Working with children from birth to age 5 years - Assignment Example

?Working with children from birth to age 5 years Introduction Children are not aware of the dangers and possible harms attached to the materials and things around them. They find everything playful and try to observe things closely. Certain things should be kept out of their reach for their safety. They need a safe environment along with proper care to lead a healthy life. This paper aims to provide the basic understanding about the environment which should be arranged for their active learning and safety. This paper is a guideline for the setting for young children from birth to age 5 years. Safety and Health Requirements Safety is one of the main concerns when dealing with children up to 5 years of age. The babies and young children should be prevented from cot death. They must be properly put down for sleep i.e. preferably ‘feet to foo’ position. The temperature of the environment should be normal for the safety of children and the prevention of illness and other issues. Babies should not be left alone at any instance especially for longer periods. Smoky environment is particularly harmful for babies and hence, adults should never smoke in front of them. Children tend to climb furniture, stairs and other surfaces higher than the floor and for a safe environment it is necessary that the baby is kept away from all surfaces which may lead to a fall. A person who can watch the baby all the time can ensure that the baby does not fall. Avoid any objects which the children may put into their mouths. Keep such objects away from the reach of children as they are dangerous for them. Choking and swallowing incidents may be avoided by careful consideration given to tiny objects which a child may spot. The electric cords and outlets should be out of reach of the children. They may get electric shocks either by touching, biting or playing with those electric cords and outlets or by poking metal material in them. The preventions against electrocution are hence, necessary. Placing heavy furniture in front of the outlets, keeping cords way higher than their reach and cover the electric outlets tightly are some of measures to prevent electrocution accidents. All these preventions are necessary to ensure that the children get a safe and sound environment (Heberle & Scutella p 44-48). The children from a very tender age have certain physical and health requirements which need to be fulfilled. Parents are advised to send lunch with children so that they are able to study with a healthy mind. The children of a young age need to have their breakfast daily so they can be healthy. Children need an environment in which they can get toys to play with and hence to promote a better learning environment it is necessary some sort of toys are given to them (Tassoni 2007 p.516). Setting needed for an educational environment All over the world it is seen that education has become a primary necessity for every individual. Today the class or race does not matter much but rather the education one achieves has a greater importance. Special students have also been given preference when it comes to studies. Classroom Management Plans are designed to help students to achieve a better grade and better environment to study (Khalsa 2007). Young children have specific requirements of these classroom management plans which revolve around the visual environment and the physical arrangement in the class. Visual learning is a way through which the children can be encouraged to study as they are attracted towards the colors and drawings. Similarly walls are also decorated in such a way that the students are attracted to the charts on the walls. Different posters about the classrooms are put on the walls which are there to attract students. These visuals are quite important for the children who are studying these days as this would promote better understanding in the class (Tassoni 2007 p 27-30) Physical arrangement of the chairs on which the children sit are also considered important because it would allow more room to the children. Children at a tender age seem to move or stand up from their seat and the physical arrangement would allow them to do so. Some children might face difficulties in a congested classroom and this could be avoided by such an environment. More importantly the classroom should also have a friendly environment for these children as this environment would help the children to cope up with the new environment. During the early days children may seem to cry a lot in the class but this can be avoided if a friendly environment is provided to them in the class (Tassoni 2007 p 289). The role of practitioner in maintaining the relationship with parents The practitioner in the setting has to make sure that he/she has good relationships with the parents of the children. Good relationship between parents and the practitioner ensures that the both the parties are aware about the results of the child. This relationship can help the conveying of messages from one side to the other which can thus help in solving the problems that the child may be facing. At a tender age children seem to face a lot of difficulties while coping up and it is necessary that the parents help the children to cope up. If professional relationships are maintained between the practitioner and parents then the children would get used to the new environment. The practitioners can maintain a professional relationship with the parents by having regular meetings with the parents of the children and updating them about the progress of their child. The parents can be told about the difficulties that their child is facing during the class and how these difficulties can be resolved. Regular meetings between them would ensure a two way communication between the parties and this would help to solve the problems that the child may be facing (Tassoni 2007 p 518-520). Practitioners working as a team It is very important that the practitioner works as a team with the colleagues so that the parents are not let down by any action. The colleagues should back up the practitioner involved by letting the parents know about everything that they need to know. Colleagues can work in a team together by telling each other about the children that they are working with (Tassoni 2007 p 348-349). Protection of the child Protection of the children is very important in such cases too and this can be ensured by the practitioner with the right environment. The practitioner should ensure that the children have a safe and sound environment where the chances of harm are reduced. In the absence of the practitioner certain people should always be present to look after the children so that they are protected from any sort of danger. At a tender age it is necessary that these children are provided with enough protection because any type of abuse inflicted upon them at this age would make them suffer all through their life. Children hence should never be left unattended by anyone that is trusted. Parents should always keep an eye on the children and practitioner so that these incidents can be avoided at any cost. Moreover parents should be informed about possible health diseases that the children face so that they can be protected. The workers that look after the child should be trained properly so that they do not harm the child in anyway. Thorough checks on the workers by the practitioner are necessary to ensure the safety of the children (Tassoni 2007 p 128-130). Practitioners teamwork with other agencies The practitioners tend to work with other professionals and agencies so that they do not have to face any difficulty in managing the children along with their proper education. All the children are managed by the practitioner and the agencies that are involved. Speech therapists can help the impaired children along with the practitioner so that they can properly learn the new skills that are being taught to them. Children who have suffered from problems can be helped by the play therapists who know how to encourage them with correct stimulating activities. Children with special behavioral needs can also be monitored by these agencies and specific instructions can be given to the practitioner as to how to deal with these children. Agencies can help the practitioner to know as to how they should deal with children who are visually impaired for example the visually impaired children have to be given the front seats so that they can view the whiteboard accordingly. The agencies can also help the parents to know specific ways through which they can handle their children with respect to their behavior (Tassoni 2007 p 128-130). Recording and Reporting by the practitioners In all the cases it is very important for the practitioner to record and report in a professional manner. Recording and reporting forms an important part of the education. It is through this process that everyone involved in the process of education knows about the problems that the children are facing. All the involved parties are informed about the progress of the child through this process so that they can sort out a process through which the problems (if any) can be resolved. This has to be done effectively as in some cases the matters get worse when a child is suffering from some kind of problem. It is necessary to reassure the child about the problems that he is facing so that he can be comforted and then the problem of the child are noted down in the correct manner. All this is very important because it would help the practitioner to take down the history of the child in the right manner. This information can be helpful to the agencies which work with the practitioner and they can further help the child to cope up with his problems (Tassoni 2007 p 523-525). Teamwork with Parents In some cases it is seen that certain issues arise when working with parents. Commonly the parents do not bear the shortcomings of their children and tend to retaliate by denying it. Parents do not come to the regular meetings and this affects the teamwork. Some of the parents face financial or other family problems because of which they are not able to provide their child with the right environment and hence this also affects the teamwork. In order to work out a perfect team work collaboration one has to ensure that the parents come to meetings and get to know about the progress of their child. (Tassoni 2007 p 518). Role of Key worker A key worker has a strong, persistent and close relationship with the children and hence plays a key role in sharing care with the parents and families. The key worker is able to inform the parents about their child and his performance. He is able to view the actions of the child and knows the problems that the child is facing in the new environment. Hence it can be said that the key worker is a source of information for parents and families. A key worker can help in the reporting and recording process which can help in removing the hurdles that the child may be facing while studying. (Tassoni 2007 p 595). Rights of child and family The setting should promote the rights of the child and family as this helps to change the attitude of the child at a very early age. The practitioner should give rights to parents and children to intervene in the process of education. They should be given the freedom to change the school or complain about the environment that the child may be facing in the school setting. Moreover if the child realizes his rights at an early age he would be able to discuss his problems fully with any person involved. If their rights are promoted then they are able to exercise their own decision and do not face difficulties in the latter half of their life. Similarly the family should also have complete discretion over their rights whenever they feel anything wrong with the environment (Tassoni 2007 p 150-154). Diverse and Inclusive environment It is very important for the practitioner to support a diverse and inclusive environment as some children may be left behind if this is not considered. Every child has his own unique capability and this has to be taken in notice by the practitioner. In a diverse environment the practitioner has to change his roles according to the needs of the children to make them comfortable. This would help towards the learning process of the child. The practitioner should not keep differences between the children depending upon the qualities that they possess. In order to promote diversity in an environment it is necessary that the practitioners do not test the capabilities of the children. The method of tests at such a tender age can force the practitioner admire one child over the other and this can create differences. Children should be given the freedom to share their views so that all the children get involved in the activities of the class (Tassoni 2007 p 278-281). Bibliography Khalsa, S. N. S. (2007). Teaching discipline & self-respect: Effective strategies, anecdotes, and lessons for successful classroom management. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Top of Form Tassoni, Penny. Child Care and Education: Cache Level 3. Oxford: Heinemann, 2007. Print. Top of Form Tassoni, Penny. Child Care and Education: Cache Level 2. Oxford: Heinemann, 2007. Print. Bottom of Form Top of Form Heberle, D., & Scutella, R. M. (1995). The complete guide to making your home safe. Cincinnati, Ohio: Betterway Books. Bottom of Form Bottom of Form Read More