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Child observation guide: Types, reports, and examples

Child observation guide: Types, reports, and examples

Author NameBy Nicky Liedtke
•
March 6th, 2025
• 12 min read
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Table of contents

  • What is child observation?
  • Why is child observation important?
  • What are the types of child observation?
  • Examples of child observation
  • Writing a child observation report
  • Digital support for child observation examples
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Summary

Learn effective child observation methods and best practices to understand developmental progress and behavior patterns.

Every child is different, and trying to understand a child’s world can unlock profound insights. Child observation is a systematic process for achieving this, allowing you to find out more about a child’s developmental progress, interests, and social interactions. With the findings from this, you can then craft learning plans and personalized support that’ll help each child thrive.

This guide leads you through the essentials of child observation, including its different methods and how to write a report. You’ll also get to see examples, along with resources for conducting child observation in an organized way.

What is child observation?

Child care observation is important in every child’s life, since it’s how parents and caregivers learn child behavior, identify strengths and weaknesses and come up with ways to offer support. Child observation is most useful when dealing with infants and toddlers as they change very rapidly. Proper documentation and observation are crucial parts of the observation process.

Child observation helps educators communicate with parents regarding their child’s developmental stage. The process starts with a child care observation template, which informs the areas that assessors investigate.

For example, you might find that certain toys or environments trigger personal growth more reliably than others. This helps you decide which tools and activities a child needs in order to take on new interests and skills. Such observations should be factual, precise, and as detailed as possible. Always record information using a checklist so that you can easily generate a report of your findings.

When you supervise multiple infants and toddlers, it becomes much harder to remember exact details about each child. This is why a daycare observation checklist is crucial, since you’ll be able to note details as you observe them. You can download pre-made classroom observation forms here, covering various settings.

Why is child observation important?

Parents, medical staff, and educators all depend on childcare observation at one point or another. Especially in a schooling context, it is highly important to carefully observe each child so you can tailor specific activities and tasks to their needs. This allows children to develop well and at their own pace.

Observation may be one of the oldest, but simplest and most effective, techniques in childcare. It’s specific, which means you avoid generalizing and can focus on individual characteristics and needs.

As an educator, this involves noticing how they handle situations, how they interact with others, how they act in their learning environment, and how they socialize. Proper child observation:

  • Helps educators and parents understand why a child acts the way they do
  • Helps identify kids with behavioral challenges and special needs
  • Helps educators understand the child so they can relate better
  • Helps document each child’s skills, progress, and weaknesses
  • Helps discover how they converse and communicate with their peers and others

Another invaluable function of childcare observation is improving students’ learning experience and outcome by suggesting ways educators can adjust their teaching styles to fit each child. Thorough and intentional daycare observation can tell you:

  • What are the child’s inherent interests?
  • How does the child feel about and react to transitions and daily routines?
  • How do they react to different activities and/or environments?
  • What is their style of learning?

What are the types of child observation?

When it comes to child observation, you should document in as much detail as possible what you see and hear. Here are common types of child observation methods:

types of child observation

1. Indirect observation

For this type of observation, you don’t have to watch the child directly in real-time. Instead, you’ll gather reports or past work or get feedback from other people who interact regularly with the child, such as their teacher or counselor.

The benefit of this is that you can find long-term patterns that wouldn’t be obvious from direct observation. You might talk about a student’s participation habits with several teachers to get a more complete picture of how they are in different classroom settings.

2. Structured observation

When you’re observing a child directly, it often helps to have a specific focus in mind, such as how often they start conversation, follow instructions, or play with other children. With structured observations, you’ll also conduct it several times, so you’ll need a checklist or rating scale for consistency. You can then compare results over time and even across different children.

This is often the method in educational assessments and research studies since it gives clear, measurable data.

Example methods:

  • Ancedotal records – This method involves factual reports of events that answer what, when and where questions from the child’s parents or guardian. Child observation reports are written in past tense and include what the child said and did during their time under your supervision. The record also contains other non-verbal clues, such as body language and facial expressions.
  • Continuous recording – You write down what you see and what the child says during the event. This method of observation should include as much detail as possible and should be written in the present tense.
  • Time examples – A method of recording observations about the child’s behavior and what the child does at certain times. It can be done on a regular basis and can be a useful way to identify and reduce the child’s negative behavior by understanding the context of the situation.

3. Portfolio

You can compile a portfolio for each child by gathering their drawings, writing samples, and photographs of projects. This reflects the child’s unique learning process, allowing you to see how they develop in terms of creativity, problem-solving, and literacy. Another benefit is it encourages students to get involved–for older kids, you can have them select too which works best represent them.

Example methods:

  • Work samples – These are paintings, clay figures, drawings, cut-outs, writings, and other creations. Educators write a report based on notes describing what the child may have said or done while working on these samples.
  • Photographs – Parents love to see pictures their child has drawn. This way, they can feel like they’re an active part of their child’s life even in their absence. You can also add comments to the photos, so the parent has a little more background about what was going on when the picture was taken.

4. Development talks

Development talks are organized discussions between educators and parents–and sometimes the child is present too. The goal is to review the child’s progress, challenges, and next steps together. You can bring together all of the sources above, from portfolios to direct observations.

It also gives you the opportunity to have open conversations with parents or caregivers. For example, a child who seems withdrawn at school might actually be experiencing changes at home that affect their behavior.

Example methods:

  • Learning stories – This method aims at telling an anecdote about the child (or a group of children) and the child’s choices and the scenarios that followed as a result. Depending on the story, it may be a short paragraph or more than a full page.
  • Notes – Short sentences in which important events, behavior, or conversations are written down. These can then be shred with the guardians or parents.

Examples of child observation

Let’s look at a few examples that use the child observation methods listed above:

Anecdotal record

You might observe a child during free play and note down their exact actions and way of speaking:

“On October 12, during morning reading time at 9:00 AM in the classroom’s reading corner, Liam (age 5) chose a picture book about animals. He sat down on the rug, flipped through the pages, and pointed at a picture of a lion, saying, ‘Roar!’ Liam continued to narrate the story, describing the animals and their actions. After finishing, he turned to the teacher and asked, ‘Can we read another book about elephants?’ His interest in the story and curiosity about animals implies he wants to expand his vocabulary.”

Continuous record

For this method, you’re noting down what happens in the present moment:

“From 9:00 to 9:15 AM, Ben (age 3) is in the playroom. He first walks towards the shelf with toy cars and selected a red car. Ben sits down and begins pushing the car along the floor, making ‘vroom’ sounds. At 9:05, he notices another child, Leo, who is playing with a blue toy car nearby. Ben looks at Leo and moved closer, watching him intently. He then imitates the noises Leo made with his own car, showing a desire for social connection.”

Time examples

With time sampling, you’ll assess how a child behaves at regular intervals:

“The teacher observes Ella (age 5) every five minutes over a 30-minute art activity period. At the first interval (10:00 AM), Ella is sitting with a group, using markers to draw with her peers. At 10:05 AM, Ella is still engaged. She’s showing her artwork to another child and talking about their drawings. At the 10:10 AM mark, Ella has moved away from the group, sitting by herself and focusing on a smaller piece of paper. At 10:15, Ella goes back to the group but looks less focused, doodling aimlessly while looking around the room.”

Writing a child observation report

A child observation report is a detailed document that compiles the findings from systematic observations of a child’s behavior and development over a specific period. These reports provide a structured analysis of various aspects such as cognitive development, social interactions, emotional responses, and physical skills.

Educators, psychologists, or child care providers typically prepare these reports to communicate the child’s progress, strengths, and areas needing attention to parents, other educators, or specialists. The reports include observations, interpretations, and sometimes recommendations for future actions or interventions.

They serve as critical tools for tracking developmental milestones, identifying potential issues early, and planning educational or therapeutic strategies tailored to the child’s individual needs, thereby supporting their overall growth and development.

You can follow these best practices for writing a child observation report:

  • Find the best format for relaying the data. This depends how the data will be used, as well as the type of observation you’re working on. Do you need a lot of white space for independent observations and long texts? Should you include photos?
  • State the goal and type of the observation so that the person using the checklist understands expectations
  • Include a specific column for demographic information about the child (gender, age, group, special circumstances), if applicable
  • Consider including information about who else was present during the observation
  • State the exact activit(ies) you observed and how the child behaved throughout
  • Include child development theory and research relevant to your observation
  • Finally, outline any resulting actions you plan to take after your observation or any plans to help the child improve

Digital support for child observation examples

Child care observation needs to be consistent over the long term and requires careful monitoring. That’s why professionals often use a child care observation checklist so they can ensure they observe all the relevant behaviors.

Lumiform is a powerful inspection app that can be used to help document early childhood development. Streamline reporting with Lumiform’s mobile app by documenting data instantly via tablet or smartphone—online or offline. With population growth, class sizes are getting larger, but there’s no need to worry about parent-teacher conferences anymore — with the Lumiform app, the data of every child under your care is there instantly at your fingertips.

Create checklists within minutes. You can even edit checklists after the fact to cater to the needs of individual children. This data is then automatically uploaded to the cloud to be reviewed at your own convenience, so there’s no need to fret over lost data or errors — you don’t even have to press save! Other advantages that help to implement the child observation process are:

  • To help you document and report on your kindergarten observation, you can use Lumiform’s mobile app to take photos of fleeting moments and quickly annotate what you saw and heard.
  • You can use Lumiform’s scheduling feature to remind you of upcoming events such as playtime and art sessions.
  • With Lumiform’s cloud-based storage, observations are secure and accessible only to the concerned educators.
  • Use our collection of carefully designed child observation forms and template examples for on-site reports.
  • These reports can be sent to the parents at the touch of a button, giving you, the educator, more time for the children.

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Frequently asked questions

What’s the best way to start child observation if I’m new to it?

Start with simple, short observations during natural activities like playtime or snack time. Choose a comfortable spot where you can quietly observe without being intrusive. Focus on one child at a time, and jot down what you see without interpreting or evaluating.

How can I avoid being biased during child observation?

To reduce bias, focus only on what you see and hear, avoiding assumptions about the child’s thoughts or feelings. Record facts, not interpretations—for example, note “the child smiled and clapped their hands” instead of “the child was excited.” You can also regularly review your notes with a colleague for a fresh perspective.

What should I focus on when observing a child’s playtime?

Pay attention to how the child engages with materials, their problem-solving strategies, and how they interact with others. Notice the child’s level of concentration, creativity, and social behavior—like whether they prefer solitary play or group activities. This will give you insights into their interests, cognitive development, and social skills.

Is it better to observe children in group settings or one-on-one?

Both settings can give you valuable insights, so a mix would be ideal. Group settings show how a child interacts socially, follows rules, and responds to peer dynamics, while one-on-one observations highlight individual skills, attention span, and emotional responses.

Author
Nicky Liedtke
Nicky is a content writer and researcher for Lumiform. With her content writing and copywriting experience, she creates high-quality content across a variety of relevant topics. She aims to promote workplace safety, sustainable operational excellence, and continuous improvement in her articles. She is passionate about communicating how technology can be used to have a positive impact on the environment and helping organizations reduce paper waste and achieve their business goals.
Lumiform offers innovative software to streamline frontline workflows. With over 12,000 ready-to-use templates or custom digital forms, organizations can increase efficiency and automate key business processes. The platform is particularly user-friendly, offering advanced reporting capabilities and powerful logic functions that enable automated solutions for standardized workflows. Discover the transformative potential of Lumiform to optimize your frontline workflows. Learn more about the product

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