Reference no: EM133673159
Assignment:
Advocating for High-Quality Child Care
Developing and advocating for high-quality child care programs is essential for providing infants and toddlers with the best possible care. Read Advocacy - Spreading the word - Better Kid Care to learn how and why it is important to advocate for high-quality child care. Advocating for high-quality care means keeping goals, helping children reach their full potential, supporting families, and increasing appreciation for early childhood educators. You can accomplish this by identifying spaces where you can positively impact a community's view of early childhood education and raising awareness and support for increasing the quality of child care.
The resource Advocating for Your Child - Family Connect explains how you can advocate for better individual care for every child to support their needs. This requires reflecting on their needs, researching how to support development, connecting with outside professionals to receive any needed outside assistance, listening to the perspectives of others involved in a child's development, and persistently standing up for children's needs. While this can occur without advocating for overarching programs or policy change, parents or educators can also support those things.
As the number of working parents continues to increase, access to child care is essential. Read Infant-Toddler Child Care Talking Points Zero to Three to learn how to advocate for better programs in your community. This includes making communities aware that high-quality infant and toddler care is a public good. Access to nurturing relationships and constructive experiences promote positive brain development and the first three years of life are critical for laying a foundation for educational success. Advocating for better quality and government funding in childcare is crucial to creating improved programs that every family can access.
Next, the resource What Does a High-Quality Program for Infants Look Like? from NAEYC explains what parents should look for when searching for a high-quality childcare program. This includes if a classroom environment has defined areas for different activities and routines and open spaces for children to practice mobility. Caregivers can plan to meet these expectations by utilizing developmentally appropriate practices, reflecting on procedures that best fit the children in their care, and focusing on physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and language development. Developing respectful, communicative relationships between caregivers and families also creates partnerships that support children's growth.
10 Components of Infant and Toddler Care, from the Child Development Council, lists ten components of providing high-quality care for infants and toddlers, which have been identified based on research. They apply to any existing child care program. These include:
Following health and safety practices as required by government regulation to keep every child safe in the classroom,
- Training staff so that they are knowledgeable about early childhood development for the success of infants and toddlers,
- Maintaining age-appropriate environments so that children are safe but also presented with challenges to learn,
- Using small classes for each teacher so that each child can receive the necessary support,
- Applying primary caregiving and continuity of care so that children form secure, nurturing relationships with caregivers,
- Using active and responsive caregiving which supports children's development,
- Forming programs that are individualized and observant of every child's needs, goals, and progress,
- Promoting the development of language and literacy to ensure school readiness,
- Involving each child's family and culture in care to develop children's family relationships and self-identity, and
- Providing necessary support for families, so each child's needs are proficiently met.
By incorporating these components into childcare, caregivers advocate for the best possible quality of care for every child as they grow and gain skills.