#Early childhood education

[faeriekit]

"It's so hard to teach kids consent 🥺" WRONG! Library books be upon ye!

Yes Means Yes, by Elaine Tai: "The various, "everyday" scenarios include the desire to touch someone's hair, play that can frustrate or hurt someone, and how someone might feel uncomfortable being touched or approached. Children will learn the importance of using their voice and listening when others use theirs, and parents can use the scenes as a foundation for further conversation."

Connor Kissed Me, by Zehava: "After Connor kisses Miriam on the playground, she tells a number of people who have differing reactions to the incident, until her mother encourages her to listen to and stand up for her own feelings."

Talking to kids about important topics goes way easier when you give them a basic expectation of what these experiences and situations might look like!

Additionally:

Emphasize to children that barring all necessary medical or safety interventions, their body belongs to them, and shouldn't be touched without permission. Yes, this does mean the conversation about vaccinations is going to take longer than usual. Consider it a trade-off.

Emphasize the affirmation, not the rejection! Sometimes people say no, and we respect that, and sometimes friends say YES to hugs and cheek kisses, and we get to share that with them!

There are plenty of alternatives to hugs and kisses! Don't want a hug? How about a high five? How about a pinky-promise? If you can't hold hands, why don't you hold onto my jacket, or I can hold onto your sleeve? Teaching kids how to ask for and offer alternatives when their peer says "No" goes a long way.

Encourage little kids not to keep "body secrets" at the request of others from their parents. If someone is asking them to hide something about their body from their parent, that's a huge concern.

Ask before hugging. Ask before kissing. Make other adults— yes, even nosy relatives—ask your child before a hug or a kiss. You can even model asking for physical affection with the co-parent if you have one. Modeling respect is worth it.

Lots of daycares are working harder to teach consent to younger children at younger ages. Some daycares are very proactive. Some are not. If you are in a position where you are interviewing multiple facilities about whether or not to place your child there, it's something that you can ask. "Do you have a stance on hugging between children, or between children and adults? What does it look like? Do you encourage boundary setting?"

And I like to think that we're beyond telling children that their bullies are secretly interested in them or want their attention but stop telling children that the other children who are harassing them are showing interest. 🔪 Stop it.

Children deserve safe, strong, respected boundaries! 🫂

[dykeredhood]

I would never lie about The Wiggles btw

The Wiggles' songwriting and performances were rooted in their professional training as pre-school teachers and in the concepts of early childhood education. Field reported, as he studied music for young children at university, being "shocked ... at the non-inclusive way music for children was usually performed". According to Field, children had to sit silently as musicians played "traditional songs often featuring negative or outdated lyrics and dealing with subject matter of no interest to small children". The lack of songs with themes and topics that interested children inspired Field to record the Wiggles' first album. …

They believed in empowering children by practices such as greeting their audience members with "Hello, everyone", instead of "Hello, boys and girls" which, as Paul Field explains, "unnecessarily separates children and has undertones of condescension".

[babyspacebatclone]

Small rant from a daycare teacher:

It’s important and healthy to teach children they can be told no.

We’re talking something like a bell curve, you need to be in the middle, but please for the love of your child’s future please answer this:

Will your child be expected to stop at red lights?

Will your child have to make appointments in inconvenient days?

Do you want your child to be able to live with, at most, a manageable amount of debt?

If you want those things for your child in the future - safety when driving, handling making doctor’s appointments in the schedule available, and financial health - If you want your child to be able to handle that in the future…

They need to learn that it’s ok to be told “no.”

That they can’t get everything exactly when they want it.

That some things are reasonable, but maybe not right now.

That other people have needs too, and we sometimes have to put those needs first for the time being.

Please.

I’m just… Exhausted from the three year olds complaining “But I want it!” or “I don’t want to [take my break]!” for months.

Because that behavior is age appropriate.

It is age appropriate for a child to want to impose their desires on the greater world. They don’t know other people have real feelings, real needs.

They need to learn this.

But if the belief that “I want this!” is going to work for months, that means they A) are getting away with it from someone regularly and B) aren’t learning patience and self control.

And at the minimum, if you want your child to have the independence of a driver’s license, they’re going to have to learn patience and self control.

And I promise you, they can start learning even before the age of 1.

On the flip side, of course, they also need to learn they do have control over the world, but that’s a different rant right now……

(They won’t be good at self control at age 1, in fact the way you know they’re learning is they cry at the word “no.” But that’s the process, and the earlier they understand the world imposes limits on them while having their needs otherwise met, the earlier they can learn coping skills for working within those limits.)

[catherinetheprincessofwales]

15 November 2023: The Princess of Wales arrives for the Shaping Us National Symposium at the Design Museum, London. The Princess has convened experts from 21 countries to consider how we “grow, think and behave throughout life” to build resilience in early childhood.

[ilovedirt]

Anybody know any good resources (online or purchasable) for teaching new parents/new babies ASL?

[justanotherparent]

There's got to be more like-minded educators and parents out there.

Please reblog or like this if you work in and post about early childhood (development / education /etc) or are a parent who is one or more of the following:

pro children's rights

a person of color

actually autistic

pro mental health awareness and action

for the right to an education for every single child regardless of age, race, gender, heritage, ethnicity, and more

comfortable shit posting stuff those without kids or maybe those who don't work with kids wouldn't understand

DNI if you are: a terf, nsfw blog, christianity apologist (spare the rod spoil the child), montessori is king I learned ab it via socail media teehe, mommy-fluencer, post your children or children you work with online, pro spanking, or think ABA therapy is acceptable

[gardenianoire]

r/eceprofessionals: what are some ways y'all avoid getting emotionally attached to your student

me:

[argmonster]

they be cryin' they be screamin' they be decreasing the vibes.

[britneyshakespeare]

Sorry For Always Ranting About How The US NEEDS Universal Free Pre-K. I Will Do It Again.

[falcqns]

im on early childhood educator tiktok and i love it but some people in the comments know nothing about child development, and the importance of social and emotional learning and it fucking shows.

let me explain something:

children cannot gaslight. this is especially true for those who are not school-aged, so 0-4. them crying or throwing a tantrum is not them trying to get their way through manipulation. they are not overreacting, they do NOT need to stop crying, especially when they are hurt.

children are allowed to be upset. they are allowed to cry, scream and shout. they are allowed to feel their emotions. when you tell a child no, and they flop to the ground and throw a tantrum, they are not trying to manipulate you into giving them what they want. they don't know how the world around them works yet, so yes of course a child is going to get upset you tell them "no, you need to wear your coat." or "no, you need to sit on your bum while you eat." they don't understand that if they don't wear their coat they could get hypothermia because they are little and cannot regulate their body temperature as well as we can, and they don't understand that running around and playing while eating can lead to choking. they don't understand things like that.

it is our jobs, as adults, educators, parents, family, etc. to teach them these things. to help them to understand, to help them to regulate. by telling them things like "stop crying," "you've got no reason to be upset," or "i'll give you something to cry about," you are telling them that them, and their feelings don't matter. that they have to go along with what you say no matter what, and that they should be respecting and trusting you no matter what happens, which is NOT true. they don't need to respect and trust you. exactly like how a child needs to earn your trust, YOU have to earn theirs. if they don't trust you, they don't have to respect you. it's your job to show them that you are someone they can trust, and with that trust comes respect.

going back to if they are hurt, instead of saying things like 'you're fine,' try saying 'you're going to be fine,' or asking 'are you hurt, or are you scared?' or even a simple 'are you okay?' is better.

if they are throwing a tantrum, don't do anything. let the tantrum happen. if someone was having a seizure, would you be standing over them while they seize and tell them to suck it up, that they're fine?? no, you wouldn't. you'd make sure the area around them is safe, put them in the recovery position, and you'd wait it out. the same thing is true for children. they cannot process information when they are upset. yes, it might be frustrating, and yes, it always happens at the most inopportune time, but it's not their fault. so when they are melting down, just sit and wait for them to finish. if you need to, walk away from them to take a breather for yourself. when they calm down, tell them you're there, that you love them, and offer comfort. don't force it, offer it. children deserve autonomy. my body, my choice, remember. try to remember that the reason for the tantrum is because they can't communicate what's wrong. they can't explain 'hey, im sad because i can't wear my crocs in the snow.' they have to show it, and crying is how they express that.

children cannot gaslight. they cannot manipulate. they are tiny humans who didn't ask to be brought into this world, and therefore as the adults in their life, it is our jobs to help them navigate and learn the world around them. there are going to be setbacks and tough moments. there are going to be times when you want to yell at them to stop and behave. there are going to be times when you feel like you can't do this, but it's important to remember that you can. it's even more important to remember that if they are acting out/throwing a tantrum, etc. with you, it means they trust you, and you are a safe place for them. just as you learned to express your feelings without throwing a tantrum, so can they, they just need it to be taught to them, and more importantly, modelled to them. the moment you view them as competent and capable, trust me, your view of them will entirely change.

'It's not our job to toughen our children up to face a cruel and heartless world, it is our job to raise children who will make the world a little less cruel and heartless.' - L.R. Knost

'Tantrums are not bad behaviour. Tantrums are an expression of emotion that became too much for the child to bear. No punishment is required. What your child needs is compassion and safe, loving arms to unload in.' - Rebecca Eanes

[probablynotcavolo]

[babyspacebatclone]

Unaware of the hurdles speech can pose, parents are often thrilled when ABA teaches their child to speak — after all, who wouldn’t want to hear, “I love you”? They rarely realize that other approaches could facilitate more interaction while taxing their child less.

Source

I was reading this article about how ABA just - doesn’t work. And the above paragraph really got to me.

I’m a daycare teacher, and kind of a “pitch hitter” in my center - I fill in whatever role is currently needed, based on the 5.5 years of experience I have working all our age groups.

Currently, I have minimal interaction with the Toddler room (1.3 years to 2.5 years), mostly going in for 20 minutes once a week to do 2 morning breaks on the day I make sure our usual break person isn’t working 45 hours a week.

Anyway…….

The room of 14 kids actually has 2 nonverbal Autistic children, which is exceptionally bizarre luck but there you have it. Fortunately, the two staff in the room are amazing with both. One of the kids stays until the center closes half the week, and I end up being one of the two staff that hangs out with them alone for 15 minutes after everyone else is gone.

I’ve had much less interaction with “David,” the other, although he’s the one that started one-on-one intervention earlier. Apparently he’s doing fantastic with sign language; I’ve yet to work enough to recognize the signs he knows, which exceed my own vocabulary.

But he’ll come up to me and circle his arms, like for Wheels on the Bus.

I only learned this Friday it’s actually for a song his mother sings, “Roly Poly,” and was relieved to learn why he was ignoring my attempts to sing Wheels on the Bus.

Because he’s been coming up to climb into my lap with the arm circles, then grab mine and circle them.

It was so good to understand his exasperation with me, not understanding him, but that he also recognized my good intentions to engage with him.

I spend so little time with David, so the fact he has decided I’m worth seeking out for mutual play is amazing.

To me, a child feeling safe enough to come up to me circling their arms intently is a lion’s roar of “You’re trustworthy!!”

You don’t need words to communicate with a child.

More therapists for Autistic children need to spend time working with infants below 8 months old.

Learn how to read a dozen babies needs, interests, and capabilities.

Then start working on the 2 year old nonverbals.

[narangoda]

"The best book"

Once upon a time in a small village nestled among rolling hills, there lived a young girl named Emily. Emily was known for her love of books. She cherished the stories they held, the adventures they offered, and the knowledge they imparted. In her village, where most children played outside or helped their parents with chores, Emily spent her days at the village library, a quaint little building filled with books of all kinds.

[normalpilledbetty]

The urge to put my dun dun dun on a sadle and ride my way to Florida

[gardenianoire]

the center is doing 8 weeks of spirit week for summer with a different theme and all the teachers had to submit ideas for a theme not one but two of my ideas were accepted