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Childcare, also known as day care, is the care and supervision of one or more children, typically ranging from two weeks to 18 years old. When describing a business class, 'daycare' is usually written as a single word. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(ren), childcare typically refers to the care provided by caregivers who are not the child's parents. Childcare is a broad topic that covers a wide spectrum of professionals, institutions, contexts, activities, and social and cultural conventions. Early childcare is an important and often overlooked component of child development.
Claire Berenice Rayner, OBE was an English journalist, broadcaster, novelist and nurse, best known for her role for many years as an advice columnist.
Attachment parenting (AP) is a parenting philosophy that proposes methods aiming to promote the attachment of mother and infant not only by maximal parental empathy and responsiveness but also by continuous bodily closeness and touch. The term attachment parenting was coined by the American pediatrician William Sears. There is no conclusive body of research that shows Sears' approach to be superior to "mainstream parenting".
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to childhood:
A maternal bond is the relationship between a biological mother/caregiver and her child or baby. While typically associated with pregnancy and childbirth, a maternal bond may also develop in cases later on in life where the child is unrelated, such as in the case of an adoptee or a case of blended family.
Babysitting is temporarily caring for a child. Babysitting can be a paid job for all ages; however, it is best known as a temporary activity for early teenagers who are not yet eligible for employment in the general economy. It provides autonomy from parental control and dispensable income, as well as an introduction to the techniques of childcare. It emerged as a social role for teenagers in the 1920s, and became especially important in suburban America in the 1950s and 1960s, when small children were abundant. It stimulated an outpouring of folk culture in the form of urban legends, pulp novels, and horror films.
Joanne Frost is an English television personality, nanny, and author. She is best known for the reality television programme Supernanny UK, in which she was the central figure. The show first aired in the United Kingdom in 2004 and she has branched off into several other reality shows in the United Kingdom, United States and the Netherlands. Family S.O.S. with Jo Frost addressed issues such as addiction and abuse. Family Matters is a talk show. She has written six books on child care.
Penelope Jane Leach is a British psychologist who researches and writes extensively on parenting issues from a child development perspective.
Mumsnet is a London-based internet forum, created in 2000 by Justine Roberts for discussion between parents of children and teenagers.
Maternal deprivation is a scientific term summarising the early work of psychiatrist and psychoanalyst John Bowlby on the effects of separating infants and young children from their mother. Although the effect of loss of the mother on the developing child had been considered earlier by Freud and other theorists, Bowlby's work on delinquent and affectionless children and the effects of hospital and institutional care led to his being commissioned to write the World Health Organization's report on the mental health of homeless children in post-war Europe whilst he was head of the Department for Children and Parents at the Tavistock Clinic in London after World War II. The result was the monograph Maternal Care and Mental Health published in 1951, which sets out the maternal deprivation hypothesis.
Dustbin Baby is a BBC television film directed by Juliet May, based on Jacqueline Wilson's 2001 novel of the same name. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 21 December 2008. The film stars Dakota Blue Richards as April, a troubled teenager who was abandoned in a dustbin as an infant, and Juliet Stevenson as Marion Bean, April's adoptive mother. David Haig stars as Elliot, Marion's friend and colleague. The screenplay was written by Helen Blakeman, and the film was produced by Kindle Entertainment. Dustbin Baby deals with themes including maternal bonding, bullying, and youth crime. The story revolves around April running away on her fourteenth birthday, while Marion searches for her. April's life is recounted in flashbacks as she meets people and visits places that are significant to her.
Bringing Up Baby is a four-part British television documentary series which compares three different childcare methods for babies: the Truby King method, the Benjamin Spock approach, and the Continuum concept. Each method was advocated and administered by a nanny for two families each. The series was controversial when it aired on Channel 4 in 2007, particularly due to the actions recommended by Truby King advocate Claire Verity, and questions over Verity's qualifications.
The Kewpie doll effect is a term used in developmental psychology derived from research in ethology to help explain how a child's physical features, such as lengthened forehead and rounded face, motivate the infant's caregiver to take care of them. The child's physical features are said to resemble a Kewpie doll.
Maternal sensitivity is a mother's ability to perceive and infer the meaning behind her infant's behavioural signals, and to respond to them promptly and appropriately. Maternal sensitivity affects child development at all stages through life, from infancy, all the way to adulthood. In general, more sensitive mothers have healthier, more socially and cognitively developed children than those who are not as sensitive. Also, maternal sensitivity has been found to affect the person psychologically even as an adult. Adults who experienced high maternal sensitivity during their childhood were found to be more secure than those who experienced less sensitive mothers. Once the adult becomes a parent themselves, their own understanding of maternal sensitivity will affect their own children's development. Some research suggests that adult mothers display more maternal sensitivity than adolescent mothers who may in turn have children with a lower IQ and reading level than children of adult mothers.
Parental experience, as well as changing hormone levels during pregnancy and postpartum, cause changes in the parental brain. Displaying maternal sensitivity towards infant cues, processing those cues and being motivated to engage socially with her infant and attend to the infant's needs in any context could be described as mothering behavior and is regulated by many systems in the maternal brain. Research has shown that hormones such as oxytocin, prolactin, estradiol and progesterone are essential for the onset and the maintenance of maternal behavior in rats, and other mammals as well. Mothering behavior has also been classified within the basic drives.
Baby-led potty training is a system for meeting babies' toileting needs. The main feature of the system is that care-givers 'hold babies out' or support them on a potty in order for them to void in an appropriate place outside their nappy. The method is typically started before the baby is six months old. Care-givers use a combination of timing, and observing babies' own signals, to decide when to hold them out. In many countries it is the norm for parents to care for their babies without nappies from the first days of life. The term Baby-led potty training describes the method being used by a growing number of families in the UK. It is an adaptation of the techniques used in Africa, India and China amongst others, to fit into a modern Western life-style. It is similar to the US movement Elimination Communication, though UK proponents of the method emphasise its pragmatic approach with no strict rules, and it can be used by any type of parent. Some parents use the technique just occasionally, others as an alternative to full-time nappies, and some as a route to toilet independence.
Joyce Robertson was a British psychiatric social worker, child behavioural researcher, childcare pioneer and pacifist, who was most notable for changing attitudes to the societally acceptable, institutionalised care and hospitalisation of young children, that was prevalent. In the late 1940s Robertson worked with Anna Freud first at the Well Baby Clinic and later in the Hampstead Child Therapy Clinic. She was later joined by her husband James Robertson. In 1965, both of them moved to the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations to work with John Bowlby on the Young Children in Brief Separation project and the development of attachment theory. This was to research the mental state and psychological development of children who underwent brief separation from their parents. Later in her career, Robertson worked with her husband to produce a series of celebrated documentary films that highlighted the reaction of small children who were separated from their parents. These were shown in hospitals, foster care and state run hospitals. Later she was known for promoting the idea of foster care instead of residential nurseries.
Ọmụgwọ is an Igbo word of the South-Eastern Nigeria that describes the process of which a family member takes care of a new mother and her baby, in a short period of time after childbirth. Ọmụgwọ can be done during the first 40 days of a child's life or more. In most cases, it is the child's maternal grandmother or maternal grand step-mother that would stay during the period of ọmụgwọ. In their absence, the paternal grandmother will replace the maternal grandmother or maternal grand step-mother. The importance of this practice is that it helps the new mother learn and be guided on the process of childcare through the experience of her mother or mother-in-law, it guides them on becoming a mother, by providing knowledge and support.
A Maternal and Child Health Handbook is a handbook issued by Japanese municipalities as stipulated by the Maternal and Child Health Act to record the health conditions of mothers and children throughout pregnancy, childbirth, and childcare. It also serves as a primary resource book of health guidance for expectant and nursing mothers and infants, as well as a child-rearing textbook for parents of infants and toddlers. The first half of the handbook includes a section for recording pregnancy and childbirth, and for a newborn baby, there is a section for periodic health examinations, immunizations, and dental examinations until the child enters elementary school. The latter half is designed by each municipality, taking advantage of the regional characteristics.
References
- ↑ Mother knows best — but does Gina Ford know better? [ dead link ], The Times , June 29, 2009
- ↑ Asthana, Anushka (4 March 2007). "Baby guru's method 'like dog training'". The Guardian . London.
- ↑ Kim, Pilyoung; Leckman, James F.; Mayes, Linda C.; Newman, Michal-Ann; Feldman, Ruth; Swain, James E. (30 September 2009). "Perceived quality of maternal care in childhood and structure and function of mothers' brain". Developmental Science. 13 (4): 662–673. doi:10.1111/j.1467-7687.2009.00923.x. PMC 3974609 . PMID 20590729.
- ↑ Daddy knows best, Nick Clegg tells Gina Ford [ dead link ], The Sunday Times , January 10, 2010
- ↑ Queen of Routine lashes out at her liberal childcare critics, The Guardian , February 26, 2007
- ↑ BBC's "Big Brother" show for babies ends in tears, Independent on Sunday , February 13, 2005
- ↑ Five Life Commissions Gina Ford Documentary Easier.com
- ↑ Babycare guru demands closure of 'defamatory' site, The Register , 9 August 2006
- ↑ Mumsnet settles with Gina Ford over defamation claims
- ↑ TV nanny Claire Verity criticised by rival, The Daily Telegraph , 08 Oct 2007
