Introduction
The birth of a child in a family brings a new ray of hope and happiness. The new member brings a lot of anxiety along with the added responsibilities. The responsibilities in upbringing a child must be dealt with great delicacy and care. To raise an infant and make him capable to be a school going person is the responsibility of the parents. To understand the emotions, expressions, and feelings of such small child is a challenging job. Parents need to learn the language of signs and implement their learning in order to meet the needs of their infants.
Body
There are many such infants raising centers in the country. The main objective of these small institutes is to give the parental care and attention to children when their parents are pre-occupied with the other jobs and responsibilities. Before making the observation of such institutions, I investigated the various such centers in the state, and analyzed their goals and objectives of each one of them on various factors such as the age group, infrastructure, management, and quality of infant-care. After such analysis, I decided to take up an appointment for observing their infants a week ago, and the forthcoming Sunday was decided as my appointment. I again re-verified my appointment on Friday in order to check if they are comfortable for meeting on the predefined date.
Based on the pre-decided date, the observation was done at Loyola Marymount University in Ottawa, USA. May 12th, 2013 at 9 a.m. During this observation, I found that the center had 15 infants in the age group ranging from 6 months to about 30 months. Further, it was good to see the playing area neat, clean, and well-organized, and the sleeping area had a system of separate arrangement in a cool and quite environment for each infant. Besides these, I also found that changing table and feeding area were very neat and clean, and all the children were made sit together in a group to eat themselves. But, there were also some infants who were helped in being fed. As decided by the management, I was allowed to observe their tasks till noon. There were some questions that were considered to be asked to seek their response for analysis and preparation of observation report. Some of these questions were:
- Was the environment safe? What did you observe that helped you come to this conclusion?
Answer - The surroundings and the environment of the center were safe, good, and specific to infants’ needs. The center had three big rooms with a center hall where all the activities were performed. The interior of the center was such that it ensured the security of the children with small bedding and proper fencing. Surveillance cameras were also placed at different locations. Therefore, it can be said that safe and secure environment and surroundings were provided.
- Was the environment healthy and sanitary? What did you observe that helped you come to this conclusion?
Answer – For me, the environment seemed very healthy, cool, calm, and clean. But, it is good to note that the children of this age group are very prone to diseases and infection. Therefore, it is necessary for the place to be free from the dirt, bacteria and diseases. There are about 5 members of the faculty who were appointed for these children. A special cleanliness monitoring system is organized by the management. The water, milk, floor, toys, clothes, nappies, diapers, first aid technique etc. are regularly checked in a month to ensure the safety. Although the center had this objective of maintaining cleanliness, this process needed to be more regular.
- Are meal times developmentally appropriate and provide for caregiver interaction?
Answer - When I went there, the caregivers were sitting with the kids and serving them yoghurt and healthy snacks. They used to make sure that the kids ate their meals sufficiently. Further, I saw that the trainee-caregivers under the supervision of the qualified care-givers were doing most of the work and making sure the kids clothes are changed after they are fed. They changed the diapers and clothes after the kids were fed. But, it is point to note that the infants could not communicate their feeling of being hungry. They have to be understood. Perhaps, a routine has to be set for them to feed them in a timely manner. Such things require consideration and attention of the care-taker. The center had ensured a two hourly feeding time for infants. Also, they consulted the parents for the infants feeding timing and food to be fed. The infants, being in the growing age have a different diet process. They need to be fed according to their digestion capability, and the need for supplements for growth. I really liked the diet chart prepared for the children for this process.
- Was the play environment appropriate for infants?
Answer - The play environment was appropriately aesthetic, clean, and calm for infant. Further, I found that room arrangement was very soothing with pastel shades. The furniture was designed based on kids’ level, and there were picture books. And even they had boards displaying the picture of kids’ parent. But it is good to note that the learning process started when a child began to walk and talk. This center had a special arrangement to favor the learning process. The drawing and picture books, the special toys and games, rhyming CD’s as well as the interaction and teachings by the care-givers were the part of the day activities. Dancing, clapping, singing and playing were organized and planned once in a week.
- Describe the outside play environment.
Answer - To ensure the proper growth of kids, it is important that a proper schedule of exercising and playing is maintained. A proper playing area is arranged for the children and a regular span of playing with the adults is organized. Proper gaming equipment’s are provided for the children as per their age group and first aid and security is ensured at each level.
- Are daily routines defined as part of the curriculum?
Answer - In order to keep the track of child’s proper care, it is necessary that a monitoring is done of the activities such as feeding, napping, toileting. This requires personal attention for each child. The children must be encouraged to perform the grooming activities. The center had a very scheduled program for all these activities and it was proper participation of every child was ensured.
- Was there a daily plan for activities? What activities did you observe?
Answer - The children above 1 year love to draw, sing, interact, and perform different activities. It is therefore, important that children are introduced with activities such as drawing, coloring, viewing pictures, scribbling etc. As the part of the learning process, the center had a provision to introduce the kids with their family members by photographs. The track of their creativity was given to the parents. These activities however were not properly scheduled and were irregular.
- Was there a daily plan for activities? What activities did you observe?
Answer - The mannerism of the children is an important factor to be taught. The infants had a keen anxiety about everything. They kept on asking questions, and wanted their caregivers to pay attention to them. I observed Ms. Maratha, to be a perfect example of patience in the faculty for such queries.
- How did the environment and staff demonstrate a respect for the cultures of the children in the room? What did you observe that helped you come to this conclusion?
Answer - The children were provided with the books which taught them about national animals, birds, fruits, and dresses. The different toys having different attires showcased the cultural aspects of the country. This was an introduction, however not complete step towards cultural awareness.
- If you were the parent of an infant, would you be comfortable in enrolling your child in the program? Why or why not?
Answer – Based on what I saw and observed, I am of the opinion that if I were a parent, I would not have sent my child. Because I saw one child fell on his head and I heard a thud noise of the baby. One of the care-givers instead of carrying and holding the child, was asking or questioning the child. Though she is a nice and experienced person as I saw chip on her shoulder for being a UCLA graduate, and I have nothing against her, treating the child in that way is unacceptable, and it reflects uncaring attitude. So, observing that incidence and response of caregivers creates a deep impression in my mind that I will not send my child till my child is able to speak anything. For me, qualification and certificates have no importance. What matters most is how one cares the infants, not what qualification one has. So,, if the person has no compassion or ability to take care of an infant or my child, any person with any qualification should not be deemed fit for that job. Hopefully, I might be wrong, but my conviction is very straight and simple based on the observed facts that I won’t be comfortable sending my child to such care-givers.
Analysis
After making an observation of this small institute, I analyzed many new things. I learned that a child care is a process of delicacy. It has to be planned and organized, the same way as the other important activities of life are done. Each and every step of the care taking process involves a great challenge. After analyzing this institute, I feel that parents should be comfortable in making their children the part of it. This institute has a planned program for upbringing their child which is diligently prepared keeping the needs of the children in mind. A different approach of dealing with the infants is followed which is really appreciable.
Conclusion
It is the responsibility of the parents to provide their children with the needs and amenities of life. In today’s world, the parents are very career oriented and professional. They are unable to give full time and attention in upbringing their children. This modern trend has given birth to a new profession of child care taking. It is therefore, the responsibility of the parents to choose the best care taking institute which would ensure that the needs of the child’s growth are fulfilled.
