It seems common for adults - practitioners as well as parents - to assume that 'babies are rather boring'. Child psychology bears some responsibility for this misplaced belief, because research and theory has focused more on children of at least three and four years of age. It is too easy to regard early sound-making as less important than 'real talking', or to think that baby games are too short and simple to be seen as 'proper play'.
But as a nanny, you need to be able to focus on those daily examples of what a baby notices, can do or clearly remembers from another day. Your job is much more interesting because you see whenever a baby or toddler has found out something new about how the world works. If you didn't, baby care would seem an unrelenting round of nappies and bottles.
Part of your job is sharing some of these highlights with parents.
Admittedly, nannies walk a delicate line in their professional role.
You do not want to be so enthusiastic that you distress the parents, reminding them about how much of their child's life they are missing during their days at work. But you can share a couple of anecdotes in a way that shows parents you notice the little details. In doing so you also create the expectation that parents will have similar moments of interest and excitement in their time with their children.
Sharing daily highlights can be especially important if you are working for parents who believe that not much happens until a baby has grown into a young child. You can also help with some sensitive advice if the parents are putting inappropriate pressure on their baby or toddler (and you as well) to rush on to the 'proper' learning.
So what does happen for babies and young toddlers that demonstrates genuine early learning? Here are some examples that will help you to tune in to what you can notice and share with parents.
* A child's first recognisable words are undoubtedly an exciting event. But those words emerge because toddlers have already been practising their sound-making, as well as learning how communication works in general. For example, five-month-old Sally has already learned the basic skills of a conversation through simple turn-taking with her nanny, Karen, as well as looking and making sounds herself. Sally pauses and looks expectantly for Karen to say something in reply. Although still a young baby, Sally has the building blocks of attention and social communication.
* Nine-month-old Megan shows clear evidence of memory. She crawls across confidently to her basket of toys to pull out what she wants and she joins in the peep-bo game as soon as her older brother, Tim, gets out the special blanket. Megan also recognises the special garden routine when their nanny, Steve, lifts the log to let the children see the creepy-crawlies underneath. Steve agrees with the children's parents that Megan's sharp memory does have a downside, since she recalls where Tim's favourite bricks are kept and annoys him by pulling them out.
* Fifteen-month-old Gaven has been aware of music for some time and he has clear favourites in songs and rhymes. His nanny, Anna, is able to tell Gaven's parents about how he is trying to sing a rhyme that they taught to him. Gaven is an enthusiastic pointer, not only to indicate something that he wants Anna to reach for him, but also as a way to engage her in what interests him. Today in the high street Gaven used a full arm and finger point to direct Anna's attention to a bus and then to a tree waving in the breeze.
The mini 'progress reports' that you share with parents need to highlight how all the little things are important and are building children's learning.
For example, toddlers show attention, recall and skills of imitation when they recycle phrases they have heard, such as 'ohdearyme' or 'heylookadat'.
Toddlers initially learn words to name real objects and people and then later realise that the same word is used to name the picture of an object.
This link seems so obvious to adults that it can be missed, but it is an important step of understanding.
Older babies and young toddlers can already be enthusiastic about books - genuine 'early literacy'. You might show parents a toddler's definite favourites from the book shelf and some repeating phrases of a story the child likes to echo.
Some time within the second year of life you will notice the first glimpses of pretend play. This exciting development shows that toddlers understand enough of how their world works to play around with it. Share with parents the way that their toddler has brushed the dolly's hair, given their toy dog a drink or gone 'vroom vroom' as they pushed a toy car.
Babies and toddlers understand and anticipate familiar routines - clear evidence that they recognise patterns and have strong feelings about the events of their day. Perhaps Danny's father always sits down with him to look at some books as soon as he gets in from work. You can tell him that Danny recognises the sound of his father's key in the door and immediately toddles off to select his books for that evening.
Completed physical skills such as crawling and walking are exciting to see.
But babies and toddlers do not take a developmental milestone tick-list approach. They spend a lot of energy honing a physical sequence such as crawling and then show enthusiasm in using their new skill.
You can observe the energy and concentration of babies as they persevere in perfecting a forward crawl. Then, where do they want to go with that crawl and what do they do when they get there? Toddlers begin to recognise the messages from their own body, whether they are about to go off balance, can right themselves or plump back down on their bottom. You will see the look on their face.
It will be important for you to share with parents your observation that their child is a keen and skilled climber, and get their agreement to let her try new challenges. It will now be safer to teach her how to go up and down stairs, for example, rather than keep blocking her way with the stair gate.
You will also notice how physical skills link with babies' and toddlers'
intellectual development. For instance, Finn, nearly one year old, spends a lot of time putting objects in and out of a set of larger containers. He looks carefully, rattles the container in an experimental way and then varies his play by wanting to give you the items one by one. At first sight, Finn's play looks repetitive, but in fact each cycle is a little bit different.
CASE STUDY
Tamara previously worked with children over three years old and wondered whether she would find her new job less stimulating because Jamie was just 14 months old. But the first week with Jamie soon showed her that he was as busy learning as any three- or four-year-old.
On their first outing to the local park, Tamara could observe Jamie's fascination with any event that caught his attention. They spent some time watching the tennis players, and Jamie listened and giggled at Tamara's exaggerated criticisms of their playing style. He was amused by her tone and wanted to share with his own sound-making.
Jamie enjoyed the under-twos' play park but was equally keen to watch the older children play in their separate section. Tamara noticed that Jamie's attention was caught by an item of play equipment that spun. He echoed Tamara's words 'round and round'.
Later in the week Tamara and Jamie returned to the same park and she could see the recognition on his face as they approached the tennis court. His body language and sounds told her that he wanted a repeat of the tennis watching. As they entered the play park, Jamie had a go at the 'round and round' phrase they had used before. Tamara realised that there would be plenty to observe and share with Jamie's parents and that she could relax and be guided a great deal by Jamie's own interests.
