Young Children - May 2008 - (Page 60) Sarah Merrill and Donna R. Britt Helping Babies Make Transitions Keisha is in turmoil. Last week she was the assistant teacher of young 3s. Unexpectedly, she is now a teacher in an infant classroom, caring for four babies ranging in age from 6 weeks to 12 months. Keisha knows she has the skills and abilities to work with babies, but she does not know the children or their routines. She is scared. She is not sleeping; her stomach has been upset. If only there had been time to follow the center’s transition plan, maybe she would not be so anxious. At least she can talk to her family, the director, and other staff about her feelings. But the infants in Keisha’s classroom are coping with a transition too. Unlike Keisha, they can’t use words to explain their feelings of uncertainty, frustration, loss, and fear. Observe, Ask, and Respond— Three steps to helping babies with transitions Some of the transitions that occur during the infant and toddler years are due to internal forces, such as physical development. Think about how rapidly a newborn grows from a helpless baby to one who can roll, sit, and crawl. Then the crawler becomes a very mobile toddler, walking and climbing. Other transitions occur due to outside forces—changes in caregivers and teachers, in routines such as arrival and departure, in foods and feeding practices, in temperature and lighting, in room arrangements, in the toys that are available for play, and in the responses of adults to infant and toddler behaviors. Because adults expect many of these changes, early childhood programs prepare transition plans. These plans help staff and families facilitate smooth, positive transitions for infants and toddlers. But even with written transition plans in place, unexpected things happen. With Tabitha gone, Keisha has to work even harder to help the infants and toddlers and their families feel safe and secure. During this stressful time, Keisha can use a three-step process—Observe, Ask, and Respond (OAR)—to help Jiymeon and the other infants in her care adjust positively to this unexpected change. Observe The first step in the three-step strategy is to observe all the children and their families’ behaviors, moods, arrival and departure schedules, and practices. Here are some tips for observing from the Early Head Start National Resource Center (2006): • Record what you see. You have many things going on during the day. Write down children’s actions and their reactions to the environment. For example, note if a baby hits at you when you (cont’d on p. 62) “Transitions are about change, a passage from one experience, stage, or activity to another” (Early Head Start National Resource Center 2004, 2). Keisha is going from one position to another. She is able to voice her feelings of concern and associate them to her physical ailments. But 6-month old Jiymeon doesn’t understand what happened to Tabitha, who had been taking care of her since she was 8 weeks old. It isn’t that Keisha is doing anything wrong; she just doesn’t hold Jiymeon the same way, nor does she talk to her, feed her, play with her, or change her diapers the same way. She doesn’t even smell the same! So, Jiymeon expresses her frustration and fears in the only way she knows how: she cries, fusses, and clings to her family members when they drop her off. ® Sarah Merrill, MS, is a training specialist for the Early Head Start National Resource Center (EHSNRC) at ZERO TO THREE in Washington, D.C. Sarah has 14 years of experience as an infant/toddler teacher and was a National Head Start Fellow, focusing on Early Head Start, in 2000–2001. smerrill@zerotothree.org Donna R. Britt, EdD, is a distance learning/senior training specialist for the Early Head Start National Resource Center. Donna develops online lessons for the Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center Web site and conducts face-to-face training for EHSNRC. dbritt@zerotothree.org Rocking & Rolling is written by infant/toddler specialists and contributed by ZERO TO THREE, a nonprofit organization working to support the healthy development and well-being of infants, toddlers, and their families by informing, educating, and supporting adults who influence their lives. The column appears in January, May, and September issues of Young Children and Beyond the Journal (online at www.journal.naeyc.org/btj). Illustration by Melanie Hope Greenberg. 1, 3, 7 60 Young Children • May 2008 http://www.journal.naeyc.org/btj
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