Infants, Toddlers, and Caregivers with the Caregivers Companion - Softcover

Gonzalez-Mena, Janet; Eyer, Dianne Widmeyer

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0073257680 ISBN 13: 9780073257686

Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education, 2006

Synopsis

Combining a child-centered philosophy with problem-solving strategies and a thorough discussion of diversity, Infants, Toddlers, and Caregivers offers an ideal introduction to curriculum and care for infants and toddlers. The approach to caregiving that underlies the text is based on a combination of Magda Gerber’s philosophy and that of her late colleague, Emmi Pikler: both pioneers taught caregivers how to respect young children and stressed the need to integrate (1) concepts of child development with caregiving, (2) knowledge of play as curriculum, (3) the physical and social environment, and (4) adult relations. Infants, Toddlers, and Caregivers applies this approach in a practical, meaningful way for students and faculty in introductory early childhood courses.

About this title

From the Publisher:

Practical focus. Although research based, the focus of the book is on application. Child development and caregiving are discussed in practical terms so caregivers learn how to apply their knowledge.
Child-centered framework. The philosophy of caregiving that underlies this book comes from Magda Gerber and Tom Forrest, M.D., as well as the earlier work of Emmi Pikler. These pioneers of the field stressed: the need to integrate (1) knowledge of play as curriculum, (2) concepts of child development with caregiving, (3) the physical and social environment, and (4) adult relations.
Ten underlying principles. The authors integrate ten principles of caregiving throughout the text, each based on the central role of respect. These principles provide a basis for understanding child development and the problem-solving strategies that are the foundation of daily caregiving practices.
Problem-solving emphasis. The text is directed to those who are preparing to work with infants and toddlers'not to students who plan to conduct research. The approach of the text, therefore, encompasses realistic scenarios, problems and suggested solutions, guidelines for teaching skills, discussion questions, suggested reading, and verbatim reports and anecdotes.
Activity questions. Thought / Activity questions for each chapter ask the reader to think about and develop practical applications to everyday problems that arise in the normal course of daily caregiving.

About the Author:

Janet Gonzalez-Mena started her early childhood career in a cooperative preschool as a parent volunteer back in 1966. She then became a Head Start volunteer and ended up as a teacher in a preschool for Spanish-speaking children and their families in 1970s. She has also helped open several pilot programs including a therapeutic child care program and a home-based bilingual preschool program. When Magda Gerber came into her life in the mid-1970s, Janet signed up for an internship with her at the Childrens Health Council in Menlo Park, California. As a result of that experience, later, when she became a child care director, she was able to incorporate much of what she learned into her work and was influential in expanding that program to include an infant center. Training and teaching adults has always been sideline, even when she was working with children and families. She worked as a Head Start trainer and as adjunct faculty in 4 community colleges plus the University of California Santa Cruz credential extension program. She taught for 15 years as full time faculty at Napa Valley College in the Child and Family Studies Program. Since 1991, she has been part of the faculty for WestEds Program for Infant-Toddler Caregivers (PITC) Training of Trainer Institutes. Janet has been writing along with teaching for all these years and is author of numerous articles and 13 books related to early childhood, including Foundations of Early Childhood Education; Infants, Toddlers, and Caregivers (with co-author Dianne Eyer); and Diversity in Early Care and Education: Honoring Differences (Formerly Multicultural Issues in Child Care). She wrote Dragon Mom about herself as parent to help early childhood professionals alleviate guilt when their parenting doesn't live up to their high standards. Her latest passion is understanding more about the Pikler Institute in Budapest, Hungary, where Magda Gerber came from. It took her 30 years to get there after she first heard of it, but her first trip to it in November of 2003 merely whetted her appetite. She has made two more since and is planning for another one. She is fascinated by the approach and is convinced that this residential nursery is a model for the world. She is continuing to learn more about how this approach can be used to improve infant-toddler care and education programs in the United States. She is also working with a group in Mexico to explore how the approach might fit into their models of residential care for infants and toddlers. Janet has a Master of Arts Degree in Human Development from Pacific Oaks in Pasadena, California.

About this edition

• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0073257680
• ISBN 13: 9780073257686
• Binding: Paperback