Today I did a class with 8 couples. As always, someone anxiously
asked a question about 'routines' - this is the word the UK uses
where US would say 'schedule', I think.
The question always goes something like this, 'so when you talk about
feeding often, and responding to the baby's cues, and so on, are you
saying we can't have any sort of a routine?'
I started to respond, as I usually do, by talking about the baby's
needs and how they change, and what a baby needs as a newborn changes
as he gets older, and if routines are something the parents prefer to
have then of course they can work towards one blah blah blah.
One of the mothers then said, 'I'm a reception teacher [this means
children aged four, just starting full-time school] and we see a lot
of children who aren't yet really happy with the school routine, and
we have to just be patient and flexible...we don't make them do
things by the clock, but we try and meet their needs and their stage
of development....by the time they're five or six, they're usually
fine.'
This made so much sense to the class, and I was able to say how much
more is this the case with a four day old, four week old, four month
old....care is *developmentally appropriate* and rushing a
baby/toddler/child into something they are simply not ready for is
recognisably not good.
Next time, I'm going to ask if anyone is a reception teacher :)
Heather Welford Neil
NCT bfc, tutor, UK
--
http://www.heatherwelford.co.uk
http://heatherwelford.posterous.com
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