Caring for a baby who cries constantly can be exhausting and overwhelming for child care providers. It’s easy to get frustrated and angry when nothing you do seems to calm the baby down. Here are some ways to calm a crying baby (or several babies) in a group setting. But never shake a baby! If you shake a baby you can cause permanent damage or death. Babies have large heavy heads and weak neck muscles. When a baby is shaken, …
Creative art activities can help children in all areas of development. Child care providers should plan creative activities with the child’s overall development in mind. Here are some ways that art activities can support young children’s development.
When child care providers offer art activities, they are supporting children’s large and small muscle development, as well as their eye-hand coordination. Using crayons, markers, and paintbrushes helps children practice the fine motor control they will need for writing later on.…
As young children grow and develop, they become more aware of the adults in their lives. Around 9 months of age, children learn how to distinguish one caregiver from another. When you get ready to leave your 9-month-old with her child care provider, she knows you are leaving. At the same time, she does not have enough experience in the world to realize that you will come back, so she feels anxiety. Many infants show this anxiety by crying, clinging …
Many young children bring pacifiers, blankets, stuffed animals and other security objects to child care. Objects like pacifiers can provide comfort when a child is feeling insecure. And they can help children make the transition between home and child care.
Many parents and child care providers wonder when children should stop taking the blanket or pacifier to child care. There’s no hard and fast rule. Some children are ready to give up their security objects by age 2 or 3. …
Few behaviors upset and anger child care providers and parents more than a child who bites. Although many children never bite, biting is not uncommon among toddlers, especially when they are in groups of children. Biting tends to be most common between about 18 months and 3 or 4 years of age.
Many adults think of biting as a single behavior, but there are many different reasons why children bite. Here are some of the most …
