The family development and life cycle theory provides an in-depth perspective of the processes and expectations that families experience after childbearing. Welcoming newborns into the family requires adjustments or changes in the roles of the caregivers due to the unique needs of the infant that are necessary for healthy physical and psychosocial development. In spite of the universal trends of family development, childbearing family nurses need to realize that unique features exist in timing and the sequence of the life cycle stages (Kaakinen, Coehlo, Steele, Tobacco, & Hanson, 2014). Hence, the development of new roles and impacts to the parents especially on mutual responsibility for nurturing and caregiving. This paper discusses the changes in roles and the effects to the caregivers by reflecting on a family in the practice of nursing.
Task 3: Assuming Mutual Responsibility for Child Care and Nurturing
Nurturing and caregiving require the embracement or new roles that need to be shared equally between parents. In this case, emotional and physical energies have to be directed collectively towards the infant to foster the psychosocial development (The Center for Parenting Education, 2015). Thus, an in-depth discussion of the changing roles and implications to the caregivers would be essential in this regard.
Changing Roles and Impact to the Caregivers
In the nursing practice, responsibly informing the caregivers or parents in a particular family of the expected new roles is essential for healthy caregiving and nurturing. Therefore, the caregivers should allocate more time in additional household endeavors. The mother should anticipate assuming the role of breastfeeding as it is preferred to bottle milk due to its health benefits to both the parent and the infant (Kaakinen et al., 2014). Similarly, the father could bottle-feed the infant in the absence of the mother. The impact is that both parents assume the new role of ensuring proper nutrition to the newborn to facilitate health growth and development.
The mutual childcare and nurturing responsibilities imply that both parents need to be aware of the alternating roles in response to the different needs of the child. The nurse would engage in teaching the family on issues like proper changing, feeding, and comforting the child (Kaakinen et al., 2014). Thus, the caregivers have to agree to learn the new roles mutually and perform them alternatingly when the need arises. Consequently, the skills learned would inculcate the essentials of parenting that foster family development in that phase of their life cycle.
The family should know that it is its responsibility to create an attachment with the child to develop bonds, which are instrumental for the infant’s psychosocial development (Rackin & Gibson-Davis, 2012). Nurses should advise the family to consider interacting with the child regularly through carrying, playing, and babysitting in response to its needs. Besides, the parents could foster the attachment by maintaining eye contact, responding to sounds, calling the child by name, and interpreting different actions (Kaakinen et al., 2014). Ultimately, the caregivers assume the roles of socialization agents in the family setting.
Conclusion
Since welcoming a newborn to the family is exciting, instilling the notion of mutual responsibility in nurturing and caregiving is vital for sound development. Nurses can intervene in fostering the impactful new roles that include feeding, changing, carrying, teasing, socializing, and responding to communication among others. The new roles adopted imply various changes in the usual routines of both parents as they seek to respond to the infant’s needs.
References
Kaakinen, R., Coehlo, P., Steele, R., Tobacco, A., & Hanson, S. (2014). Family Health Care Nursing: Theory, Practice, and Research (5th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis Company.
Rackin, H., & Gibson-Davis, C. (2012). The Role of Pre- and Post conception Relationships for First-Time Parents. Journal of Marriage and Family, 74(3), 526–539.
Early childhood wellness emphasizes earlier interventions and creating programs to keep kids healthy. This vital era, which begins at birth and lasts until the age of eight, is characterized by a kid’s most significant growth and progress. The physiological, intellectual, emotional, as well as social progress of a kid is laid out in the first few years of their existence. Several social variables, including the qualities of their families and their communities’ characteristics, impact the health and well-being of kids.
Coming up with Frameworks for Health Promotion
Paradigms for health promotion and illness prevention may assist rural societies in implementing early childhood wellness programs. Health promotion models explain the many elements that combine to produce health behaviors that might influence health outcomes. Initiatives may use a variety of frameworks to assist rural populations in meeting their needs and addressing health outcomes. Measures like checking sleeping habits, eating habits, physical activity, and regular screening are recommended ( Talbot & Verrinder, 2017).
Creating a Health Model Across the life course of a Child
Depression and early exposure to harmful events and pressures may have long-lasting effects on the health habits of a child. Rural locations have a higher prevalence of distress, and children who live in distress are more vulnerable to face dire health consequences. The surroundings, biology, and parenting habits impact children’s health ( Black et al., 2017). This Life Course Model demonstrates that maternal and neonatal factors may affect a child’s health before birth and that early events can have a lifelong impact. To prevent this, it is recommended that health practitioners should encourage parents to raise children in an environment that doesn’t pose this danger to kids.
Cultural Competencies to Consider in Adopting Childcare as a Public Health Program
Organizations and individuals must react efficiently and fairly to people from various cultural origins, socioeconomic classes, races, and ethnicities. Similarly, acknowledging sexual identity and religious views affirms the value of individuals, households, tribal groups, and societies while conserving and sustaining each individual’s dignity. Cultural competence in child care assistance should also take age into account, particularly for teenagers migrating from the child care framework. Harbach (2018) outlines that a culturally competent framework entails a determination to re-evaluate child welfare services’ exclusive, adult-centered culture at the very least and an active strategy for adolescent empowerment and inclusivity at the very best. Linguistic and cultural competence entails integrating cultural understanding into doctrine and practice.
References
Black, M. M., Walker, S. P., Fernald, L. C., Andersen, C. T., DiGirolamo, A. M., Lu, C., & Andersen, C. T. (2017). Early childhood development coming of age: Science through the life course. The Lancet Early Childhood Development Series Steering Committee, 77-90.
Harbach, M. J. (2018). Childcare, vulnerability, and resilience. Yale L. & Pol’y Rev., 37, 459.
Talbot, L., & Verrinder, G. (2017). Promoting health: The primary health care approach. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Parents may ask themselves whether to hire a babysitter, put the child in the childcare center or hire a nanny? Since each family’s needs, resources, and preferences vary significantly, we may not say there is a single right answer to this question. This implies that each family makes its own choice based on the above-mentioned factors.
Definition of babysitting
Babysitting can be defined as the temporal care given to a child on behalf of the real parents or guardians. The person who renders such services to the child is referred to as a babysitter preferably teenagers and stereotypically girls. In most cases, these teens do not have vast experience and some parents do not mind hiring them. However, the majority of the parents prefer mature babysitters who have personal and also direct experience. This is because the parents presume that these babysitters are likely to deal effectively with potential issues that could arise such as choking.
A nanny can be defined as a person (preferably a woman) who is employed by a private family to provide childcare. Unlike babysitters who are young teens, a nanny should be preferably mature people who are well equipped in terms of skills and knowledge of child-rearing.
Childcare
Childcare and daycare are terms used interchangeably. They are used to describe the supervised, regular, and paid care of children outside the child’s home while parents are away. The transition from the use of the terms daycare to childcare took place during the 1970s and 1980s(Booth 4). This happened in the field of early childhood education. The term childcare, therefore, refers to the care given to a child and not the time the care is given as implied by the term daycare. It important at this point to note that some parents work beyond the traditional hours that are outside the 6.30 a.m to 6.30 p.m timeframe. These parents also need proper care for their children and therefore childcare recognizes these unique cases.
A variety of sites provide childcare namely; childcare centers, family childcare, public schools, group homes, in a child’s home, and homes of friends and families. A program that cares for more children should be licensed. We note that childcare is different from babysitting in the sense that the sole purpose of a babysitter is to ensure that the children are safe and again the care is provided in the child’s home on a short-term basis. Childcare on the other hand has the learning aspect that is an integral part of the care given to the child at the center.
In this paper, we argue that childcare from a licensed center should be preferred to babysitting. The center-based care provides services to children in groups. Religious organizations, schools, universities, and even social agencies or independent owners could sponsor the centers. The presence of a large number of children, a variety of caregivers, and the state inspections because the centers are licensed make them safe and dependable. As mentioned earlier, childcare centers have the learning component as an integral part of the services given to the children, the centers, therefore, provide a learning environment that is compared to the actual home.
Minimum standards of a childcare center
According to the National Association for the Education to Young Children (NAEYC), the minimum standards of a childcare center are: provision of more than four infants per caregiver and not more than eight infants per group in any given center-based care and each caregiver to be allocated four to twelve kids if they are young (Lande & Scarr 153).
Licensed child-care centers measure up to the required standards of quality established by the Childcare Organizations. This implies that the care centers have committed to providing the required attention and motivational activities to the children. The fact that the staff or caregivers in these care centers are properly trained and take part in in-service child development training, they are likely to understand the children’s needs at different stages of development. These trainers or caregivers also plan appropriate activities for and interact with children leading to a democratic climate in the center. Positive guidance is preferred to harsh discipline. If the caregivers are properly trained, which is the case for licensed childcare centers and then appropriate care will be given to the kids as they grow.
For any system to work towards the specified goal, in-built feedback is essential. This feedback is ensured in care centers through in-depth self-assessment, independent observation, and approval programs provided by the professional experts. The provision of this feedback helps to rectify, remove or include some programs so that they remain responsive to the child’s needs and interests.
Studies by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development suggest that children in quality childcare centers have an intellectual edge over those in other kinds of care, say, babysitter or nanny. This was established when the researchers compared the results on a test administered to those children in quality childcare and those in other equally high-quality childcare situations (Rosenthal 67).
In a childcare center, kids are provided with an opportunity to socialize with one another. This may not be possible if a child is left with a nanny or a babysitter. In the center, this child-child interaction is made possible when the kids are with resources and equipment to use. This may again lead to better cognitive development because the children have more opportunities to interact with other children and are also exposed to more learning materials (Clarke-steward, Gruber and Fitzgerald 124).
Rules and regulations are governing the center. Parents are therefore given clear rules to follow for instance pickup and drop-off times and this has made them know what is expected of them by the center. Apart from knowing the operation in the center, parents also get a chance to meet other parents who may be of different help. The arrangement in the center is more reliable compared to a babysitter because of the childcare from a licensed center that you will have to work around her sick days and vacations.
The childcare provided by licensed centers has a child-focused environment and program. This means the centers do include a range of activities during the day to teach different skills that include storytelling, dancing, and singing. The children are encouraged in that they spend their day doing projects and sharpening skills in this exclusively structured setting. The children, therefore, do not just play the whole day but rather learn new things since most of these projects are a good mix of brain activities. We note that parents are always looking for childcare that is safe and also offers learning experiences. The parent will also prefer a caregiver who is warm and loving with children. These aspects are ensured in the childcare programs that are instituted in licensed centers (Auerbach 14).
Babysitting and its effect on socialization
Parents may be quickly attracted to the option of hiring a babysitter but this may not be a better option after all. It is usually expensive to have a babysitter although your child may be avoided homesickness and forego crowds of unfamiliar faces at the childcare center. However, a question that should cross our mind at this point is: how do I want my child to be brought up or socialized? I suppose we all want to raise children who will properly fit in the society by actively participating in all activities and events happening. How will this be possible if we bring up our children in isolation, say by babysitting? This is why I propose that childcare at a licensed center is a better option because a child learns by interacting with his or her peers.
Conclusion
From the above discussion, it is evident that the licensed childcare centers have revealed the following merits:
The center has professional and qualified personnel therefore proper services are rendered at the center.
Children of similar age are grouped and exposed to the appropriate program.
The centers are licensed and hence meet and also maintain required standards of care.
Reliability or stability of the services provided irrespective of the absence of a given staff member.
The services rendered are formal in that a parent is issued with a receipt when making any payment.
Although the childcare center may have demerits such as occasional incidences of infectious diseases, fixed operating hours and at times some may be expensive, these issues can be dealt with appropriately. It is therefore clear that childcare from a licensed is better than a babysitter since the above-stated merits outweigh the demerits. It will be of great help if we brought up our kids in these centers than leave them at home in isolation.
References
Auerbach D. Judith. In the Business of Childcare: Employer Initiatives and Working Women. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1988.
Booth, Alan, Ed. Childcare in the 1990s: Trends and consequences. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Elrbaum Association, 1992.
Clarke-stewart, Alison, k., Irvine, C.P. Gruber and Linda, May Fitzgerald. Children at Home and in Day Care. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Elrbaum Association, 1994.
Linda, Jeffrey and Sandra Scarr, Eds. Caring for Children: Challenge to American. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Elrbaum Association, 1989.
Rosenthal, k. Miriam. An Ecological Approach to the Study of childcare: Family Daycare in Israel. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Elrbaum Association, 1994.
Childcare involves a wide range of activities that are directed to providing an all round benefit for the children. Games are very important aspects in the development process of children and it is therefore appropriate to have them integrated in children’s daily activities. There are a variety of traditional games which differ with culture of the society in which children live. However, recent games have come to level this diversification since they are played by children all over the world regardless of where they live.
Extensive studies concerning children’s games and their effects have shown that children are able to learn a lot of things through playing games. This principle has been found to show great effectiveness to babies as well as older children since they have a better understanding of things when they practically do them rather than when they are given theoretical directions. Information on children’s games is very important to parents, caretakers and teachers in order to assist them in the process of choosing the best game for their children and also get an idea on how they are played. Murphy (1997 p.10)
Background Information
Quite a number of families all over the world have become victims of the current economic crisis which is being felt by almost everyone in some way. Therefore, it has become a major challenge to meet the basic needs and at the same time buy toys for the children. This has made children to become very innovative where they make toys for themselves and also invent their own games. For instance, they make use of bottle caps to construct toys’ wheels while plastic scrap is used together with a string to come up with makeshift kites.
However, some recent games are hard to invent as they require computers and/or videos in order to be played. Materials used to pay these games are not locally available to children, which make it hard for them to pay if their parents cannot afford to buy them computers and video players. The traditional ones are therefore found to fit better in the current economic crisis leaving parents with the burden of meeting other basic needs.
Takraw
Takraw is a game that is mostly played by children in Thailand and it has a high level of similarity with hackeysack game played in U.S. A grapefruit sized small ball that is very hard is used while playing takraw. In comparison to takraw, balls used in hackeysack are not as hard which is the main difference between the two games. Children from Thailand make takraw from materials of natural fiber that is woven to come up with a very hard ball. Players position themselves around a circle from where they make passes to each other in a circular motion.
The funny thing about takraw is that it is played with the use of feet, shoulders, heads and legs but not hands. Children in Thailand love Takraw very much to a point that they can start it anywhere and play it with almost anyone including strangers. For instance, it can be started at a bus station by some of the people waiting to travel and within a few minutes, it is capable of attracting about fifty players before a bus takes away a portion of them leaving others to enjoy the game. In Thailand, takraw was initially a children’s game but due to the pleasure that players draw from it, it shifted to becoming a national game which is now played by almost everyone irrespective of age.
Virtual Goose
Virtual goose is a recent game that is played by children all over the world and it is normally provided in form of a video. For one to play virtual goose he/she needs to have a computer from which the game is played. However, it is a very simple game since the player is only required to coordinate with the opponent in the game so as to get more points and win. In the actual playing of virtual goose, five circles are provided where one is situated at the middle, two on the left and the other two on the right. The circles on the opposite sides are positioned in such a manner that each takes its corner from where they rotate after a player makes a move by clicking accordingly.
he game is normally controlled by a virtual goose that sits on the circle in the middle and points where the player directs the pointer of the mouse. Before one begins to play virtual goose game, the opponent’s points are normally provided on the left hand side, which the player is supposed to equalize with in order to win. The player’s points are shown on the right hand side and they increase once he/she correctly clicks on the circle that resembles the one at the center. The virtual goose then spins the circle at the middle that changes the pattern which should be determined by the player in the next move. However, if one clicks on the wrong circle, those points that had been accumulated are lost and the player has to start afresh.
Argument
The two games are almost similar in some way since the cooperation of the game occurs in a rotational circular motion. However, they have a big difference between them since takraw is a traditional game while virtual goose is a recent game. Also, takraw is played by several players at the same time while in virtual goose only one player is needed to click accordingly after which the goose changes the pattern of the circle in the middle by rotating it, giving the player another chance to make a move.
Considering the current economic crisis, takraw is the appropriate game for children since a number of parents would not afford to buy computers for their children in order for them to play virtual goose game. Since, takraw can be made from locally available materials; children can easily make the ball and then play which costs them very little money if any. Takraw is also more enjoyable than virtual goose since it is played with other body features rather than hands and requires several players unlike the single player in virtual goose game.
Conclusion
It is clear that, there are a number of games available to children which range from traditional to recent games. Takraw is an example of a traditional game which is played by several players who use their shoulders, legs and heads but one is not allowed to use hands. Virtual goose is an example of recent games which is played by a single player since the opponent is provided in the game. Comparing the two games, takraw is the best game for children as it is less costly, more enjoyable and allows children to cultivate an interaction principle which is not cultivated in virtual goose game.
References
Murphy, Ann. From thumb sucking to schoolyard fights: Rodale, 1997 p.10.
In the last forty years or so, the employment rates of women have gone up considerably, and in the current world, more and more women are competing and finding employment at par with their male counterparts. This has also been the subject of a great deal of debate on whether the employment characteristics, such as pay, education, work culture, and environment, have had a detrimental effect on a child’s outcome. This could mean a variety of outcomes such as inability to read, lower birth weights, premature delivery of infants, and spontaneous abortion. The aim of this study, in the context of Maternal Job Characteristics and Preference for Child Care during Infancy, is to determine whether the findings of previous literature were accurate or had been accurate for the demographic surveyed upon previously and was thus applicable to certain demographics only. This study is extremely important because if the development factors in a child are of extreme importance, as these are instrumental in the construction of the mental framework of a child or influence the emotional intelligence of the child. A child is a future citizen, and to have a proper citizen; it is important to have proper formulation during infancy.
Established literature has been conflicting in this case. While some researchers have concluded that job characteristics can have a detrimental effect on the child in general, others have differed and have concluded that there has been no significant variation due to pre maternal employment or jobs undertaken in infant care. The findings of Jacobs and Gerson in 2004 have been significant contributing literature in this field. The theses of Coleman in 1988 established the fact that maternal employment may have detrimental effects on a child’s welfare and also the family as a whole, a thought that was seconded by Ruhm in 2004. Other researchers such as Muller, in 1995, however, concluded that a mother’s employment has no direct bearing on the outcome of her offspring in areas such as reading capabilities, and researchers such as McGroder have concluded that maternal employment has a significant positive effect on children.
Therefore, it would be necessary to ascertain which of the theories have been closer to the fact, and therefore the need for such a survey arises. An attempt has been made to understand and establish the various variables involved. Additionally, as more women join our workforces, the need for such research increases so as to establish the reasons for the effects, if any, and help establish possible safeguards.
The main objectives of the research were to determine whether employment characteristics could have a detrimental effect on certain areas of Maternal Job Characteristics and Preference for Child Care during Infancy. Additionally, the demographic, which was selected, had a mix of professionals ranging from teachers, medical personnel, bank clerks, civil servants, company employees, business and unemployed women. The research details and variables used are dealt with in the following sections individually. A clear and new set of variables have been established, and the research conducted has made an attempt to identify as many variables as are relevant to the study.
Methodology
A Qualitative method of study differs from the usual quantitative methods in the sense that it tends to be far more subjective. This is in sharp contrast to the methods used in pure sciences, which are exclusively objective. The research methods for marketing are a combination of both quantitative and qualitative methods. Being open to qualitative methods of study also allows social scientists to incorporate non-quantitative data (i.e., non-numerical data, such as words, images, gestures, impressions, etc.) in their study. Since human beings tend to operate in terms of such data and not in terms of the terminology used in ordinary sciences, this broader outlook is far more applicable in the study of social sciences. In keeping with the methodology employed in marketing researches, the theories to are formulated and used, keeping in mind that they are not necessarily applicable to all conditions. Be it psychology, history, political science, or economics; human events are most likely to influence the rules which define the basic theories of a marketing subject. Success in the field of researches can therefore be achieved if and only if it is understood that the subject has no space or opportunity for watertight methodologies or theories.
It can always be stated that Qualitative research is a process that includes an interpretative paradigm under the measures of theoretical assumptions, and the entire approach is based on sustainability that is dependent on people’s experience in terms of communication. It can also be mentioned that the total approach is because reality is created on social formulations. It can also be mentioned that the basic target of qualitative research is instrumented towards social context under normal circumstances where it would be possible to interpret, decode and describe the significances of a phenomenon. The entire process is operational under the parameter of interpretative paradigm that can minimize illusion and share subjectivity under contextualization, authenticity, and complexity of the investigation.
The basic advantages of qualitative measures are multifold. Firstly, it presents a completely realistic approach that the statistical analysis and numerical data used in research based on quantitative research cannot provide. Another advantage of qualitative measures is that it is more flexible in nature in terms of collected information interpretation, subsequent analysis, and data collection. It also presents a holistic point of view of the investigation. Furthermore, this approach of research allows the subjects to be comfortable thus be more accurate as research is carried on in accordance with the subject’s own terms.
Thus, Quantitative analysis of the collected data had to be done. This became previous researches had all used qualitative analysis. Additionally, a new approach had to be used to weigh the pros and cons based on contemporary trends. Additionally, it was seen that a new approach could also allow all such variables as having been used in the research could be used.
Literature Review
Literature in the realm of research performed on the issue and their use would be quite numerous and diverse in their content and methodology. In the different separate studies located, only a few would have spanned a time beyond a decade. The majority of research pieces, which focus on the inclusion of theoretical and technological advances in the medication process, would actually focus on the overall segments through fundamental levels. The fact that there are not very many advanced research items specifically directed toward the issue would be the focus of this paper.
The need was ascertained to study the relevance of promoting the parent-child relationship at an early stage, and thus a significant review for the same is available through the literature. CINAHL, OVID, and RCN library databases of late have been used to make this happen. There appears to be a general agreement within the literature that secure attachments can protect a child against mental health difficulties and can provide a buffer in the event of adverse life events (Svanberg, 1998, 254). Similarly, Rutter (1995) argues that although insecure attachment cannot be equated with psychopathology, it must be regarded as an important vulnerability factor. A number of follow-up studies have added to the weight of this argument, their conclusions are out with the scope of this project. Bonding and attachment have a definite role to play from the prenatal period to the ripe adulthood of a child. Literature is rife with issues on bonding, attachment, and subsequent emotional evolution of a child. A great deal of literature focuses on the pitfalls encountered in nurturing a child, yet another portion of literature focuses on the right approaches to bonding and attachment. A growing body of literature has examined the so-called early intervention extensively in situations where bonding and attachment may be a casualty of neglect, oversight, or even deliberate and intended abuse. Before examining such literature, an important step is to examine the concept of bonding and attachment as defined etymologically and as found clinically and chemically. (Lorenz, 1998, 117)
For a woman who is in the stages of maintaining an infant, employment is not only regular working hours. They tend to face more stress than regular workers. Regular work and responsibility affect the quality of taking care of the child and also the relationship with the child. After careful examination of existing points of view, one could infer that there were varied differences in research patterns, and the results tended to differ from one school of thought to another. Interestingly the choices of variables also differed greatly.
However, in accordance with different researches, it can be ascertained that lack of proper nursing by the mother leads to aggressiveness and low emotional intelligence in the child in the long run. Thus, it can be stated that violence and lack of EI are the effects of low nursing or, in other words, maternal job characteristics and preference for child care during infancy leads to the future development of the infant. Here the nature of the mother’s job is important because, in relation to the job, a mother is able to provide quality time to the child.
Sears (2007) defines the process of bonding as follows,” Bonding–the term for the close emotional tie that develops between parents and baby at birth–was the buzzword of the 1980s. Doctors Marshall H. Klaus and John H. Kennell explored the concept of bonding in their classic book Maternal-Infant Bonding. These researchers speculated that for humans, just as for other types of animals, a “sensitive period” occurs at birth when mothers and newborns are uniquely programmed to be in contact with each other and do good things to each other. By comparing mother-infant pairs who bonded immediately after birth with those who did not, they concluded that the early-contact mother-infant pairs later developed a closer attachment. (Sears, 2007, para 1)
In fact, even prior to the actual birth of a child, the foundation of its emotional development is already well-formed in course, the crucial nine months the child is carried within his mother’s womb. In this period, the child must have provision for adequate nutrition, which is free of harmful drugs and chemicals for an orderly growth into a healthy and bonny baby. A good proportion of children were damaged during their carriage period in their mothers’ wombs as the mothers were careless enough to indulge in drugs, alcohol, and substance consumption during pregnancy. Most appropriately, such children are to be reckoned as life’s earliest abuse victims, as under passive impact of harmful substance their systems failed to develop properly as they were delivered to this world. Often such children stand out as major averters of any kind of attachment and bonding, and they exhibit a rigid avoidance of a parental caregiver. These children have impaired or underdeveloped neurological frameworks and are oversensitive to most kinds of stimuli. Such children dislike exposure and may respond very negatively to any attempts for attachment touches; they instead correlate such touch and initiatives of the caregiver as events causing pain. With such a child, even a most affectionate and caring parent may have a tough time trying to initiate any attachment and bonding as the child’s chronic pain condition suppresses his ability to respond. Attachment disorders follow and may aggravate if the child is not counseled in time through appropriate intervention. An enhanced risk exists that such aggravation taking place in the case of these children as their parental caregiver is invariably the same person responsible for their earlier birth time, fetal alcohol syndrome, or drug-caused complications. The addictions of the parental caregiver outlast birth and often escalate, reducing such caregivers to a state whereby they are even unable to tend their special child even for basic care needs. This is kind of a vicious circle wherein the child, fragile and weak as he is, is unable to comprehend the crude and callous behavior on the part of the caregiver and transcends into confusion which works only to enhance his sensitivity and irritability. This may set up more and pronounced rounds of abuse or neglect from his parental caregiver. She attempts to bond to a child who is sensitive and complicated, showing recurrent irritability. The result is an attachment which can be best termed as a hostile detachment.
To comprehend the contribution of abuse and neglect in the overall emotional development of a child, parents and healthcare professionals must understand and chart out the “normal” developmental process of a child’s growth and cognitive development. Abuse and neglect work to intervene with and adversely impact the first and most primary developmental process for a child, i.e., the cycle of bonding, as explained above. Practitioners in child psychology, pediatricians, and other professionals who consult and help the process of bonding and attachment concur that a child’s first 18 to 36 months are most critical for his future emotional development. During this period, a child is expected to be given unqualified and most wholesome and affectionate care as his fragile and helpless state is a common environmental fact. This state makes him sensitive to the fact that he has several needs for which he needs attention and help from others, and gratification of such needs would help him develop natural trust and bonding with the caregiver. Thus the quality of care–which can be summarized as the fulfillment of physical and emotional needs–is a determining factor in classifying such care as either life making or life breaking care. The care received during these 36 months determines if the child would step into 37 months as a child-free of attachment and bonding scars. In addition, a child gets sensitized to the concept of need and gratification linked frustration during this 36 month period. All needs must be met normally and are not invariably even if direct abuse and neglect are not present. Lack of gratification and consequent frustration introduces the child o the most important concepts of delayed or denied gratification. These two concepts stand in life as cornerstone concepts for the child.
That the initial bonding and attachment cycle is complete in a healthy manner is vital before this cycle can be repeated. In case the initial bonding cycle is allowed to remain deficient, and that deficient cycle is allowed to repeat, then situations of vicious circle where corrections can forth only through timely intervention arise. Without such interventions, the emotional development of the child can be stunted, having lifelong behavioral implications. Failure to complete and repeat the healthy bonding cycle leads to serious problems in the following areas:
Emotional development.
Parenting.
Social/behavioral development.
Conscience development
Cognitive development.
Cause-and-effect thinking capability.
Responding to Reciprocal relationships.
Accepting responsibility.
Professionals intervening in the cases of child abuse and neglect, in an attempt to bring at par the attachment and bonding of such child-parent dyads, often begin with problem areas as listed above for clues of breaks in the bonding. Their approach is to link the environmental realities of abuse and neglect with the symptoms in the above problem areas and finally to clean the environment of abuse and neglect. Such interventions work to instill predictability in the child-parent bonding cycles. Such interventions must take specific care to examine the cultural context of the situation for a holistic solution. “The results of our research support our anecdotal program observation to indicate that there are similarities as well as differences in attachment beliefs, values, and practices amongst parents from different countries of origin. The discovery of similarities is not surprising as it is well accepted in attachment literature that the infant-caregiver attachment relationship, including children’s need for responsive parents, and parents’ desire for securely attached children, is universal. The specific attachment behaviors used by children to get the responses they need, and the attachment practices used by parents to promote secure attachment vary across cultures” (The Project, 2006, 20). Additionally, society no longer recognizes a child’s mother as the sole caregiver. Recent research has revealed substantially about fathers as caregivers.
While common refrain in review thus far that human babies are born helpless, needing full care and protection; their natural embryonic development endows them with a neurological make up that comprises of full toolset and instructions repositories to obtain the needed support, security, and affection from their care givers-be it the mother or the father or even siblings. In fact, in attachment literature, the work of such tools and instructions is classed as instinctive. “There is a component to parenting that many parents from different countries expressed as being instinctive. This component of parenting does not involve consulting other people, whether family or professionals or literature. This instinct is part of a definition of attachment offered in theoretical literature Attachment is a reciprocal relationship between an infant and caregiver. Infants instinctively reach out to a caregiver for security and protection; caregivers instinctively protect and nurture infants. This mutual responsiveness is what creates the secure base for early development” (The Project, 2006, 21). The two instinctive approaches help to establish the bond and attachment, if not interrupted by abuse and neglect and neonatal birth damages, to the neurological resources of the child. Both states work to inhibit the natural instincts of both parent and child.
Human lives are woven around a complex web of relationships. These relationships start developing right during infancy and last until a person’s death. However, as has been noted above, the first and primary relationships with the caregiver assume critical importance for a child’s emotional and personality development. If the attachment and bonding cycle is either not completed or repeated properly, several personalities and emotional deficiencies in the child will result. Literature, as cited below, has confirmed the fact that a child’s first relationship with his caretakers is of fundamental importance. While earlier literature emphasized this point, a growing stream of second-generation literature on early intervention (EI) is more insistent on various services and supports for children from birth until the age of six, with a focus on families who maintain their core roles as caregivers. This literature also supports the view that caregiving families can acquire new knowledge and skills, which support that role. These bodies of EI literature also impress the issue that intervention in a child’s development and growth should be timely, appropriate, and as early as needed.
This second generation of EI literature builds on several other premises and assumptions. Chief among them can be obtained from the literature itself. The premise that children are active learners and actively influence their environment as well as being influenced by their environment and that development is influenced by family life, culture, health, and other environmental circumstances is one of the most critical premises (Innocenti 2001, pp. 2-6). Human societies do not have clear and prioritized human welfare goals. For instance, specific categories of individuals, such as physically disabled persons, have always remained on the peripheries of the main society. Physically disabled persons derive existence from others and depend on established systems. Largely physically disabled persons have been excluded from the activities and facilities of their society. Often, such handicapped persons carry demeaning branding like mad and fool. Situations have improved, and although still burdened with such demeaning labels, attitudes towards the physically disabled have changed for the better, and today they benefit like other human beings from advances in research and government legislation. A physically disabled child, who is born disabled, is the specific case in point. In this case, lack of affinity begins at the caregiver, which grows into a general societal aversion. In the case of such children, bonding and attachment can be a challenge both for the caregiver and the child. EI is urgently needed but is invariably much delayed in such cases.
Recent developments in neurobiological, behavioral, developmental, and social sciences within the last three decades have brought about a major incremental understanding of the conditions that affect the outcome of how well children fare in the world; this has led to the latest theory regarding early intervention: the second generation of EI (Shonkoff and Phillips 2001, p. 1; Sigurðsson 2001, p. 40; Rye 2001, p. 7). This theory discusses in detail the classical studies by Rene Spitz (1946), Harry Harlow (1962), John Bowlby (1969, 1980, 1988), Lev Vygotsky (1978), and Urie Bronfenbrenner (1979), as well as studies by Antonovsky (1987) and Rutter (1985); who had established that substantial human contact, care and learning in the early years of children’s development could be critical in the sense that such human contact would lay a solid foundation for future personality and emotional development.
While professionals have acknowledged that there is a multitude of factors influencing a child’s development in the early year, the specific importance to a child’s overall health and well-being seems to be devoted to his psychosocial development and learning, the quality of human relationships, and the care experienced by him. Today, concepts such as attachment and bonding are the terminology in which new literature is arriving in the area of child-caregiver interaction. For instance, during the 1980s, Colwyn Trevarthen (1993, 1995) and Daniel Stern (1998) gave an extraordinarily clear description of reciprocal communication between infants and their mothers through mutual use of sounds, mimicking, and movement. This was a core study in attachment and bonding–that such behaviours sought patterns within child-mother communication. Defined narrowly, the term “early intervention” implies all that can be done early in a child’s life to temper and enhance the child’s development as needed in the situation at hand. However, on a broader canvas, EI seeks to find answers to questions such as:
What can be done to improve the child development?
Which particular environmental factors could be influenced and modulated?
How such factors can be harnessed for a greater contribution in the child’s development?
Invariably, EI addresses the period in children’s lives from birth to the age of six; most definitions, in unison, recognize the importance of systematic, early and timely external intervention in the developmental process for those children who are at-risk, such as disabled children. Such interventions now include a variety of approaches and tools to assist a child’s developmental process. Representative interventions can be classed as educational, developmental and therapeutic activities as well as various services’ support networks run both in public and private domains. The focus of this system is on the fact that support from family, friends, and other professional relationships is critical to a child’s development and that this system would help families maintain their central role as caregivers and encourage the development of to develop new knowledge and skills (Sigurðsson 2001, pp.41; Shonkoff and Phillips 2001, p. 21).
Early Interventions to modulate the characteristics of interaction between parents and young children are formed on three primary knowledge bases. First, substantial literature has put on board relationships between particular characteristics of parent-child interaction and a wide spectrum of developmental outcomes in the child; the foundations for child development is premised to be put in place as parental caregivers and their children indulge in reciprocal, mutually satisfying interactions and as they adapt to one another’s individuality over a period of post partum time (Goldberg, 1977, 61; Sameroff & Fiese, 1990, 335). Secondly, the above observed characteristics of parent-child interaction vary substantially in consonance with unique child characteristics (e. g., disability, prematurity, affected delivery due to mother addictions), parent characteristics (e. g. , adolescent, clinically depressed, physically handicapped, stunted childhood record), and environmental characteristics (e. g. , poverty conditions) (Barnard, Morisset & Spieker, 1993, 33; McCollum, 1991, 87). These differences caused by unique characteristics in the child, parent and environment can affect substantially the child-parent interaction and place the child at the risk of suboptimal to deficient development. Lastly the literature also has support for the view that most of these characteristics’ differences can be resolved through early interventions enabling to place the child on normal developmental path. (Barnard, 1997, 223; Barnard, Morisset, & Spieker, 1993, 25; McCollum, 1991, 89; McCollum & Hemmeter, 1997, 167). This overall logic has attracted contributions from professionals from many disciplines in interaction intervention as a means of controlling the developmental outcomes of young children.
Interaction approaches may vary according to the theory on which they are based and according to the techniques and training traditions that underlie the system. Sameroff and Fiese (1990) have illustrated a 3-part framework of approaches to early intervention which premises in a transactional viewpoint. Of these three, the first is a remedial approach, in which the main object is to instil a change in the child. Interaction context focuses in this approach on changing the child’s ability to partake in the interaction. For instance, remediation may be deployed to re-energize the child’s ability to self-regulate or to react contingently. The second approach comprises in re-education, in which the intervention is pointed towards the parent’s ability to care for the child; in interaction context the object is to equip the parent with adequate knowledge and skills so as to make for a healthy child-parent interaction. For instance, the parent may be taught about other cases similar to his situation, or given a chemical and biological explanation for a child’s irritability; or she may be taught new behaviours and strategies, such as imitating the child or prompting new responses, to increase familiarity of the child with the parent. In the third and final approach of redefinition, the main objective is to change the way the parent thinks about the child and about her relationship with the child. In interaction intervention context, this may involve sessions in which a parent is helped in better interpretations of their child’s social and communicative cues and nonverbal cues. Given the situation at hand, each of these approaches can bring about the requisite interact ional change and when the transactional perspective, each approach is a legitimate one for bringing about change in the system (Sameroff & Fiese, 1990, 35).
References:
Barnard, K. E. (1997). Influencing parent-child interactions for children at risk. In M. J. Guralnick (Ed.), The effectiveness of early intervention (pp. 249-268). Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes.
Barnard, K. E., Morisset, C. E., & Spieker, S. J. (1993). Preventive interventions: Enhancing parent-infant relationships. In C. Zeanah (Ed.), Handbook on infant mental health (pp. 386-401). New York: Guilford Press.
Chryssanthopoulou, C.C. J.M. Turner-Cobb, A. Lucas, D. Jessop; 2008; Childcare as a stabilizing influence on HPA axis functioning: A reevaluation of maternal occupational patterns and familial relations; Developmental Psychobiology; 47, 4, 354-368; Department of Psychology, University of Kent at Canterbury, Canterbury, United Kingdom; Henry Wellcome Laboratories for Integrative Neuroscience and Endocrinology, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom.
Corwyn, Robert F & Robert H. Bradley; 1999; Determinants of paternal and maternal investment in children; Infant Mental Health Journal; 20, 3, 238-256; University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Goldberg, S. (1977). Social competence in infancy: A model of parent-infant interaction. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 23, 163-177.
Knauth, Donna G; 2000; Predictors of parental sense of competence for the couple during the transition to parenthood; Research in Nursing & Health; 23, 6, 496-509; College of Nursing, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 180 University Avenue, Newark, NJ 07102.
Lorenz, Robert P. Robert J. Sokol, Lawrence Chik; 1998; Survey of maternal-fetal medicine subspecialists: Professional activities, job setting, satisfaction, and trends over time; The Journal of Maternal-Fetal Medicine; 7, 6, 273-276; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, Michigan; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan.
Manlove, Elizabeth E. Arcel Vazquez, Lynne Vernon-Feagans; 2008; The quality of caregiving in child care: relations to teacher complexity of thinking and perceived supportiveness of the work environment; Infant and Child Development; 17, 3, 203-222; 2008; Special Education and Early Childhood Education, Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania, Lock Haven, PA, USA; Children & Family Services/Planning and Evaluation, San Mateo County Human Services Agency, Belmont, CA, USA; School of Education, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
McBride, Susan L; 1990; Maternal moderators of child care: The role of maternal separation anxiety; New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development; 1990, 49, 53-70; Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Iowa State University, Ames.
McCollum, J. A. (1991). At the crossroad: Reviewing and rethinking interaction coaching. In K. Marfo (Ed.), Early intervention in transition: Current perspectives on programs for handicapped children (pp. 137-176). New York: Praeger.
McCollum, J. A., & Hemmeter, M. L. (1997). Parent-child interaction intervention when children have disabilities. In M. J. Guralnick (Ed.), The effectiveness of early intervention (pp. 549-476). Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes.
McLoyd, Vonnie C & Leon Wilson; 1998; Maternal behavior, social support, and economic conditions as predictors of distress in children; New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development; 1998, 46, 49-69; Department of Psychology and research associate in the Center for Human Growth and Development at the University of Michigan; Rodney-DuBois-Mandela posttdoctoral fellow at the Center for Afro-American and African Studies, University of Michigan
Riesch, Susan K; 2000; Occupational Commitment and the Quality of Maternal Infant Interaction; Research in Nursing & Health; 7, 4, 295-303; School of Nursing, University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee
Sameroff, A. J., & Fiese, B. H. (1990). Transactional regulation and early intervention; In S. J. Meisels & J. P. Shonkoff (Eds.), Handbook of early childhood intervention (pp. 119-149); New York: Cambridge University Press
Sigurðsson, Tryggvi (2001) Early Intervention: goals and ways. Glæður, 11(1), pp. 39-44.
Stern-Bruschweiler, N. & Stern, D. N. (1989). A model for conceptualizing the role of the mother’s representational world in various mother-infant therapies. Infant Mental Health Journal, 10(3), 142-156.
Stern, Daniel N. (1998). The Process of Therapeutic Change Involving Implicit Knowledge: Some Implications of Developmental Observations for Adult Psychotherapy. Infant mental Health Journal, 19(3), pp.300-308.
Trevarthen, Colwyn (1995). The Childs Need to Learn a Culture. Children & Society, 9(1), pp. 5-19.
The Project Report. (2006). “Sharing Attachment Practices Across Cultures: Learning from Immigrants and Refugees” is a national project funded by Health Canada’s National Projects Fund.
This paper will examine the importance and relevance of child care facilities in the corporate set up in the modern world, especially in the context of the increasing number of employees that desire to have such facilities at their work place so that their work life is not disturbed and their earnings are not adversely impacted due to large instances of absenteeism for taking care of children. Employers too stand to gain a great deal if they provide such centers for their employees which results in smooth functioning of the company by way of lesser number of employees being frequently absent from work. This considerably reduces the cost incurred by employers on fresh recruitments and training and they can retain employees for longer periods in maintaining a consistent and stable environment within the organization.
It is well known that child care programs that are sponsored by employers yield a substantial return on corporate investment. In enabling programs that permit parents to go for work and bring about their full capacity in terms of work output from them, employers can avoid the recurrent costs pertaining to retaining and recruiting skilled employees. Such facilities greatly drive down turnover, reduce incidents of absenteeism and increase productivity at work. Hence corporate houses have come to realize that the work and dependent care programs initiated by them prove to be an investment on their employees as also in the consistent and unhindered success of their business. Such programs bring about credibility for employers in being preferred sources of employment in a labor market that is becoming increasingly tight. In the present corporate environment childcare facilities as provided by employers have become common parts of the package of benefits to employees which are almost the same as healthcare and vacation facilities. Having understood the importance of childcare in the work place and the impact that it has on performance of workers, many employers have started to offer a range of active programs in this regard.
The most common facilities on offer are the child care facilities at the site of work. Although the facilities are not fully paid for by employers, the same are usually located in very close proximity to the worker’s place of work and is controlled and supervised by a child care agency contracted by the employer. For several employees this proves to be a very good facility which has a major role in the decision making process for workers in deciding whether to accept the employment, which they may not have accepted had the facility not been provided. Additionally, corporate child care facilities provide an incentive to employees to visit the child any time of the day. Many companies have also started the practice of joining together in offering to employees a consortium child care center. Companies collaborate with each other in providing child care facilities at a single location that caters to employees of a few companies. The center is located at a convenient distance from such group of companies and in this way workers can get the same facilities as that of an on site child care center. Such arrangements are beneficial for companies that do not have a large number of employees to make their own individual center financially viable for them.
It is encouraging to note that as we progress into the twenty first century corporations in the USA are becoming savvier in providing benefits to employees in efforts to retain them and to attract new employees. Child care has come to become a major issue that affects performance and attendance of employees and it is always a good investment for employers to invest on providing such facilities at the place of work so as to bring about higher levels of productivity.
Research has indicated that a company with 100 employees will require day care facilities at the work place for children of its employees. On an average 26% of employees in any organization require the facility of day care centers for their children, otherwise they would consider leaving their jobs. Ninety percent of employees in an organization are in favor of having such facilities at the place of employment because the relevant data has indicated that parents of young children would leave their jobs within a year if not provided with the facility. The fact that absenteeism that is unscheduled, costs employers about $1000 per employee and family circumstances account for 21% of unscheduled absences, is clear indication of the need for childcare facilities at the place of work. Hence it is clear that a substantial percentage of the employees would prefer that child care facilities be provided, not only amongst those that have young children but also others who anticipate having children in the near future. If there are hundred employees in a given company,about 60 would require the facilities.
As per provisions of the Department of Public Health, all spaces used for day care facilities must comply with the applicable fire safety standards. Infants and toddlers have to be accommodated at the ground floor unless it is approved by the authorities through the given exception process. The travel distance and exit discharge for the toddlers should not be more than 150 feet. There has to be at least 35 square feet or area provided per child in daycare centers that are for children of over two years of age. If there are toddlers less than two years of age they would need to play and sleep in the same room for which a minimum of 55 square feet per child will be required. This space does not include storage areas, administration area, kitchens and bathrooms. All areas required for direct activities of children and gymnasiums have to be provided separately. Storage space has also to be provided for beddings, cots and other equipment. All indoor spaces must be provided in ensuring that there is a comfortable environment and adequate safety for the children. If there are 20 children of varying ages, the total space required for the day care center will be about 1500 square feet that will also include kitchen, administration areas and bathrooms.
If the conference room of the company is to be converted into an on site facility for child care the cost of acquiring the premises is done away with and the total cost will not be very substantial. There would be need for some essential modeling to be done in the conference room and then it would be required to provide for the equipment and to comply with the licensing laws of the state. Given that the facilities are required for about twenty children and the area required is 1500 square feet, the total approximate cost for setting up the day care facility in the conference room would be about $10000. This includes the cost of remodeling the conference room and the cost of acquiring equipment and expenses on the following:
Licensing fees
High Chairs and boosting seats
First Aid
Bedding
Nap mats
Playpens/portable cribs
Safety devices
Computers and Software
Books
Toys
Additionally, to make the day care center fully equipped with the best of facilities, the following would also be required:
Education materials.
Disposable gloves.
Arts & crafts supplies.
Good healthy food.
Child-sized tables and chairs.
Step stools for toilet and sink
Containers for colors, pencils, markers and other art materials
Record player or CD player, radio and tape recorder
The cost of the above items including the cost of remodeling the conference room will work out to about $10000.
References
Benefits of Employer-Sponsored Care, 2009. Web.
Christine Cadena, Corporate Child Care: Changes in the Workplace, 2007, Associated Contet, Business and Finance.
Childcare has increasingly grown popular in many countries across the world. United Kingdom in particular, has developed mechanisms that would ensure that it has a system that would support children from very tender age. Nussbaum (2002, p. 28) says that for a long period, the position held by children in the society has been regarded as a concern for individual families.
Although families have cherished their children, the society has not been able to look at the issue of childcare as a responsibility of the entire fraternity of the community. Childcare centers offer a forum where different parents come together, in collaboration with teachers and other professionals, to take care of children in a community setting.
Inasmuch as many families protect and care for their children at family level, there are families that have shown lack of concern to their children. Morrison (2008, p. 45) notes that parents who are drunkards, drug addicts or are just social misfits have abused their children in various ways according to the report by UK Department of Education 2004 (Morrison 2008, p. 64).
This has seen many children go without the basic needs of food shelter and clothing, not to mention education. This happens, not because the parent is not in a position to provide for this, but because in one way or the other, the parent is irresponsible (Darder & Rodolfo 2003, p. 39). The need to form a communal approach towards handling children has developed.
In United Kingdom, many Childcare institutions are developed to help in caring for children on various bases. There are orphanages for the orphaned and childcare institution where families drop their children in the morning and pick them in the evening.
This essay is based on the latter. The author seeks to investigate issues relating to collaborative working within a childcare setting. The research seeks to investigate ways through which a child moving from one institution to another can be helped to ensure a smooth transition.
It seeks to investigate the role of teaching assistant, and the collaborative role of the parent, the teacher, and other responsible stakeholders in enhancing the general welfare of the child.
Planning and Preparation
Nardi (2001, p. 24) stated that failing to plan is planning to fail. Every successful activity must be carefully planned for success to be achieved. In a childcare institution, the management needs to plan for the various activities in order to have smooth running of such institution.
The planning and preparation stage should entail how children would be taken care of when they are within the facilities, clearly outlining individuals who will be performing different activities at various stages. The institution would need to assign teachers and other staff different duties as far as the management of these children is concerned.
Panning is very important because through it an individual or organization is able to focus ahead on what needs to be achieved within a specified period. In any given childcare institution, there should be a proper blue print on how various activities would be carried out and the specific individuals who would be carrying them out.
In this regard, there should be a clear definition of duty at hand. Morrison (2008, p. 35) asserts that no one can claim to perform a duty he or she does not properly understand. It is through planning that an individual would comprehend the magnitude of task ahead of him or her.
The planning process should incorporate all the stakeholders within the childcare facility. According to Hurst (2007, p. 36), planning is a very important stage that requires effort of every stakeholder in an organization.
This idea is supported by Hurst (2007, p. 36), who says that when the junior employees are incorporated in the process of planning, they would be motivated as they would feel their contributions are appreciated by the management.
As this is a collaborative work that involves teachers, parents and other professional individuals within a childcare set up, all of them should have specific duties clearly drawn in the original plan. The parents have a role to play. Besides bringing the child to the center, the parent should meet the financial obligations that may be necessary to ensure smooth running of the institution.
The parent should also be in close touch with the teacher and share information about the child. Other professionals concerned in this process should also have their duties clearly defined. According to Bush (2003, p. 48) collaboration requires that all individuals concerned appreciates their respective duties and shows commitment towards performing such duties.
The administration should lay a plan on how all the concerned parties are going to relate to one another in the quest to achieving collective goal of ensuring the well being of the child. As Hurst (2007, p. 36) observes, this would make the follow-up process much easier.
The parents are very important part of this collaboration because of their financial and moral support to the institution. There should be a clear communication between the childcare unit and the parents. The parents should be involved in the activities of the childcare center and the management should always respect their wish.
Bottery (2001, p. 43) notes that in the plan, there should be a statement defining how the institution will relate to the national, state and local government. According the Children’s Act 2004 of the constitution, the role of childcare units within United Kingdom is clearly defined (Morrison 2008, p. 28).
There are specific expectations that must be met by such institutions for them to be considered to be working within the set standards. The management should therefore lay the program down and set the standards to be met by every stakeholder that would ensure that the institution performs to the expectation of all the concerned parties.
As Cogan and Webb (2002, p. 56) notes, care should be taken to ensure that every individual takes the responsibility meant for him or her, without pushing this duty to another individual. Parent should know what they are expected to do and avoid pushing this duty to teachers.
Teachers on the other hand should not be too assuming as to believe that some duties are automatically performed by the parents. There should be a close communication between the individuals to ensure that they both perform their duties as is expected of them.
Lastly, every childcare institution should appreciate the fact that due to mobility of parents caused by career reasons or otherwise, there would be frequent need to ensure that children who move into the unit, and out of it does so without any adverse effect.
There should be mechanisms that would facilitate a smooth transition of children out of the institution without a strong sense of nostalgia (Austin 2007, p. 51). To the children coming from other institutions, plans are needed to eliminate any melancholic moods that may come out of the memory of the previous institution.
The management should ensure that such children are enough moral support that would help them adapt to the new environment. This would help the child feel more relaxed hence find it easy to adapt to the new set up.
Child Development and Supporting Transition
As stated above, issues relating to job would see parents move from one state to another or from one locality to another, forcing them to move their children from one school to another. Reynolds (2011, p. 19) observes that young children socializes very fast.
He states that this is the stage in life where socialization comes automatically, once two young individuals meet. They would be driven into socializing by the need to play. Save for the few who are extra ordinarily shy, children would take little time to socialize. However, this scholar observes that these children can also develop attachments.
He notes that once they adapt to a given community, they will be affected by any movement from it, just like an adult would. This effect is what should either be minimized or eliminated if possible.
For this to be done with success, Kohl (2000, p. 97) suggests that there should be a corporation between the teaching assistant, the parents and the management of childcare institutions. The discussion below gives a comprehensive analysis of the role of the three named people (teaching assistant, parent, and management).
Teaching Assistant’s Role
The person with the greatest responsibility in the entire system of childcare is the teaching assistant. Gardner (2006, p. 31) noted that at every point in a child’s development there would either be two parents or two categories of parent. The two parent would be the father and mother.
Some children may lack either of the two or both due to death, divorce or any other reason. The two categories of parent are the biological parent (if they are alive) or guardians, and the teacher.
In case the child lives in an orphanage, then a parental figure (a priest, sponsor, a relative) would develop, besides the teacher who in this case would be the immediate parent. A teacher features most in the development of a child from the above philosophy. A teaching assistant role defines the operational activities of the entire institution.
A teacher as a parent
One of the most important roles of a teaching assistant is his or her role as a secondary parent to the child. Children who came to these institutions are always of tender age.
Given the opportunity, they would like to stay with their parents for they still need the care. However, because of commitments of the parent, and the need for them to start learning, these children find themselves in childcare centers.
As a teacher, there is need to appreciate the fact that these children need parental care (Gardner 2006, p. 12). The teaching assistant should make a deliberate attempt to ensure that he or she has a comprehensive knowledge of each individual child.
This involves understanding strength and weaknesses of a given child. With this knowledge, teaching assistant can then device mechanisms, custom made for every child, to ensure that the child feels free within the childcare center. To a new child who has just come to the institution, the teaching assistant should make efforts to ensure that they feel welcome (Lindon 2006, p. 43).
They should be made to feel part of this new family as soon as would be possible. They teaching assistant should be kind to such new students and encourage other students to be friendly to the child too.
In case a child is to leave the unit for another, the teaching assistant should make them feel that the place they are going to is as good as the place they are leaving (Austin 2007, p. 67). Any fear that such a child may be having about new institution should also be addressed before the departure of the child.
A teacher as a motivator and talent developer
Children of this age would need to be motivated in order to be in a position to meet the expectation of the parent, the childcare facility, and the government.
From this tender age, they should be convinced that they could achieve, if only a little more effort is put in every activity that children perform (Leithwood & Steinbach 1999, p. 34). A teaching assistant can also note a talent in this child at this tender age. This may be a special ability to sing or play, or keen interest in a given art, like drawing or painting.
A teacher as an educator
Education is the main thing, besides proper care, that makes parents opt to bring their children to such institutions, other than leaving them with house helps. Teaching assistant has the obligation to ensure that the child learns the basics of language and mathematics.
According to the report by Effective Provision of Pre-School Education based on the research that they did for the period between 1997 to 2004, pre-school children should be allowed maximum time to play (Austin 2007, p. 78).
However, an ample time should also be allocated to simple leaning of basic Mathematics and English language. In so doing, the teaching assistant should make use of teaching aids to enhance memory of the child.
A teacher as a disciplinarian
Ethics is very important. A child ought to grow up appreciating the fact that some actions are not recommended by the society and that they can warrant punishment. Blank (2004, p. 38) says that this is arguably the toughest duty of the teacher in every learning institution.
This scholar notes that corporal punishment is strictly prohibited in learning institutions and can lead to litigation if committed by the teacher. However, this scholar notes that it is what every child fears the most, and one that can make them act with restraints.
For this matter, teaching assistant must devise ways of imparting discipline in children without inducing pain on them. This may involve making them appreciate the society’s moral standards, and consequences that some actions have (Baum, Viens & Slatin 2005, p. 11).
Teacher as Role Model
As role models to the children, teaching assistants should conduct themselves with a sense of decorum that would make them admirable to children. Their acts should reflect what they expect of the child when it grows up.
Managements Role
The management may not have direct influence on the transition of a child from one institution to another. However, they have strong influence on how new children brought to their institution would easily adapt to the new environment and develop (Strauss & Corbin 1990, p. 73).
It should provide teaching assistants with appropriate teaching materials. It should also ensure the institution is well equipped with recreational facilities for the children. They should also be a link between parents and teachers.
Parents Role
A parent has a major role to play in the development of a child, and supporting transition of the child from one school to another. It may not be avoidable to move from one geographical location to another. However, parents should make an effort to reduce frequency of moving from one childcare center to another.
Aristotle (1998, p. 43) said that it is easier for a child to develop in such aspects as social esteem and knowledge if subjected to one environment without frequent movements. The parents should also provide both moral and material support to their children.
They should constantly make their children believe that they can make it in life. They should also make an effort to follow up the performance of their children in morals and in academics, with the teacher concerned (Cheminais 2006, p. 31).
Managing Parents’ Expectation
The Common Core and State Standards clearly states what a learner should achieve at every stage of education. This is the expectation the parents have; it is the expectation that childcare centers should fulfill.
There are cases where the expectation of the parents is more than what the childcare unit can meet (Griswold 2004, p. 37). The best way to manage such expectation is through effective communication with the parents to keep them informed of the institutions current capacities, plans, and other issues related to expectation.
Keeping Parents Informed
As stated above, childcare is a collective responsibility. Both the parents and the teachers have a great role to play. Bolman and Deal (1997, p. 71) observes that teachers spend more time with the children. A child leaves home early in the morning when the parent is busy preparing to go to work, and come back late at night when the parent is too tired to give it an appropriate.
The teacher spends most of the time with the child. The teacher is also to get to know the child better through reports from fellow pupils. Therefore, there is need by the teaching assistant to communicate effectively with the parents (Austin 2007, p. 31).
In so doing, the parent would get updated on every improvement made by their children. They can help teachers understand their pupils better by informing them of their strengths and weaknesses. This close coordination would increase possibilities of the parent getting satisfied with what the childcare offers (Freire 2006, p. 6).
Multi-Agency Working
The UK Department of Education, in a report dubbed Every Child Matters: Change for Children, encourages corporation between agencies in a bid to ensure that a child achieves the most of their potential (Hansen 2007, p. 34).
The report encourages corporation between schools, government agencies, sports organizations, GPS, and the entire community. A child needs an all round molding in order to ensure that they develop properly. This would require the above-mentioned institutions to work as a unit to ensure that this is achieved.
The government, as the regulator, should always ensure that all the concerned organizations could collaborate in an enabling environment that would facilitate achievement of the set goals.
Information Sharing Within the Workplace
Zipes (1997, p. 41) said that to information is one of the most important tools in a man’s life. In every organization, there is need to ensure that information flows smoothly from one office or individual to the other. Within a childcare unit, there are a number of officers working in various departments.
All these individuals in various departments work hand in hand to ensure that the collective goal of the organization is achieved. As the parents share with the administration about the child, the administration should in turn share the same with the teaching assistants so that they are duly informed (Leithwood & Steinbach1999, p. 46).
The teaching assistant should also share amongst themselves about any discoveries they might have made about a particular child.
Conclusion
The society has come to embrace the fact that childcare is a role of the entire community other than being the role a parent or a teacher. Childcare instructions play a vital role in offering children related services when parents are at their workplaces.
In order to run such institutions properly, there is need for planning. Such institutions also need to develop ways through which parents’ expectations are properly managed. Also of importance is the need for different institutions collaborating in a bid to have better care for children. Information sharing should be encouraged among such institutions.
List of References
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Austin J 2007, The Art of Teaching, Noir Publishing, New York.
Austin, J 2007, The Last Snake Man, Noir Publishing, New York.
Baum, S, Viens, J & Slatin, B 2005, Multiple intelligences in the elementary classroom: a teacher’s toolkit, Teachers College Press, New York.
Blank, 2004, “Teaching qualitative data analysis to graduate students”, Social Science Computer Review, Vol. 22, no. 2, pp 187-196.
Bolman, L & Deal, T 1997, Reframing Organizations: artistry, choice and leadership, Jossey Bass, San Francisco.
Bottery, M 2001, “Globalization and the UK competition state: no room for transformational leadership in education?” School Leadership and Management, Vol. 21, no. 1, pp 34-78.
Bush, T 2003, Theories of Educational Management, Sage, London.
Cheminais, R 2006, Every Child Matters: A practical guide for teachers, David Fulton Publishers, London.
Cogan, D & Webb, J 2002, Introducing children’s literature, Routledge, New York.
Darder, A & Rodolfo, D 2003, The critical pedagogy reader, Routledge, New York.
Freire, P 2006, Pedagogy of the oppressed Continuum International Publishing Group, Wiley, New York.
Gardner, H 2006, Multiple Intelligences: New Horizons, Basic Books, New York.
Griswold, J 2004, The meaning of ‘Beauty & The beast’: a handbook, Broadview Press, New York.
Hansen, D 2007, Ethical Visions of Education, Teachers College Press, New York.
Hurst, C 2007, Social Inequality, Pearson Education, Boston.
Kohl, H 2000,The Discipline of Hope: Learning from a Lifetime of Teaching. New York: New Press.
Leithwood, K & Steinbach, R 1999, Changing Leadership for Changing Times, Open University Press, Buckingham.
Lindon, J 2006, Equality In Early Childhood: Linking Theory and Practice, Hodder Arnold, London.
Morrison, G 2008, Early Childhood Education Today, Pearson Education, New York.
Nardi, D 2001, Multiple Intelligence and Personality Type, Telos Publications, New York.
Nussbaum, M 2002, For Love of Country? Beacon Press, Boston.
Reynolds, K 2011, Children’s literature: a very short introduction, Oxford Press, Gosport.
Strauss, A & Corbin, J 1990, Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques, Sage Publications, Newbury Park.
Zipes, J. 1997, Happily ever after: fairy tales, children and the culture industry, New York, Routledge.
Marketing of child care and education programs in the community
The image of the program I want to convey is the one of a program that can be useful to every family including those who live a normal life and those who experience some difficulties or has some malfunctions. I do not want to attract people by saying in the brochure that the program will cure every disease and help every individual. The main point in the brochure will be a clear explanation of what the program is created for and its main functions.
The contact information should be inserted on every page of the brochure so that people could easily get a phone number without thumbing it through. The vision and philosophy of the program include a statement that every individual is unique and should be approached in a unique way. Hours of operation should include time convenient for people and employees. Besides, some time should be for busy parents who work till late.
The benefits of my program include unique approach to every child and every family and counseling that can be helpful for those who cannot decide what is necessary for a child. Special services include counseling sessions for families and parents, certain hours for those who cannot come in daytime, and learning how to deal with a child that faces some difficulties. Staff qualifications should include a pediatrician and teachers that are knowledgeable in children psychology and innovative methods to apply.
Grant opportunities for child care and education programs
The process of finding funding for various programs, equipment, and renovations that can be applied in education area require Education Regional Development grant program. I think that this program can best fit the needs of educational institutions. It is important to outline the steps taken within the program and some preliminary stages that an institution should undergo before applying for a grant program. It is possible to train teachers so that they could adequately teach students with disabilities.
Thus, the most appropriate grant opportunity is “Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers (RRTCs)—Employment Policy and Measurement CFDA Number 84.133B-4”. The agency that is funding the grant is the Department of Education. This is a public source. Both non-profit and for-profit organizations are eligible for it. The funding total cost is $850 000. I would use the money in accordance with the limitations on the program and introduce all possible changes into the center’s structure and training of employees.
The comfort and safety of children in a child care center are fundamental for the overall welfare of the children. Child care centers are intended to provide part-time or full-time children care. The centers are operated by local councils, private operators, and community-based organizations. Most centers operate from 7:00 am up to 6:00 pm with a few operating half days. Children attending the child care centers are of different ages ranging from 1 to 5 years. As with other learning institutions, child care centers are also regulated by particular state and region congress legislations. Before any individual or organization starts to run a child care center, licensing is necessary. The license is usually given if the centers meet all the requirements. The requirements stipulate the qualification of the staff to be employed in the center, the number of children per caretaker, and buildings and equipment standards. The centers must also comply with the health and safety provisions which are required for children’s healthy development. Parents are also advised to visit the centers before taking their children. This is to ensure that the particular center meets the set standards to avoid compromising the child’s comfort and safety.
Benefits of care centers
The centers ensure their children’s safety while left by their guardians or parents attending work, training, or school.
In addition to providing employment opportunities, the centers are also known to encourage people to continue with their work, education, or employment opportunities in an attempt to achieve self-support and sufficiency. Furthermore, the centers enhance parents’ awareness of proper ways of caring for their children. This is because; the centers provide educational materials to their consumers. What’s more, the centers provide a chance for the parents to chose and make their personal decisions concerning what suits their children best.
The essay explores the quality of services offered to children in a child center.
In what ways does the center provide quality child care?
Caregivers
The caregivers handle the children with a lot of understanding. They do not take anything concerning the children for granted, but rather, the caregivers take time to guide them throughout. They are often trained to be friendly and concerned about what the children are doing, get down to their level and participate in children’s activities. For example when Ramón was coloring he use to apply so much pressure on his crayons. The crayons broke and a third one broke he started crying, Miss Karen approached him got down to his level, and began talking to him. She showed him how to use a sharpener to shave broken crayons. Afterward, they glued the shavings to a paper. They are keen to capture what the kids are going through and always help them when they are stuck. Another example is when Miss Donna gets interested in what Annie was doing. Ann was cooking in a make-believe kitchen, Miss Donna approached her and asked what she was cooking; she explained that she was cooking. Annie was excited as miss encouraged her on her cooking. The caregivers teach the children how to be independent by showing them problem-solving skills. Children are also trained to be responsible, for instance after sharpening the crayon the caregiver glues the shavings on a paper. From such an experience, the child learns how to keep the surrounding environment clean. He/she discovers that crayon shavings make our surroundings untidy and should be properly disposed of.
Health and safety
The sanitary facilities are of the toddlers are ranked and installed in the children’s room to prevent accidents. All toilets and sinks are at toddler level in the toddler room. Students’ belongings are well labeled according to their names, for instance, all infants bottles are marked for every child.
Environment
The centers keep the facilities used by the children clean; the facilities are closely monitored to ensure they are in hygienic conditions. An assistant checked the bathroom every hour for cleanliness. This was also enhanced whereby all children were given their cubby to store their belonging.
Activities
Playing equipment is sterilized to keep them off any disease-causing micro-organisms. All toys were sanitized and kept in good order, to prevent any possible accidents. Age-appropriate manipulation was provided for academic activities. Generally, this promotes good health and safety of children while at the daycare.
Guidance/ discipline
Caretakers pay close attention to the children even during naptime. Naptime was from 12-2 every day. Children were not left alone during naptime and children who did want to sleep were required to lay down and could quietly read a book. At this time teachers use to sit down and talk quietly with children fighting naptime. In the centers, children are guided on various life-promoting skills that help them become independent in the future. For example, Mathew came to Miss Erica and told her that he had an accident. Miss Erica hugged him and assured him that it was just an accident and he was doing well so far with his potty training. The potty area was equipped with an emergency pack like gloves, sanitizer wipes, disposable shoe covers, and a bag for the dirty clothes. Miss Erica encouraged Mathew and explained the importance of every learning step. After they were done she walked him through important hand washing and even sanitized the bottom of his shoes.
How do Caregivers support quality child care?
Ms. Summer who is the center director has vast experience in managing the child care center. The director has worked in the same position for eight years. She holds a BA degree in Early Childhood Education, her qualifications and experience help her to deliver quality services at the center. Through her sound managerial skills, she has managed to steer the center to greater heights. Miss Rhonda, the assistant director, has an AA in Early Childhood Education and a CDA. She has occupied this post for two years now, giving her enough experience on how to handle child care issues. Miss Karen is a teacher who has been teaching for the past four and half years. She holds a BA degree in Early Childhood Education and a CDA and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Early Childhood Education. Miss Erica is also a teacher, she has taught for one year in this child care center and three years in another child care center. She has an AA in Early Childhood Education and 12 infant toddler units.
Qualifications of teachers /caregivers
Miss Erica is a committed teacher who handles children with a lot of love. She can notice every single detail of what transpires during the children’s activities. She handles children’s problems by reaching out to them when in predicaments by giving practical solutions. For example, when Jessica and Kash are fighting over a block and Kash bites Jessica she explains to kash why biting is bad. Miss Erica explains to kash that instead of biting she is supposed to say no when someone snatches something from her. She also provides kash with a ring which she should bite when she feels like biting someone. Tyler is frustrated because she can not get Johnny to move in a particular direction. He runs after Johnny and pulls his hair; Miss Erica stops the two toddlers, comforts Johnny, and engages him in another activity. She gets into a conversation with Tyler and tells him and advises him not to pull other children’s hair, but to use words instead, as pulling hurts. She reaches Johnny and lets Tyler touch his hair gently without pulling it.
What did you like best/least about the program?
The proper attention given by the caregivers to promote the welfare of the children is amazing. The assistants check bathrooms every hour to ensure that they are always clean. The teachers handle children by getting to their level. Miss Donna gets into a dialogue with Annie in her make up the kitchen. Annie can open up and with a lot of enthusiasm explains to Miss Donna what she is cooking. Teachers are overwhelmed by the children due to a low number of caretakers. Miss Erica notices most of the children’s incidences. This is evident in the cases of Johnny and Tyler, Jessica and kash, and Mathew’s case. In the case of one of the aids who could not speak English, it made communication with students learning phonic somewhat difficult.
What are some suggestions for improvement?
The center should examine and adjust its procedures and plans and develop possible strategies to upgrade its staff’s education for maximum benefits. The center should also adopt the use of safety education in its system. This would help students to take precautions and respond appropriately in case of an emergency. Highly developed and sufficient hand washing facilities should be provided both to the caregivers and children to promote health to all. Caregivers should be allowed more autonomy with regards to classroom curriculum to create more understanding of the operation of the center. This would also relieve the burden of handling all the classroom issues of the teacher. Classroom management should also be improved by decongesting to enable the students to concentrate. The center should fit the outside door with safety locks that can not be opened by the children. This would control unnecessary movements of children which may increase the risk of accidents.
Conclusion
The quality of the child care center is commendable, caregivers and teachers have the interest of the children at heart. Facilities are well maintained to enhance the welfare of the children at the center. The center ensures that children’s progress is well monitored with a lot of love and care. Solutions to any problem facing the children are solved by giving practical resolutions, for instance, miss Erica gives a ring to kash so that she can bite it instead of biting fellow students.
Earlier it was evident that very little that could be done over childcare and protection especially against disasters. It is important for one to consider ways of placing measures of protecting children against adversity. Today the childcare centres have taken eminent measures to control some common injuries and damages especially those caused by catastrophes.
The current generation comprise of majority of people who are spending most part of the early childhood development in out-of-home care facilities where the caregivers seem to have or provide eminent meaningful love, stability, security and stimulated relationships.
This might be the reason why the day-care centres whose mission is to protect children and give them proper care are considered as more safe and preferable than majority of the homes. According to Clarke-Stewart and Allhusen people ought to question what they know with regard to childcare (172).
The care is valued as very important like many basic types of equipment in the home setting such as automobiles, but although not rateable in monitory terms, contradictory, the parental care is infinitely the hardest thing to find and purchase.
Benefits of the care centres
The question many parents should be asking themselves should be an analysis of whether this trend of transition on childcare represents advancement or is a setback. It might be beneficial for today’s parents but quite a setback or tomorrow’s generation and thus the need for analysis.
There are a lot of opportunities as well as risks involved in early childhood care transition as provide by the care centres. In line with Clarke-Stewart and Allhusen (87), the children from the care centres seem to do intellectually better than those who stay put accustomed to their home settings. The children centres provide better verbal, memory and comprehension guidance making the child to be in a position to identify people’s feelings or point of view.
Some research studies have also implicated the childcare centre. It indicate that this children have less respect over rules, demands or mother’s/caregiver’s requests compared to their counterparts in the home setting. (Clarke-Stewart and Allhusen, 90) These children are less polite, respectful, agreeable and compliant to regulations.
Childcare entails converting these negative traits to respectable social behaviours. According to the argument placed regarding the childcare centres, the children probably gunner good social skills but become bossy. They may learn to be friendly and outgoing but aggressive and rude.
Facetiously, suggestions are that these children become successful in future but not the friendly bosses or chief executive officers. It is as if the care centres promotes the social advancements on some children and lead to social or behavioural problems in others.
Childcare transition
The bringing up of children today is very different in various economically advanced countries. The care of very young children was predominantly a private activity but today to a significant degree, it involves government or private enterprises. Children are now spending most of their childhood life in childcare centres and this raises the concerns over the effects.
In line with Clarke-Stewart and Allhusen, (99) there is no enough proof over the effects of daycares on the behaviours of the child especially its future. Therefore, the claims of future detrimental effects remain tentative without compelling evidence until further research proves otherwise.
The researches carried out indicate that boys taken to the day care centres become more sociable than those at home do. The girls at day care centres do well in “anatomy, problem solving and belligerence” therefore; the care centres do not eliminate the dissimilarities between sexes.
Other differences are notable in early childcare centres such as venerability of boys to the environmental factors and events compared to the resilience of the girls. Many would pose the question of weather “Boys are worse off than girls when under childcare; the answer is a weak ‘maybe.’” Clarke-Stewart and Allhusen (102)
The family background setting might be the only influence over the advantage children may have in their future lives. The sensitivity depends on the development of the brain. This influence may be limited to the relationship with the caretaker or the role love plays in development of intellect and emotion.
Debatably, the development of the child’s brain depends on the fostering provided at the centre as well as their ability to have a sense of agency. This architectural development of the brain is disreputable if the child faces stress and probably this calls for the family member care to dealing with the stress.
These aspects may form the foundation over the importance of the child having enough early interactions with the family members especially the parents. “Good-quality care may serve as a protective factor for children from disadvantaged backgrounds, but its effects are not inevitable, nor do they wipe out family disadvantage.” Clarke-Stewart and Allhusen (161) The advancement of technology is now providing the researchers with eminent tools for gathering and analyzing details in a more conclusive conviction.
Conclusion
Parents are however expressing concern over the tension created by effects of childcare. Although the effects are yet to get proper basis through excellent research, the worry is evident. The researchers have the important role of communicating positive aspects of the care centres other than speculative effects.
They should also encourage the parental home care for the even development of the child. The parents should feel that their children are doing well at the off-the-house care units, and thus it becomes a positive benefit for both of them.
The care centres should empower parents and encourage them to inspect the early childhood care centres to ensure they feel comfortable over the facilities’ safety, accurateness as well as the educational perspectives.
“Parents should appreciate that the quality of a child’s home life is still likely to be the most important factor in his or her development, even for the children who spend many hours in childcare each week.” Clarke-Stewart and Allhusen (165)
Works Cited
Clarke-Stewart, Alison, and Allhusen, Virginia. D. “What We Know About Childcare”, (New Ed), Harvard University Press, 2005