Home / Educators / Professional Development (3 - 5 YEARS) / The Roots of Early Learning Show
Vocabulary
Build Strong RelationshipsBefore watching this video, read the text below. When instructed, watch the segment of video beginning at 0:00 and ending at 4:05. To start the video in the middle, click the play arrow. Then move your cursor along the progress bar. Click the progress bar when you reach the time you'd like to start.Strong relationships develop through shared experiences that build emotional connections, security, and trust. These relationships begin with respect for each other’s feelings, priorities, values, and ways of engaging with the world. They deepen over time as two people come to appreciate and trust each other. Strong relationships with babies and young children begin with respectful, welcoming relationships with their families. Knowing a child’s family helps you to know the child. The family can supply much of the information you need in order to successfully connect with their child. Family members can show you what makes their child happy and how they comfort her when she is upset. They can share their cultural practices, values, and beliefs. They can also help you appreciate their child’s unique personality and ways of approaching new situations, people, and experiences. When you and a parent have a good relationship, you can work together to support each other’s goals for the child. You can share information and ideas about the child’s day to-day activities, mood, and behavior; work out an approach together when you disagree about what is best for the child; and celebrate together when the child does something wonderful. When a child sees that her family and you feel good about each other and that you both feel good about her, she feels safe, secure, and confident.
Watch the video segment. In this segment, you’ll see a focus on building relationships. You’ll see how the educators welcome families and make emotional connections with them, conveying the message that “I will do anything I can to be there for you and your baby.” Begin at the start of the video and end at 4:03, when Kathy says, “Shake, shake.” As you watch, look for effective strategies used by the educators in the video and jot down answers to these viewing questions in your Learning Log.
Review Why is it important for you to build strong relationships with children’s families?
How can you reach out to families and make them feel welcome?
How can educators get in tune with individual children as they talk and play together? How can they make powerful connections and purposefully support children’s learning?
Reflect Think about the infants and toddlers in your own program as you answer these reflection questions in your Learning Log.
What are appropriate interactions with babies and toddlers?Guiding principles
Create a positive, non-confrontational communication environment where the child feels safe and comfortable to interact. Always speak to children with respect. Raised voices, yelling, blaming, criticising and verbal abuse are not acceptable ways of communicating with children.
How important are relationships to the development and learning of infant toddlers?Loving, stable and responsive relationships are fundamental to your child's development. Through relationships, children learn how to think, understand, communicate, behave, express emotions and develop social skills.
Why is it important for caregivers to establish secure relationships with infants and toddlers in their care?Through relationships, infants and toddlers learn about their environment and how to interact with the world around them. The relationships infants and toddlers have with their families are the most important in shaping emotional and social development.
What are two ways Caregivers Support babies and lay the foundation for learning?Setting up schedules and following familiar routines (for example, lunch or bottle time is usually followed by naptime). Babies learn better when they feel secure and know what to expect. Talking to your child during caregiving times, like feeding and diaper changing.
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