During their early months in daycare, babies and young children are likely to spend their time with others of similar ages, often up to about 18 months old. The greatest strides in physical, intellectual, social and emotional development occur during these first 18 months of a child's life.
This transition from being a totally dependent and virtually immobile infant, to someone who is both mobile and independent, necessitates an environment that supports these rapid and progressive stages of growth.
To create the best possible environment for children this age, early years practitioners would do well to consider some important aspects of good practice: Dividing children by age is far from ideal. A truly child-centred approach would instead arrange them in family groups. In this way older children learn the practical life skills and confidence of looking after younger ones, who, in turn, imitate the behaviour and internalise the skills and attitudes of their elders. But until policy decisions are taken to integrate all ages under five in childcare in Britain, early years practitioners will continue to divide children in this way.
Share knowledge and expertise in your team and combine an academic understanding of child development with a common-sense approach to children's real needs. Two seminal works can guide your understanding of babies' development and growing intellectual needs and they both refer consistently to brain development research of the past few years.
The Social Baby by Lynne Murray and Liz Andrews (The Children's Project, Pounds 14.99) concentrates on the ways that babies learn to communicate with adults, and emphasises the importance of providing social contact and stimulating experiences.
How Babies Think by A Gopnik, A Meltzoff and P Kuhl (Phoenix, 7.99) explains theories of brain development and capacity, and explores the significance of the first five years of life in shaping attitudes, skills and personality.
Develop good practice in line with Birth to Three Matters - a framework to support children in their earliest years, and see how the four aspects of development can be supported by the ideas presented here. The Birth to Three Matters framework concentrates specifically on what can be done to enhance learning outcomes for children. It suggests ways in which practitioners can behave and provide activities that stimulate development.
However, there is little reference to the type of environment that should be created for babies and young children. It is important for practitioners to think about where they place babies and toddlers, and to be aware of the stimulus that structures and objects provide for these children.
When setting up a baby space, thought should be given to the dimensions of the physical area that you intend to devote to those aged 0 to 18 months.
To achieve this suitable environment, there are a number of actions that settings can take.
Space
* Provide separate rooms for sleeping and play.
* Make sure that the playroom is large, and that there is sufficient floor area for babies to lie safely on mats on their backs, and on their fronts.
At around three months, they will learn to roll over and begin to hold their heads up for short periods of time.
* Periods of lying on their bellies and their backs, when babies stretch, kick and develop control over their limbs, are crucial initial steps to gaining muscle tone, strength, co-ordination and mobility.
* The space must accommodate babies' initial efforts to crawl, or 'bum shuffle', so a large expanse of floor is necessary to offer challenges and reasons for moving.
* Babies learn by observation, trial and error, and strive to achieve what adults seem to expect of them.
* Babies develop control of their bodies from their head downwards.
Progressive physical achievements encourage them to attempt more and more difficult feats. At between eight and 12 months, they usually begin to want to pull themselves up on their feet and support their bodies against furniture.
* As they learn to take their first independent steps, babies will enjoy pushing trolleys across a large space.
* Mobile toddlers love to run from one point to another and to propel themselves around on small pedal-free vehicles.
* Outdoor space is as crucial for babies as it is for older children.
Provide space outdoors to observe the world from a rug under a tree, to roll on the grass, crawl over surfaces, push vehicles from one place to another, run and walk about.
Light, floor surfaces and window covering
* Site your baby and toddler space in a light and well-ventilated location where children can view what is going on outside through low-level windows.
* Use roller blinds and curtains to protect children from the sun's glare.
* Use individual lights, rather than strip, fluorescent lighting, to illuminate the indoor space.
* A washable, non-slip surface is the best floor covering as babies inevitably dribble, sometimes vomit and occasionally urinate. Lino, or lino tiles, provides the warmest and most long lasting of surfaces.
* Use large, washable mats made of cotton or wool, and move them around where and when you require.
* Take mats outdoors for somewhere more comfortable to sit.
Furniture
* Use low-level wooden tables and specially designed non-tip baby chairs.
Children will learn to take to their feet for the first time and support themselves as they walk around these tables. They can also begin to enjoy the challenge of handling and playing with objects on the tables, as well as sit at table to eat in a group.
* Provide homely furniture such as small adult sofas and comfy floor cushions, with washable cotton covers, where babies and young children can sit cosily with adults to share books, rhymes and songs.
* Organise equipment and toys in baskets and on low-level, open shelves where babies and young children can indicate what they want to play with.
Later they can fetch for themselves objects that attract them.
* Provide low-level, safe climbing structures that offer challenges and places to observe the room or the outdoors from different heights and viewpoints.
Resources
* Support babies' growing interest in the world around them by paying attention to wall surfaces and displays.
* Use pale colours for walls, such as white, cream or magnolia. Visual stimuli should focus on displays, objects of interest, furnishing, dressing-up clothes, props, books and toys.
* Babies and young children respond well to ordinary and simple objects.
* Hang tissue paper shapes, silk sails or chiffon scarves from the ceiling, so babies lying on mats can enjoy observing them move in the breeze.
* Create different collections of objects for investigation in a variety of treasure baskets. For example, each basket could be filled with:
* cooking tools including wooden spoons, pots and pans
* clean household brushes
* large office envelopes
* crushed coloured paper
* leaves in autumn
* bath toys
* musical instruments
* hats, scarves and gloves
* teddies
* puppets
* cars and other vehicles
* safe plastic and cardboard packaging
* small water bottles filled with coloured water and tiny objects and then sealed.
The list is endless. Use your imagination and ask parents to make collections of recycled objects.
* Provide large, shallow builders' trays that can be used to play with sand, water or any other safe substance.
* Provide dressing-up clothes and props, and cardboard boxes that can be used as cars, boats or trains.
* Organise a cosy space where children can share a wide selection of picture, board and fabric books.
* All these resources should be able to be taken outdoors and enjoyed on a veranda or in the garden.
Adult support
Other children and adults make a significant impact on babies and how they develop. Babies will reach out for objects that interest them and will respond and want to communicate with people and animals around them.
Adults should actively and positively support babies to develop this combination of growing physical and intellectual control, while also helping them along the critically important path to becoming social and responsive beings.
Next month: Creating a good environment for children aged 18 months to three years