Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/shifting-gears-for-infants-and-toddlers/5011392/
It took me two months to figure out that I had to comfort a crying baby within the group. If I got up to walk the one crying, they would all cry.""I expected my toddlers to divide themselves among activities as my preschoolers did. They resist being divided. They like moving as a group and being with me."
"Just that much body contact in one day is exhausting."
These are statements that infant/ toddler teachers made in discussing the changes they experienced from teaching preschoolers. Each day, more and more preschool teachers are working with infants and toddlers. The change in age group is significant, and it isn't always an easy transition. Directors need to know how best to support teachers in making this change to ensure quality care for infants and toddlers.
Teachers making this transition are struck by:
_ the fact that babies do not speak;
_ the amount of crying, especially the first four to six weeks before attachment occurs;
_ the experience of just being with an infant or toddler in their pain or grief when your comfort does not seem to make a difference;
_ the need to be more watchful;
_ the more intimate contact such as in diapering;
_ the emotional intensity ...