CHAPTER 9: Early Care and Education for Infant, Toddlers ...



CHAPTER 9: Early Care and Education for Infants and Toddlers

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This chapter provides information about the history of early care and education; the availability, quality, and cost of child care; professional preparation; and the consequences of early child care for infant and toddler development. The types of child care and work/family interactions are addressed.

Learning Objectives

After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

• Discuss the history of early child care and education and its implications for the field.

• Explain issues of availability, quality, and cost in early child care and education.

• Know the implications of early child care for the development of infants and toddlers.

• Identify the types of child care and the impact of work/family interactions on infant and toddler development.

• Include infants and toddlers with developmental delays in early care and education settings.

Key Terms and Concepts

Adult-child ratios are the number children cared for by one adult caregiver.

Child care is an arrangement where adults care for infants and toddlers either in their home or at another location. There are at least five distinct types: (1) parental care; (2) child care by relatives (either in the relative’s home or the child’s home); (3) family child care; (4) child care centers; and (5) other types of care including babysitters, housekeepers, and nannies.

Child care arrangements are the ways that families arrange for the care of children. Some child care arrangements are informal, such as leaving children with a friend or neighbor; others are more organized, such as having a live-in nanny or someone come into the home on a regular basis. Many families have a variety of arrangements.

Child care centers can be public or private and either nonprofit or for profit. They vary in size and the ages of children served, and must be licensed by the state and abide by their requirements.

Continuity in care focuses on the relationship between how a child is cared for in the home and other child care arrangements and the differences or similarities between the arrangements. The most serious threat to continuity is the loss of a primary caregiver.

Dependent care tax credits allow parents to allocate pretax dollars to pay for child care.

Dual earner families are families in which the mother and father both work.

Family child care is a type of child care in which a single provider (although she may have some help) cares for a small group of children (typically one to six) in her home.

Group size is the number of children receiving care in a specific room.

Infant/Toddler Environmental Rating Scale is the most widely used measure of quality of care for infants and toddlers.

Primary caregiver is an adult who is designated as having primary caregiving responsibility for an infant and who develops an intimate relationship with each infant and learns his cues and patterns.

Quality issues relate to the quality of child care infants and toddlers receive guided by NAEYC accreditation standards and scores on the ITERs.

Resource and referral are agencies that help parents identify possible child care settings that fit the parents’ criteria.

Chapter Outline

History of Early Care and Education in the United States

Issues in Early Care and Education

Types of Early Care and Education Settings

Quality in Early Care and Education

Including Infants and Toddlers with Developmental Delays

Work/Family and Early Care and Education

Professional Preparation

Recommended Reading

Clarke-Stewart, A., & Allhusen, V. (2005). What we know about childcare. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Harms, T., Cryer, D., & Clifford, R. M. (2003). Infant and Toddler Environmental Rating Scale (ITERS-R). (Rev. ed.). New York: Teachers College Press.

Lally, J. R. (2001). Infant care in the United States and how the Italian experience can help. In L. Gandini & C. P. Edwards (Eds.), Bambini: The Italian approach to infant/toddler care (pp. 15–22). New York: Teachers College, Columbia University.

NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. (2005). Child care and child development: Results from the NICHD study of early child care and youth development. New York: The Guilford Press.

Petrie, S. (2005). The work of Emmi Pikler and Magda Gerber. In S. Petrie & S. Owen (Eds.), Authentic relationships in group care for infants and toddlers—Resources for infant educarers RIE: Principles into practice (pp. 17–33). London and Philadelphia: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Sandall, S., Hemmeter, M. L., Smith, B. J., & McLean, M. (Eds.). (2005). DEC recommended practices: A comprehensive guide for practical application. Longmont, CO: Sopris West Publishing Co.

Relevant Web Sites

Ohio’s Infant/Toddler Guidelines are seen as the critical first step to ensuring that all Ohio children, birth to age three, have responsive, reciprocal, and respectful care. These guidelines can be used by other states and programs as a model. inf-todd/InfantToddlerGuides.pdf

Resources for Infant Educarers (REI) has a unique approach based on respect that helps raise infants who are competent, confident, curious, attentive, exploring, and more.

Teaching for Change: Building social justice starting in the classroom provides resources for early childhood equity in the form of books, articles, videos, and posters for children and teachers.

Teaching Strategies offers practical, innovative, and developmentally appropriate curriculum materials, training services, training materials, and parenting resources for children birth through age eight.

The Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI) is an international organization whose mission is to promote and support in the global community the optimal education and development of children from birth through early adolescence, and to influence the professional growth of educators and the efforts of others who are committed to the needs of children in a changing society.

The Center on Outcomes for Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers with Disabilities is a five-year project funded by the Office of Special Education Programs in October 2003. It is a collaborative effort of SRI International, FPG Child Development Institute at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Juniper Gardens Children's Project, the National Association of State Directors of Special Education, and the University of Connecticut Health Center. the-ECO-

The Center for Prevention and Early Intervention Policy at the Florida State University focuses on maternal and child health and early childhood issues. Its Web site provides numerous resources for parents and professionals working with young children. cpeip.fsu.edu

The National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies provides information on child care by state and serves as an advocate for high-quality child care.

The National Child Care Information Center (NCCIC) is a national clearinghouse and technical assistance center linking parents, providers, policy makers, researchers, and the public to early care and education information. This site provides an overview of resources (publications and organizations) available online from a variety of sources and links to other organizations.

The National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center, funded by the U.S. Department of Education, aims to strengthen state and local service systems to ensure that children with disabilities (birth through age five years) and their families receive and benefit from high-quality, evidence-based, culturally appropriate, and family-centered supports and services.

The National Network for Child Care has practical information and resources for working with children and parents.

The NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development is the most comprehensive child care study conducted to date to determine how variations in child care are related to children’s development. This study is supported by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) through a cooperative agreement that calls for a scientific collaboration between the grantees and NICHD staff. Its Web site provides a summary of the study, an introduction to the investigators, and data collected from Phase I through Phase IV.

The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) is dedicated to improving results for infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities ages birth through 21 by providing leadership and financial support to assist states and local districts.

The Program for Infant/Toddler Care (PITC) promotes responsive care for infants and toddlers with its many resources and programs.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families has information about child care and child care subsidies.

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