Routine 1-2yr
Unit 2
1-2’s Routine
E1
The setting is a day nursery, which is located in an urban town in the West Midlands. The routine is planned for children age 1 and 2 years.
E2
The aim of the overall routine is to see if the routine meets the children’s all round development (physical, social, emotional and intellectual). The aim is also to make sure all children are safe, secure and the Health and safety policy of the setting is followed. All activities are adapted to meet the needs of all children within the setting and all activities in the routine are suitable and are appropriate for the age of all children.
E3
E4
My chosen aspect of the overall routine is 11.45, hand washing/Dinner.
Authorised by …………………………………………….
E5
The aim of the chosen routine is to observe a child whilst having dinner and to make sure all children eat a healthy and nutritious meal were hygiene is taken into account. To encourage the child’s personal development by helping them to learn to eat with utensils and to wash hands before eating. Encourage the child’s social development by eating and interacting with others.
E6
Birth to three a framework which supports children in their earliest years – Bruce & Meggitt (2002) state “that ...
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Authorised by …………………………………………….
E5
The aim of the chosen routine is to observe a child whilst having dinner and to make sure all children eat a healthy and nutritious meal were hygiene is taken into account. To encourage the child’s personal development by helping them to learn to eat with utensils and to wash hands before eating. Encourage the child’s social development by eating and interacting with others.
E6
Birth to three a framework which supports children in their earliest years – Bruce & Meggitt (2002) state “that mealtimes can also provide a valuable opportunity to further the child’s development”.
At 11.45 its hand washing/ dinner time. We have to collect the dinner trolley from the kitchen. The table is wiped with disinfectant before the children start to eat. We help the children wash their hands and put their bibs on. We wash our hands and put gloves and aprons on, then we serve the dinner. The staff put the dinner on the plates and break it up in small pieces for the children. We sit with the children whilst they are eating. There are five children in the group. Child E is using her hands to eat, adult says “Child E use your spoon to eat”. Child E picks the spoon up with her right hand and tries to put the rice on the spoon. The adults feed the children that can’t eat by themselves. Child C isn’t able to eat by her self so the adult is feeding her with the spoon. After all the children have eaten the adult gives all the children a drink of water in a beaker, so it doesn’t spill. Child C holds her cup with both hands and takes it towards her mouth and drinks the water and then places the beaker back on the table. After they have had their drink we wipe the children’s faces with a wipe and take the bibs of, and one of the adult’s take the children to the quite area and read them a story. Then we wipe the table with disinfectant and sweep the floor. We take all the dishes to the kitchen and put them in the dishwasher.
E7
Birth to five framework (2007) states at this stage children “enjoy daily routines, such as getting up time, mealtimes, nappy time, bed time. It also states “help children to enjoy their food and appreciate healthier choices by combining favourites with new tastes and textures”. At this age children also “discover what they like and dislike”, so they should be given a choice of different food they would like to eat. Eating with other children can be fun. Children are likely to relax and talk to one another. They are also able to learn how to eat appropriately as well as learning social skills, such as saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’.
Beaver M, (2001 pg 182) states between the ages of 1-2 “the desire to be independent is increasing at this age and feeding skills are improving” and “the child can usually try to use a spoon with some success”. Beaver M (2001 pg 212-213) also states “he can hold a spoon, but puts it in mouth upside down” and “hold a cup and drink without assistance”. Tassoni (2002, pg 167) also states at the age of 1-2 children can “holds and drinks from cup using two hands”. According to Beaver M (2001 pg 152) children’s cognitive development is increasing as “one word and intonation is used to indicate meaning, e.g. cup may mean, ‘I want a drink’, ‘I have lost my cup’, ‘where is my cup?’. The intonation and possibly the situation would indicate the meaning to people who are familiar with the child”.
E8/B1
What I have learnt is that children have different needs because they are all individuals and develop at different stages. I have learnt that not all children were able to wash their hands and eat by them selves and that they needed help. I learned that during dinner time their wasn’t enough staff to help the children as they were not able to eat properly and they needed feeding by the adults and that all the children didn’t finish the food on their plates probably because they weren’t hungry or they didn’t like it. In future practice I would make sure that once the children have had there lunch one adult takes the children and carries out the next part of the routine with them and another adult cleans the tables and sweeps the floor. I also noticed that whilst the children were eating their, wasn’t any interaction going on between the staff and children. Healthy diet in childhood is one indicator of high expectancy”. I have learnt that some foods should not be given to children, either because they can damage their health or because they may encourage poor eating habits. Food like nuts should not be given to young children, as although nutritious, there is a danger of children choking on them. Drinks like undiluted fruit juices might seem like a good alternative to sugary drinks, but they contain natural sugars and acids that can cause dental decay and that they should be diluted in water. I have also learned that team work is important when working in a day nursery. Such as if a parents tells one member of staff something concerning their child, that member of staff should let the other staff know so they are aware of the issue. I have learnt that team work benefits everyone in the setting including parents and children. In future practice I would make sure that when parents share information about their child, the information they share should be told to all members of staff that works with that child, so they can provide the right care for them and meet their needs.
E9/C1
The recommendations that I would make to the hand washing/dinner routine is having more staff so they can feed the children as they were not able to eat by them selves. Having more staff will mean the staff will be able to clear everything away quickly, so they can follow the next stage of the routine, which is story or singing time. The recommendation I would make for the staff is that they can interact more with the children by talking about the food they are eating and talking about were it comes from as this will encourage the child’s language development. Tassoni, P (2002, pg, 146) states “eating and enjoying food is an opportunity for children to socialise and develop social skills”. Tassoni also states “this may mean encouraging children to talk to each other and also to talk about the food that they are eating”. At the end when the adults clear the table and wipe it down they can ask the children if they would like to help them clear the table or sweep the floor as this will encourage the child’s personal, social and emotional development and also talking about the textures and properties of the food whilst they are eating it can encourage the child’s knowledge and understanding of the world. I would make sure all children’s needs are met and also ensure the safety and welfare of the child by checking food to see if it’s at the right temp and if it meets the dietary requirements for the child. I would also recommend that staff check the food that is given to the children for E numbers as E numbers make children more hyperactive, as some E numbers contain artificial colours. An article form, The Nursery world (2007, pg, 16) supports my recommendation and states “some people can react to certain addictives, just as some people react to certain foods that most people can eat without any problem”. Research commissioned by the Food Standard Agency states “if your child shows signs of hyperactivity or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), you should try to avoid giving your child the following artificial colours, because this might help improve their behaviour”. Some of the E numbers which contain artificial colours are E110, E104, E122, and E129. During the dinner time not all the children ate their food because they were not given a choice of what they wanted to eat. The reason for this could have been that the children didn’t like the food. So I would give the child a choice of what they would want to eat by providing two types of food and asking them which one they would like, this way the child may eat more as they have chosen what they wanted to eat themselves.
E10
I have shown anti discriminatory anti bias practice throughout by assignment.
D1
Some parts of the routine were effective in meeting the needs of the children at hand washing/dinner time, as all the children were trying to eat by themselves, using the spoon. Some children were successful in using the spoon and some needed help. During this part of the routine all the children were able to hold the beaker and drink from it. It was also effective because all the children sat together and eat their dinner which was also healthy and nutritious, as Tassoni, P (2002, pg, 146) states “eating and enjoying food is an opportunity for children to socialise and develop social skills”.
Some parts of the routine were not effective as their wasn’t enough staff to help the children to eat and clean up at the end. So having more staff could have been better and made the routine more effective. Their was also not enough interaction going on, if their was, then the children would have interacted with one another more, which would have increased their language development.
E11
References and Bibliography
Books
Beaver. M. et. al. 2001. Diploma in Childcare and Education. Cheltenham. Nelson Thornes.
Tassoni, P .et al. (2002) Diploma Child Care and Education, Oxford, Heinemann
Birth to Three framework (2002)
Birth to five matters framework (2007)
Magazine
Nursery World (2007) 29 November 2007. Author Natalie Golden