Nurturing Babies Pp1-13

S 1 I n t r o d u c t i o n 1 Introduction There are some undamental requirements that need to be in place in order to successully nurture babies and children in their earliest years. These include: knowledge of babies and children – their development, and their needs, in order that they can thrive physically and emotionally during these crucial rst 48 months time for discussion, with other proessionals and with parents to help to understand the needs, interests and abilities o each individual, unique child time to think, both alone or, with others in the team, and with people in other areas o work, to ensure that all current infuences aecting the children are remembered and taken into account willingness to undertake further reading and training , or study the ndings o researchers and academics who may pose more questions, or suggest answers, or provide clues, to help to understand a problem, or (just as importantly) to enjoy the particular behaviour o a child in your care experience and observations of many babies and young children – a vital ingredient in helping to understand the eelings and interests o each child, as well as in improving the quality o your own practice. When you constantly update your knowledge in these ways throughout your career you nd that your opinions and your practice change over time, as society’s priorities and children’s circumstances are altered by a range o actors. Children’s care cannot be set in stone, and neither can opinions. The views expressed in this resource and the suggestions in the Programmes to Support Development come rom one author who has used all o the above approaches in order to reach her conclusions at this particular moment. However, there is surely one unchanging and overriding rule that we all need to sign up to in order to take on the responsibility o caring or very young, vulnerable and impressionable children – that is, that in order to thrive: Children have to be nurtured by a small number of caring and affectionate adults who are totally committed to each child’s physical and emotional well- being. Those adults need the energy and interest to share in the child’s experiences , and to ensure that the environment provides a memorable childhood full of play and discovery. Without that commitment, it is time to walk away rom this particular career path! • • • • • N o t e : T o a v o i d g e n d e r b i a s , b a b i e s a n d y o u n g c h i l d r e n a r e r e f e r r e d t o a s ‘ h e ’ o r s h e i n a l t e r n a t e s e c t i o n s o f t h i s r e s o u r c e . This is a sample section from Nurturing Babies and Children Under Four DVD and Resource Pack, ISBN 978 0 435899 84 4. Visit www.heinemann.co.uk/nurturingbabies for more information, a sample video clip and to benefit from online discounts when placing your order.

Nurturing Babies Pp1-13

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