Home » Catalog



View Online Article

More Purposeful and Intentional Infant and Toddler Care

By Pam Schiller

Go to page: 1 2 3 4 5 

Nine-month-old Audrey stirs from her nap. As Ms. Rose passes Audrey’s crib while she is on her way to place Evan in his crib for his nap, she says to Audrey, “Hi, Audrey, I will be there to get you in just a minute.” Ms. Rose gives Evan a hug and says, “Sleep well, Evan. We’ll see you when you wake up.” Evan starts to fuss. Ms. Rose pats him on his back and says again, “We’ll see you when you wake up.”

Ms. Rose leaves Evan, who is still fussing just a little, walks over to Audrey, smiles at her and says, “You had a long nap. I think you are ready to play for awhile.” As she lifts Audrey from her crib, she gives her a hug and begins singing softly.

You’re not sleeping.
You’re not sleeping.
You’re awake.
You’re awake.
Now it’s time for playing.
Now it’s time for playing.
Audrey’s awake.
Audrey’s awake.

Ms. Rose walks to the changing table and begins to change Audrey’s diaper. “Let’s get you a dry diaper. Did you have a good nap?” Audrey starts to babble, “ma-ma-ma-ma.” Ms. Rose waits for a break and then interjects. “Listen to you talk! Are you telling me about your dreams?”

Audrey hears laughter across the room and turns her head in the direction of the interesting noise. Ms. Rose notices and says, “You hear Gabrielle laughing.” After finishing Audrey’s diaper change, Ms. Rose plays a couple of rounds of Pat-a-Cake with Audrey, then picks Audrey up and brings her to the play area.

Gabrielleand Madison are playing with a few toys on the floor. Ms. Rose sits Audrey down near her and says, “Hi, Gabrielle and Madison! Audrey wants to play by you.” She hands Audrey a drum and small “drumstick” (small round stacking disk). Audrey watches the other children for a minute and then hits the drum with the “drumstick.” Ms. Rose says, “Listen to the sounds you are making with the drum! Here is a larger ‘drumstick’ (larger stacking disk). Would you like to hit the drum with this?” Audrey stares at the new drumstick for a moment and then drops the smaller drumstick in order to take the new one. She immediately uses it to hit the drum. The noise is louder. Audrey shows her excitement by smiling and shaking from head to toe. Ms. Rose laughs and says to Audrey, “The bigger drumstick makes a louder noise.”

Ms. Rose is using what she has learned from her training to guide her interactions with Evan, Audrey, Gabrielle, and Madison. Ms. Rose is becoming a more intentional caregiver. She knows that intentional care optimizes development for all children.

The intentional and purpose-focused caregiver

What are the characteristics of an intentional caregiver?

• An intentional caregiver focuses on what is developing with specific outcomes or goals in mind for children’s development and learning. For infants and toddlers, she focuses on each of the developmental domains: cognitive, social-emotional, motor, and language.

>> Next Page