Effective communication imparts skills, fosters a sense of safety and exemplifies social and emotional abilities that pave the way for lifelong success, Katie Fotheringham writes.
The National Quality Standard (NQS) has outlined advice on how early childhood education and care (ECEC) professionals can support babies’ and toddlers’ belonging, being and becoming by practising effective verbal and non-verbal communication.
Children are born ready to communicate, initially expressing needs through crying, before transitioning to babbling, gestures, and eventually words.
Educators can foster communication by maintaining active dialogue, observing and interpreting babies’ sounds, gestures, and expressions, and being attentive to non-verbal cues.
Fostering belonging
Children belong as soon as they are born – to their culture, families, communities and education services.
IEU-QNT Assistant Secretary Nicole Kapernick says positive relationships are the foundation of living and learning, and educators play a crucial part in fostering a sense of belonging.
“Simple acts that can contribute to belonging include greeting and saying goodbye to children and families by name, involving children in daily routines and allowing children to help,” Kapernick says.
“In an ECEC environment, engaging in dialogue with infants and toddlers about their surroundings, upcoming events, observations, emotions of others, and various aspects enhances their sense of connection and enriches their understanding of the surrounding world,” she says.
Early childhood researchers and authors Beverly Kovach and Denise De Ros-Voseles say using language that includes children in communication, rather than talking about them, fosters a sense of belonging. They claim when you do not talk to babies, they are unlikely to understand what is happening to them.