Primary Caregiving - A Mother's Answer to Childcare

Following on from my previous post, there has been a solution to developing attachment, trust and a strong relationship with an infant through the primary caregiving system. Although the number of qualified staff has been reduced in under two’s settings, primary care giving has become one solution to infants and toddlers gaining the care and quality needed. Feeney, Christensen, Moravcik, and Nolte, (2010), claim the primary care giving system allows children to develop a warm, nurturing relationship with a teacher who will learn the particular needs of that individual and who handles the majority of care for that child. Feeney et al. (2010) also state that families may become concerned that their child will become too attached to that primary caregiver but studies have shown that the parental bond becomes stronger.

 Jean Rockel , (2005, p. 84), states “Babies are not immature adults – they exhibit capabilities and educators are there as much to learn from them as the infant will learn from the adult. Therein lies the vulnerability of the infant (and the parent) to inattentive practice. The rights and responsibilities for such practices lie with parents and teachers.” Therefore primary care giving allows parents and teachers to have open communication and discuss the needs of the infant and how they can be supported. This can put the parents mind at ease knowing that if they were to put there infant into a centre, their child will be in a safe environment and they, the parent, is supported by teachers in an early childhood centre. Lally, Torres, Phelps, (1994, p. 5), states "primary caregiving does not mean that one person cares for an infant or toddler exclusively, all of the time – there has to be teaming. Primary caregiving does mean that the infant or toddler has someone special with whom to build an intimate relationship."

According to Sebastian - Nickell and Milne, (1997), important aspects for infants in early childhood settings are their abilities, empathy, emotional problems, temperament, attachment, language development and physical development. Sebastian – Nickell and Milne, (1997) also state it is essential in early childhood to support infants through stimulation and relationships. Santrock, (2009), supports this by claiming through infancy psychological activities become essential to the infant such as language, sensory motor co-ordination, symbolic thought and social interactions and learning. This proves through infants being in a centre, teachers know what developmental needs of the infant need to be met and how. Through communication between the parent and teacher, parents and whaanau can become reassured that the stimulation and relationships that the infant is getting in their home environment can also be related to that in an early childhood setting. Te Whāriki, (Ministry of Education, 1996) state that an infant should develop a close trusting relationship with, at minimum, one other person.

Therefore the primary caregiving system allows for close relationships to form, trust to be established and the infant to be in an environment where it is warm, safe and nurturing.

FOREVER IN MY HEART

Although I'm not their mother
I care for them each day,
I cuddle, sing and read to them
And watch them as they play.

I see each new accomplishment,
I help them grow and learn.
I understand their language,
I listen with concern.

They come to me for comfort,
And I kiss away their tears.
They proudly show their work to me,
I give the loudest cheers!

No, I 'm not their mother,
But my role is just as strong.
I nurture them and keep them safe,
Though maybe not for long.

I know someday the time will come,
When we will have to part.
But I know each child I cared for,
Is forever in my heart!

~~~ Author Unknown~~~

 

Reference

Feeney, S., Christensen, D., Nolte, S., & Moravcik, E. (2010). Who am I

in the lives of children?(8^th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson

Education.

Lally, R., Torres, Y., & Phelps, P. (1994) Caring for infants and toddlers

            groups: Considerations for emotional, social, and cognitive

            development.  Retrieved April 26, 2011 from

            http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED371885.pdf

Ministry of Education. (1996) Te Whāriki: He Whāriki matauranga o ngā

mokopuna o Aotearoa / Early childhood curriculum.                           

            Wellington: Learning Media.

Rockel, J. (2005). Primary care in early childhood education: To be or not

to be? Retrieved April 20, 2011 from

http://www.education.auckland.ac.nz/.../education/.../ACE_Pap

er_6_Issue_15.doc.

Santrock J.W. (2008). Life-span development (11^th ed.). New York, NY:

McGraw Hill.

Sebastian-Nickell, P., & Milne, R. (1997). Care and education of young

children. Melbourne, Australia: Addison Wesley Longman

Australia.

A Mother's Perspective

A mother’s perspective of early childhood care can be daunting. There are many factors that influence the choice of whether childcare is right for their family/whanau. If the centre shares the same beliefs and values then the mother will feel more at ease in leaving their infant at the centre. It is also essential for the centre to provide smooth transitioning. For a smooth transition to happen attachments need to be formed and separation from the infant and the mother need to be made as easy as possible. Caye et al. (1996), states “Attachment is the social and emotional relationship children develop with the significant people in their lives. An infant's first attachment is usually formed with its mother, although in some circumstances another adult can become the primary attachment figure. This may be a father, a grandparent, or an unrelated adult.” Through having an attachment with an adult other then the mother or caregiver, it allows for the infant to develop trust in others and form healthy and intimate relationships.

PATRNERSHIP

They bring their child to me
and hope I'll come to know.
How much the offspring means to them,
their trust in me bestowed.
They bring their child to me
with love and hope and pride,
looking for a helping hand,
a teacher who will guide.
They bring their child to me,
and our partnership is clear:
To nurture and allow to bloom
a life we both hold dear.
They bring their child to me, a step toward letting go
and trusting in our special plan
to help the child grow.

~~~By Gloria Weber Henbesst~~~

Also to make the transitioning and time for the infant in the centre easier, it helps if the teacher who has a strong connection with the infant to be communicative with the parent and for the parent to be involved. According to Whalley, (2001), her belief is that parents play a critical role as their primary educators. It is essential that for young children, educators need to work with parents to share views about the child, the child’s interest and ideas on extending the child’s learning. In the education system and the government of the United Kingdom, The Plowden Report in 1967, had the point of parent involvement is the key feature to any high – quality early childcare setting. New Zealand supports parents involvement in the early childhood curriculum,Te Whariki , (1996) . There is a substantial amount of goals invoving parents and how they can be a part of their child’s learning in an early childcare setting.  Te Whariki, (Ministry of education), states

“Each community to which a child belongs, whether it

is a family home or an early childhood setting outside

the home, provides opportunities for new learning to

be fostered: for children to reflect on alternative ways

of doing things; make connections across time and

place; establish different kinds of relationship; and

encounter different points of view. These experiences

enrich children’s lives and provide them with the

knowledge, skills, and dispositions they need to tackle new challenges.” (p. 9).

For a parent who’s infant is going into a childcare environment, this type of support from Te Whariki, lets the parent know that their child’s well being is being nurtured and that the parent is valued. As I have discussed, quality, attachment, transitioning and parent involvement are essential for mothers when putting their infant into a childcare setting. If a mother finds these attributes in a centre and the mothers beliefs and values are recognised and can be in relation to the centre, then the mother can feel less anxious and it makes
putting their infant into a centre a much easier process.

Reference

Caye, J., McMahon, J., Norris, T., & Rahija, L. (1996). Effects of

separation and loss on attachment. Chapel Hill, NC: School

of Social Work, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Ministry of Education. (1996) Te Whāriki: He Whāriki matauranga o

ngā mokopuna o Aotearoa / Early childhood curriculum.        

            Wellington: Learning Media.

Whalley, M. (2001). Involving parents in their children's learning.

            Thousand Oaks, CA: Paul Chapman Publishing.

.

Change of topic - Infants in Early Childhood

Through investigating the topic of children’s rights, I have found that I have a stronger interest in the concern of infants in an early childhood environment. Therefore my chosen social issue of children’s rights has changed.

Putting an infant into a centre or type of childcare is a difficult choice to make for any parent. And in todays’s society there is an ongoing debate on whether infants should be in childcare. Throughout this blog I am going to discuss the following:

• The governments influences on infants in childcare
• The mothers perspective
• primary caregiving perspective
• What policies are put in place for infants in childcare and what this means for management

 Ten tiny little fingers that always want to play,
That never stop exploring the wonder of today.
Ten tiny little fingers that from the very start,
Will reach out for tomorrow yet always hold your heart.                                                                                

 -- Author Unknown

I feel that infants should not be in early childhood, instead they should be at home having quality time with whaanau.  But in today’s society this cannot happen due to financial reasons. I believe that if the government is paying for infants and toddlers to go to childcare, then why not pay a parent to stay at home with the child.

The government has had a huge impact on the way society has had to deal with the issue of infants being put into centres. They have also had an impact on the quality in the centres as well. The government has cut the funding in early childhood by allowing less than one hundred percent of staff to be qualified. This has caused concern for parents as they may feel their infant, if put into childcare, is not getting one hundred percent quality care. According to a report by John Hartevelt, (Time to take under two's seriously: Report, 2011), the Children’s Commissioner, John Angus, claims to disagree with the government’s funding cuts due to the idea that infants and toddlers deserve one hundred percent qualified staff to care for them and that the government should look at current regulations and funding arrangements instead.

Helen May, (2008), states Jean Rockel; a member of the governments strategic working plan, has strongly argued since 2002 that the government needs to be inclusive to infants and toddlers in early childhood and this argument is still ongoing. The New Zealand early childhood curriculum, Te Whāriki, (Ministry of Education, 1996) states that for the well being of the child, they are to experience a place where “their emotional well being is being nurtured” (Ministry of Education, 1996, p. 46). For this to be true the quality in early childhood needs to be respected and seen as essential. This proves that the government has influenced infants being in centres as they have impacted on the quality in an infant and toddler setting.

Reference

Hartevelt, J. (n.d.). Time to take under two’s seriously: Report. Retrieved March

            25, 2011 from http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/4791194/Time

to-take-under-twos-seriously-report.

May, H. (2008). Guest editorial: labours legacy. The First Years: Nga Tau

Tuatahi. New Zealand Journal of Infant and Toddler Education. 10,

 3 – 4.

Ministry of Education. (1996) Te Whāriki: He Whāriki matauranga o ngā

mokopuna o Aotearoa / Early childhood curriculum.                                  

            Wellington: Learning Media.