Unhurried Time with Infants

01/03/2014

From Mike Brown’s book, Ideas Magnets: An innovative leader “makes sure his or her personal core purpose is solid. This grounding on what’s important extends to their teams and organizations.”
Mike Brown

In Respect: A Practitioner's Guide to Calm and Nurturing Infant Care and Education, Toni Christie talks about the importance of moving slowly and taking your time in the infant room:

"...taking adequate time deepens teachers' awareness and knowledge of each child, sensing by their behavior, body language, and expressions.... When teachers give their time, they show value for the person with whom they are engaged. When we rush an interaction, we run the risk of leaving the person with whom we are interacting feeling unsatisfied and undervalued by the experience. Each child will have his or her own rhythm and pace. Respectful practice involves stepping out of our rhythm and pace and adjusting to that of the infant. For adults that is generally going to mean slowing down a great deal in order to observe and interpret needs, invite children to engage, wait for their response, and then engage in the interaction at the child's pace."

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