INFANT Child Development Need This Done Thursday April 9, 2019 By 12pm PACIFIC TIME ZONE!

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Chapter1-TheDevelopmentofProgramswithFamilies.pdf

Home >English homework help >INFANT Child Development Need This Done Thursday April 9, 2019 By 12pm PACIFIC TIME ZONE!

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“Families and communities are the ground-level generators

and preservers of values and ethical systems. Individuals acquire

a sense of self not only from observation of their own bodies and

knowledge of their own thoughts but from their continuous relationship

to others, especially close familial or community relations, and

from the culture of their native place, the things, the customs,

the honored deeds of their elders.”

—J. W. Gardner, Building Community

This chapter describes the crucial role of the family during the first three years of life and explains why, in order to achieve a high-quality program, infant care teachers begin by working together with families. The approach presented here places

infant/toddler care in the context of families, rather than as a program separate from

families. The chapter then considers the nature of relationships and communication

with diverse families within a family-oriented approach to the care and education of

infants and toddlers.

Chapter 1

The Development of Programs with Families

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The Central Role of Families cultural rules in exactly the same way. In fact, infants, toddlers, and their families develop

Children are not islands. They are inti within a set of “nested” communities, each mately connected with their families. In their one influencing the child’s development and relationships children and their families each identity. These communities may include have a significant influence on the other. The neighborhoods, towns, churches or temples, family adapts to the child, and the child to the infant/toddler programs, and schools. Each family.1 community has its own culture, and each has

an influence on the family and the child. The family’s influence on the learning and The following illustration is adapted from development of an infant or toddler sur- Bronfenbrenner (1979): Imagine the child’s passes all other influences. world to be represented by a series of con

Family relationships have more influence centric circles with the individual child at the on a child’s learning and development than center. Each circle represents a sphere of influ any other relationships he has. Family mem ence that affects the child’s life. These spheres, bers know him better than anyone else. They which include family, child care, community, know his usual way of approaching things, school, the media, the workplace, and govern his interests, how he likes to interact, how ment, to name but a few, are nested within he is comforted, and how he learns. Fam- one another, extended outward from the child ily members understand his strengths, and herself. they have learned how to help him with any Communities can be a source of strength special needs he may have. Just as important, for families and their children, providing sup the child’s relationships with family members port and resources. These resources can be shape the way he experiences relationships services to people who make up the families’ outside the home. communities. For instance, neighbors in a

“What young children learn, how they community may provide friendship and emo react to events and people around them, and tional support to one another, celebrate family what they expect from themselves and oth events, and help families cope with stress. A ers are deeply affected by their relationships community may have available prenatal and with parents, the behavior of parents, and the health care, nutrition, and early intervention environment of the homes in which they live” services—all of which help children as they (From Neurons to Neighborhoods 2000, 226). develop. All infant/toddler programs represent

a very important kind of supportive com Infants and toddlers learn and develop in munity for families and their young children. the context of their families’ cultural com- They are communities where infants and tod munities. dlers spend large amounts of time, learn, and

develop significant relationships with adults Families are not islands; they are con and other children. For these communities to

nected to cultural communities. Each family work well, families must be respected, have has beliefs, values, and expectations for their a sense of belonging, and be viewed as active children that are rooted in cultural commu participants. nities yet reflect the unique perspective of When a very young child enters an in that family. Culture also influences families’ fant/toddler program, both the infant and the perspectives and approaches to supporting infant’s family experience dramatic changes in children with disabilities or other special their lives. The infant is faced, usually for the needs. Families often participate in more than first time, with the challenges of adapting to one community, and no two families follow a strange environment, different routines, and

1 new relationships. The family members, too,

The term “family member” is used throughout this publica must make a difficult adjustment—the sharing tion to describe the people who are primarily responsible for a child, whether they are parents, grandparents, foster families, or of the care of their child with someone outside others. the family.

The Nature of Relationships The Importance of Between Programs and Families Establishing Working

An infant/toddler program is a system Relationships of relationships (Rinaldi 2003). Within this Both families and teach system, the relationship between the family ers feel the strong impulse to and the program is key to the program’s rela protect infants and toddlers. tionship with the child. Through a welcoming Teachers can be more re relationship with the family, the child’s teach- sponsive to family members’ ers begin to understand the family’s perspec strong emotions if they have tives, strengths, needs, routines, hopes, and established a positive relation expectations. This understanding helps teach ship based on two-way com- ers to appreciate not only who the child is but munication. When a family also the child’s experience of the world. member and a teacher have

Within a system of relationships, the different beliefs about how to relationship between the family and the infant nurture a child, each may react care teacher is key. For a family, the experi emotionally. Being responsive ence of entering an infant/toddler setting may to family interests early in the be highly emotional. Family members usually relationship helps build trust. have anxiety about the separation from their In programs based on relation child and may feel ambivalent about leaving ships with families, teachers their child. For many families these feelings seek and value the family’s and experiences can often be intensified when voice as the best source of in their child has a disability or other special formation about the child (such need. All families feel protective of their child as her temperament, strengths, and want the best for her. Their beliefs about interests, or needs). Family what is right for their child reflect both their members often enjoy talking culturally based expectations and their unique to someone who knows and relationship experiences with her. They are appreciates their child’s unique often unsure what to expect from the infant/ personality and sense of humor. toddler program or what kind of relationship This connection between fami they will have with it. lies and teachers can be one of

joy and humor as they share

Complex Feelings

Bonita steps into the room and looks around. Maria, the teacher she’s talked with before, is head- ing toward her. She has a nice smile. “This is it,” Bonita thinks. “No choice. I have to be at work in twenty minutes.” Maria greets both Bonita and the small, awake bundle in her arms. After chat- ting briefly with Maria, Bonita says, “Well, I have to go.” As she hands her baby to Maria, she adds, “And you know when you feed him, well, I mean after you feed him, he burps more easily if you first lean him forward on your knee. I guess I told you that, or showed you, but when you do it, he likes the pats lower down on his back and it’s more sort of a rub-pat. Oh, I’m not really liking this. . . .” Her voice cracks.

Maria says, “No, of course not, this is a hard, hard thing. I do remember a lot of what you told me and showed me about Amos, and I think Amos is already good about showing what he wants and likes.”

Bonita looks sad and says, “I know he’ll be OK.”

Maria looks at her warmly and answers, “We’ll talk when you come back, and I’ll tell you what I saw and did, and you can tell me more about Amos. You can call and check on him if you’d like. We’ll be thinking about you, Amos and I.”

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stories about children’s activities at home and in care. When concerns do arise, the existing relationship provides a natural transition for conversing about them. The family member and the teacher know each other and have already developed some trust.

Cultural Perspectives on Nurturing Young Children

Williams and De Gaetano (1985) de- scribe culture as a way of life of a group of people, including shared views of the world and social realities, values and beliefs, roles and relationships, and patterns or standards of behavior. Through culture children gain a sense of identity, a feeling of belonging, and beliefs about what is important in life, what is right and wrong, how to care for themselves and others, and what to celebrate, eat, and wear. When children are raised only in their home culture, they learn those lessons almost effortlessly. When they spend some of their formative years in child care with people who were not raised in their culture and who do not necessarily share the same family and com- munity values, the learning of those important early lessons becomes more complex.

A person’s approach to nurturing infants and toddlers reflects one’s values. Certain values that are familiar may be experienced as “natural,” whereas other values are considered “different.” For example, the early childhood profession in the United States has historically emphasized that young children be set on a path toward independence and encouraged to care for themselves as early as possible. The common practice of encouraging older babies to feed themselves reflects the profession’s emphasis on independence. Recently, how- ever, an increasing number of early childhood professionals are recognizing the diversity of perspectives on independence. Many families whose children attend child care programs value interdependence more than indepen- dence. This value can be observed in the ways children are taught to help one another and to respect the needs of others (such as staying at the table until everyone is finished). Early care and education programs have begun to modify program practices and policies to weave the concept of interdependence as well as the con- cept of independence into the fabric of care.

Sometimes, differences of opinion surface between the infant care program and a family about how to care for children. Addressing these differences often provides opportunities for teachers to learn and grow together with families. Teachers need to initiate conversa- tions with the family to find out the family members’ thoughts about caring for the child. The family’s perspectives and values may or may not reflect the cultural communities in which the family participates. Even when a family belongs to the same cultural communi- ty as the teacher, the teacher’s perspective may differ from the family’s, as each person inter- prets cultural rules and expectations differ- ently. In a family child care home, the culture of the provider’s family is strongly represented in various ways, such as its communication styles, artwork, child-rearing practices, and music. Home settings present an opportunity for providers to initiate discussions with fam- ily members about one another’s cultures, values, and beliefs.

Open, respectful communication helps the teacher bridge children’s experiences in the

program with their experiences at home. When a teacher becomes aware of different beliefs, values, practices, or communication styles, open and respectful communication with the family is especially important. This type of communication means being thoughtful and willing to share one’s own beliefs and values without imposing them on the family. It also means learning from family members what their beliefs and values are without judging them. Through conversations with the family, the teacher may discover ways she can adapt her practices so that the child’s experiences in the infant/toddler setting closely connect with his experiences at home.

Conclusion Every relationship in an infant/toddler pro-

gram affects the well-being and development of the child. Teachers who understand the fundamental importance of the family–child relationship place a high priority on building a positive, reciprocal relationship with the fam-

ily. They know that only the family can provide information on the child’s unique relation- ship experiences at home.

Open, two-way commu- nication between teachers and families enables them to learn from one another and to gain insights into how to facilitate the individual child’s learn- ing and development. Recent child development research, as described in the next chapter, sketches a picture of infants and toddlers as motivated learners who actively seek relationships with adults. The usefulness of insights from this research is greatly enhanced by information from the family, for it completes the picture of the individual child.

Resolving a Difference

In one infant/toddler center, babies would arrive with amu- lets and medicine bags hanging around their necks for health reasons. The center staff members decided to remove those items while the babies were at the center so the babies would not strangle. The staff members did not think the amulets served a purpose, anyway, but the par- ents felt strongly that they must remain on the babies all through the day. Finally, after much discussion, the parents and staff members managed to hear each other. Instead of forbidding the babies to arrive with little bags around their necks, they found ways to attach the bags to the babies’ clothes so the bags would not present a potential strangling hazard and the babies could still have their preventive or curative amulets with them.

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