Child care -- United States ; Child development -- United States ; Education, Preschool -- Activity programs -- United States 

A keystone of both Magda Gerber and Emmi Pikler’s work is respect. Until Gerber introduced its use to the United States, the word respect was nor part of the vocabulary of most American infant-toddler caregivers. Respect is one of the themes that runs throughout Infants, toddlers, and Caregivers, and respect is an important component of the curriculum the book advocates, a curriculum that is aIl-inclusive and which centers on connections and relationships. Briefly, the term am'imlum is about educating, but in the infant-toddler world, care and education are one and the same. In this book, curriculum has to do with respecting and responding to each child’s needs in warm, respectful, and sensitive ways that promote attachment and allow children to explore and play on their own. Curriculum embraces everything that happens during the day-whether the child is alone or with other children or having sensitive interactions with an adult. Those adult-child interactions may be part of caregiving activities, both planned and unplanned, but they go way beyond. Even the down times during the day, when caregivers just hang out with the little ones, can include the kinds of interactions that make up curriculum.

Perhaps the most important feature of this book is the consistency with which it outlines well-established practices designed to promote infants’ and toddlers’ total well-being, including physical and mental growth and development, mental health, emotional stability, and human relationships. This book also looks at the importance that sensitive care and good program planning have on the identity formation of infants and toddlers.

The Ten Principles found on pages 5-6 are the underlying framework for this book Respect is an attitude that shows up in behavior. Respectful behaviors on the part of caregivers are the basis of the Ten Principles, which show how respect applies to treating babies as people when changing a diaper, communicating with them, and facilitating their growth, development, and learning. The book refers back to the Ten Principles in every chapter. In addition, a Principles in Action feature in each chapter uses a scenario to further explain the individual principles. 

Newsprint ; Ill. ; 23 cm
Includes bibliographic references and index