Unit 7 D2

(D1 & D2) Within this piece of work, I will be focusing on the transition of a child attending a day nursery for the first time. This piece will be centred on a child under three, starting a day nursery for the first time and attending the nursery all day. This piece of work will be based on a child whose parents work full time. Therefore, they will be having breakfast and tea at the setting. Day nurseries are becoming increasingly popular as many parents are needing to return back to work. The Education Editor, Graeme Paton, wrote in The Telegraph online that the "Figures from the Department for Education show that 441,000 children under five are in day nurseries." (16 Oct 2013, DA 14.09.15)
The key issues surrounding this type of transition
I have observed a child who has recently started the nursery remain upset throughout the day. The child started the day early in the morning and stayed until the evening, so this was a long time to remain upset. The child was withdrawn and would not interact or even begin to parallel play which is stage of play which he is expected be achieving at his age and stage in his development. I believe that this is because the child has not formed a bond with the practitioners. This is an excellent example of why Bowlby's theory of attachment is so important. Bowlby believed that a secure connection between a child and their care giver is vital in order for the child to feel secure and develop a sense of self. (Stearns J, 2013, P7) Children who experience such an upsetting time leaving their parents would benefit from someone who they can attach themselves to emotionally within the setting. Within day nurseries specifically, they often use key workers. The concept of a key worker is an adaption on Bowlby's theory, emphasized by Goldshmied. Elinor Goldshmied believed that a child was able to form an attachment with other adults alongside or instead of their primary care giver. Elinor Goldshmied's work focuses on children from birth to three years old. Goldshmied stated that key workers were important in order for children's basic needs to be met and for effective
This also puts emphasis on planning, the child only spends one day a week at the setting and if the setting had planned properly in advance they could have sent the child's key worker on a home visit. This would have allowed the key worker to begin forming a relationship with both the child and parent. This would also provide the practitioner with an insight into the child's family life. If the planning had been more in depth for this particular child then they would have found that the child was from a single parent family. This may insinuate that they would experience a lot of separation anxiety when leaving their main care giver. Sigmund Freud, a neurologist who focused on the human mind and personalities, introduced the idea of transitional objects. Freud's theory supports 'play as therapy', where children use one thing to represent another. Children can use play to work through their emotions and feelings, this can be done through toys that they bring in from home (Baker et al, 2013, P328). Children attach themselves to specific objects that they are familiar with and objects that make them feel comfortable. These objects are often blankets, dummies or soft toys which the child has at home that is used to comfort them in times of upset. Allowing the child to bring these objects into