Conference Session

From: Tammie Donelson
Email: tammie_donelson@hotmail.com
Date: May 19, 2008

Comments

Conference Session-Leadership Skills for Directors of Infant and Toddler Programs

If I have to pick a session that I enjoyed and transformed my thinking, it was the infant and toddler program training session. I was made aware of the many family members that influence attachments with infants. These attachments are not only the parents, but all extended family members maternally, and paternally. I am able to better understand our role as caregivers and secondary attachments in the triangle of the infant’s relationships. I appreciate that our secondary attachment role can be maximized by providing a primary teacher for the infant to build a strong relationship of trust and security. The attachment phase takes 18-24 months and it important that we make decisions in the program to provide for this to happen in the most positive and least disruptive way. It may require that the infant is not moved to the toddler room until after this attachment is strong. It may also be better facilitated by mixed aged classrooms. We are taking the role of the parent (the primary attachment), but providing a strong support for the parent and child.

I was also introduced to a new curriculum by Kay Albrecht. Though I have not studied the curriculum, she provides information about how to provide for the infant as the primary teacher. I am looking forward to reviewing the information and learning more about how to provide an outstanding infant/toddler program.