As a mother, I believe that the relationships formed between children, families and caregivers are essential for the holistic development and well-being of a child. These relationships are the foundation for children to develop strong social skills, build resilience and feel safe to express themselves. I have seen firsthand how secure attachments help children feel valued, respected and understood.
In childcare, where children spend significant time away from their primary caregivers, establishing and maintaining nurturing relationships is important. This establishes educators as an important part of a child's life and allows them to take on different roles like mentors and advocates.
While working in an infant room in Oshawa, we implemented a thoughtful approach to transition support as children approached the age of transition into the toddler room. Special visits were started to facilitate the move, allowing children to gradually become familiar with the new environment and form relationships with the toddler room staff. These visits provided a sense of continuity and security during the transition process, ensuring that each child felt supported and valued every step of the way. In contrast, in another childcare centre transitions were handled less thoughtfully, I observed the negative consequences of neglecting relationship-building during transitions. Children and teachers were often shuffled without consideration for the bonds they had formed, resulting in feelings of insecurity and disconnection.
Transitioning from working in childcare centers to running my home daycare further instilled the importance of fostering relationships from the beginning. I've implemented various practices to foster connections between parents, children, and caregivers. These include meet-and-greets, a dedicated transition week for parents leaving paternity leave and individual care plans. This is to ensure families feel welcomed in the daycare space, supported in their parenting journey and valued as the first educators of their children. I have also implemented the use of a communication app, to maintain continual communication throughout the day. Allowing parents to receive updates on their child in real-time, as well as fostering transparency in our day.
However, building relationships between a child and an educator is not the only relationship that an Early Childhood Educators (ECE) needs to acquire. Connections to families and coworkers are also essential for the success of our programs. The Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice for Early Childhood Educators (ECE) places caring and responsive relationships as the first standard of practice. (CECE. pg 8) This highlights the importance of fostering connections between families and colleagues, as these relationships are essential to providing quality care.
As we reflect on this, we can learn how to build strong foundations of mutual trust, respect and empathy. Understanding that family relationships are of primary importance for the well-being of children and that children are best understood in the context of their families, culture and community. (CECE, pg 8) For educators, it is important to recognize families as partners, engaging them as active participants, making informed decisions, concerning goals and learning experiences. When we see families as active participants in childcare, we can ensure our focus is on the needs of the individual child.
Fostering relationships extends beyond families and must include connections between colleagues. Establishing these relationships and professional collaboration is essential for the success of the childcare program. It isn’t just about getting along, we need to learn how to effectively communicate, share knowledge and work together. This becomes essential to meet the diverse needs of families and their children. Unfortunately, I have seen how the absence of effective communication, teamwork, and a good approach to conflict resolution can impact the success of childcare programs, and negatively impacts the well-being of the children.
There needs to be a mutual understanding that communication styles differ from educator to educator, as well as the impacts of mental health, outside stresses, cultural and religious beliefs and neurodivergence can change the way people can interact successfully. By promoting an open communication channel, reflective practice and professional development educators can seek opportunities for growth to improve their abilities to form meaningful relationships.
Fostering relationships is a pivotal part of an Early Childhood Educators (ECE) practice. To recognize the importance of building connections with families and colleagues alike is to recognize that Early Childhood Educators (ECE) can creative supportive environment where needs are met. Through effective, transparent communication and reflective professional development, we can support meaningful relationships to provide quality care in our programs.
References
College of Early Childhood Educators. (2017). Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice (2017). https://www.college-ece.ca/en/Documents/Code_and_Standards_2017.pdf
Add comment
Comments