Children’s physical care requires a great deal of attention, especially for the under-twos. Mealtimes, nappy-changing, washing and dressing occupy a lot more time in a practitioner’s day than with older children. But rather than being viewed as ‘lost time’, these daily routines not only help to support children’s emotional development but also provide the building blocks for managing their own care needs.
ALL IN GOOD TIME
Children will reach the milestones of being toilet trained and able to put on their coats and pour themselves a glass of milk at their own pace.
‘There’s no point rushing them,’ explains early years consultant and trainer Kathryn Solly, ‘because it’s likely to backfire and they will regress later.’ Metaphorically speaking, she says, ‘our role is to give children the key to the door and resist the temptation to try and push them through it. Open the door for them if necessary and encourage them to walk through it themselves at their own pace.’
When it comes to dressing and feeding, practitioners often find that parents have lower expectations of their children’s capabilities. Therefore, it is important to share with them what their child can do at nursery so that they can encourage them to follow through at home.
Explain how their child’s confidence will develop as a result of being able to put their wellies on themselves, or how buttoning their cardigan up is excellent practice for developing their fine motor skills, which will help with writing.
ROUTINE CARE
Building sufficient time into the routine to empower children to dress and feed themselves is an important part of helping them to master self-care.
Children like to have a sense of what happens next, and routines are an important part of the day, but a timetable still needs to be flexible.
Dishing up children’s food and pouring their drinks may speed up lunchtimes, but opportunities for learning will be lost.
‘It’s important to have good routines but routines that can also be flexible,’ explains Kathryn. ‘So, for example, children get into the routine of going to the toilet when they come in, or after a drink or a meal and wash their hands.
‘But for things like snacks, the more that children can go and avail it of themselves when they want to, if they want it, the better.’
Although this often requires some careful consideration on behalf of the setting – particularly during the pandemic – rolling snack times have become a lot more common in early years settings in recent years.
Here are some pointers about self-care from Birth To 5 Matters:
- Enable and allow babies to sleep when they need to and to wake up from naps naturally.
- Provide a comfortable, accessible place where babies can rest or sleep when they want to.
- Consider providing a sturdy ladder so toddlers can choose to climb up onto the changing and dressing table by themselves: this will encourage their involvement in care routines.
- Allow time for children to complete a self-chosen task, such as putting on their own shoes.
- Allow children to pour their own drinks and serve their own food.
- Encourage children to select and attempt to put on suitable clothing for outdoor play.
- Use visual support to sequence routines such as toileting.
- Establish regular routines for eating, drinking, washing and toileting so children become familiar with the day’s rhythm.
GETTING DRESSED
Learning to dress and undress takes time, practice and plenty of patience. Louise Jackson, deputy head at St Lawrence’s Primary School and Nursery, says it is important to have a consistent approach so there isn’t the temptation for new staff, volunteers or students to do it for them.
‘It’s about tuning into the child, being responsive and encouraging each child to do as much as they can by themselves, in order to encourage independence,’ she explains.
The area where children dress and undress for going outdoors needs to be well-thought-out and organised. There should be a set area for changing so that children can sit on the floor and put their own wellies, waterproof trousers and coats on.
‘This way,’ explains Louise, ‘it becomes part of their normal experience rather than rushing them and doing it for them.’
Practitioners at St Lawrence’s Primary School and Nursery use social stories to help children who are struggling.
‘We might draw some pictures of another child who is getting dressed and talk to them about what they’re putting on. We also might read Bear Gets Dressed: A Guessing Game Story by Harriet Ziefert, and look at pictures of clothes that Bear will wear when he goes outside in different types of weather.
‘In the domestic role-play area, we have plenty of dressing-up clothes with belts, buckles and fastenings that help children practise dressing in a playful way. They enjoy dressing dolls and soft toys in different outfits, which is a great way to encourage them to be more independent when attempting to dress themselves.’
USEFUL CLOAKROOM RESOURCES
Storage of coats, shoes and wellies can be problematic if settings don’t have a dedicated cloakroom.
Here are some useful resources to support children’s dressing skills:
- Welcome Cubbies (from £394) from Community Playthings, includes a bench for children to sit on when putting on or taking off shoes, wellies or slippers, and a knob on the wooden peg that prevents coats from sliding off. Name-holders make it obvious to each child which cubby belongs to them.
- Outdoors, try the Mobile Clothing and Wellie Combi, £359, which will allow children to hang their coats themselves and to keep their wellies tidy and dry. The Wellie Remover, £38.49, will promote children’s independence further. Both from Cosy.
- TTS’s Millhouse Freestanding Cloakroom Unit, £404.95, has six storage compartments, one for each hook and six clear pockets for a name and picture; or try the Mobile Metal Cloakroom Unit, £62.95, also from TTS.
HANDWASHING
Even the youngest children have become accustomed to good handwashing techniques since the start of the pandemic. With good modelling from practitioners and parents, washing hands with soap and water has become second nature for many pre-schoolers.
Washing hands is also a regular part of the mealtime routine and after visits to the toilet or outdoor activities such as gardening.
Be aware that some children may have eczema, so use cleaning products that are hypoallergenic because children’s skin is generally more sensitive than adults.
Here are some useful resources to encourage handwashing, indoors and out:
- The Forest School Hand Washer, £14.99, from Cosy, is a must-have for outdoor areas when there is no access to running water. It is more effective than hand sanitiser and more eco-friendly than wipes.
- The Nienhuis Montessori Hand Washing Table, £329.99, from Hope Education, comes with two removable metal bowls: a small one for holding a bar of soap and a larger one for the water. Or try adding the Low Washing Station, £69.95, from Cosy, to your role-play area. Hang a towel, add soap, paper towels and a mini bin to teach children how to wash their hands independently. Place a mirror on the wall behind it or sing a ‘washing hands’ song for an additional learning opportunity.
- The Kiddiwash Xtra portable handwashing unit with poster (£151.95) from www.ypo.co.uk holds 8 litres of warm water, which is enough to deliver up to 15 x 12-second washes at the perfect temperature for small hands.
- Posters and reminders about handwashing and basic hygiene can be printed from the internet. Try the free-to-download How to Wash your Hands Display Posters from Twinkl (https://bit.ly/3kc7S1W), which illustrate the five key steps, starting from rinsing with water and finishing with drying the hands.
SELF-CARE IN THE EYFS FRAMEWORK
- Self-care has been moved from PD to now sit within PSED.
- Managing Self is also one of the Statutory Early Learning Goals: ‘Children at the expected level of development will: manage their own basic hygiene and personal needs, including dressing, going to the toilet and understanding the importance of healthy food choices.’
