Know

You have already learned that understanding how children develop and learn (i.e., “child development”) is a protective factor against child abuse and neglect. Why do you think this is true? What are the risks of not understanding child development? If we don’t understand child development, we are likely to think a child should act older than he or she is. We might put children in situations that are too challenging for them. This can lead to the caregiver, as well as the child, getting frustrated. The child doesn’t understand what we want, and we don’t understand why the child won’t “behave.”

Understanding child development is a protective factor because it helps us recognize when a child needs extra help. If we do not understand child development, we might become frustrated instead of recognizing an opportunity to scaffold or strengthen a child’s experiences. When we get frustrated, we do not use our best thinking. We are less able to problem-solve, use new practices, think creatively, and be patient. We may be less able to support the children who need our help the most.

Let’s begin by thinking about some common behaviors you might see every day in programs:

• Solomon is a young infant. He cries for long portions of the day.
• Dante is almost ready to start crawling. He gets frustrated and cries every time he cannot reach something he wants.
• Flora has pulled every toy off the shelf and keeps going back for more. She is always right behind you every time you try to start cleaning up. She doesn’t seem to want to play with the toys. She’s just really interested in touching everything.
• You told Hilary it was time to get a diaper change. She yelled, “No!” and ran away from you.
• Zoe is having lunch in a highchair. She says, “All done” and starts throwing peas on the ground. She barely ate anything.
• Patrick screams, “No! I do!” when you try to help him put his coat on. As other children begin going outside, Patrick begins to scream and cry.

Based on your experiences with young children in or out of programs, do these scenarios ring true? Have you seen them happen? Have you experienced them? If you have spent time in programs, you have likely seen some or all of these behaviors. They are reflections of typical child development. We all go through stages as we grow, and certain behaviors can be expected at certain stages. This does not mean that all behaviors are easy for us as adults to deal with. It does mean that we can be prepared to recognize behaviors as reflections of growth and help children develop and mature. You will learn more about this in the Cognitive course.

Let’s take look at how children typically develop from the ages of birth to three. The information on this table is compiled from various sources including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQ). You can find this information in an easy-to-use checklist form in the Apply section.

As you read the milestones, did you notice any behaviors that might frustrate or challenge adults? This table can help you remember that behaviors like biting, mouthing everything, tantrums, not following directions, and saying “No!”can be normal parts of the infant and toddler years. As adults, we have to be prepared to respond positively and in ways that teach. You’ll learn more about how to do that in the next two lessons.

Remember, these milestones tell us what children typically do at certain ages. They are not hard and fast rules. Individual children will vary a great deal in when and how they reach different milestones. If you have a concern about a child’s development, talk to your trainer, coach, or administrator.

Understanding Temperament

Temperament influences how each of us interacts with the world and the people around us. We are born with certain temperament traits or styles, and temperament is thought to be consistent across a life span. Here are nine temperament traits that you might see in infants and toddlers (Thomas, Chess, & Birk, 1968):

• Activity level: Is the child always moving or sometimes sitting still?
• Regularity: Do children naturally have consistent schedules for eating and sleeping or are they more variable?
• Distractibility: Does the child focus for periods of time or shift attention?
• Approach to new things: Is the child cautious in new routines or experiences?
• Adaptability: Can the child adjust to new people or situations?
• Intensity of reactions: How does the child respond to situations?
• Threshold of responsiveness: How much stimulation does it take for a child to respond?
• Quality of mood: Is the child generally happy or sad?
• Attention span and persistence: How much time does a child spend on something despite distractions?

Take a minute to reflect on your own temperament. How do you define your temperament traits? How does understanding temperament help you understand your own behaviors and the behaviors of children?

Temperament researchers also have identified three temperament types that summarize these traits (Thomas, Chess, & Birch, 1968). The three temperament types are:

• Adaptable: These are “easy” babies. They are open to new situations, have a moderate activity level, and are generally happy.
• Feisty: These babies have a high activity level and usually strong responses to new stimuli. They might be considered energetic, assertive, and full of emotion.
• Cautious: These babies need time and support to feel comfortable in new situations. They might be considered timid or serious.

Now take a minute to think about your own temperament type. Which of the three do you relate the most to? Do you find it easier to work with individuals (including babies) who share your own temperament type? If you have a feisty temperament, you might find it harder to engage and connect with cautious babies. If you have a cautious temperament, you might find yourself challenged by the energy level of feisty babies. Knowing your own temperament lets you step back and recognize these challenges or tensions as part of your personal interaction style. This lets you take steps to prevent stressful interactions between yourself and infants and toddlers.

How can you use an understanding of temperament in your work to prevent child abuse and neglect? First, understanding temperament helps you remain calm and see frustrating situations as potential personality differences. Second, you can use your understanding of a child’s temperament to come up with solutions to problems that work for them. Here are a few ways you can use temperament in your work:

Tips for Children with Cautious Temperaments:

• Provide plenty of space and time for the child to get comfortable. Encourage families to stay as long as possible to help children transition into the room.
• Avoid forcing eye contact or getting in the child’s face. Approach children slowly and give them time to warm up to you. When approaching a child to assist in self-care tell the child what you are going to do to support them prior to taking actions (e.g., “You have yogurt on your cheek, I’m going to help you wipe the food off your face.”).
• Minimize changes to schedules and routines.
• Encourage children to bring comfort items such as a favorite blanket or teddy bear.
• Comfort children when they become upset. Spend time sitting together with an infant or toddler and watching others play.
• Encourage infants to form primary attachments with a caregiver in the program. Make sure this adult is consistently in the room and available for the infant.
• Provide a prompt to initiate transition time. Discuss with the child when an upcoming transition will occur (I.e., “In 5 minutes, it will be time to clean up for lunch.”).

Tips for Children with Feisty Temperaments:

• Provide lots of opportunities for movement. Let them help turn the pages of stories. Give them extra time to relax before a nap.
• Provide opportunities for exploration. Stay close when introducing new or exciting objects. Help the child learn to explore safely.
• Do not punish intense reactions. Rather comfort the child: give hugs, rock the child, and help him or her work through emotions.
• Support children in recognizing their emotions so that in the future they will learn to identify their emotions and cope when strong emotions are experienced. Validate children’s emotions by acknowledging without judgment which characteristics of their emotion they are expressing with their body and behavior.
• Step in when needed to help a child work through difficult interactions with other children.
• Establish daily routines that will help the child feel more secure and promote self-regulation skills.
• Allow for transition time between activities. This gives children time to finish what they are working on and prepare them for change (I.e., “In 5 minutes we’re going to be cleaning up to go inside. If you are wanting to go down the slide before we go in now is the time.”).

Children At-Risk for Abuse and Neglect

There are three categories of children more at-risk for child abuse and neglect: young children, children with disabilities, and children with challenging behavior. Why do you think these children are at an increased risk? Generally, these children might have a difficult time communicating, controlling their emotions, following directions, or getting along with others. The adults around them might get frustrated easily or not know how to help the child. This can put the child in a dangerous situation. We must be careful to remember this does not mean that the child causes the abuse and neglect. The child is never to blame. It also does not mean that only children in these categories are abused or neglected. Rather, we must remember to provide extra support to families whose children meet these characteristics.

Children under the age of 4 are at the greatest risk for child abuse and neglect. Can you think of reasons why this might be the case? When we think about the developmental milestones described above, we might see reasons. These children are least able to communicate their wants and needs to us. They are also not developmentally ready to solve complex social problems, regulate their behavior or emotions, and follow complicated directions. All of this leaves them vulnerable to negative interactions with adults who do not understand development.

When children do not meet the milestones described above in predictable ways and at predictable times, we can experience stress. We may not understand the child’s communication, we may not know how to meet the child’s physical needs, or we may doubt our competence. All of this can leave a person feeling helpless and confused. This stress puts children with developmental delays or disabilities at greater risk for child abuse or neglect.

Children with severe and persistent challenging behavior are also at a greater risk for abuse or neglect. When children demonstrate severe and persistent challenging behavior, adults often feel personally challenged. It’s not unusual to feel like a child is “pushing your buttons.” Adults may not know what to do and in a moment of crisis might resort to unacceptable punishment practices.

Special Concerns for Infants and Toddlers: Prolonged Crying

Crying is a normal part of infancy. All babies cry. Between the first month and fourth month of life, many infants become more fussy and crying increases. Some experts refer to this as the “Period of PURPLE Crying” (Barr, n.d.). This does not mean babies turn purple from crying. Rather, it is an acronym describing the characteristics of this stage. You can visit the Purple Crying website to learn more: http://www.purplecrying.info/what-is-the-period-of-purple-crying.php

Even healthy infants sometimes cry for hours during this stage. Sometimes it can be hard to comfort the infants. They might seem inconsolable. Crying tends to be worse in the evenings, but you might experience prolonged periods of crying with infants in your program. This can be very frustrating, and it might make you doubt your ability to care for the infant. It’s not unusual to begin feeling stress and to need a break. The best thing you can do is to realize that this is a phase in the infant’s development, and it will end.

Shaken Baby Syndrome

Shaken Baby Syndrome (also known as Shaken Impact Syndrome) is a serious form of abuse that usually occurs when a parent or caregiver shakes an infant out of anger or frustration, often because of prolonged periods of crying. Severe shaking causes an infant’s head to move violently back and forth resulting in serious or fatal brain injury. There is often no external evidence indicating a child has been shaken. The following signs and symptoms may indicate shaken baby syndrome:

• Altered level of consciousness
• Drowsiness accompanied by irritability
• Coma
• Convulsions or seizures
• Dilated pupils that do not respond to light
• Decreased appetite
• Vomiting
• Posture in which the head is bent back and the back arched
• Breathing problems and irregularities
• Abnormally slow and shallow respiration
• Cardiac arrest
• Death

Shaken Baby Syndrome is completely preventable. Caring for an infant can present challenges and frustrations, however, it is never acceptable to shake a baby. The following tips may help prevent abuse:

• Take a deep breath and count to 10
• Take time out and ask another caregiver to take over momentarily
• Call someone for emotional support
• Communicate with parents-–there may be a medical reason why the baby is crying
• If you suspect a child has been shaken, call emergency medical services

See

Now let’s think about how knowledge of child development looks in a classroom or program. Often knowledge of child development comes across as realistic expectations for behavior. Having the right expectations for children of various ages ensure that we are providing appropriate interactions and responses based on their age and level. Watch this video to learn more about realistic expectations.

Read the following statements from staff members. On the left, you see unrealistic expectations. On the right you see realistic expectations. Which classrooms or programs do you think feel like better places to be for children? Which staff members do you think feel less stressed at the end of the day?

Do

How can you make sure your expectations of children are appropriate?

• Continue to learn all you can about child development throughout your career. The Virtual Lab School has courses that will help you learn more about cognitive, physical, and social development. You will also learn about how children develop communication skills and a healthy sense of self.
• Gather information about child development to share with families. The handouts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the Apply section are a good place to start, but your program or curriculum might have other resources you can share.
• As a new employee, spend time observing children in the program where you work. This will help you begin to understand what is typical for your age range. Also visit classrooms or programs for children who are older or younger. This will help you take the long view on development. If you expect the same thing from 2-year-olds that you see happening in the preschool classroom, you are setting yourself up for frustration.
• Remember what you have learned here when you get frustrated. It can be frustrating when a toddler says “No” or bites, but this is a part of growing up. Many of the behaviors that challenge adults are very typical parts of development. If you have a concern about a child’s behavior, talk to your trainer, administrator, or coach. He or she can help give you perspective on whether the behaviors are typical.
• Ask for help when you need it. We all need new ideas and support. When you are feeling frustrated or unsure about what to do for a child, ask a trainer or co-worker for ideas. This is a great way to build your own social connections and professional knowledge.