Lesson 1: Infants and Toddlers are far from easy

Attention

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this lesson's material, students will be able to

  • Demonstrate knowledge of infant and toddler brain development.
  • Demonstrate knowledge of high-quality caregiving.
  • Demonstrate knowledge of the importance providing services to children and families.
  • Discuss the complexity of infant and toddler caregiving.

Teaching

Growing up I always thought kids were the cutest, funniest and lovable humans. Once I hit 12, I knew I was destined to work with children. I couldn't get enough of that warm feeling when I helped a child learn how to tie her shoes or another child told me they wanted only ME to babysit. There was something about the way infants stared at me and smiled while I was talking to or feeding them. Then…..as I got older, I became more observant of their behaviors.

I noticed how they copied everything I did and hung on to my every word. Temper tantrums started to wear on me and the cuteness faded. When I went to school to learn how to teach, I thought I knew everything about children. I thought, "Yeah, I've been working with infants and toddlers for over five years now…I've got this."

Boy was I WRONG. Infants and toddlers are more than just that warm and fuzzy feeling when they smile or laugh. Infant and toddler care requires more than a natural knack to care for them. You have to know about:

  • Brain development
  • Attachment
  • The fastest rates of development
  • Individualization
  • Adverse childhood experiences
  • Resiliency
  • Partnering with families
  • Appropriate environments
  • Appropriate toys and materials
  • Primary caregiving
  • Behavior and discipline
  • Resources
  • Health and safety requirements
  • Play based curriculum
  • Guidelines and standards
  • Child Care Licensing
  • AND. THE. LIST. GOES. ONAND ON!

Throughout this course, we will talk about many of the topics listed above, and then some. It is absolutely imperative that you understand the importance of infant and toddler care and the impact of quality care for young learners. Eighty percent of the brain is formed by the time a child turns 3. Ninety percent by the time they are five. This course will give you all of the basic information you need to understand to have a positive impact on that brain development.

As you watch the video, Nurturing Healthy Brain Development, take note on the different ways we can positively affect brain development. Did you notice any of the items on the list above?

Assessment

Lesson 1 Quiz

Read Chapter Two in The Early Years Matter and answer the following questions. (You can use your text to find the answers.)


1. Babies are born with about how many brain cells?
a. 100,000
b. 100 million
c. 100 billion
d. 10 billion

2. By the time children are three years old 80 percent of their brain is formed. How many connections are there among the cells?
a. Hundreds of millions
b. Hundreds of billions
c Hundreds of trillions
d. Hundreds

3. Which of the following statements is true?
a. Brain development is rapid so we must protect their skulls
b. Brain development is rapid, they must cry because they have so many headaches
c. Brain development is rapid, no wonder why they look confused
d. Brain development is rapid, we are shaping the future generations.

4. If two healthy babies are born at the same time, live in the same house, eat the same food and have the exact experiences, will they develop the same?
a. Yes
b. No

5. What is at the heart of supporting infant and toddler development when partnering with families?
a. Making sure families listen to us – we are the experts!
b. Gossip about and judge families who are not doing what we believe is best
c. Supporting, listening, and encouraging families no matter what parenting skills, values and priorities they have
d. Doing our best because they sure aren’t getting it at home

6. What is at the heart of high-quality caregiving?
a. The quality of the caregiving behavior
b. The caregiver’s ability to feed the child
c. Having an equipped space so that the caregiver can do what is necessary for the child
d. The education level of the caregiver
 
7. Why is there a lack of quality caregiving?
a. Lack of funding
b. Lack of knowledge
c. Isolation
d. All of the above

8. High-quality programs:
a. Have a lot of money so they can provide whatever the child and family needs
b. Provide comprehensive services to the child and family
c. Give a lot of resources
d. Have a lot of staff

9. Children who benefited from high-quality programs:
a. Showed better social and emotional outcomes
b. Are more engaged in learning activities
c. May have more parental involvement
d. All of the above

10. Educators can make the biggest difference by:
a. Providing intentional, comprehensive services to children and families
b. Snuggling the babies all day
c. Laughing with toddlers all day
d. Showing up to work every day and being a good team member

Lesson 1 Discussion

In your own words, provide 5-8 sentences about why caring for infants and toddlers is hard work. Share stories from your own experiences to support your explanation.

For full credit in the graded discussions you need to post at least ONE response to the prompt in the Lesson and reply to at leaset TWO other students' posts. Your reply posts must be substantive. Please see the grading rubric in the Syllabus for this course for more details. These instrucitons apply to all the graded discussions in this course and will not be repeated.