More one-on-one time in home-based care

1 May 2017

More one-on-one time in home-based care

Too many children are spending long days in substandard early childhood care, Auckland Early Childhood Teacher Susan Bates says in the New Zealand Herald.

As stressed parents return to work to pay the mortgage, she says more and more babies are spending all day in a chaotic noisy room that is not conducive to fostering the relationships that young children need.

“The attachment relationship in the first years of life is the most important relationship for us all. It creates identity, gives us empathy, allows us to become good members of society and nurtures our intelligence and our creativity,” Ms Bates says.

Carers need to be cued into babies and toddlers’ needs, instead centres can have 20 babies or more and just four carers, Ms Bates says.

“We need smaller groups of babies (no more than eight), and we need more space for calm and unhurried discovery of the world in the context of secure relationships.”

The Brainwave Trust has also flagged major concerns about current practices.

Research shows that those first 1000 days of a child’s life is crucial to setting them up for success, PORSE In-Home Childcare General Manger Kerry Henderson says.

A Harvard University study showed that the number of words spoken to a child under one year could determine their salary later in life.

It is face-to-face interaction that is responsive to that child’s individual needs that helps develop a loving, secure attachment and sets children up for a good sense of self-worth of themselves and of others, Mrs Henderson says.

“Children thrive when they feel secure and connected to their caregiver in a calm, safe and nurturing environment.”

PORSE feeds that knowledge into designing training programmes for educators and nannies. By having no more than four children in care (and a maximum of two under the age two) at any one time, educators can provide a level of one-on-one focus which is better for brain development and has long term positive impacts.

In a small group, educators or nannies can use the relationship they have with a child to positively guide that child’s development and learning, supporting them to regulate their emotions and helping them to develop important skills such as empathy, self-control and cooperation.

The PORSE Programme allows educators, to work at the pace of each child. Educators and Nannies benefit from ongoing support and free training from qualified trained early childhood education teachers.

PORSE Education and Training has been recognised as one of the top tertiary providers in New Zealand. PORSE was awarded a “highly confident” rating by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) as a result of a recent evaluation. This places PORSE in the top 22 per cent of tertiary providers in the country. Using training in infant mental health and how children best develop in the early years through our Education and Training Company ensures that children are getting the best start in life.

To ensure you’re giving them the best start call PORSE today to chat about which childcare option is best for your family 0800 023 456.

© Scoop Media