Many have spoken out on the ethics of separating parents and children at the border. But what is the impact on social-emotional development for children who have already been separated? Dr. Deborah MacNamara has written extensively about emotional sensitivity, anxiety and development of children. She says what children need is strong caring relationships with parents. They need to be anchored with parents. "There could be no greater trauma than to be taken away from the foundation, their adult relationships". The result of detachment is that a child is stuck - they revert to survival mode, to desperation in a way that prevents growth. Safety and security is removed. Children need strong adults to make them feel safe in the world. Transference of care does not replace caring for a child with attachment, reliability and consistency. The greatest human need is not food and education - it is the need for connection. What more can we do to learn about the child migrant crisis? Listen and find out.
At a time when U.S. and Canadian trade policy is heavily studied in the media, this week we take a look at the evolution of early childhood education in Canada, the growth in the sector and focus on quality early education. Kerry McCuaig co-developed and produces the Early Childhood Education Report, which tracks provincial/territorial progress in early years program development. She co-authored Early Years Study 3, Making Decisions, Taking Action with Margaret McCain and the late Fraser Mustard. Kerry has had a long involvement in early childhood policy including as a founder of Toronto First Duty, a pioneer in the integrated delivery of early childhood programming. What are the differences between American and Canadian early childhood development programs? Listen and find out. You can follow Kerry on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/kerry_earlyyear
"It's such a missed opportunity not to just turn it off and engage with your children" - you can be IN the moment. For our 100th episode we welcome Dr. Jean to the Preschool Podcast. Her videos The Banana Dance has 24,267,316 million views on YouTube. Hear why and how Dr. Jean recommends that early childhood educators bring more music into their day.
Should we teach to a child's age or their stage? Daniel identifies why there can and should be attention paid to gender and sex differences in early childhood education. Daniel describes why gunplay, for example, is a symptom of our culture and environment more than an inherent gender difference. "It's ok not to focus on gender but it's not ok not to focus on individual differences."
As a consultant, Daniel works with educators, parents and other professionals, helping them to understand the research-based theory and how to adapt curriculum and environments that support the continued development of children and families. Daniel has a unique grasp of children and family issues learned from over 30 plus years of experience working as a teacher, director, educator and parent in both the private and public sector. Daniel's interactive style is both informative and entertaining.