Foundations of Responsive Caregiving: Infants, Toddlers, and Twos

Published by Redleaf Press

10 Yorkton Court

St. Paul, MN 55117

www.redleafpress.org

© 2013 by Jean Barbre, EdD

All rights reserved. Unless otherwise noted on a specific page, no portion of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or capturing on any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a critical article or review to be printed in a magazine or newspaper, or electronically transmitted on radio, television, or the Internet.

First edition 2013

Cover design by Jim Handrigan

Cover photographs © Ocean Photography/Veer

Interior design by Percolator

Typeset in ITC Stone Serif

Interior illustration and photographs by Shawn Thomas, except on page 1 © iStockphoto.com/Julie Fairman; page 36 © iStockphoto.com/Michael Reese; pages 39 and 92 © iStockphoto.com/onebluelight; page 75 © iStockphoto.com/Vanessa Morosini; page 77 © iStockphoto.com/Karen Struthers; page 88 © iStockphoto.com/quavondo; page 99 © iStockphoto.com/Christopher Futcher; page 101 © iStockphoto.com/Jo Unruh; and page 115 © iStockphoto.com/Danish Kahn

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Barbre, Jean.

Foundations of responsive caregiving : infants, toddlers, and twos / Jean Barbre.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-60554-263-8 (e-book)

1. Child care. 2. Early childhood education. 3. Child development. 4. Parent and infant. 5. Parent and child.I. Title.

HQ778.5.B37 2013

649'.1—dc23

2012025632

To my husband, Brett:

Thank you for your love and support.

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.

—Leo Buscaglia

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

CHAPTER 1: Caregiving and the Early Childhood Professional

CHAPTER 2: Theory to Practice

CHAPTER 3: Building Secure Relationships and Attachments

CHAPTER 4: Influences on Early Learning

CHAPTER 5: Responsive Learning Environments

CHAPTER 6: Social-Emotional Development: Understanding Self and Others

CHAPTER 7: Physical Development: Sensing and Moving

CHAPTER 8: Cognitive Development: Thinking and Learning

CHAPTER 9: Language Development: Playing with Sounds and Using Words

CLOSING THOUGHTS: Becoming a Responsive Caregiver

Glossary

References

Index

Acknowledgments

I have so many people to thank for supporting me while I wrote this book. First, my husband, for your love and support. For many months, you ignored piles of books on the dining room table, cooked for me, and gave me the time I needed to write. My daughters, Kim and Kat, you’re a constant reminder to me of what I can accomplish through hard work and dedication. Your love over the years has made all the difference to me. My mother, brother, and sister, you listened and shared my excitement about writing this book and joyfully shared my accomplishments. My friends, for your generous encouragement and interest in the book. Some of you were there with me from the beginning of this project, and others joined me along the way; I appreciate all of you and treasure your friendship. I especially want to thank my friend Stacy Deeble-Reynolds for allowing me to photograph your home, and my friends and colleagues who allowed me to photograph your beautiful children.

The staff at the Orange Coast College’s Harry and Grace Steel Children’s Center and the Hatsue Damain Family Child Care Center—you let me photograph your amazing early child care programs. Your commitment to high-quality programs is evident in the smiling faces of the children. A special thanks to Shawn Thomas for your photography and creativity; it was a pleasure to work with you on this book. I thank Doctor Scott Gray, Kim, and Kat for reading the first rough draft of this book and giving me feedback and direction.

The team at Redleaf Press offered me your dedication and hard work. Editors Jeanne Engelmann and Kyra Ostendorf helped make writing this book a pleasure. David Heath at Redleaf offered me early support and the chance to share my thoughts about infants and toddlers with others. The creative team at the press understood what was needed to strengthen the content and flow of the book.

Last, I want to thank the many adults who care for infants and toddlers every day. Your commitment to the care and well-being of our youngest children is commendable. I hope you’ll find this book useful and practical, whether you’re students going into the field of early care and education or providers who are already caring for children.

To my readers: may you always remember that what you do makes a difference in young children’s lives.

Introduction

Those of you who work in early childhood education (ECE) and care programs know they’re noisy, exciting places. Children from birth to age three are bundles of energy whose bodies are in constant motion. Infants, toddlers, and twos can sweep from frustration to joy, delight, and tears within minutes. They love to cuddle, listen to stories, and sleep gently in your arms. It’s easy for babies to melt your heart when they look up at you with their big toothless grins. You know there’s nothing quite as sweet or precious as a young child. They captivate and motivate you—their wonderment and delight make your work rewarding even when you’re tired. Their innocence and sense of wonder bring you joy and hope, and they inspire you to provide them with the highest-possible quality of care.

The care that infants, toddlers, and twos receive dramatically affects their future intellectual, social, emotional, and physical development. And you play a critical role in determining if they will acquire the skills they need to succeed in life. As if this wasn’t already an overwhelming amount of responsibility, remember too that the relationships you build with young children are going to affect their ability to form healthy relationships for the rest of their lives.

Figure I.1

CARING FOR CHILDREN

The term caregiver typically refers to any adult besides the parent or guardian who cares for a child for any length of time. But you don’t want to be just any caregiver—you want to be a responsive caregiver, and that means you actively create nurturing relationships with the children you care for. These very young humans are almost wholly dependent on you for their physical, mental, and emotional well-being, and they need you to respond to their needs quickly and in developmentally appropriate ways.

What else characterizes you as a responsive caregiver? You plan activities that help children learn the skills they need to develop across the domains of social-emotional, physical, cognitive, and language development. You take advantage of unplanned opportunities—what are called teachable moments—to help children learn new things and build on existing knowledge. You create environments in which they can safely and joyfully explore, discover, and create their own meaning.

THE IMPORTANCE OF RELATIONSHIPS

During infancy and toddlerhood, children learn almost everything through their relationships. They interact and observe other children and adults. To be an effective ECE professional, you need to understand more about the healthy relationships that are cornerstones to children’s emotional well-being. (I discuss this further in chapter 3.) You need specific skills and knowledge so you can provide optimal care for each and every child.

High-quality ECE programs hire highly qualified caregivers and adhere to the best practices of child development. You should be knowledgeable about early development and understand its importance in the development of infants, toddlers, and twos. With such knowledge, you can provide the care and nurturing that very young children need. It’s through the relationships you build and the trusting environment you provide that children can learn and build trust.

Figure I.2

Young children are cared for in a variety of settings: at home, where they are cared for by family members; in nonlicensed care in the homes of relatives, friends, or neighbors; in licensed ECE centers or licensed family child care homes. (In chapter 1, I describe the different kinds of care and the indicators of high-quality programs.) I call the settings that licensed ECE centers and family child care homes provide early care and learning environments. You can adapt the information I provide to any setting where you offer early care to infants, toddlers, and twos.

Figure I.3

For ease of reading, I use the terms caregiver and responsive caregiver interchangeably. I’m assuming that you are striving to be a responsive caregiver (or perhaps you are one already). You teach and care for children and attend to their individual needs in warm, nurturing, loving ways. Your interactions with children are positive and respectful, and you are genuinely interested in their well-being. You honor the children’s diversity by supporting their home languages and cultural backgrounds. (I discuss these practices in chapter 2 and in the closing thoughts at the end of the book.) You enjoy caring for children and provide uncountable moments of nurturing and developmentally appropriate learning experiences.

Six principles are woven throughout this book:

1.Responsive caregiving is essential to children’s growth and development.

2.Trust is the cornerstone of healthy relationships.

3.Children need stable, secure early care and learning environments.

4.Children are ready and eager to learn.

5.Play is central to children’s learning.

6.Responsive caregivers collaborate with families to support children’s growth and development.

As a professional, you have been entrusted with the care of vulnerable young children. You need knowledge of ECE, experience in caring for young children, a commitment to excellence, and ongoing professional development. You also need to know how to create and sustain environments in which children can grow across the developmental domains. Children grow best when they are loved, cared for, and valued as unique individuals. They need your whole-hearted love and commitment to help them reach their full potential.

ABOUT THIS BOOK

I wrote Foundations of Responsive Caregiving to help you become a responsive caregiver. I’m going to acquaint you with theories of child development, components of high-quality care, best practices in teaching and caregiving, and an overview of how children grow and develop from birth to age three. I also provide you with strategies for supporting children who have special needs.

Each chapter offers tips on how to promote young children’s learning, a summary of the big ideas to take away from that chapter, and reflection and application questions to help you explore the ideas further. Chapters 6, 7, 8, and 9 address the four learning domains. In each of those chapters, you’ll find references to my companion book, Activities for Responsive Caregiving. The activities in that book can help you implement age-appropriate activities and strategies through play.

But before you look at these many elements of responsive care, you need to first explore your personal caregiving philosophy.

EXPLORING YOUR PERSONAL CAREGIVING PHILOSOPHY

Creating your personal caregiving philosophy statement requires you to think about what you know and feel about working with young children. This important statement can help you reflect on your current beliefs and attitudes and deepen your commitment to caring for young children. You might include your core beliefs about caring for infants, toddlers, and twos; your approach to teaching and caring for other people; and your commitment to quality care for all children. Make your statement personal, and use it to inspire and motivate you to become the best caregiver you can.

Start by asking yourself, What can I do to ensure that children reach their full potential and grow to be emotionally healthy? Next, reflect on who you are as a teacher and caregiver. What skills do you bring to those roles? What areas do you think need strengthening? Are some areas more challenging to you than others? Assess the areas you see as your strengths and those you feel need improving. Because everyone can improve on her skills and expertise, examine what you’re doing right now to increase your knowledge of child development.

Figure I.4

Creating your personal caregiving philosophy statement can help you focus on why you entered the field of ECE, what joys and concerns you have now, what your gifts are as a caregiver, and how to deepen your commitment to young children. The field of ECE changes continually. Don’t allow yourself to get stale! Keep taking classes and workshops to improve your teaching practices, try new things, and acquire new ideas. Learning also reminds you why you chose to work with young children in the first place.

Personal Caregiving Philosophy Statement

Find a piece of paper and complete the following statements:

What do these completed statements have in common? Try to identify the elements that are similar in each of them; these are the strengths and motivators of the caregiver who wrote