Principles of Care

Introduction:

In order to comprehend baby and toddler care and education, it is helpful to start with some broad ideas that have been developed through many years of research and thought.

Principle #1: Children are active participants in shaping their own development.

Children as young as infants and toddlers actively seek out information from their surroundings and social partners through eye contact, verbal and nonverbal communication, physical contact, and object manipulation. Infants are drawn to certain information types that offer them a special window into how the world functions. Infant-directed language exposure from adults, for instance, is preferred by babies and aids in their language acquisition (Garca-Sierra, Ramrez-Esparza, Wig & Robertson, 2021; Graf Estes & Hurley, 2013). The development of motor skills is an excellent illustration of how active engagement impacts human growth. Even when toddlers start to walk, they still need to make a lot of progress in order to walk well. Actually, toddlers walk 2,368 steps per hour on average and fall 17 times per hour (Adolph et al., 2012). The formation of one’s personal walking technique is shaped by actively practicing walking. Additionally, walking actively gives new opportunities for interaction with others, holding objects while moving, and running into new things and experiences, which is associated to individual variances in linguistic and cognitive development (Karasik, Adolph, Tamis-LeMonda & Zuckerman, 2012; Schneider & Iverson, 2021; West & Iverson, 2021).

Principle #2: Relationships and experiences are the primary ways development occurs.

Infants and toddlers grow through adult-child and child-child interactions as well as through independent and cooperative world exploration. Infants and toddlers’ healthy growth is based on sensitive, obedient, and stable connections with their caregivers (Bornstein et al., 2020; Li et al., 2022; Raby et al., 2019). These relationships serve as the foundation for the development of language, social, emotional, and cognitive skills, literally forming the structure of the developing brain (Bernier, Calkins & Bell, 2016; King et al., 2021; Nelson, Zeanah & Fox, 2019).

Principle #3: Development is complex and transactional.

The transactional model of development describes the continuing and cyclical ways in which children and their environments shape one another (Sameroff, 2009; Sameroff & Mackenzie, 2003). Each child is reared in a cultural environment, for instance, which impacts every element of development. However, over time, the child’s unique familial or cultural setting may also have profound effects on the greater community context. The same environmental influences may have varied effects on various children and families. Likewise, other environmental influences might influence kids in a same way. For instance, toddlers from lower SES homes normally experience less language exposure; yet, even among all low SES families, some toddlers experience a lot of language exposure while others do not a lot less (Weisleder & Fernald, 2013). Figure 1.4.2 demonstrates how households’ average daily word exposure for toddlers varies significantly. Each vertical bar on the graph shows the total number of words a particular youngster hears in a given day. The amount of language used by caregivers varied significantly, despite the fact that all of these toddlers came from low SES homes. 

Figure  1.4.2:

The level of word exposure for one youngster is shown by each bar. On this graph, there are a total of 28 bards representing 28 different kids. The number of words that various children heard from adults in a single day is depicted in this graph. Each bar’s bottom green segment displays the total number of words that adults spoke to that child in a single day. The amount of words that children overheard when adults were speaking to other adults is displayed in the top/blue portion of each bar. Kid 2 heard 2,500 words overall, for instance. 500 words are overheard whereas 2,000 words are said directly to her. Total word exposure for child 23 is 20,000. 18,000 words are overheard whereas 2,000 words are said directly to her. a 27-month-old child hears 21,000 total words. 15k words are focused 6,000 words are spoken overheard to her.

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(Photo from Lew-Williams & Weisleder) (2017). How Do Young Children Pick Up Language? pp. 45 of Frontiers for Young Minds. CC by 4.0)

Principle #4: Development and learning occur in multiple systems or contexts.

Infants and toddlers grow as a result of their direct interactions with the people in their world (family, friends, and non-parental caregivers) as well as indirect influences from community resources, rules at parental workplaces, laws governing child care, and a variety of other physical, social, and interactional environments (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2006; Rowe & Weisleder, 2020). Parents are children’s initial and most important caregivers as well as their main teachers within these various systems and circumstances. The quality of these varied environments has a significant impact on how newborns and toddlers develop (Gilkerson et al., 2018; Larose et al., 2021; Shuffrey et al., 2022).

Principle #5: All areas of development are interrelated.

The three realms of development—physical development, cognitive development, and social development—are interconnected during the newborn and toddler years. Other domains’ development is influenced by development in one domain. For instance, the capacity of a baby to sit up on their own is related to their cognitive and language development (Oudgenoeg-Paz, Volman & Leseman, 2012; Veldman et al., 2019). Therefore, developmental domains cannot be seen separately from one another. Planning for and interacting with all children, especially newborns and toddlers, requires taking into account the dynamic interaction of all developmental domains.

Principle #6: There are vast individual differences in rates of development among children.

Every child develops and grows at a different rate. Certain developmental outcomes may need early intervention and/or modifications for some children who have developmental delays or disabilities. Early establishing individual variations are also significant since they are frequently linked to favorable outcome benefits. For instance, earlier mastery of motor milestones (walking or sitting) is associated with rapid development of linguistic skills (Carina, Leinweber & Ritterfeld, 2019; He, Walle & Campos, 2015). The importance of caregivers in providing high-quality, supportive environments for care and education for infants and toddlers has been highlighted by recent research into early individual differences (Lopez et al., 2020; Ramrez, Lytle & Kuhl, 2020). Milestone charts can provide approximations for what is considered typical development.

Principle #7: Birth to age 3 is a distinct developmental period that is the foundation for later development.

The best chances for experiences or interventions to impact the direction of development are during times of fast growth and change, like infancy (Raikes, Love, & Chazan-Cohen, 2004). From infancy to age 3, the interactions and experiences that shape development can have a significant and long-lasting effect. For instance, early experiences have an impact on the “wiring” or architecture of the brain, as well as how the brain functions, including how quickly it thinks, how it connects and remembers, how it pays attention to information, and how it forms ideas, concepts, and understandings (Center on the Developing Child, 2007). (Fernald, Perfors & Marchman, 2006; Rose, Feldman, Jankowski, & Van Rossem, 2008). Concepts, attitudes, skills, and abilities that are crucial for current development, future academic success, and lifelong learning emerge and develop quickly from infancy and toddlerhood (Domond et al., 2020; Early Head Start National Resource Center, 2012; Losier et al., 2021).

My Growing Toddler will provide support and advice as you manage your kids’ growth. Instructions will be given to you regarding both the tasks you must complete and the ones you should avoid.