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Abstract

A rational approach to increasing the quality of infant caregiving environments requires knowledge of the interrelationships among three major aspects of caregiving: the adult, the infant and the environment in which care is provided. This presentation focuses on desired traits of caregivers and on the needs of infants. In addition to warm personal qualities, caregivers should have a belief in the personhood of a baby, knowledge of the institutional system in which caregiving is done, a sense of humor, sensitivity to individual differences among infants, ability to play enthusiastically and be creative with an infant, an understanding of the necessity of firm and fair limits, receptivity to early talking efforts and a willingness to model language, and an ability to match performance with the developmental levels of individual children. Babies need satisfying attachments with the special people who care for them, floor freedom, learning experiences they can assimilate, the opportunity to learn social skills such as respect for the rights of others and helpfulness, and adults who are sensitive to their present levels of competence and who provide appropriate environements, experiences and toys. A baby whose learning is precious to the caregiver has a firm base from which to grow. (Author/RH)
... A child's age remains an important contextual factor related to a child's need for time with parents (Cunha and Heckman 2007;Del Boca et al. 2014). For example, infants and young children have limited ability to meet their own needs (Silver 2000), and infancy and early childhood are important periods for parents and children to interact and establish strong bonds (Honig 1981). As children progress through childhood and into adolescence, they generally grow in autonomy, expand their social networks, and spend less time at home (Steinberg 2020). ...
... Because young children have limited ability to meet their own needs, they require intensive personal care, such as feeding, washing, dressing, and medical care (Silver 2000). In addition to physical care and comfort, young children benefit from positive bonding with and attachment to caregivers, which is facilitated as parents remain responsive and available to their young children (Honig 1981). Because research suggests that infants and very young children require more time (Mammen 2011;Yeung et al. 2001), we expect parental time with infants and young children to be high. ...
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