Whole Child Care
When discussing early childhood, we discuss children from birth to eight years old. Since the 1970s, we have been discussing “whole child” care. This approach supports the overall development of the child. Following the child’s lead in developing cognitive skills, identity, mental, social, emotional, and physical health. Educators are tasked to learn about, understand, and apply these concepts from a child’s perspective, not an adult’s, from a developmental, not a societal perspective.
Experience Informs Preferences
Children from birth to eight walk through their day learning new skills, how they fit in the world, how to use their growing bodies, and classifying everything they see, hear, and encounter. This cognitive activity helps them distinguish if something is positive or negative. If something will help or hurt them. It informs their preferences in everything.
Age Appropriate Materials Matter
Suppose children are provided age-appropriate materials and opportunities to explore and learn independently based on their individual identities and development. In that case, they can make their own decisions about who or what they like or don’t like, who they are as individuals, and what interests they would like to explore further.
Families are the Strongest Influencers
Adults, families, and teachers often influence this through their understanding, preferences, experiences, worldviews, and biases. Sometimes intentionally, most of the time unaware they are doing these things.
Families are the strongest influencers in their child’s life. As they should be.
Be a Critical Thinker
In today’s world, many adults are having a difficult time with ever-changing thoughts, ideologies, societal pressures, and what they are seeing in the mainstream and social media. Most people are just reading the headlines, the clickbait, instead of seeking the facts, the truth. Do your own research instead of accepting the spin prevalent in all forms of media. The goal is to get clicks, likes, views, subscribers, and monetary gain. Apply critical thinking to route out the truth.
Families are Intimidated
Many families are told that their opinions are not as crucial as the societal pressures to conform. Which influences them to stay silent and pretend to conform rather than live their own truth to avoid confrontation or reprisal. This is not healthy for them, their children, or society.
What to Provide
The materials, experiences, and opportunities we provide to the young must be age, physical ability, ability to understand, and developmentally appropriate.
Come to Work Neutral
As teachers, our work is to teach to these without influencing children. Teaching without interfering with our personal grown-up issues, opinions, worldviews, or beliefs. We’re talking about children under eight years old. Understanding, our work is to support the whole child and respect their family dynamic as neutral as we are able.
Always inform Families
The parent handbook should lay out and explain the early childhood program policies and practices so families can choose care for their child based on an informed opinion. Families should also have access to any other guidelines the program must follow.