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Infants, Toddlers, and Caregivers: A

Curriculum of Respectful, Responsive,


Relationship-Based Care and Education
Dianne Widmeyer Eyer
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Eleventh Edition

Infants, Toddlers,
and Caregivers
A Curriculum of Respectful, Responsive, Relationship-
Based Care and Education

Janet Gonzalez-Mena
Napa Valley College

Dianne Widmeyer Eyer


Cañada College
INFANTS, TODDLERS, AND CAREGIVERS, ELEVENTH EDITION
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gonzalez-Mena, Janet, author. | Eyer, Dianne Widmeyer, author.
Infants, toddlers, and caregivers : a curriculum of respectful,
responsive, relationship-based care and education/Janet Gonzalez-Mena,
Napa Valley College, Dianne Widmeyer Eyer, Canada College.
Eleventh edition. | New York, NY : McGraw-Hill Education, [2018]
LCCN 2016045841 | ISBN 9781259870460 (alk. paper)
LCSH: Child care—United States. | Child development—United
States. | Education, Preschool—Activity programs—United States.
LCC HQ778.63 .G663 2018 | DDC 305.2310973—dc23 LC record
available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016045841

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mheducation.com/highered
To Magda Gerber, Emmi Pikler, and Anna Tardos
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About the Authors

Way back in the 1970s Janet Gonzalez-Mena and Dianne Widmeyer Eyer met when
they were both teaching early childhood education in a community college. The pro-
gram focused on preschool even though infants and toddlers were starting to come
into child care programs.
The two authors decided to do something about that problem. Janet became an
intern in a program called the Demonstration Infant Program, where Magda Gerber
taught her unique philosophy of respect and responsiveness for infant-toddler care
on which this book is based. Janet’s internship helped her earn a master’s degree in
human development. In the 1980s Gerber and others created a new program called
Resources for Infant Educarers (RIE), through which Janet was made a RIE Associ-
ate, the highest certification. Dianne completed a second master’s degree in special
education, and together the two worked to expand the field of early childhood educa-
tion to include infants and toddlers, special education, and family child care provid-
ers. Writing this book together was one of the things they did.
A few years later both authors became more involved with family child care. As
director of Child Care Services for the Family Service Agency of San Mateo County,
California, Janet supervised a network of family child care homes that served infants
and toddlers as well as preschoolers. Under her direction, the agency opened a new
infant center and also created a pilot program of therapeutic child care for abused
and neglected infants and toddlers. Dianne worked with the Child Care Coordinating
Council of San Mateo County to develop a training program for family child care
providers at Cañada College. This curriculum also models the Gerber philosophy of
respect and responsiveness for infant-toddler care.
Janet went on to teach at Napa Valley College, retiring in 1998. Today she con-
tinues to educate infant-toddler caregivers in different settings. She trains trainers in
WestEd’s Program for Infant/Toddler Care (PITC) and speaks at conferences in the
United States and abroad. As a longtime (43 years) member of the National Asso-
ciation for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), Janet served two terms on
the Consulting Editors Panel. She worked on a Head Start project to create a user’s
guide for their Multicultural Principles. Janet is becoming an internationally recog-
nized author as some of her books are translated into German, Chinese, Japanese,
and Hebrew. Janet belongs to the California Community College Early Childhood

v
vi About the Authors

Educators, BANDTEC, a diversity trainers’ network, and serves on the board of


Pikler/Lóczy Fund USA.
Dianne continued teaching at Cañada College, where she developed several cur-
riculum specializations in early childhood education and child development, includ-
ing children with special needs, family support, “Safe Start” violence intervention
and prevention in the early years, and home-based child care. She has been a member
of NAEYC since 1970. Dianne retired from Cañada College in 2005 after 36 years
of teaching and 27 years as the ECE/CD Department Chair. She coordinated, from
2000 to 2015, a grant she wrote for First 5 San Mateo County to provide academic
supports to early childhood educators and to enhance workforce development in the
ECE profession.
The current interests of both authors still relate to education. Dianne’s interests
involve supporting literacy skills for adult second language learners and providing
specific supports related to career development for the diverse population in the ECE
workforce. She is currently studying art education and art as therapy, and is involved
with docent training at a near-by museum. She also enjoys hiking, gardening, and
music. Janet’s personal interests lie in her grandchildren including her granddaugh-
ter Nika, “A RIE baby,” who is now 9, her 4 year old grandson, Cole, and his baby
brother, Paul. She also speaks around the country, and sometimes abroad, about
Pikler, Gerber, and RIE. Janet continues working with early educators and others
around diversity and issues of equity and social justice.
Brief Contents

Contents ix
Preface xix part 3
Resources for Caregivers xxix Focus on the Program 251
12 The Physical Environment 253
part 1 13 The Social Environment 283
Focus on the Caregiver 1 14 Adult Relations in Infant-Toddler Care
1 Principles, Practice, and Curriculum 3
and Education Programs 303

2 Infant-Toddler Education 23
appendix A
3 Caregiving as Curriculum 45
4 Play and Exploration as Curriculum 69
Quality in Infant-Toddler Programs:
A Checklist 324
appendix B
part 2
Environmental Chart 326
Focus on the Child 89 Notes 338
5 Attachment 91
Glossary 346
6 Perception 111
Index 352
7 Motor Skills 129
8 Cognition 155
9 Language 179
10 Emotions 205
11 Social Skills 231

vii
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Contents

Preface xix

Resources for Caregivers xxix

part 1 Focus on the Caregiver 1

chapter 1

Principles, Practice, and Curriculum 3


What Do You See? 3
Relationships, Interactions, and the Three Rs 4
Caregiving Routines as Opportunities for Three-R Interactions 5
Ten Principles Based on a Philosophy of Respect 5
Principle 1: Involve Infants and Toddlers in Things
That Concern Them 6
© Jude Keith Rose Principle 2: Invest in Quality Time 7
Principle 3: Learn Each Child’s Unique Ways of Communicating
and Teach Yours 9
Video Observation 1: Baby Crying 10
Principle 4: Invest Time and Energy to Build a Total Person 11
Principle 5: Respect Infants and Toddlers as Worthy People 11
Principle 6: Be Honest about Your Feelings 13
Principle 7: Model the Behavior You Want to Teach 14
Principle 8: Recognize Problems as Learning Opportunities,
and Let Infants and Toddlers Try to Solve Their Own 15
Principle 9: Build Security by Teaching Trust 15
Principle 10: Be Concerned about the Quality of Development in
Each Stage 16

ix
x Contents

Curriculum and Developmentally Appropriate Practice 18


The Principles in Action Principle 5 18
Appropriate Practice 19
Summary 20
Key Terms 21
Thought/Activity Questions 21
For Further Reading 21

chapter 2

Infant-Toddler Education 23
What Do You See? 23
What Infant-Toddler Education Is Not 24
Infant Stimulation 24
Babysitting 24
Preschool 25
What Infant-Toddler Education Is: The Components 25
© Frank Gonzalez-Mena Curriculum as the Foundation of Infant-Toddler Education 26
Video Observation 2: Toddler Playing with a Tube and a Ball 27
Implementing the Curriculum 27
Assessing the Effectiveness of the Curriculum:
Observing and Recording 28
Education as Facilitating Problem Solving 30
The Principles in Action Principle 8 31
The Adult Role in Facilitating Problem Solving 31
Appropriate Practice 39
Infant-Toddler Education and School Readiness 41
Summary 42
Key Terms 43
Thought/Activity Questions 43
For Further Reading 43

chapter 3

Caregiving as Curriculum 45
What Do You See? 45
Thinking Again About Infant-Toddler Curriculum 46
Planning for Attachment 46
Policies That Support Curriculum as Caregiving 47
Assessment 48

© Frank Gonzalez-Mena
Contents xi

Caregiving Routines 49
Feeding 50
Video Observation 3: Children Feeding Themselves 53
Diapering 55
Toilet Training and Toilet Learning 56
Washing, Bathing, and Grooming 57
  Differing Needs and Perspectives 58
Dressing 59
Napping 61
The Principles in Action Principle 1 61
Appropriate Practice 64
Summary 66
Key Terms 67
Thought/Activity Questions 67
For Further Reading 67

chapter 4

Play and Exploration as Curriculum 69


What Do You See? 69
Adult Roles in Play 73
Setting Up Environments for Play 73
Encouraging Interactions and Then Stepping Back 74
Video Observation 4: Toddlers Playing Outside 75
Supporting Problem Solving 76
© Lynne Doherty Lyle
Observing 77
Environmental Factors That
Influence Play 78
Group Size and Age Span 78
The Principles in Action Principle 2 79
Setting Up the Environment to Support Play 80
Happenings 81
Free Choice 82
The Problem of the Match 83
Appropriate Practice 85
Summary 86
Key Terms 87
Thought/Activity Questions 87
For Further Reading 88
xii Contents

part 2 Focus on the Child 89

chapter 5

Attachment 91
What Do You See? 91
Brain Research 92
Brain Building Blocks and Brain Circuitry 93
Quality Experiences and Stable Neural Pathways 93
Mirror Neurons: Actions and Observations 95
The Principles in Action Principle 9 96
© Frank Gonzalez-Mena Milestones of Attachment 97
Attachment Behaviors: Birth to Six Months 97
Attachment Behavior: Seven to Eighteen Months 98
Supporting Attachment in Quality Programs 98
Video Observation 5: T
 oddler “Checking in” While Playing
with Chairs 99
Developmental Pathways: Attachment 100
Measuring Attachment 100
Early Research and Contemporary Issues 101
Attachment Issues 102
Infants with Few Attachment Behaviors 102
Infants Who Experience Neglect or Indifference 102
Brain Growth and Attachment-Based Programs 103
Children with Special Needs: The Importance of Early Intervention 104
What Is Early Intervention? 104
Developmental Pathways: Attachment Behaviors 106
Summary 108
Key Terms 109
Thought/Activity Questions 109
For Further Reading 109

chapter 6

Perception 111
What Do You See? 111
Sensory Integration 112
Hearing 114
Video Observation 6: B
 oy Exploring Toy Car Using Touch
and Sound 115
© Lynne Doherty Lyle
Contents xiii

Smell and Taste 116


Touch 117
The Principles in Action Principle 7 119
Sight 119
Multisensory Experiences and
the Outdoor Environment 121
Children with Special Needs: Educating Families about the
Individualized Family Service Plan 122
Developmental Pathways: Behaviors Showing Development
of Perception 124
Summary 126
Key Terms 127
Thought/Activity Questions 127
For Further Reading 127

chapter 7

Motor Skills 129


What Do You See? 129
Physical Growth and Motor Skills 130
Brain Growth and Motor Development 131
Importance of Free Movement, Observation, and Imitation 132
Reflexes 133
The Principles in Action Principle 10 134
© Frank Gonzalez-Mena
Large Motor Skills and Locomotion 134
Research from the Pikler Institute 135
Video Observation 7: Children Climbing Stairs 136
Small Motor Skills and Manipulation 140
Encouraging Self-Help Skills 142
Fostering Motor Development 143
Children with Special Needs: Finding Resources 146

Developmental Pathways: Behaviors Showing Development
of Motor Skills 150
Summary 151
Key Terms 152
Thought/Activity Questions 152
For Further Reading 153
xiv Contents

chapter 8

Cognition 155
What Do You See? 155
The Cognitive Experience 156
Sensorimotor Experience: Piaget 157
Sociocultural Influences:
Vygotsky and Piaget 159
© Lynne Doherty Lyle Self-Regulating Learners 160
Social Interaction and Cognition 161
Language and Cognition 163
Play and Cognition 165
The Principles in Action Principle 8 166
Supporting Cognitive Development 167
The Importance of Real-Life Experiences 167
Brain-Based Learning 168
Video Observation 8: Father Diapering Toddler 169
Children with Special Needs: Early Childhood Inclusion 171

Developmental Pathways: B
 ehaviors Showing Development
of Cognition 172
Summary 175
Key Terms 176
Thought/Activity Questions 176
For Further Reading 177

chapter 9

Language 179
What Do You See? 179
The Progression of Language Development 180
Receptive Language: The Importance of Responsiveness 182
Expressive Language: The Importance of Familiar Contexts 183
What Language Allows a Child to Do: The Cognitive Link 184
The Brain and Early Language Development 184
© Frank Gonzalez-Mena
Video Observation 9: Children Eating at Table with Caregiver 185
Brain Activity and Language Competency 186
Fostering Language Development 187
Early Literacy 189
The Principles in Action Principle 3 189
Early Literacy and School Readiness 191
Contents xv

Cultural Differences, Bilingualism and Dual Language Learners 194


Goals of the “Language Relationship” 195
Children with Special Needs: Supporting Parents and Families 197

Developmental Pathways: Behaviors Showing Development of Language 199
Summary 200
Key Terms 202
Thought/Activity Questions 202
For Further Reading 202

chapter 10

Emotions 205
What Do You See? 205
The Development of Emotions and Feelings 206
Temperament and Resiliency 208
Resiliency and Healthy Emotional Development 211
Helping Infants and Toddlers Cope with Fears 212
Helping Infants and Toddlers Cope with Anger 215
© Frank Gonzalez-Mena
Video Observation 10: Child Trying to Get Her Turn in a Swing 216
The Principles in Action Principle 6 217
Self-Calming Techniques 218
Developing Self-Direction
and Self-Regulation 219
The Emotional Brain 221
Stress and Early Brain Development 222
The Impact of Neglect 223
Children with Special Needs: Challenges and Trends 223

Developmental Pathways: Behavior Showing Development of Emotions 226
Summary 227
Key Terms 229
Thought/Activity Questions 229
For Further Reading 229

chapter 11

Social Skills 231


What Do You See? 231
The Principles in Action Principle 4 233
© Lynne Doherty Lyle Early Social Behaviors 233
xvi Contents

Stages of Psychosocial Development 234


Trust 234
Autonomy 237
Initiative 238
Guidance and Discipline: Teaching Social Skills 238
Security and Control for Infants 239
Limits for Toddlers 239
Teaching Prosocial Skills 241
Promoting Healthy Brain Growth 243
Video Observation 11: Girls Playing Together 244
The Special Need of All Children: Self-Esteem 245
Experiences That Foster Self-Esteem 245
Developmental Pathways: Behaviors Showing Development of Social Skills 246
Summary 248
Key Terms 248
Thought/Activity Questions 249
For Further Reading 249

part 3 Focus on the Program 251

chapter 12

The Physical Environment 253


What Do You See? 253
A Safe Environment 254
Creating a Safe Physical Environment: A Checklist 254
A Healthful Environment 256
Creating a Healthful and Sanitary Environment:
A Checklist 256
© Lynne Doherty Lyle Nutrition 257
Feeding Infants 257
Feeding Toddlers 258
Video Observation 12: Feeding Routine 259
The Learning Environment 260
Layout 261
Eating 265
Sleeping 265
Diapering 265
Toileting 265
Developmental Appropriateness 266
Appropriate Environments for Infants 266
Contents xvii

Appropriate Environments for Toddlers 266


Family Child Care and Mixed-Age Groups 267
The Principles in Action Principle 8 267
What Should Be in the Play Environment 270
Toys and Materials for Inside 271
Toys and Materials for Outside 272
Assessing the Quality of an Infant-Toddler Environment 273
Balancing Soft and Hard 273
Providing for Intrusion and Seclusion 273
Encouraging Mobility 274
The Open-Closed Dimension 274
The Simple-Complex Dimension 274
Scale 275
Aesthetics 275
Acoustics 276
Order 276
Appropriate Practice 278
Summary 280
Key Terms 281
Thought/Activity Questions 281
For Further Reading 281

chapter 13

The Social Environment 283


What Do You See? 283
Identity Formation 284
The Principles in Action Principle 1 284
Attachment 285
Self-Image 286

© Lynne Doherty Lyle


Cultural Identity 287
Gender Identity 291
Self-Concept and Discipline 293
Video Observation 13: C
 hild in Sandbox (Redirection) 294
Modeling Self-Esteem by
Taking Care of Yourself 297
Appropriate Practice 298
Summary 299
Key Terms 301
Thought/Activity Questions 301
For Further Reading 301
xviii Contents

chapter 14

Adult Relations in Infant-Toddler Care and


Education Programs 303
What Do You See? 303
Parent-Caregiver Relations 304
© Lynne Doherty Lyle Caregiver Stages of Relating to Parents 304
The Principles in Action Principle 3 305
Communication with Parents and/or Family Members 306
Service Plan: Focus on the Child 306
Service Plan: Focus on the Family 307
Communication Blocks 308
Opening Up Communication 309
Issues of Parents of Children with Special Needs 310
Parent Education 314
Parents of Children with Special Needs 314
Early Care and Education Professionals 314
Video Observation 14: G
 irl Crawling through Low Window
(Parent Ed Program) 315
Relating to the Parents of a Child Who Isn’t Doing Well 316
Caregiver Relations 317
The Family Child Care Provider 317
Center Staff 317
Respect as the Key to Adult Relationships 318
Appropriate Practice 320
Summary 322
Key Terms 322
Thought/Activity Questions 322
For Further Reading 323

appendix A
Quality in Infant-Toddler Programs: A Checklist 324
appendix B
Environmental Chart 326
Notes 338

Glossary 346

Index 352
Preface

The Philosophy of Infants, Toddlers,


and Caregivers
When this textbook was published in 1980 the idea of infants and toddlers in out-of-
home care was brand new, although child care for preschoolers was well established.
Both authors were teaching early childhood education classes in a California commu-
nity college. These classes focused on three and four year olds because programs for
infants and toddlers were unknown. Both authors quickly realized that there was a need
for teacher training in the area of infant-toddler care. Preschool classes did not help the
practicum students working in centers with children under three-years-of age. When
observing students working in preschool programs that also included limited numbers
of two-year-olds, it became obvious that the teachers were somewhat challenged by
two-year-olds and seemed to just want them to grow up. The preschool teachers had
many complaints and questions such as, “How do you get those younger children to
sit still for circle time?” The community college preschool curriculum classes did not
support students’ work with very young children; more specific curriculum was needed
related to the care of infants and toddlers. The idea for this textbook was born as a result
of these issues in the office of Dianne Eyer at Cañada College in Northern California.
At the time Gonzalez-Mena was studying with Magda Gerber, a Los Angeles
infant expert. Gerber was from Hungary where her friend and colleague, Dr. Emmi
Pikler, a theorist and researcher, had established group care for infants and toddlers
after World War II—a program which was still running at the time the two authors
met. The focus of Pikler’s nursery was to care for infants and toddlers whose families
could not, and to provide them with a strong start in life. This first nursery became a
model for other residential nurseries in Europe once it was learned that the children
who spent their first three years in this very particular kind of residential care grew
up to be stable, productive adults. Their ability to establish long-term relationships
was a great accomplishment for institutional care. Emmi Pikler died in 1984, but the
Pikler Institute, incorporating research and training, continues under the director-
ship of Pikler’s daughter, Anna Tardos, and though changed somewhat is still in
xix
xx Preface

operation. Today it focuses on child care for infants and toddlers, as well as parent
education, rather than on residential care.
Upon meeting Gerber, it became obvious to both authors that a new community
college class focusing on the care and education of infants and toddlers was greatly
needed. This 11th edition is an outgrowth of the first textbook the authors designed
to meet that need.
Magda Gerber wrote the Foreword to that original textbook which emphasized the
idea of respectful, responsive and, reciprocal adult-infant interactions, still a major
theme in the 11th edition. As with each edition, the cornerstone of the text has been
the same—the philosophy of Magda Gerber and the theory of Emmi Pikler.
Gonzalez-Mena besides being a student of Magda Gerber’s in the 1970s continued
to be a close friend of hers until Gerber’s death in 2007. Gonzalez-Mena has been able
to observe and study at the Pikler Institute a number of times, as well as assist in train-
ings in the United States conducted by Anna Tardos, present director of the Institute.
Gonzalez-Mena’s experience with these three amazing women confirmed for her how
much the Pikler research and the Gerber philosophy can assist infant-toddler centers in
the United States and around the world. Magda Gerber’s work has been known in the
United States for a number of years, and its reputation continues under the auspices of
the organization Gerber founded, Resources for Infant Educarers (RIE). Magda Gerber
was one of the first to publish some of Pikler’s research in English. A new edition
of what’s called the RIE Manual is now available and updated with further work in
English, some of which has been written by Gerber’s followers. The RIE Manual can
be found at www.rie.org. Pikler’s works in English can be accessed at www.Pikler.org
and at the European website for Pikler, which is www.aipl.org. The approach to infant-
toddler care created by these two women has made a “dent” in the early care and educa-
tion world. The authors of this text are proud and humble to support these approaches.

The Ten Principles: A Philosophy of Respect


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 not part of the vocabulary
of most American infant-toddler caregivers. Respect is one of the major themes that runs
throughout Infants, Toddlers, and Caregivers, and respect is an important component of
the curriculum the book advocates. This curriculum is all-inclusive and centers on con-
nections and relationships. Briefly, the term curriculum 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.
Preface xxi

The book also looks at the importance of sensitive care and good program planning, and
the impact they have on the identity formation of infants and toddlers.
The Ten Principles found on pages 10 –16 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 caregiving, communicating with them, and facili-
tating their growth, development, and learning. The book refers 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.

A Focus on Application and Practice


Knowing about is different from knowing how to. Knowing about means learning
theory. Knowing how to puts theory into action. We purposely organized this book to
emphasize action because we know that even people with considerable understand-
ing of infants and toddlers have trouble acting on that understanding unless they have
also learned to apply theory. Knowledge does not necessarily build skill. Caregivers
who have knowledge but lack confidence in their ability to use it may suffer from
“analysis paralysis,” which prevents them from making quick decisions, stating their
feelings clearly, and taking needed action. A common pattern when analysis paralysis
strikes is inaction, indecision, then overemotional or otherwise inappropriate reac-
tion, followed by more inaction. When adults have analysis paralysis and either can-
not react or react inconsistently, infants cannot learn to predict what will happen as a
result of their own actions. This learning to predict what effect they have on the world
is a primary accomplishment of infants in early life.

Terminology
In this book, the youngest children—those from newborn to walking—are called
infants. Children who are walking (from about a year old to two years) are called young
toddlers. Children from two to three are called older toddlers. Children from three to
five are called preschoolers. Please note that these labels and descriptions apply to
children who are typically developing. When development is atypical, the labels and
descriptions don’t fit as well. For example, a child who has reached the stage when
other children walk may have many other characteristics of that age group even though
she doesn’t walk; not all toddlers toddle, but that doesn’t mean they should be thought
of as infants. If you visit many infant-toddler programs, you will find that the adults
in the teacher/caregiver role go by different titles. Educarer, teacher, caregiver, and
infant care teacher are four different terms used. In this book we have mainly used the
word caregiver to emphasize the importance of “caring” in programs for the youngest
children. The caregiver role incorporates that of teacher and educator.

Organization of the Text


By starting with the interactive aspect of caregiving, we highlight this philosophy from
the beginning pages. Thus the book is organized in a unique way. Part 1 (Chapters 1– 4)
xxii Preface

is about caregiving. It focuses on the caregivers’ actions and relationships with the
children and how these actions and relationships make up the curriculum. Part 2
(Chapters 5–11) presents child development information, along with the curriculum
implications of that information. It also includes topics related to early childhood spe-
cial education. Part 3 (Chapters 12–14) takes a programmatic point of view (look-
ing at both center and family child care programs) and includes environments as well
as adult-adult relationships. Appendix A gives a checklist for determining quality
in infant-toddler programs. Appendix B includes a popular and well-used environ-
mental chart that combines the information from all three parts of the book into one
concise but comprehensive chart designed for practical use in program planning and
implementation. The glossary at the end of the book consists of the key terms from all
the chapters.

A Focus on Diversity and Inclusion


Honoring diversity and including children with special needs in infant-toddler programs
is a strong point of this text. Topics related to early childhood special education
appear throughout the text, and also have their own place at the end of each chapter in
Part 2. We have focused more on cultural differences and inclusion with each
edition. Though we present a cohesive philosophy, we urge readers to recognize
that there are multiple views on every aspect of infant-toddler care. Strive to honor
differences and work respectfully with families who represent them. It is important
to respect and respond to linguistic differences in positive ways, supporting the
child’s home language, whatever it might be. Our emphasis on self-reflection helps
caregivers who might feel uncomfortable in the face of differences. Only when
caregivers understand themselves can they understand infants, toddlers, and their
families. Sensitivity is an important qualification for anyone who works with very
young children. For that reason, the reader is asked to focus on personal experience
throughout this book.

New to the Eleventh Edition


I: Self-Regulation and Resiliency
Self-regulation and resiliency are key topics in the field of early care and education
today. Young children who can control their own feelings and regulate their behavior
start school ready to succeed in the classroom. And young children who learn to
manage their fear and overcome adversity in an adaptive manner, set the stage for
becoming competent individuals with life long coping skills.
This eleventh edition of infants, Toddlers and Caregivers reflects more of the
current research related to these important areas of development. The two traits are
considered “dynamic processes”; they start at birth and continue throughout life.
They involve the whole child—body, cognition, and feelings. They move from an
automatic response to a more considered one. Research is indicating that the most
important factor influencing these areas of development is the early interaction
Preface xxiii

between infants and their caregivers. Responsive and nurturing interactions foster
healthy growth and early brain development.
Respectful interactions, and guides to support these two aspects of development,
appear in most of the chapters in this edition. Play is a particularly relevant topic
throughout this text and its development fosters and supports self-regulation and
resiliency. During play, aspects of self-regulation show up as a physical skill, as
emotional development, and also as intellectual achievement as infants and toddlers
figure out how to make things happen. Making choices and gaining self control also
help very young children to make connections to cope with new and challenging
(sometimes stressful) experiences. The early developmental opportunities for play,
and the sensitive interactions of caring adults, support young children’s self-reliance
and provide a protective buffer against stress.

II: Even Greater Focus on Play


Play has become a large interest and concern for early childhood professionals as
academics and school readiness issues creep into the nursery! In light of that devel-
opment, play as a key topic has been expanded throughout this eleventh edition. Eva
Kallo’s overview has been included and gives more structure to what Magda Gerber
and Emmi Pikler taught for many years. As infants and toddlers play, they experi-
ence challenges. Immobile infants struggle with how to get the toy just beyond reach,
and toddlers struggle with how to make something large fit into something smaller.
It is easy for adults to help out and make both children happy by showing them how
to fit pieces together and by putting the toy within reach. Both Gerber and Pikler
cautioned against the goals of just making children happy. They taught adults not to
rescue children who are working on solving a problem. Sticking to something and
not giving up, even when frustrated, fosters competence and long-range success in
life. Traits like persistence are the subject of researchers like Angela Duckworth, who
labels such qualities “grit.” Gerber would be surprised at the term “grit,” but that’s
just what she supported! It is clear from the work of Pikler that grit starts in infancy
and is influenced by nurturing adults who support and encourage problem solving.
This attitude obviously enhances self-regulation and resiliency, too.

III: “Screens” for Infants and Toddlers


The subject of “screens” for infants and toddlers continues to be an important issue
in this text. The American Academy of Pediatrics, and other research groups, has
focused a large amount of their attention on the effects of electronic devices with
screens in the first two to three years of a child’s life. What do very young children
learn from such devices? It ‘s difficult to determine. Does it hurt young children’s
development if they focus on digital images and do not spend time in the real world
with people and objects? Most likely. Does it matter if screens are interactive such
as Skype or smart phones? Maybe. The research continues with the American Acad-
emy of Pediatrics, and includes such topics as health and obesity in the early years.
Stay tuned.
xxiv Preface

IV: Language Development Research


The brain research continues to teach us more about language development in the
early years. Infants are born with the ability to hear and respond to the sounds of all
languages. Patricia Kuhl, a neuroscientist, has studied infant neural networks and
provides expanded knowledge on how very young children begin to select and attend
to the sounds of their mother tongue and move away from the sounds of other lan-
guages. An increase in brain activity, especially around 8 to 10 months, indicates the
development of this complex process. Research is also indicating that language acqui-
sition in the first two years is very much influenced by context. It may be more sig-
nificant than many realized, but young children need to hear familiar labels repeated
in familiar contexts by adults who are sensitive listeners and responsive caregivers.

V: Website Resources
The websites in this eleventh edition provide the reader with immediate access to ever
changing information. These in-depth resources are embedded in the chapters where
a specific topic is being discussed. They encourage critical thinking and exploration
across the curriculum in areas related to early care and education. Web sites in this
edition include resources on early childhood special education, early intervention
and inclusion, and early development and public policy.

Retained Features
A What Do You See? feature starts each chapter by showing a child or children in a
situation related to the material to follow and immediately engages the student in the
chapter’s subject matter. Students are encouraged to think back on these scenes later
in the chapter. In some of these scenes the age of the children is mentioned, but not
all. We left out age labels in the spirit of Magda Gerber, who used to say, “Why does
it matter how old the child is?” She was an advocate for appreciating what a child was
able to do, whether he was the “right age” or not.
The Video Observation is a popular feature in each chapter that introduces and
encourages students to think about the issues and concepts presented in online video
clips related to the chapter material. To view these clips, please access the Instructor
Resources through Connect.
The Principles in Action feature is a case study scenario followed by questions to
help students apply the content they have learned to a “real-life” situation. The Prin-
ciples in Action connects to the Appropriate Practice feature through boxes called
Appropriate Practice in Action. The Appropriate Practice feature summarizes points
of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) guide-
lines for developmentally appropriate practice related to the chapter topics. Each
Appropriate Practice feature has four sections:
1. Overview of Development
2. Developmentally Appropriate Practice
Preface xxv

3. Individually Appropriate Practice


4. Culturally Appropriate Practice
Sections 2 through 4 list points to keep in mind and practical suggestions for interact-
ing with infants and toddlers based on the NAEYC guidelines.
A Developmental Pathways feature is included in each of the chapters in Part 2. Each
feature begins with generalizations about stages of development by showing a chart of
behaviors related to the chapter topic (for example, attachment, perception, or motor
skills), and then uses examples of two different children to show diverse developmental
pathways. The details of each example are explored as to what you see, what you might
think, what you might not know, and what you might do.
The For Further Reading and References lists for each chapter have been expanded
and updated. In order to keep the book compact and affordable to students, Refer-
ences for this edition are provided on the Instructor Online Learning Center, avail-
able via Connect, McGraw-Hill Education’s integrated assignment and assessment
platform.

Pedagogy
Each chapter contains a pedagogical system designed to provide learning support for
students and to encourage students to reflect on and apply what they learn. Pedagogi-
cal features include:
•• Focus Questions that prepare students for the content to follow
•• Boldfaced in-text key terms that highlight key terminology and define it in
context of the paragraph in which it appears
•• The Principles in Action boxes that allow students to apply the principles to
scenarios
•• Appropriate Practice boxes that provide practical suggestions related to the
NAEYC guidelines for developmentally appropriate practice and refer to the
Principles in Action boxes, showing how appropriate practice can be applied
to the scenarios
•• Developmental Pathways boxes that list typical development and
variations
•• Chapter Summaries that contain key ideas of the chapters
•• Key Terms sections that list all key terms from the chapter, with page refer-
ences, and that are collated in an end-of-book glossary
•• Thought/Activity Questions that encourage students to review, reflect, and
apply what they are learning
•• For Further Reading lists that suggest additional readings
•• Video Observation features in each chapter with pedagogy to help readers
think about the video clips they view
•• NAEYC Program Standards listed in the margins next to related material
•• Reflection questions designed to help readers consider their own feelings and
experiences that relate to what they are reading
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xxviii Preface

The eleventh edition of Infants, Toddlers, and Caregivers is now available online
with Connect, McGraw-Hill Education’s integrated assignment and assessment plat-
form. Connect also offers SmartBook for the new edition, which is the first adaptive
reading experience proven to improve grades and help students study more effec-
tively. All of the title’s website and ancillary content is also available through Con-
nect, including:
•• An English-Spanish glossary of Early Childhood terms taken from the text.
Ofelia Garcia of Cabrillo College developed this glossary to support Spanish-
speaking students and students who anticipate working in communities where
English is not the first language.
•• A full Test Bank of multiple choice questions that test students on central
concepts and ideas in each chapter.
•• An Instructor’s Manual for each chapter with full chapter outlines, sample test
questions, and discussion topics.
•• Lecture Slides for instructor use in class.

Acknowledgments
We would like to acknowledge and thank the reviewers who provided feedback that
helped us prepare this Eleventh Edition of Infants, Toddlers, and Caregivers. These
instructors include:

Cheryl Brecheisen, College of Southern Nevada


Michelle A. Calkins, Western Colorado Community College / Colorado Mesa
University
Edilma Cavazos, Los Angeles Mission College
Anjeanette Csepi, Cuyahoga Community College
Amanda Dixon, Lake WA Institute of Technology / Ashford University
Benita Flores-Munoz, Del Mar College
Cynthia P. Galloway, Horry Georgetown Technical College
Jill Harrison, Delta College
Sharon Hirschy, Collin College
Deborah Leotsakos, Mass Bay Community College
Kerri D. Mahlum, Casper College
Rita Rzezuski, Bunker Hill Community College
Stephen Schroth, Towson University
Lena Y. Shiao, Monroe Community College
Lakisha Simpson, Citrus College
Susan Howland Thompson, Shasta College
Vicki Wangberg, Northwest Technical College
Resources for Caregivers

Available separately is The Caregiver’s Companion: Readings and Professional


Resources. The Caregiver’s Companion includes twenty-one readings regarding the Ten
Principles; curriculum; keeping toddlers safe and healthy; culture, identity, and families;
and including infants and toddlers with special needs. Readings include:
“Caring for Infants with Respect: “Helping a Baby Adjust to Center
The RIE Approach” by Magda Care” by Enid Elliot
Gerber “Toddlers: What to Expect” by Janet
“Curriculum and Lesson Planning: Gonzalez-Mena
A Responsive Approach” by “Creating a Landscape for Learning”
J. Ronald Lally by Louis Torelli and Charles
“Respectful, Individual, and Durrett
Responsive Caregiving for “The Impact of Child Care Policies
Infants” by Beverly Kovach and and Practices on Infant/Toddler
Denise Da Ros Identity Formation” by J. Ronald
“Facilitating the Play of Children at Lally
Loczy” by Anna Tardos “Cross-Cultural Conferences” by Janet
“A Primary Caregiving System for Gonzalez-Mena
Infants and Toddlers” by Jennifer “Sudden Infant Death Syndrome” by
L. Bernhardt Susan S. Aronson
Excerpt from “Our Moving Bodies “Supporting the Development of
Tell Stories, Which Speak of Our Infants and Toddlers with Special
Experiences” by Suzi Tortora Health Needs” by Cynthia
“The Development of Movement” Huffman
by Emmi Pikler “Breastfeeding Promotion in Child
“How Infants and Toddlers Use Care” by Laura Dutil Aird
Symbols” by Karen Miller “Cultural Dimensions of Feeding
“Preparing for Literacy: Relationships” by Carol Brunson
Communication Comes First” by Phillips and Renatta Cooper
Ruth Anne Hammond

xxix
xxx Resources for Caregivers

“Cultural Differences in Sleeping “Strategies for Supporting Infants


Practices” by Janet Gonzalez-Mena and Toddlers with Disabilities in
and Navaz Peshotan Bhavnagri Inclusive Child Care” by Donna
“Talking with Parents When Sullivan and Janet Gonzalez-Mena
Concerns Arise” by Linda Brault
and Janet Gonzalez-Mena
The Caregiver’s Companion also provides eighteen forms for tracking and
relaying information:
Registration Form Individual Child’s Record of
Tell Us About Your Child Medications Given
Identification and Emergency Form Incident Log
Infant Feeding Plan Incident Report
Daily Information Sheet Documentation of Concern for a
Sign-In Sheet Child
Diapering Log How Are We Doing? Family Feedback
Feeding Log Form
Allergy Notice Developmental Health History
Sample Exposure Notice Physician’s Report Form—Day Care
Medication Schedule Centers
part one

Focus on the
Caregiver
chapter 1

Principles, Practice,
and Curriculum
chapter 2

Infant-Toddler Education

chapter 3

Caregiving as Curriculum

chapter 4

Play and Exploration


as Curriculum

1
© Jude Keith Rose
chapter 1

Principles, Practice,
and Curriculum
Focus Questions
After reading this chapter you should
be able to answer the following
questions: What Do You See?
1 What kinds of interactions grow into
A five-month-old is lying on the floor with several play materials
the relationships that are so
important in infant-toddler care and scattered within reach. She is contentedly surveying the five other
education? infants and toddlers who are in the room with her. Reaching now
2 What is an example of an adult and then, she caresses a toy first with her eyes, then with her
behavior that shows respect to an hands. As we look more closely, we can see that some moisture
infant or toddler?
has crept onto the infant’s outer clothes in the area of her bottom.
3 What are some key words or phrases
The infant hears a step, and her eyes travel in the direction of the
for at least 5 of the 10 principles of
infant-toddler care and education? sound. Then we see a pair of legs and feet traveling along in the
4 Can you define the word curriculum direction of the infant. A voice says, “Caitlin, I’m wondering how
as it applies to infant and toddler you are getting along.”
care and education? The legs move over close to the blanket, and Caitlin looks
5 What are the roles of adults in up at the knees. Her eyes brighten as the rest of the person
infant-toddler curriculum?
appears in her visual range. A kind face comes close. Caitlin
6 What are the three knowledge bases
smiles and makes a cooing noise. The caregiver responds, then
of developmentally appropriate
practice as defined by the National notices the dampness of the clothing. “Oh, Caitlin, you need
Association for the Education of a change,” the caregiver says. Caitlin responds by smiling
Young Children (NAEYC)? and cooing.
Reaching out her hands, the caregiver says, “I’m going to pick
you up now.” Caitlin responds to the gesture and the words with
an ever-so-slight body movement. She continues to smile and coo. The caregiver picks her up and walks
toward the diapering area.
4 part 1 Focus on the Caregiver

Did you notice that there was a lot more going on here than just a diaper change? This
scene illustrates several of the basic principles of this book. Think back on it as you
read. Do you know what it means to respect a baby as a person? We’ll answer that
question when we return to this scene later.
This book is based on a philosophy of infant-toddler care and education that is
summarized in a curriculum or framework of 10 principles for practice. The philoso-
phy comes from the work of two pioneers in infant-toddler care and education: Emmi
Pikler and Magda Gerber. Pikler was a Hungarian pediatrician and researcher who
got started in group care in 1946 after World War II by creating an orphanage for
children under age three. Called the Pikler Institute today, the program is still running
under the direction of Dr. Pikler’s daughter, Anna Tardos. Magda Gerber, friend and
colleague of Pikler, brought what she knew to the United States in 1956 and eventu-
ally started a program called Resources for Infant Educarers (RIE). Her followers
across the United States and elsewhere have been training caregivers and parents
since 1976. Although Pikler’s approach and Gerber’s philosophy are not identical,
they are in tune with each other.

Relationships, Interactions, and the Three Rs


Relationship is a key term in infant-toddler care and education. In the opening
scene you saw an example of how interactions like the one between Caitlin and the
adult caregiver can lead to a close relationship built on respect. Relationships
between caregivers1 and very young children don’t just happen. They grow from a
number of interactions. So interaction—the effect that one person has on
another—is another key term. But relationships don’t grow from just any kind of
interactions; they grow from those that are respectful, responsive, and reciprocal.
You can think of them as the three Rs of infant-toddler care and education, or
three-R interactions. The caregiver’s interaction with Caitlin was obviously
responsive—the caregiver responded to the child and the child to the caregiver.
The responses were linked in a reciprocal way, that is, a give-and-take kind of way,
Reflect forming a chain of interaction, with each response triggered by the previous one
When were you in- and leading into the next response by the other person. The difference between
volved in a respectful, responsive and reciprocal may be hard to understand. When a caregiver is respon-
responsive, and recipro- sive, it means he or she pays attention to what the infant initiates and replies to it.
cal interaction? De- Reciprocal is a whole chain of responses going back and forth between the care-
scribe what that was
giver and the baby. Each response is dependent on the one that came before it.
like. Then contrast that
description with an ex- What was respectful about them?
perience you’ve had Behaviors indicating respect may not be as obvious as those indicating respon-
with a disrespectful, un- siveness and reciprocation. Did you notice that the caregiver walked up to Caitlin
responsive, nonrecipro- in a way that enabled the child to see her coming? The caregiver consciously
cal interaction. What are
slowed her pace and made contact before checking to see if Caitlin needed a dia-
the implications of your
experiences for working per change. It’s not uncommon to observe caregivers rush over and swoop up a
with infants and baby unexpectedly and start feeling the diaper without a word of acknowledgment
toddlers? to the person inside the diaper. Imagine how you would feel if you were the baby.
chapter 1 Principles, Practice, and Curriculum 5

That’s disrespectful. Instead, Caitlin’s caregiver initiated a conversation by talk-


ing to Caitlin. She kept it going by responding to Caitlin’s smiles and coos. She
also talked to Caitlin about what she was going to do before she did it. This scene
illustrates a responsive interaction chain that is the basis of effective caregiving.
A number of interactions such as this kind of diaper changing build a partnership.
This feeling of being part of a team instead of an object to be manipulated is vital
to wholesome development. Reciprocal interactions like these promote attach-
ment between caregiver and child. Another benefit from a series of such interac-
tions is that the baby develops a cooperative spirit. Newcomers who observe at
the Pikler Institute are surprised to see babies in their first weeks of life demon-
strate cooperation. And that spirit of cooperation doesn’t go away—it becomes a
lasting habit!

Caregiving Routines as Opportunities


for Three-R Interactions
It is no coincidence that the first example in this book is of an interaction involving
diapering. There’s a message here. Relationships develop through all kinds of inter-
actions, but especially during ones that happen while adults are carrying out those
essential activities of daily living sometimes called caregiving routines. Think about
how diapering is a time when caregivers and children are in a one-on-one situation.
If you count all the diaperings in a child’s life, the total probably comes to some-
where between 4,000 and 5,000. Imagine the opportunities that will be lost if adults
focus only on the activity, regard it as a chore, and don’t bother to interact with the
child. And that happens a lot because a common diapering practice is to distract the
child somehow—often with a toy or something interesting to look at. Then the care-
giver focuses on the chore, manipulating the child’s body, and hurrying to get fin-
ished. This is the opposite of what we advocate.
It may seem that anyone who is warm and friendly can care for infants and that
anyone with patience and nurturing qualities can work with toddlers. Certainly those
are valuable characteristics in caregivers, but caring for children under three involves
more than just going by instinct or by what seems to work. Going back to that open-
ing scene, perhaps you can see that the caregiver was doing more than just what felt
right. She had training in a particular way of caregiving. In fact, what you saw was a
caregiver whose training was influenced by RIE, the program Magda Gerber created.
You saw a caregiver who could have been trained either at RIE, or at the Pikler Insti-
tute in Budapest.

Ten Principles Based on a Philosophy of Respect


Now let’s look at the 10 principles that underlie this book, principles that come from
the work of Magda Gerber who began formulating them in the 1970s:
1. Involve infants and toddlers in things that concern them. Don’t work around
them or distract them to get the job done faster.
6 part 1 Focus on the Caregiver

NAEYC Program
2. Invest in quality time, when you are totally available to individual infants and
Standards 1, 2, 3
toddlers. Don’t settle for supervising groups without focusing (more than just
Relationships,
briefly) on individual children.
Curriculum, Teaching
3. Learn each child’s unique ways of communicating (cries, words, movements,
gestures, facial expressions, body positions) and teach yours. Don’t underesti-
mate children’s ability to communicate even though their verbal language
skills may be nonexistent or minimal.
4. Invest time and energy to build a total person (concentrate on the “whole
child”). Don’t focus on cognitive development alone or look at it as separate
from total development.
5. Respect infants and toddlers as worthy people. Don’t treat them as objects or
cute little empty-headed people to be manipulated.
6. Be honest about your feelings around infants and toddlers. Don’t pretend to
feel something that you don’t or not to feel something that you do.
7. Model the behavior you want to teach. Don’t preach.
8. Recognize problems as learning opportunities, and let infants and toddlers try
to solve their own. Don’t rescue them, constantly make life easy for them, or
try to protect them from all problems.
9. Build security by teaching trust. Don’t teach distrust by being undependable
or often inconsistent.
10. Be concerned about the quality of development in each stage. Don’t rush in-
fants and toddlers to reach developmental milestones.
Let’s look further into each of the principles.

Principle 1: Involve Infants and Toddlers


in Things That Concern Them
Caitlin isn’t just the recipient of her caregiver’s actions; she’s a participant in what
happens to her. She and her caregiver do things together. If the caregiver had given
Caitlin a toy to play with to keep her occupied while she changed her diaper, the whole
tone of the scene would have been different. The partnership would have vanished, and
in its place would have been a distracted child and a caregiver dealing with a damp
bottom and a wet diaper instead of a whole child. Or if she had distracted Caitlin with
other sorts of entertainment, the caregiver still would have had Caitlin’s attention, but
the focus would have been on fun and games rather than on the task at hand.
The caregiver’s primary goal in this scene was to keep Caitlin involved in the
interaction as well as focused on her own body and on what was happening to it.
Diapering then became an “educational experience,” through which Caitlin increased
attention span, body awareness, and cooperation. A number of experiences like these
give Caitlin an education in human relations from which she can build her whole
outlook toward life and people.
There is a rumor that infants and toddlers have short attention spans. Some people
say they can’t pay attention to anything for very long. You can test that rumor for
yourself. Watch an infant or toddler who is actually involved in something that
chapter 1 Principles, Practice, and Curriculum 7

concerns and interests him. Clock the amount of time spent on the task or event. You
may be surprised at what a long attention span infants and toddlers have when they
are interested, because they are involved.

Principle 2: Invest in Quality Time


The scene between Caitlin and her caregiver is a good example of one kind of quality
time. The caregiver was fully present. That is, she was attending to what was going on; Reflect
her thoughts were not somewhere else. Think about the benefits
of quality time for an in-
Two Types of Quality Time Magda Gerber called the kind of quality time illustrated fant. Can you remember
by the diapering scene wants-something quality time. The adult and child a time when someone
was fully available to
are involved in a task the caregiver has set up. Diapering, feeding, bathing, and you without being
dressing fit into this category of quality time. If the caregiver pays attention to the directive? What was that
child and asks in return that the child pay attention, the amount of wants-something like for you? Can you
quality time mounts up. In child care programs this can provide the one-to- understand from your
one interactions that may be difficult to attain in a group setting. Wants-something own experience how
that might benefit an
quality time is educational. Examples of this kind of quality time occur throughout infant?
the book.
Another kind of equally important quality time is what Magda Gerber called
wants-nothing quality time. This happens when caregivers make themselves avail-
able without directing the action—for instance, just sitting near babies, fully avail-
able and responsive but not in charge. Just being with toddlers while they play,
responding rather than initiating, describes this type of quality time.
Floor time is a variation of wants-nothing quality time that the Child-Family
Study Center at the University of California at Davis uses in their toddler program.
Floor time is a concept they credit to Stanley Greenspan’s work. When a toddler is
exhibiting difficult behavior, instead of putting her in time-out and trying to ignore
her, the caregivers do the opposite. They don’t withdraw attention; they give more.
The child is given a half hour of one-to-one time with an adult whose sole goal is to
be responsive to that child and that child alone. The adult sits on the floor, available
to the child. The environment is conducive to play, as there are interesting toys within
reach. The adult has no plan or expectation but just waits to see what the child will
do and then responds. This is the opposite of the common approach in programs
where teachers and caregivers become even more directive rather than less in the face
of difficult behavior.
The adults at the Child-Family Study Center are directive only when they remove
the child from the classroom. They explain where they are going, but use no shame
and no punishing overtones. Floor time may seem like being sent to the principal’s
office, but it’s more like play therapy. However, the staff members aren’t therapists,
and floor time isn’t therapy. It’s merely wants-nothing quality time. For a half hour
the child is given total attention.
Does the child become “spoiled” with such lavish attention? No. According to
reports, this approach works miracles. Its effectiveness seems to lie in the fact that it
meets the child’s needs.
8 part 1 Focus on the Caregiver

Many psychotherapists attest to the benefits of being fully present to another per-
son without being directive; yet most of us seldom get this kind of attention from the
people in our lives. Think for a moment of the delight of having someone’s whole
attention at your command for more than a moment or so.
This kind of quality time is easy to give, but often not understood or valued. Care-
givers just sitting on the floor where babies and toddlers are playing sometimes feel
as though they are not doing their job. They want to play the role of teachers, which
they interpret as “teaching something.” It is very hard for most adults to be around
small children and not be directive. Being receptive and responsive is a skill most
adults need to learn; it doesn’t seem to come naturally.
Another kind of quality time—perhaps the most commonly understood
kind—is shared activity. The initiating mode moves back and forth between adult
and child during playtimes as the two enjoy each other’s company. These times
are often rewarding for the caregiver in ways that the other two kinds of quality
time are not.

The Right Amount of Quality Time An interesting aspect of quality time is that a
little goes a long way. No one wants (or can stand) intense interaction all the time.
An important skill to develop is reading a baby’s cues that say, “I’ve had enough!
Please leave me alone.” Some younger babies say it by turning away—or even
going to sleep. Children (and adults) need to be private sometimes. Although pri-
vacy is not an issue with all families, for some it is a strong cultural value. In infant-
toddler programs and in family child care, time alone is hard to attain. Some children
manage to be alone only by sleeping. Others can focus inwardly and ignore what’s
going on around them. The adult can help young children gain private time by provid-
ing small spaces.
When people never have time alone, they get it by drifting off, by not paying atten-
tion, by being elsewhere mentally if not physically. This attitude becomes a habit, so
that when this person spends time with others, he or she is “only half there.” “Half-
there” time, even lots of it, never equals “all-there” time.
Being able to “turn off ” is an issue for both caregivers and infants and toddlers.
No adult can be expected to be completely present and responsive to others all day,
every day. Both adults’ and babies’ needs must be provided for in programs if the
adults are to be effective caregivers.
Of course, every person’s life is filled with time that is neither quality time nor
private time. Children have to learn to live in a busy world of people. They are bound
to be ignored or worked around sometimes. The point is that there is a difference
between quality time and other kinds of time and that all children deserve and need
some quality time in their lives.
Quality time is built into the daily routine when diapering, dressing, and feeding
become occasions for close one-to-one interactions. In group care, when a caregiver
is responsible for several babies or a small group of toddlers, paying attention to just
one child may be difficult unless caregivers free each other up by taking turns super-
vising the rest of the children. It is up to the director to ensure that each caregiver be
freed at times from responsibility for children other than the one she is changing
chapter 1 Principles, Practice, and Curriculum 9

or feeding. That means that it must be permissible, and even encouraged, for a
caregiver to focus on just one child.
In family child care where there is no other adult, the caregiver has no one else to
turn to when she feeds or diapers a baby. But caregivers can still focus on just one
child by setting up a safe environment and encouraging the rest of the children to play
on their own. Of course, the caregiver must still keep a watchful eye on the group—a
skill that can be developed with practice. It’s amazing to watch an experienced care-
giver give full attention to one child but still manage to catch a dangerous or forbid-
den action going on in another part of the room.

Principle 3: Learn Each Child’s Unique Ways


of Communicating and Teach Yours
Notice how the communication between Caitlin and her caregiver worked. The Reflect
caregiver talked directly to Caitlin about what she was going to do, using body Think about someone
movements that matched her words. Caitlin used her body, facial expressions, and you know very well. Can
voice to communicate her responses. The caregiver responded to her responses by you picture some ways
interpreting, answering, and discussing. The caregiver did not carry on endless that person communi-
chatter. She said little, but what she said carried a lot of meaning, backed up by cates with you without
using words?
action. She is teaching Caitlin to listen, not tune out. She is teaching that talking
is communication, not distraction. She is teaching words and language in context,
by talking naturally, not repeating words over and over or using baby talk. She
also communicated with her body and with sounds other than words, and she
responded to Caitlin’s communication (sounds, facial expressions, and body
movements). The communication between Caitlin and her caregiver went way
beyond words.
No one knows a baby’s or toddler’s system as well as those people to whom he or
she is attached. For that reason (and others), programs for infants and toddlers should
encourage attachment between the children and the caregivers.
It’s also important to note here that each of us uses a system of body language that
is particular to our culture and, within the culture, that is specific to gender and per-
haps social class as well. Just one example is in the difference in how men and women
in white, European-derived North American culture cross their legs. Another exam-
ple is the contrasting walk between the African American man and the African
American woman. These are unconscious positions and movements, but members of
the culture know them well. Children learn the rudiments of culturally based nonver-
bal communication from adults in their lives, as well as creating their own specific
body language.
Eventually babies come to depend more on words to express themselves in addi-
tion to other means of communication. They learn to express needs, wants, ideas, and
feelings more and more clearly. They also learn to enjoy language for itself—to play
with words, phrases, and sounds. Adult reactions and encouragement to use language
facilitate their development. By late toddlerhood most children can express them-
selves in words, though, of course, they continue to use nonverbal communication
throughout their lives.
10 part 1 Focus on the Caregiver

Video Observation 1
Baby Crying

© Lynne Doherty Lyle

See Video Observation 1: Baby Crying for an illustration of some of the principles
in Chapter 1. You’ll see a baby on a blanket crying. This is not a unique way of
communicating, but it is communication. The caregiver comes around to pick the
baby up. Notice how she comes from the front rather than approaching from the side
or rear. That’s a sign of respect, so she won’t surprise the baby.

Questions

•• How does the baby communicate that she needs something?


•• How does the caregiver prepare the baby to be picked up?
•• Notice that the baby is lying on her back. Do you know why? If not, you’ll find out
as you read further in the book.

To view this clip, please access the Instructor Resources through Connect.

It is important to recognize that some cultures value and depend on verbal


exchanges more than others. European Americans tend to use direct communication.
Because babies can’t talk (in fact, the origin of the word infant can be traced back
through Middle English to Old French, where it is a combination of in [“not”] and
fans [“speaking”]), researchers at the University of California at Davis discovered
that they could introduce direct communication to babies by teaching a gesturing
system called baby signs.2 Caregivers from highly verbal cultures need to be extra
sensitive to children who use a good deal of nonverbal communication instead
of words.3
Young children should see adults using words that match their nonverbal
communication. If the face and body movements say one thing and the words say
something else, children are receiving double messages, which get in the way of
true communication. They not only have problems deciding which to believe, but also
chapter 1 Principles, Practice, and Curriculum 11

they model after the adult and thus learn to give double messages themselves.
Clear communication is important.

Principle 4: Invest Time and Energy to Build a Total Person


Recent brain research supports the goal of building a total person instead of concen-
trating on cognitive development alone. Because of all the talk about school-
readiness, some parents realize that the early years are important ones in intellectual
growth. Whether or not they have heard about the brain research, they may expect to
see some evidence that caregivers are providing “cognitive activities.” Their concept
of cognitive activities may be based on what they know about preschool. They may
expect caregivers to teach such concepts as colors, shapes, and even numbers and
letters through an activity approach.
On the other side, caregivers, also concerned with intellectual development, may
think that the way to promote it is through specialized equipment, exercises, or activ-
ities. Books and programs are readily available to, as they say, “stimulate cognitive
development.” Catalogs and stores are full of toys, equipment, and gadgets adver-
tised as making babies smarter. Of course, providing a rich environment with inter-
esting things to do is desirable. And, yes, it can promote cognitive development. But
be careful about falling into the trap of thinking that you can stimulate cognitive
development without working on physical, social, and emotional development at the
same time. It isn’t the clever little toys that you provide or the so-called learning
activities you do with the children that make a difference. It’s the day-to-day living,
the relationships, the experiences, the diaperings, the feedings, the toilet training, and
the free play and exploration that contribute to intellectual development. And those
same experiences help the child grow physically, socially, and emotionally as well.
Think of how rich the experience of diapering will be for Caitlin. She will
be immersed in sensory input—visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory. How often are
caregivers and parents told to hang a mobile over the changing table so that the dia-
pering can be an “educational experience.” How limited an experience a mobile pro-
vides compared with what Caitlin will enjoy with her respectful, responsive,
reciprocal caregiver without something overhead to distract her.

Principle 5: Respect Infants and Toddlers as Worthy People


Respect was not a word usually used with very young children until Magda Gerber
introduced this concept. Usually worries about respect go the other way, as adults
demand (or wish for) children to respect them. There is no better way to gain respect
for yourself than to model it for children.
What does it mean to respect a child? The diapering scene provides an example.
Before the caregiver did anything to Caitlin, she explained what would happen. Just
as a respectful nurse warns you before putting a cold instrument on your skin, so
Caitlin’s caregiver prepared her for what was to come. Until you realize the differ-
ence, the natural tendency is to pick up a child without saying anything. Babies are
often carried around like objects, even when they are old enough to walk and talk.
12 part 1 Focus on the Caregiver

Adults often pick a child up and put him or her in a chair or stroller without a word.
That kind of action is not respectful.
To clarify the concept of respecting an infant, try imagining how a nurse would
move a fairly helpless patient from a bed to a wheelchair. Then just change the play-
ers and imagine one is a caregiver and one is an infant. Except for the size and weight
involved, if the adult is treating the infant with respect, the scene should look much
the same.
To better understand the concept of respecting a toddler, imagine you have just
seen a man fall off a ladder. Think how you would respond. Even if you are strong
enough, you would probably not rush over and set him back on his feet. You’d start
talking first, asking if he was hurt or needed help. You’d probably extend a hand if he
indicated he was all right and started getting up. You’d comfort him if that was called
for. Most people have no trouble responding respectfully to an adult.
Why then do adults rush over and pick up a fallen toddler without a moment’s
pause? Why not see first what it is the toddler needs? Maybe all that is required
is some reassurance—not physical help. Perhaps the child is angry or embar-
rassed and needs an adult who can accept those feelings and allow expression of
them. Perhaps the toddler needs nothing and without adult interference will get
up and go about his business on his own. More aspects of respect come out in the
next scene.

Twelve-month-old Brian is sitting at a low table with several other children eating a piece
of banana. He is obviously enjoying the experience in more ways than one. He has
squashed the banana in his hand and crammed it in his mouth, and it is now oozing out
between his teeth. He is relishing it. He reaches for his mouth with the very last piece
and, plop, it falls on the ground. He stretches out a hand for it, but the caregiver is
quicker. “I’m sorry, Brian, but the banana is dirty now. I can’t let you eat it.” Brian’s eyes
open wide, his mouth drops open, and a sorrowful wail comes forth. “That’s all the ba-
nana we have,” the caregiver adds as Brian reaches out to her for more. She sits back
down at the table after having disposed of the dropped piece. She offers him a cracker,
saying, “We’re out of bananas, but you can have a cracker instead.” Brian rejects the of-
fered cracker. Aware now that he will get no more, he begins to scream.
“I see how unhappy you are,” says the caregiver calmly but with genuine compassion.
“I wish I had more banana to give you,” she adds. Brian’s screams become more piercing,
and he begins to kick his feet. The caregiver remains silent, looking at him as if she really
cares about his feelings.
The other children at the table are having various reactions to this scene. The caregiver
turns to them and explains, “Brian lost his banana, and he didn’t like it.” She turns back to
Brian. He continues to cry. The caregiver waits. Sobbing, he gets off his chair, toddles
over to her, and buries his head in her lap. She touches him on the back, stroking him
soothingly. When he has quieted down, she says, “You need to wash your hands now.” He
doesn’t move. She waits. Then gently she repeats, “You need to wash your hands, Brian.
I’ll come with you,” she adds. Turning the table over to another caregiver, she gets up and
walks slowly across the floor with Brian. Brian is licking globs of banana from his fin-
gers. A last sob escapes from his lips as he reaches the sink.
chapter 1 Principles, Practice, and Curriculum 13

The caregiver respected Brian’s right to have feelings and to express them.4 She
offered support without gushing sympathy. Because she did not distract him with
great amounts of warmth or entertainment, he was able to pay attention to what was
going on inside himself. He was learning that it was all right to respond honestly to
the situation.
Sometimes adult attention is so rewarding that children associate anger, frustra-
tion, or sorrow with attention. They use their feelings to manipulate. We would all be
better off to ask directly for what we need than to use emotional displays to get hugs
and touching. That’s why the caregiver remained available but let Brian indicate what
he needed. She did not pick him up but let him come to her. When he was ready for
comfort, she was there to give it to him, but it didn’t come so early that he was not
able to express himself.
Following are some examples of less respectful ways to respond to Brian.
“Stop that screaming—that’s nothing to get so upset about—you were almost finished
anyway.”
“Poor little Brian, let’s go play with the doggie that you like so much—look, Brian—
see him bark—bow-wow!”

Principle 6: Be Honest about Your Feelings


In the last scene the child was encouraged to recognize his feelings. He was angry,
and he was not asked to pretend to be something else. What about adults? Is it all
right for caregivers to express their anger to young children? Yes. Children in child
care need to be around real people, not warm, empty role-players. Part of being a real
person is getting angry, scared, upset, and nervous now and then. Here is a scene
showing a caregiver expressing anger:
A caregiver has just separated two children who were coming to blows over a toy. “I can’t
let you hurt Amber,” she says to Shawn, who is 18 months old. She has him firmly but
gently by the arm when he turns to her and spits in her face. Her expression changes from
calm to anger, and she takes his other arm as well. Looking him right in the eyes, she says
clearly, but with emotion in her voice, “I don’t like that, Shawn. I don’t want you to spit at
me.” She lets go, stands up, turns her back, and walks away. When she is a few steps
away, she gives a quick glance back to see what he is doing. He hasn’t moved, so she
walks to the sink and washes her face. She keeps an eye out to make sure he doesn’t re-
turn to hitting Amber. By the time she comes back, she is calm. Shawn is climbing up the
slide, and things have returned to normal.

This caregiver was saying honestly what effect Shawn’s action had on her. Notice
how she expressed her feelings. She didn’t put on such a show that it encouraged him
to do it again for his own entertainment—a problem that can occur when displays of
adult anger are dramatic and lengthy. She didn’t blame, accuse, judge, or belittle
Shawn. She merely verbalized her feelings and connected them clearly to the situa-
tion. She let Shawn know what made her angry and stopped him from continuing the
action. Having expressed herself, she left the scene. In short, she neither masked her
feelings nor blew up.
14 part 1 Focus on the Caregiver

Expressing her feelings seemed to have been enough to let Shawn know that this
behavior was unacceptable. She didn’t have to do anything further about it—this
time, at least. If it occurs again, she may have to do something more than just tell
Shawn how she feels.
Compare the reaction of this caregiver with the times you’ve seen people angry
with a child, yet smiling and talking in a honeyed voice. Imagine the difficulty a child
has in reconciling the two sets of messages at the same time.

Principle 7: Model the Behavior You Want to Teach


All the caregivers in the previous scenes have been modeling behavior that is accept-
able for children as well as adults. You’ve seen examples of cooperation, respect,
honest feelings, and communication. Take a look at how this principle works in a
more difficult situation—when aggression is involved.
Shawn and Amber are struggling over a rag doll again. A caregiver starts to move near
them. Before he reaches the pair, Shawn reaches out and gives Amber a slap on the arm.
She lets out a wail. The caregiver kneels on the floor before the two children. His face is
calm; his movements are slow and careful. He reaches out and touches Shawn, rubbing
his arm on the same spot where he hit Amber. “Gently, Shawn, gently.” At the same
time he strokes Amber. Shawn remains silent. Amber continues to wail. The caregiver
touches her again. “You got hit, didn’t you, Amber? It hurt!” Amber stops crying and
looks at him. All three are silent for a moment. The caregiver waits. Shawn clutches the
doll and starts to walk away with it. Amber grabs it. The caregiver remains silent until
Shawn raises his arm to hit again. “I can’t let you hurt Amber,” he says, catching the arm
midair. He touches him softly. “Gently, gently.” Amber suddenly jerks the doll and Shawn
lets go unexpectedly. Taking the doll in triumph, she starts across the room. Shawn looks
sad, but remains in the same spot. The caregiver stays near. “She has the doll,” he ob-
serves. Amber sees a ball at her feet, drops the doll, and picks up the ball. She throws it
and runs after it giggling. Shawn moves quickly over to the doll, picks it up, holds it
tenderly, and coos to it. The scene ends with both children playing contentedly, and the
caregiver is no longer needed.

Notice how this caregiver modeled gentleness—the behavior he wished to teach.


A more common approach when an adult arrives on the scene of a dispute is to treat
the children with even more aggression than they have been displaying themselves.
“I’ll teach you to play rough,” growls the adult, jerking the child by the arm and
squeezing it. This approach models the very behavior the adult is trying to eliminate.
Luckily he didn’t shake the child because he knew that was dangerous and could
cause harm.
The caregiver in the Shawn-versus-Amber scene knew that both children needed
assurance that control would be provided when needed. It is frightening to both
aggressor and victim when there is no protecting adult around to stop the violent
action. The aggressor needs to be dealt with gently and nonjudgmentally. The victim
needs to be dealt with empathetically but not sympathetically (that is, acknowledging
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
Abstracts from the Text of Senator Miller’s
Speech.
On his Bill to Prohibit Chinese Immigration.
In the Senate, Feb. 28th, 1882, Mr. Miller said:
“This measure is not a surprise to the Senate, nor a new revelation
to the country. It has been before Congress more than once, if not in
the precise form in which it is now presented, in substance the same,
and it has passed the ordeal of analytical debate and received the
affirmative vote of both Houses. Except for the Executive veto it
would have been long ago the law of the land. It is again presented,
not only under circumstances as imperative in their demands for its
enactment, but with every objection of the veto removed and every
argument made against its approval swept away. It is an interesting
fact in the history of this measure, that the action which has cleared
its way of the impediments which were made the reasons for the
veto, was inaugurated and consummated with splendid persistence
and energy by the same administration whose executive interposed
the veto against it. Without stopping to inquire into the motive of the
Hayes administration in this proceeding, whether its action was in
obedience to a conviction that the measure was in itself right and
expedient, or to a public sentiment, so strong and universal as to
demand the utmost vigor in the diplomacy necessary for the removal
of all impediments to its progress, it must be apparent that the result
of this diplomatic action has been to add a new phase to the question
in respect of the adoption of the measure itself.
“In order to fully appreciate this fact it may be proper to indulge in
historical reminiscence for a moment. For many years complaints
had been made against the introduction into the United States of the
peculiar people who come from China, and the Congress, after
careful consideration of the subject, so far appreciated the evil
complained of as to pass a bill to interdict it.
“The Executive Department had, prior to that action, with
diplomatic finesse, approached the imperial throne of China, with
intent, as was said, to ascertain whether such an interdiction of
coolie importation, or immigration so called, into the United States
would be regarded as a breach of friendly relations with China, and
had been informed by the diplomat, to whom the delicate task had
been committed, that such interdiction would not be favorably
regarded by the Chinese Government. Hence, when Congress, with
surprising audacity, passed the bill of interdiction the Executive,
believing in the truth of the information given him, thought it
prudent and expedient to veto the bill, but immediately, in
pursuance of authority granted by Congress, he appointed three
commissioners to negotiate a treaty by which the consent of China
should be given to the interdiction proposed by Congress. These
commissioners appeared before the Government of China upon this
special mission, and presented the request of the Government of the
United States affirmatively, positively, and authoritatively made, and
after the usual diplomatic ceremonies, representations,
misrepresentations, avowals, and concealments, the treaty was
made, the concession granted, and the interdiction agreed upon. This
treaty was presented here and ratified by the Senate, with what
unanimity Senators know, and which the rules of the Senate forbid
me to describe.
“The new phase of this question, which we may as well consider in
the outset, suggests the spectacle which this nation should present if
Congress were to vote this or a similar measure down. A great nation
cannot afford inconsistency in action, nor betray a vacillating,
staggering, inconstant policy in its intercourse with other nations. No
really great people will present themselves before the world through
their government as a nation irresolute, fickle, feeble, or petulant;
one day eagerly demanding of its neighbor an agreement or
concession, which on the next it nervously repudiates or casts aside.
Can we make a solemn request of China, through the pomp of an
extraordinary embassy and the ceremony of diplomatic negotiation,
and with prudent dispatch exchange ratifications of the treaty
granting our request, and within less than half a year after such
exchange is made cast aside the concession and, with childish
irresolution, ignore the whole proceeding? Can we afford to make
such a confession of American imbecility to any oriental power? The
adoption of this or some such measure becomes necessary, it seems
to me, to the intelligent and consistent execution of a policy adopted
by this Government under the sanction of a treaty with another great
nation.
“If the Executive department, the Senate, and the House of
Representatives have all understood and appreciated their own
action in respect of this measure; if in the negotiation and
ratification of the new treaty with China, the Executive and the
Senate did not act without thought, in blind, inconsiderate
recklessness—and we know they did not—if the Congress of the
United States in the passage of the fifteen passenger bill had the
faintest conception of what it was doing—and we know it had—then
the policy of this Government in respect of so-called Chinese
immigration has been authoritatively settled.
“This proposition is submitted with the greater confidence because
the action I have described was in obedience to, and in harmony
with, a public sentiment which seems to have permeated the whole
country. For the evidence of the existence of such a sentiment, it is
only necessary to produce the declarations upon this subject of the
two great historical parties of the country, deliberately made by their
national conventions of 1880. One of these (the Democratic
convention) declared that there shall be—
“‘No more Chinese immigration except for travel, education, and
foreign commerce, and therein carefully guarded.’
“The other (the Republican) convention declared that—
“‘Since the authority to regulate immigration and intercourse
between the United States and foreign nations rests with Congress,
or with the United States and its treaty-making power, the
Republican party, regarding the unrestricted immigration of the
Chinese as an evil of great magnitude, invokes the exercise of these
powers to restrain and limit the immigration by the enactment of
such just, humane, and reasonable provisions as will produce that
result.’
“These are the declarations of the two great political parties, in
whose ranks are enrolled nearly all the voters of the United States;
and whoever voted at the last Presidential election voted for the
adoption of the principles and policy expressed by those
declarations, whether he voted with the one or the other of the two
great parties. Both candidates for the Presidency were pledged to the
adoption and execution of the policy of restriction thus declared by
their respective parties, and the candidate who was successful at the
polls, in his letter of acceptance, not only gave expression to the
sentiment of his party and the country, but with a clearness and
conciseness which distinguished all his utterances upon great public
questions, gave the reasons for that public sentiment.” He said:
“‘The recent movement of the Chinese to our Pacific Coast
partakes but little of the qualities of an immigration, either in its
purposes or results. It is too much like an importation to be
welcomed without restriction; too much like an invasion to be looked
upon without solicitude. We cannot consent to allow any form of
servile labor to be introduced among us under the guise of
immigration.’

“In this connection it is proper also to consider the probable effect


of a failure or refusal of Congress to pass this bill, upon the
introduction of Chinese coolies into the United States in the future.
An adverse vote upon such a measure, is an invitation to the Chinese
to come. It would be interpreted to mean that the Government of the
United States had reversed its policy, and is now in favor of the
unrestricted importation of Chinese; that it looks with favor upon the
Chinese invasion now in progress. It is a fact well known that the
hostility to the influx of Chinese upon the Pacific coast displayed by
the people of California has operated as a restriction, and has
discouraged the importation of Chinese to such a degree that it is
probable that there are not a tenth part the number of Chinese in the
country there would have been had this determined hostility never
been shown. Despite the inhospitality, not to say resistance, of the
California people to the Chinese, sometimes while waiting for the
action of the General Government difficult to restrain within the
bounds of peaceable assertion, they have poured through the Golden
Gate in constantly increased numbers during the past year, the total
number of arrivals at San Francisco alone during 1881 being 18,561.
Nearly two months have elapsed since the 1st of January, and there
have arrived, as the newspapers show, about four thousand more.
“The defeat of this measure now is a shout of welcome across the
Pacific Ocean to a myriad host of these strange people to come and
occupy the land, and it is a rebuke to the American citizens, who
have so long stood guard upon the western shore of this continent,
and who, seeing the danger, have with a fortitude and forbearance
most admirable, raised and maintained the only barrier against a
stealthy, strategic, but peaceful invasion as destructive in its results
and more potent for evil, than an invasion by an army with banners.
An adverse vote now, is to commission under the broad seal of the
United States, all the speculators in human labor, all the importers of
human muscle, all the traffickers in human flesh, to ply their
infamous trade without impediment under the protection of the
American flag, and empty the teeming, seething slave pens of China
upon the soil of California! I forbear further speculation upon the
results likely to flow from such a vote, for it presents pictures to the
mind which one would not willingly contemplate.
“These considerations which I have presented ought to be, it seems
to me, decisive of the action of the Senate upon this measure; and I
should regard the argument as closed did I not know, that there still
remain those who do not consider the question as settled, and who
insist upon further inquiry into the reasons for a policy of restriction,
as applied to the Chinese. I am not one of those who would place the
consideration of consistency or mere appearances above
consideration of right or justice; but since no change has taken place
in our relations with China, nor in our domestic concerns which
renders a reversal of the action of the government proper or
necessary, I insist that if the measure of restriction was right and
good policy when Congress passed the fifteenth passenger bill, and
when the late treaty with China was negotiated and ratified, it is right
and expedient now.
“This measure had its origin in California. It has been pressed with
great vigor by the Representatives of the Pacific coast in Congress,
for many years. It has not been urged with wild vehement
declamation by thoughtless men, at the behest of an ignorant
unthinking, prejudiced constituency. It has been supported by
incontrovertible fact and passionless reasoning and enforced by the
logic of events. Behind these Representatives was an intelligent,
conscientious public sentiment—universal in a constituency as
honest, generous, intelligent, courageous, and humane as any in the
Republic.
“It had been said that the advocates of Chinese restriction were to
be found only among the vicious, unlettered foreign element of
California society. To show the fact in respect of this contention, the
Legislature of California in 1878 provided for a vote of the people
upon the question of Chinese immigration (so called) to be had at the
general election of 1879. The vote was legally taken, without
excitement, and the response was general. When the ballots were
counted, there were found to be 883 votes for Chinese immigration
and 154,638 against it. A similar vote was taken in Nevada and
resulted as follows: 183 votes for Chinese immigration and 17,259
votes against. It has been said that a count of noses is an ineffectual
and illusory method of settling great questions, but this vote of these
two States settled the contention intended to be settled; and
demonstrated that the people of all others in the United States who
know most of the Chinese evil, and who are most competent to judge
of the necessity for restriction are practically unanimous in the
support of this measure.
“It is to be supposed that this vote of California was the effect of an
hysterical spasm, which had suddenly seized the minds of 154,000
voters, representing the sentiment of 800,000 people. For nearly
thirty years this people had witnessed the effect of coolie
importation. For more than a quarter of a century these voters had
met face to face, considered, weighed, and discussed the great
question upon which they were at last called upon, in the most
solemn and deliberate manner, to express an opinion. I do not cite
this extraordinary vote as a conclusive argument in favor of Chinese
restriction; but I present it as an important fact suggestive of
argument. It may be that the people who have been brought face to
face with the Chinese invasion are all wrong, and that those who
have seen nothing of it, who have but heard something of it, are more
competent (being disinterested) to judge of its possible, probable,
and actual effects, than those who have had twenty or thirty years of
actual continuous experience and contact with the Chinese colony in
America; and it may be that the Chinese question is to be settled
upon considerations other than those practical common sense
reasons and principles which form the basis of political science.
“It has sometimes happened in dealing with great questions of
governmental policy that sentiment, or a sort of emotional
inspiration, has seized the minds of those engaged in the solution of
great problems, by which they have been lifted up into the ethereal
heights of moral abstraction. I trust that while we attempt the path of
inquiry in this instance we shall keep our feet firmly upon the earth.
This question relates to this planet and the temporal government of
some of its inhabitants; it is of the earth earthly; it involves principles
of economic, social, and political science, rather than a question of
morals; it is a question of national policy, and should be subjected to
philosophical analysis. Moreover, the question is of to-day. The
conditions of the world of mankind at the present moment are those
with which we have to deal. If mankind existed now in one grand co-
operative society, in one universal union, under one system of laws,
in a vast homogeneous brotherhood, serenely beatified, innocent of
all selfish aims and unholy desires, with one visible temporal ruler,
whose judgments should be justice and whose sway should be
eternal, then there would be no propriety in this measure.
“But the millennium has not yet begun, and man exists now, as he
has existed always—in the economy of Providence—in societies called
nations, separated by the peculiarities if not the antipathies of race.
In truth the history of mankind is for the most part descriptive of
racial conflicts and the struggles between nations for existence. By a
perfectly natural process these nations have evolved distinct
civilizations, as diverse in their characteristics as the races of men
from which they have sprung. These may be properly grouped into
two grand divisions, the civilization of the East and the civilization of
the West. These two great and diverse civilizations have finally met
on the American shore of the Pacific Ocean.
“During the late depression in business affairs, which existed for
three or four years in California, while thousands of white men and
women were walking the streets, begging and pleading for an
opportunity to give their honest labor for any wages, the great
steamers made their regular arrivals from China, and discharged at
the wharves of San Francisco their accustomed cargoes of Chinese
who were conveyed through the city to the distributing dens of the
Six Companies, and within three or four days after arrival every
Chinaman was in his place at work, and the white people
unemployed still went about the streets. This continued until the
white laboring men rose in their desperation and threatened the
existence of the Chinese colony when the influx was temporarily
checked; but now since business has revived, and the pressure is
removed, the Chinese come in vastly increased numbers, the excess
of arrivals over departures averaging about one thousand per month
at San Francisco alone. The importers of Chinese had no difficulty in
securing openings for their cargoes now, and when transportation
from California to the Eastern States is cheapened, as it soon will be,
they will extend their operations into the Middle and Eastern States,
unless prevented by law, for wherever there is a white man or woman
at work for wages, whether at the shoe bench, in the factory, or on
the farm, there is an opening for a Chinaman. No matter how low the
wages may be, the Chinaman can afford to work for still lower wages,
and if the competition is free, he will take the white man’s place.
“At this point we are met by the query from a certain class of
political economists, ‘What of it? Suppose the Chinese work for lower
wages than white men, is it not advantageous to the country to
employ them?’ The first answer to such question is, that by this
process white men are supplanted by Chinese. It is a substitution of
Chinese and their civilization for white men and Anglo-Saxon
civilization. This involves considerations higher than mere economic
theories. If the Chinese are as desirable as citizens, if they are in all
the essential elements of manhood the peers or the superiors of the
Caucasian; if they will protect American interests, foster American
institutions, and become the patriotic defenders of republican
government; if their civilization does not antagonize ours nor
contaminate it; if they are free, independent men, fit for liberty and
self-government as European immigrants generally are, then we may
begin argument upon the question whether it is better or worse, wise
or unwise, to permit white men, American citizens, or men of
kindred races to be supplanted and the Chinese to be substituted in
their places. Until all this and more can be shown the advocates of
Chinese importation or immigration have no base upon which to
even begin to build argument.
“The statistics of the manufacture of cigars in San Francisco are
still more suggestive. This business was formerly carried on
exclusively by white people, many hundreds finding steady and
lucrative employment in that trade. I have here the certified
statement from the office of the collector of internal revenue at San
Francisco, showing the number of white people and Chinese,
relatively, employed on the 1st of November last in the manufacture
of cigars. The statement is as follows:
Number of white men employed 493
Number of white women employed 170

Total whites 663


Number of Chinese employed 5 182

“The facts of this statement were carefully ascertained by three


deputy collectors. The San Francisco Assembly of Trades certify that
there are 8,265 Chinese employed in laundries. It is a well-known
fact that white women who formerly did this work have been quite
driven out of that employment. The same authority certifies that the
number of Chinese now employed in the manufacture of clothing in
San Francisco, is 7,510, and the number of whites so employed is
1,000. In many industries the Chinese have entirely supplanted the
white laborers, and thousands of our white people have quit
California and sought immunity from this grinding competition in
other and better-favored regions.”

“If you would ‘secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our
posterity,’ there must be some place reserved in which, and upon
which, posterity can exist. What will the blessings of liberty be worth
to posterity if you give up the country to the Chinese? If China is to
be the breeding-ground for peopling this country, what chance of
American posterity? We of this age hold this land in trust for our race
and kindred. We hold republican government and free institutions in
trust for American posterity. That trust ought not to be betrayed. If
the Chinese should invade the Pacific coast with arms in their hands,
what a magnificent spectacle of martial resistance would be
presented to a startled world! The mere intimation of an attempt to
make conquest of our western shore by force would rouse the nation
to a frenzy of enthusiasm in its defense. For years a peaceful, sly,
strategic conquest has been in progress, and American
statesmanship has been almost silent, until the people have
demanded action.
“The land which is being overrun by the oriental invader is the
fairest portion of our heritage. It is the land of the vine and the fig
tree; the home of the orange, the olive, and the pomegranate. Its
winter is a perpetual spring, and its summer is a golden harvest.
There the northern pine peacefully sways against the southern palm;
the tender azalea and the hardy rose mingle their sweet perfume, and
the tropic vine encircles the sturdy oak. Its valleys are rich and
glorious with luscious fruits and waving grain, and its lofty
Mountains like giants stand,
To sentinel the enchanted land.

“I would see its fertile plains, its sequestered vales, its vine-clad
hills, its deep blue canons, its furrowed mountain-sides, dotted all
over with American homes—the homes of a free, happy people,
resonant with the sweet voices of flaxen-haired children, and ringing
with the joyous laughter of maiden fair—
Soft as her clime, and sunny as her skies—

like the homes of New England; yet brighter and better far shall be
the homes which are to be builded in that wonderland by the sunset
sea, the homes of a race from which shall spring
The flower of men,
To serve as model for the mighty world,
And be the fair beginning of a time.”
Reply of Senator Geo. P. Hoar.

Senator Hoar, of Massachusetts, replied to Senator Miller, and


presented the supposed view of the Eastern States in a masterly
manner. The speech covered twenty-eight pamphlet pages, and was
referred to by the newspaper as an effort equal to some of the best by
Charles Sumner. We make liberal extracts from the text, as follows:
“Mr. President: A hundred years ago the American people
founded a nation upon the moral law. They overthrew by force the
authority of their sovereign, and separated themselves from the
country which had planted them, alleging as their justification to
mankind certain propositions which they held to be self-evident.
“They declared—and that declaration is the one foremost action of
human history—that all men equally derive from their Creator the
right to the pursuit of happiness; that equality in the right to that
pursuit is the fundamental rule of the divine justice in its application
to mankind; that its security is the end for which governments are
formed, and its destruction good cause why governments should be
overthrown. For a hundred years this principle has been held in
honor. Under its beneficent operation we have grown almost twenty-
fold. Thirteen States have become thirty-eight; three million have
become fifty million; wealth and comfort and education and art have
flourished in still larger proportion. Every twenty years there is
added to the valuation of this country a wealth enough to buy the
whole German Empire, with its buildings and its ships and its
invested property. This has been the magnet that has drawn
immigration hither. The human stream, hemmed in by banks
invisible but impassable, does not turn toward Mexico, which can
feed and clothe a world, or South America, which can feed and clothe
a hundred worlds, but seeks only that belt of States where it finds
this law in operation. The marvels of comfort and happiness it has
wrought for us scarcely surpass what it has done for other countries.
The immigrant sends back the message to those he has left behind.
There is scarcely a nation in Europe west of Russia which has not felt
the force of our example and whose institutions are not more or less
slowly approximating to our own.
“Every new State as it takes its place in the great family binds this
declaration as a frontlet upon its forehead. Twenty-four of the States,
including California herself, declare it in the very opening sentence
of their constitutions. The insertion of the phrase ‘the pursuit of
happiness,’ in the enumeration of the natural rights for securing
which government is ordained, and the denial of which constitutes
just cause for its overthrow, was intended as an explicit affirmation
that the right of every human being who obeys the equal laws to go
everywhere on the surface of the earth that his welfare may require is
beyond the rightful control of government. It is a birthright derived
immediately from him who ‘made of one blood all nations of men for
to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times
before appointed and the bounds of their habitation.’ He made, so
our fathers held, of one blood all the nations of men. He gave them
the whole face of the earth whereon to dwell. He reserved for himself
by his agents heat and cold, and climate, and soil, and water, and
land to determine the bounds of their habitation. It has long been the
fashion in some quarters, when honor, justice, good faith, human
rights are appealed to, and especially when the truths declared in the
opening sentences of the Declaration of Independence are invoked as
guides in legislation to stigmatize those who make the appeal as
sentimentalists, incapable of dealing with practical affairs. It would
be easy to demonstrate the falsehood of this notion. The men who
erected the structure of this Government were good, practical
builders and knew well the quality of the corner-stone when they laid
it. When they put forth for the consideration of their contemporaries
and of posterity the declaration which they thought a decent respect
for the opinions of mankind required of them, they weighed carefully
the fundamental proposition on which their immortal argument
rested. Lord Chatham’s famous sentence will bear repeating again:
When your lordships look at the papers transmitted to us from
America, when you consider their decency, firmness, and wisdom,
you cannot but respect their cause and wish to make it your own. For
myself I must declare and avow that in all my reading and
observation—and it has been my favorite study, I have read
Thucydides, and have studied and admired the master states of the
world—that for solidity of reasoning, force of sagacity, and wisdom of
conclusion, under such a complication of difficult circumstances, no
nation or body of men can stand in preference to the general
Congress assembled at Philadelphia.
The doctrine that the pursuit of happiness is an inalienable right
with which men are endowed by their Creator, asserted by as
religious a people as ever lived at the most religious period of their
history, propounded by as wise, practical, and far-sighted statesmen
as ever lived as the vindication for the most momentous public act of
their generation, was intended to commit the American people in the
most solemn manner to the assertion that the right to change their
homes at their pleasure is a natural right of all men. The doctrine
that free institutions are a monopoly of the favored races, the
doctrine that oppressed people may sever their old allegiance at will,
but have no right to find a new one, that the bird may fly but may
never light, is of quite recent origin.
California herself owing her place in our Union to the first victory
of freedom in the great contest with African slavery, is pledged to
repudiate this modern heresy, not only by her baptismal vows, but by
her share in the enactment of the statute of 1868. Her constitution
read thus until she took Dennis Kearney for her lawgiver:
We, the people of California, grateful to Almighty God for our
freedom, in order to secure its blessings, do establish this
constitution.

DECLARATION OF RIGHTS.

Section 1. All men are by nature free and independent, and have
certain inalienable rights, among which are those of enjoying and
defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and defending
property, and pursuing and obtaining safety and happiness.

Sec. 17. Foreigners who are or who may hereafter become bona
fide residents of this State, shall enjoy the same rights in respect to
the possession, enjoyment, and inheritance of property, as native-
born citizens.
In the Revised Statutes, section 1999, Congress in the most solemn
manner declare that the right of expatriation is beyond the lawful
control of government:
Sec. 1999. Whereas the right of expatriation is a natural and
inherent right of all people, indispensable to the enjoyment of the
rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; and
Whereas in the recognition of this principle this Government has
freely received emigrants from all nations, and invested them with
the rights of citizenship.
This is a re-enactment, in part, of the statute of 1868, of which Mr.
Conness, then a California Senator, of Irish birth, was, if not the
author, the chief advocate.
The California Senator called up the bill day after day. The bill
originally provided that the President might order the arrest and
detention in custody of “any subject or citizen of such foreign
government” as should arrest and detain any naturalized citizen of
the United States under the claim that he still remained subject to his
allegiance to his native sovereign. This gave rise to debate.
But there was no controversy about the part of the bill which I
have read. The preamble is as follows:
Whereas the right of expatriation is a natural and inherent right of
all people, indispensable to the enjoyment of the rights of life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness, for the protection of which the
Government of the United States was established; and whereas in the
recognition of this principle this Government has freely received
emigrants from all nations and vested them with the rights of
citizenship, &c.
Mr. Howard declares that—
The absolute right of expatriation is the great leading American
principle.
Mr. Morton says:
That a man’s right to withdraw from his native country and make
his home in another, and thus cut himself off from all connection
with his native country, is a part of his natural liberty, and without
that his liberty is defective. We claim that the right to liberty is a
natural, inherent, God-given right, and his liberty is imperfect unless
it carries with it the right of expatriation.
The bill containing the preamble above recited passed the Senate
by a vote of 39 to 5.
The United States of America and the Emperor of China cordially
recognize the inherent and inalienable right of man to change his
home and allegiance, and also the mutual advantage of the free
migration and emigration of their citizens and subjects respectively
from the one country to the other for purposes of curiosity, of trade,
or as permanent residents.
“The bill which passed Congress two years ago and was vetoed by
President Hayes, the treaty of 1881, and the bill now before the
Senate, have the same origin and are parts of the same measure. Two
years ago it was proposed to exclude Chinese laborers from our
borders, in express disregard of our solemn treaty obligations. This
measure was arrested by President Hayes. The treaty of 1881
extorted from unwilling China her consent that we might regulate,
limit, or suspend the coming of Chinese laborers into this country—a
consent of which it is proposed by this bill to take advantage. This is
entitled “A bill to enforce treaty stipulations with China.”
“It seems necessary in discussing the statute briefly to review the
history of the treaty. First let me say that the title of this bill is
deceptive. There is no stipulation of the treaty which the bill
enforces. The bill where it is not inconsistent with the compact only
avails itself of a privilege which that concedes. China only relaxed the
Burlingame treaty so far as to permit us to ‘regulate, limit, or
suspend the coming or residence’ of Chinese laborers, ‘but not
absolutely to prohibit it.’ The treaty expressly declares ‘such
limitation or suspension shall be reasonable.’ But here is proposed a
statute which for twenty years, under the severest penalties,
absolutely inhibits the coming of Chinese laborers to this country.
The treaty pledges us not absolutely to prohibit it. The bill is
intended absolutely to prohibit it.
“The second article of the treaty is this:
“Chinese subjects, whether proceeding to the United States as
traders, students, or merchants, or from curiosity, together with their
body and household servants, and Chinese laborers, who are now in
the United States, shall be allowed to go and come of their own free
will and accord, and shall be accorded all the rights, privileges,
immunities, and exemptions which are accorded to the citizens and
subjects of the most favored nations.
“Yet it is difficult to believe that the complex and cumbrous
passport system provided in the last twelve sections of the bill was
not intended as an evasion of this agreement. Upon what other
nation, favored or not, is such a burden imposed? This is the
execution of a promise that they may come and go ‘of their own free
will.’
“What has happened within thirteen years that the great Republic
should strike its flag? What change has come over us that we should
eat the bravest and the truest words we ever spoke? From 1858 to
1880 there was added to the population of the country 42,000
Chinese.
“I give a table from the census of 1880 showing the Chinese
population of each State:
Statement showing the Chinese population in each State and
Territory, according to the United States censuses of 1870 and of
1880.

Alabama 4
Alaska
Arizona 20 1,630
Arkansas 98 134
California 49,310 75,025
Colorado 7 610
Connecticut 2 124
Dakota 238
Delaware 1
District of Columbia 3 13
Florida 18
Georgia 1 17
Idaho 4,274 3,378
Illinois 1 210
Indiana 33
Iowa 3 47
Kansas 19
Kentucky 1 10
Louisiana 71 481
Maine 1 9
Maryland 2 5
Massachusetts 97 237
Michigan 2 27
Minnesota 53
Mississippi 16 52
Missouri 3 94
Montana 1,949 1,764
Nebraska 18
Nevada 3,152 5,420
New Hampshire 14
New Jersey 15 176
New Mexico 55
New York 29 924
North Carolina
Ohio 1 114
Oregon 3,330 9,513
Pennsylvania 14 160
Rhode Island 27
South Carolina 1 9
Tennessee 26
Texas 25 141
Utah 445 501
Vermont
Virginia 4 6
Washington 234 3,182
West Virginia 14
Wisconsin 16
Wyoming 143 914

Total 63,254 105,463

“By the census of 1880 the number of Chinese in this country was
105,000—one five-hundredth part of the whole population. The
Chinese are the most easily governed race in the world. Yet every
Chinaman in America has four hundred and ninety-nine Americans
to control him.
The immigration was also constantly decreasing for the last half of
the decade. The Bureau of Statistics gives the numbers as follows,
(for the first eight years the figures are those of the entire Asiatic
immigration:)
The number of immigrants from Asia, as reported by the United
States Bureau of Statistics is as follows, namely:
1871 7,236
1872 7,825
1873 20,326
1874 13,857
1875 16,498
1876 22,943
1877 10,640
1878 9,014

Total 108,339

And from China for the year ended June 30—

1879 9,604
1880 5,802

Total 15,406

Grand Total 123,745

“See also, Mr. President, how this class of immigrants, diminishing


in itself, diminishes still more in its proportion to the rapidly
increasing numbers who come from other lands. Against 22,943
Asiatic immigrants in 1876, there are but 5,802 in 1880. In 1878
there were 9,014 from Asia, in a total of 153,207, or one in seventeen
of the entire immigration; and this includes all persons who entered
the port of San Francisco to go to any South American country. In
1879 there were 9,604 from China in a total of 250,565, or one in
twenty-six. In 1880 there were 5,802 from China in a total
immigration of 593,359, or one in one hundred and two. The whole
Chinese population, then, when the census of 1880 was taken, was
but one in five hundred of our people. The whole Chinese
immigration was but one in one hundred and two of the total
immigration; while the total annual immigration quadrupled from
1878 to 1880, the Chinese was in 1880 little more than one-half what
it was in 1878, and one-fourth what it was in 1876.

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