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support in acquiring new motor, language and thinking skills
a chance to develop some independence
help in learning how to control their own behavior
opportunities to begin to learn to care for themselves daily opportunities to play with a variety of objects
opportunities to develop fine motor skills encouragement of language through talking, reading, singing
activities which will develop a positive sense of mastery opportunities to learn cooperation, helping, sharing
experimentation with pre-writing and pre-reading skills
The Importance of Care
A child’s requirements for care includes much more than keeping the child safe and free from harm. Care giving behaviors include breastfeeding; providing emotional security and reducing the child's stress; providing shelter, clothing, feeding, bathing, supervision of the child's toilet; preventing and attending to illness; nurturing and showing affection, interaction and stimulation; playing and socializing; protecting from exposure to pathogens; and providing a relatively safe environment for exploration (Zeitlin 1991, Myers 1992). A second set of care giving behaviors includes the use of resources outside the family, including curative and preventative health clinics, prenatal care, the use of traditional healers, and members of the extended family network (Engle 1992). All of these behaviors are a part of supporting the development of young children.
In the context of feeding, caring practices include frequent physical contact, being consistently responsive to the child's needs and showing affection to the child. Care also includes active feeding which means being aware of how much the child is eating, offering the child a second helping, assisting the child in the use of a utensil instead of expecting complete self-feeding, and offering praise for eating (Engle 1992).
The studies of feeding are but one example of current research that indicates the powerful effect of the interaction between the child and the environment on growth and development. Another example comes from longitudinal studies of children growing up in poverty. In Hawaii, Werner (1982) identified children who were able to thrive even though the conditions under which they were raised suggested they would be malnourished and not develop well. She termed those children that did well resilient.
In her research, Werner sought to identify what makes some children more resilient. She concluded, as have others, that the differences between children who thrive and those who falter are determined by the type of interaction that occurs between the child and the environment. The child's ability to thrive is greatly enhanced by the amount of affective stimulation and the kind of care the child receives. This clearly supports the contention that it is not enough to merely provide food. The child needs food and care.
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Extracted from “Health Care: The Care Required to Survive and Thrive”
by Evans, Judith L., The Consultative Group on Early Childhood Care and Development, Coordinators’ Notebook No.13, 1993
Zeitlen, M., H. Ghassemi and M. Mansour. Positive Deviance in Child Nutrition, with Emphasis on Psychosocial and Behavioural Aspects and Implications for Development. Tokyo: The United Nations University, 1990
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