Basic care for infants must include care by the same caregiver/teacher on a regular basis, when possible; Children learn best from adults who know and respect them and with whom they have established a trusting relationship. Individual attention received during the early years of life is crucial to an infant's emotional and social development. Studies of infant behavior show that infants have difficulty forming trusting relationships in settings where many adults interact with the infant. The overall health and well-being of an infant can be positively impacted by providing infants with the same caregiver(s) on a regular basis. Individual attention given to each infant including comforting, playing, talking, cuddling, and
holding an infant who is upset raises trust and respect. Prompt attention given to physical needs, such as feeding and diapering is needed recurringly.
Talking to infants as they are fed, changed, and held, such as naming objects,
singing, or saying rhymes increases their self esteem, trust, and familiarity with the caregiver or teacher.
Ensuring the environment is free of objects that may cause choking. A commercial choke tube or empty toilet paper roll can be used to test toys and objects in the room that an infant or toddler may easily choke on. Try to place the toy or object into the tube. If the object easily passes through the tube, an infant or toddler may choke on it and such toys or objects must be removed from the children's access. If the object cannot pass through the tube, an infant or toddler is not likely to choke on it. Never leave an infant unsupervised.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
recommends that the wishes of children, regardless of their ages, should
always be respected with regard to physical contact and their
comfort/discomfort with it. If a child indicates that the child does not wish to
be held or comforted, even “friendly contact” with a child should be avoided.
