Infant Care in 2003

What determines quality in child care for infants and toddlers? Parents, providers, and child development experts may use different words to describe elements of quality, but they tend to agree about what is essential: the child’s safety; communication between the provider and parents about the child; and a warm and attentive relationship between the provider and child. The key to quality care is the quality of relationships—relationships between the infant and her family, between child and caregiver, between caregiver and family, and among adults in the child care setting. Eight components of early group experience that must be addressed to achieve high quality in infant/toddler child care include: health and safety; small groups for infants and toddlers, with caregivers responsible for no more than three young or mobile infants and no more than four children 18 months – 3 years old; primary caregiver assignments; continuity of care; responsive care giving and planning; meeting...