When I think of the difficulties I encounter with stereotypes or prejudice, ageism and ableism are two that great impact with my work with young children.
I will often do more for a young child, especially one who may have difficulties from a varying disability, then I would for another child. I often think of children as not fully capable in a quick moment but when I reflect upon the incident I know the child is fully able to complete the task on his/her own. I had a student this year who had limited mobility with the left side of his body so I would often help him with his jacket when it came to this side instead of truly encouraging him to try his best before offering minimal support for him to put his coat on.
This coming fall I will be in a classroom with 3 year-olds and I have not had too much experience with this age group. I will have to not think of these young children as unable simply because of the age. I will have be very observant in the beginning of the year to ensure I am treating each of these children in a fair manner that does not demean them. While ageism is often only referred to when encountering the elderly population, the same attitude can be seen when working with young children.
Both of these can leave me with a sense of, 'why can you not do this yourself?' but it is actually me who is hindering the child and placing the idea that he/she cannot do something. I need to listen to the child and only support when truly warranted.
Gender stereotyping is a new concept to me as I have never thought much about it until my recent courses. I know there is quite a bit that happens in communities and this presents itself within the early childhood setting. While I reflected the other day with a colleague how I did not have a boy put on a dress this year, this was just different for me as in the past I have always had at least one child explore this and a discussion would be had about how simply because he is wearing a dress he is not a girl as there are many men who wear robes or other types of garments similar to dresses. I want to ensure I am honoring the child as well as portraying a positive attitude about males who dress in a nonconformist manner.
I can totally relate to jumping to help, or offering help before letting the child try first. At my center we a toddler child that has cerebral palsy. The one toddler teacher wants to do everything for him, she feeds him at lunch helps him drink his beverages and wants to hold him all the time. I and the owner are constantly telling her that yes we want him to be successful with asserting his independence, and to be able to play, but his only real limitation is not being able to walk. He can feed himself, it may not be as fast as everyone, and if he is sitting in a high chair, he can balance and support himself sitting up to eat.
ReplyDeleteIf he is sitting on the carpet playing with his peers he can sit up but he may only be comfortable for a limited amount of time, because he will often transition himself to his stomach and continue to play.
So we have to remember to let the children attempt to do for themselves before we come to the rescue.
Mallory,
DeleteYes. I had an instructor many years ago who would always reiterate that we should never do for a child what he/she can do for themselves. I have seen two year old put on their own snow gear from head to toe so when I encounter a child who claims a jacket is too difficult and I just stand there and explain I need to see them try before I will help. Many children have so much done for them daily that learned helplessness develops so I take my stance as you need to try and then I will help.
Great blog post! I think many times we have the notion to help others because we feel that they cannot do it themselves but we have to make sure that we remember that we are all capable of doing things on our own the same way that disabled people have learned to do things on their own. I feel that it is the same concept that applies with young children. We often take for granted that they can do so many things without our help that we help or just do things for them. I have begun watching a two-year-old for the summer. She is so independent, she gives me a way to remember that she is capable even if she does not do things the same way that I would do them. I think that is the most important thing to remember is that even if someone does something different it is still okay because they are still doing it themselves. Our way is not the only way or the right way.
ReplyDeleteSarah,
DeleteVery true, we do not have to do things in the same manner to yield the same result. This is something I have had to work on a lot over many years and yet today I was tying my fourteen- year-old sone hiking shoes because I felt they should have been tighter. I am sure they would have been acceptable for our short hike and yet the control took over me.