CUTE RELATIONSHIP WITH CHILDREN

•Develop a warm, caring relationship with children: Show them that you care deeply about them. Express joy in who they are. Help them to feel safe and secure.

•Serve-and-return: Like a tennis match, how you respond to a child’s cues and clues makes a world of difference in their learning. Notice their rhythms and moods, even in the first days and weeks of life. Respond to children when they are upset as well as when they are happy. Try to understand what children are feeling, what they are telling you (in words or actions), and what they are trying to do. Hold and touch them; play with them in a way that lets you follow their lead. Move in when children want to play, and pull back when they seem to have had enough stimulation.

•Recognize that each child is unique: Keep in mind that from birth, children have different natures, that they grow at their own step, and that this step varies from child to child. At the same time, have positive expectations about what children can do and hold on to the belief that every child can succeed.

•Talk, read, and sing to children: Surround them with language. Maintain an ongoing conversation with them about what you and they are doing. Sing to them, play music, tell stories and read books. Ask babies and preschoolers to guess what will come next in a story. Play word games. Ask babies and preschoolers questions that require more than a yes or no answer, like “What do you think…?” Ask children to picture things that have happened in the past or might happen in the future. Provide reading and writing materials, including crayons and paper, books, magazines, and toys. These are key pre-reading experiences.

•Encourage safe exploration and play: Give children opportunities to move around, explore and play. Help them to explore relationships as well. Arrange for children to spend time with children of their own age and of other ages and support their learning to solve the fights that certainly arise.

•Use discipline to teach: Talk to children about what they seem to be feeling and teach them words to describe those feelings. Make it clear that while you might not like the way they are behaving, you love them. Explain the rules and values of behavior so children can learn the “whys” behind what you are asking them to do. Tell them what you want them to do, not just what you don’t want them to do. Point out how their behavior affects others.

•Establish habits: Create habits and rites for special times during the day like mealtime, rest time, and bedtime. Try to be sure so the children know that they can count on you.

•Become involved in child care and preschool: Keep in close touch with your children’s child care providers or teachers about what they are doing. Occasionally, especially during transitions, spend time with your children while they are being cared for by others. The caring relationships they form outside of the home are among the most important relationships they have.

-Y.Lilly nirmala santhi