In Search of a Definition

The theme of this year’s CECEAA Conference was “Growing Sustainability: Whakapakari Matatū”. The subtitle was “Ka whangaia, ka tupu, ka puawai: That which is nurtured, blossoms and grows.”

In the light of this we defined “Sustainable Practice for Infants and Toddlers” in this way: “Sustainable” can be defined as “able to be sustained, able to last or continue for a long time", while “sustain” means “to supply with sustenance, to nourish, to give support or relief”. Therefore, “Sustainable Practice for Infants and Toddlers” is practice that nourishes the body and soul, gives support and lasts for a long time, i.e. it has long lasting benefits.

At a workshop I attended last year we were asked to consider a scenario similar to this: if a child enters an early childhood setting at 4 months old and is in care from 8.00 am - 5.30 pm five days a weeks for 48 weeks of the year, by the time they start school at five, they will have spent 10,640 hours in an early childhood setting. That same child, starting school at age five and spending from 9.00 am - 3.30 pm (the typical length of a school day) in the classroom, five days a week for 40 weeks of the year (since there are 12 weeks of holidays in the school calendar), will have passed their thirteenth birthday by the time they have spent as much time in the classroom as they did in an early childhood centre.

Furthermore, brain research shows that in the first three years, relationships are critical. The quality or lack of will determine how the brain develops in the early years. For more information on this visit Brainwave Trust, or better still, attend one of their seminars. What we now know about the brain and how it develops has huge implications for infants and toddlers in care.

We cannot hide our heads in the sand and pretend that what we’re doing is “good enough”. There is no room for mediocrity, or second best. It is critical – absolutely critical - that we get it right. There is too much at stake and we must ensure that our practices meet the needs – physical, emotional, spiritual, and cognitive – of the precious ones entrusted to our care.