Lesson 3The Caregiving Environment
We know that expulsion tends to happen when caregivers are stressed and have lack of support
-Mary Mackrain
A Moment of Reflection:
A Moment of Reflection:
Where do single stories and deficit narratives show up in your work?
On your note paper reflect on What Would a “10” Environment look like for infants and toddlers- in their eyes?
What Would a “10” Environment look like for infants and toddlers- in their eyes?
Essential Needs for the Developing Brain
Reflective Checklist for CAREGiving Practice for Children (0-5). The CAREgiving Checklist is research Informed, created for parents involved in child welfare, helps us focus on specific aspects of the caregiving environment and practices and helps parents reflect on how they can create their child’s setting in ways that will strengthen protective factors and build resilience.
Consistency
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This transcript was made from the recording by software. It may have small errors.
So what if somebody doesn't understand this routine? It can be very offsetting for a baby or a toddler. So some of the things that we want to look for in an infant toddler room is a sense of consistency. So the task that we need to do is to provide predictable routines. As an adult, do what I say I'm going to do. Positively manage my own adult emotions. Routines, wake up, eating, nap time, doing what I say I'm going to do, responding consistently when a baby cries.
So if I say I'll be right there, I'm right there. Taking deep, slow breaths before responding to something emotional. Like I gave the situation where I was reading the story to the young child who, you know, I was physically harmed and I had to take a few breaths before I responded. Adult conflict in front of children and demonstrate resolution to those conflicts. So again, we would need hours to go through every single strategy, but I wanted to just give you some tools and tips for that physical environment setup and the kind of safety we need to provide.
See the flashcards below for tasks and tips to accompany this audio clip
Task: Provide predictable routines
Tip:
- Support regular routines for wake-up, feeding, nap…
- Narrate to children where you are going and what you will be doing
Task: Do what I say I am going to do
Tip:
- Respond consistently when a baby cries
- Spend uninterrupted time with children every day
Task: Positively manage my own emotions
Tips:
- Take deep, slow breathes before responding to something very emotional
- Avoid situations of active adult conflict in front of children-demonstrate conflict resolution
Attuned Relationships
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This transcript was made from the recording by software. It may have small errors.
Attuned relationships is next. So this includes providing safe and gentle affection. So watching caregivers and helping them to really engage in those behaviors, like reading stories together about safe and gentle touch, modeling gentle affection with others in their life. So maybe it's even a coworker going up and touching them gently on the shoulder and saying, hey, I'm happy to see you. Gaston, you have a big smile, you must be happy.
Tamika, do you see the baby smiling? She's happy too.
See the flashcards below for tasks and tips to accompany this audio clip
Task: Provide safe and gentle affection.
Tip:
- Use everyday activities to connect such as diapering, dressing and mealtime.
- Read stories together about safe and gentle touch.
- Model gentle affection with others in your life.
Task: Respond to verbal and non-verbal cues.
Tip:
Use words to describe a child’s gestures and movements. "I see you turning your head away from the spoon, you are all done eating." "I hear your words, tell me more.“
Task: Talk about feelings.
Tips:
Narrate a child's emotions for them. "Gaston, you have a big smile! You must be happy." Look at pictures or simple books together that show different faces with emotions and label. "Tamika do you see the baby smiling? She is happy!"
Environment
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This transcript was made from the recording by software. It may have small errors.
The physical environment. So keeping our caregiving settings safe. So modeling ways to stay safe. I'm using the step tools so I can safely reach the serial. Using gentle reminders about rules and safety versus using a loud voice or abrupt physical touch. And creating that welcoming place to live or to grow and learn. So displaying or accepting children's placement of their artwork and photos in prominent places. Having comfortable places to sit.
I've been in caregiving settings where adults have no comfortable place to actually sit and play with children. So just those everyday physical pieces of the environment are very, very important.
See the flashcards below for tasks and tips to accompany this audio clip
Task: Keep our home safe.
Tip:
- Model ways to stay safe within the environment, “I am using this step stool so that I can safely reach the cereal up high.”
- Use gentle reminders about rules and safety versus using a loud voice or abrupt physical touch. These simple reminders set up important boundaries to help children feel safe.
Task: Create a welcoming place to live.
Tip:
- Provide space to sit and play comfortably together
- Model clean-up and putting things away. Include children who are old enough in the process. “Tamika, I am putting the baby dolls back into their crib, do you want to put baby Sam or baby Missy into the crib?”
- Display or accept children’s placement of their artwork and photos in prominent places.
Social and Emotional Tips for Providers Caring for Infants.
Social and Emotional Tips for Providers Caring for Infants provides a set of (5) one-page posters that staff can refer to during specific daily routines including: dressing, meal times, playtime, resting and diapering. Putting these posters up around the classroom can serve as a reminder of what to say or do to nurture the social and emotional health of infants every day.
Schedules and routines really provide babies and toddlers with a sense of security. They are predictable, they learn about the world, they can more easily discover and embrace their routines cause they feel safety about what happens next."