The A to Z of Early Years. June O'Sullivan
such as ‘Train Your Baby Like A Dog'.
The most important factor in the baby experience is a positive and warm attachment. The introduction of the key person has done a lot to embed this importance. While some babies choose to have a much warmer relationship with another staff member to their key person (babies are fussy too), a process that ensures consistent observation, communication and is designed to build harmonious and trusting relationships has many benefits for the wellbeing of both baby and parents.
Loving children in your care is critical. The professionalisation of love has created some interesting debate. The word was dropped some years ago in the rush to professionalisation, replacing it with the rather anodyne ‘care’ word. I believe that you need to have a loving and reciprocal relationship with the children because they most certainly love you. This can be a challenge and cause an emotional conflict for parents, especially if they perceive their child to be happier with their key person because they want to stay at nursery when the parent comes to collect them. Parents need to be supported to see the benefits of a triangular relationship, and not be fearful or guilty that their child seems to love someone more than them. Sometimes parents ask that we don't kiss the baby, but this is to the detriment of a baby who needs the comfort of a loving adult. Parents need to see this warm relationship as a result of their confident parenting, and the willingness to build up a strong bond with the key person for the benefit of their child:
As we do more research we must not be afraid to investigate such nebulous concepts as love, friendship and play. They are the glue that keep us together, enable us to overcome adverse childhood experiences and be better … members of better communities. (Middleton, 2017)
Babies are curious explorers and learn through play and by using all their senses. Their ability to communicate is not to be underestimated. They will thrive in a well-organised environment with the support of engaged and sensitive guiding adults. A kind setting has a long-term impact on the child's ability to learn to become empathetic as they grow.
Talking and singing with babies is very important. Babies love nursery rhymes, lullabies and traditional songs. It's vital to involve parents in this too. Unfortunately, there is a noticeable decline in staff and parents knowing traditional nursery rhymes. We need to do something about this because singing matters to babies. Some would even say it was a child's first language lesson. Singing songs involves children listening to pitch (babies prefer low pitch), words and tone. As adults we need to look into our babies’ eyes when we sing to them. This is the triadic interaction when we establish a mutual gaze before talking to the baby, follow their gaze and then check they are following us before we talk, sing, point to something, or identify an object you want to share with them. Despite the importance of singing many staff are anxious about doing so, saying they ‘can't sing’ or are ‘tone deaf'! Babies don't care, they just love to be sung to.
Parents expect a setting to be clean and safe. It's one of their high priority concerns. This does not mean they should be sterile spaces, with children sitting in highchairs or strapped in to keep them safe and tidy! Movement is the first language for a baby so let them wriggle and touch. Give them tummy time and encourage them to strengthen their flat hands.
Parents also value a sensible routine that they can understand and follow. So do babies. Their distress and confusion in response to noise and discord are palpable. Babies need to be in a place of calm and order. Background noise should be kept to a minimum. Changing time is not a domestic chore but a time of personal engagement: a combined care and language opportunity.
The importance of sleep is key. Not just for overall welfare but because babies also practise sounds, words, grammar and narrative in their sleep. Let's put away the myth that children need sleep so that their brains can replenish their energy stores: the brain is very active during sleep and this can cause children to wake easily. We need to create a place where they are comfortable and get into a settled rhythm. Therefore, we need to ignore those who object to children being patted and calmed to sleep. It's important, so keep doing it and talk to them before they go to sleep, so those sounds permeate their sleep.
Call to Action
Working with babies is the most important role in society. Our task is to make people understand this and ensure that staff working with babies are of the highest calibre and lauded across the land.
Follow on Twitter
@connectedbaby
@First1001days
@PenelopeLeech
@TheBabyExpert
Further Reading
Brodie, K. (2018) The Holistic Care and Development of Children from Birth to Three. Abingdon: Routledge.
Gerhardt, S. (2017) Why Love Matters. Abingdon: Routledge.
Goouch, K. and Powell, S. (2013) The Baby Room. Maidenhead: Open University.
Gopnick, A. (2009) The Philosophical Baby. London: Bodley Head.
Gopnick, A. (2016) The Gardener and The Carpenter. London: Bodley Head.
Page, J., Nutbrown, C. and Clare, A. (2013) Working with Babies and Children. London: Sage.
Robinson, M. (2003) From Birth to One. Maidenhead: Open University.
C is for Cultural Capital
There is the new kid on the block causing some consternation. It's called cultural capital and was introduced to the early years sector by Ofsted as part of their new Education Inspection Framework. Ofsted describes cultural capital as the essential knowledge that children need to prepare them for future success (Ofsted, 2019b). Some might say it is the government's attempt to reduce social inequality through education, but either way it has people scrabbling to acquaint themselves with this new idea.
Of course, it is not new. Pierre Bourdieu, a French sociologist, coined the term to describe a person's economic and social capital, which then determines their level of cultural capital. This is the combination of education, knowledge, language, and habits valued by society, and once you know these, you can use them to advance your journey to success.
I was probably one of the few to welcome cultural and social capital. It is a concept I have used for many years to describe the philosophy of the social enterprise childcare model, and how we develop an ambitious pedagogical approach that would reproduce the educational and occupational advantages of those children who were lucky enough to be born into families with a lot more of the cultural capital valued by our society. As a social leader, I wanted to be able identify what was necessary to set children on an educational pathway from their earliest years with as much cultural capital as we can, especially those who have already been burdened by poverty and family disadvantages. In my opinion, the more cultural capital the more likely the child will be able to better manage the world as it presents itself and do well at school.
Bourdieu recognised that the route to educational success started early on in the home both actively and passively. For example, children learn and repeat the way their parents speak at home and this can determine the way they speak and the range of vocabulary. This in turn can determine how they learn to engage with more complex levels of debate, discussion and conversation, which are so crucial to their success in school. At home, the level of information and experiences will also determine their broader cultural knowledge and the confidence that builds and which enables more of these.
Sometimes this gets locked into the beaux arts, and cultural capital is viewed only through the lens of music, art and drama and TV viewing habits, but Bourdieu also pushed the importance of a child reading, the richness of language and the ability of parents to coach their children on curriculum subjects as they got older as central to educational success. However, he recognised that some parents would not know this or be academically confident to support their children in either or both areas. Bourdieu also introduced the term ‘habitus’ to describe attitudes, beliefs and dispositions – in other