local community pool.

Sensory and Language: Scotty shows age appropriate development by engaging in conversations with his peers and family members.

Cognitive Development with Jean Piaget

Jean Piaget developed a theory that categorized a child’s cognitive development into four different stages (Perry et al., 2014). According to Piaget’s theory, Scotty is transitioning from concrete operational to formal operational thinking, although he demonstrates many formal operational thoughts (Perry et al., 2014). Scotty is able to think logically and abstractly and demonstrates strong problem solving skills. On one occasion, after losing an important baseball to a large neighborhood dog, he was able to build a hypothesis with his peers and test it in hopes of stealing the ball back.

Psychosocial and Moral Development Psychosocial Development Scotty is a school age child who demonstrates that he is in the industry versus inferiority stage of Erikson’s psychosocial stages of development theory. This means that Scotty takes on tasks and feels a sense of satisfaction after accomplishing them. He enjoys competing with others and participating in group activities which are all milestones defined in this stage of development. Feeling inadequate and inferior, especially in the presence of his stepfather, are also traits that show that he is in this stage of Erikson’s psychosocial theory (Perry et al., 2014).

Moral Development Kohlberg's theory of moral development focuses on how individuals form their moral opinions and define ethical behavior.

In the preconventional stage that Scotty is in, his moral concepts are defined by rules that are set for him (Ward, 2014). In this stage, he might also start to believe that doing something wrong to achieve a positive outcome is moral (Ward, 2014).

Peanuts and Cracker Jacks Scotty’s Nutritional Habits: Spending most of his time participating in physical activity away from his home, Scotty eats 1-2 full meals a day and often has a quick snack on the go. His height and weight are considered average for his age and he maintains a healthy BMI of 19. His mother prepares dinner for his family nightly, usually consisting of a protein, vegetables, and carbohydrates. His mother also tries to encourage healthy breakfast food like scrambled eggs and fruit. Like many children his age, he prefers “junk food” that is often times quicker and easier to eat on the go.

Recommended Nutrition- School Aged Children: • Three balanced meals a day with snack I between (Dudek, 2014).

• Increased caloric intake with physical activity (2000-3000 calories/day) (Dudek, 2014).

• Foods high in calcium, fiber, vitamin E, magnesium and potassium (Dudek, 2014)

Orem’s Self Care Requisites Feelings: Scotty has experienced significant loss in his lifetime. His father died when he was 9 years old and is still learning to adjust to their new family structure as well as the addition of a new father figure. He has some feelings of confusion and inadequacy in establishing a relationship with his stepfather.

Family and Friends: Scotty has a strong relationship with his mother and is working on establishing a relationship with his new stepfather. He has developed strong friendships with the Sandlot boys and relies on them for support and guidance.

Sex and Sexuality: Although Scotty has not fully started developing feeling for the opposite sex, he and his friends are starting to notice girls their age, especially their community pool lifeguard.

Drugs and Alcohol: Growing up in the 1960’s, Scotty is exposed to cigarette smoke and tobacco. Scotty and his friends have experimented with chewing tobacco, however they all became sick after trying it and vow never to try it again.

Body Image: Scotty is concerned with fitting in with the neighborhood boys and works to obtain clothing and sporting equipment to fit in.

Problems and Interventions Nutrition: As previously mentioned, Scotty’s nutritional status is changing based on his increased activity level. Higher activity levels require higher caloric intake needs for school aged children (Dudek, 2014). Educating Scotty’s mother on his nutritional needs, including the importance of having 3 meals and a nutritious snack a day, may help achieve these needs (Dudek, 2014). One might suggest packing a nutritious lunch for Scotty to consume while he is out with his friends for the day.

Physical Development: Scotty spends most of his time outside participating in physical activity with his friends. Although children do require adequate physical activity (about 60min/day), it is also important for their growth and development to rest and sleep (Perry et al., 2014). These children should be receiving 9 hours of sleep at night. To encourage proper rest, help parents establish a concrete bedtime routine and time because children can be unaware that they are tired.

Problems, Interventions & QSEN Social Development: As Scotty and his friends begin to become interested in experimenting with tobacco and other products, interventions should be taken to educate them on the dangers of abusing them. It is important for parents to educate their children on the effects of these substances. As Scotty develops further, he may be faced with peer pressure to experiment further with these substances; it is crucial that he is educated and realizes that it is okay to say no (Perry et al., 2014).

Safety Teaching: With the amount of time Scotty spends outside participating in physical activity, it is important for him to be taking proper safety precautions. His parents should encourage helmet use when riding his bike, and enforce swimming rules (Ward, 2014). They should also reinforce the use of sunscreen while he plays outside and provide proper safety equipment while playing baseball (Ward, 2014). Safety is an important part of the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) (Ward, 2014). By educating Scotty and his parents on the importance of wearing sunscreen and a helmet, healthcare providers can prevent potential injury in the future.

References Dudek, S. G. (2014). Nutrition Essentials for Nursing Practice (7th ed.). Williamsville, NY: Wolters Kluwer.

Perry, S. E., Hockenberry, M. J., Lowdermilk, D. L., & Wilson, D. (2014). Maternal Child Nursing Care (5th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Mosby: Elsevier.

Ward, S. (2014). Pediatric Nursing Care: Best Evidence-Based Practices. Philadelphia, PA: F. A. Davis Company.

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