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| |    Continuity in Caregivers Is Best by Dr. Benjamin Spock reviewed by Robert Needlman, M.D., F.A.A.P. A very particular need of young children is continuity in their caregivers. From the age of a few months, babies come to love, count on, and get their security from the one or two people who take the major part of their care. Even at six months, babies will become seriously depressed--losing their smile, their appetite, their interest in things and people--if the parent who has cared for them disappears. There will be a depression, lesser in degree, if a person who assists the parent on a regular basis leaves. (See: Separation Anxiety.) Small children who have been moved from one foster home to another several times will lose some of their capacity to love or trust deeply, as if it's too painful to be disappointed again and again. What you can do It's important that the parent or other person who has taken on the major part of a child's care not give it up during the first two or three years, or at least give it up only after a substitute has very gradually taken over. It's important to be as sure as possible that a substitute plans to stick with the job. If you have hired a babysitter or nanny to look after your baby for a portion of each day, try to pay enough to encourage that person to be highly motivated to stay with you. This may be the most important investment you make in your child's early life. (See: Choosing a Home Caregiver and Choosing a Child-Care Site.) Developing trust Infants and toddlers can grow to know and to trust a small number of adults--from age one to about four. In two-parent families, it is good for both parents to play an active role in child care. If one parent has to leave for a time (due to illness or work, for example), the child's ongoing relationship with the other parent helps tremendously. If you are a single parent, it's very helpful to have another adult who spends a lot of time caring for your baby and who your baby can learn to trust. This can be a grandparent, another relative, or a close friend. If your baby has two or three of these important people in her life, all the better. If you use a child-care center or home It's important, in the group care of young children, that if there are two or more staff people assigned to one group of children, each child be assigned to one person so that there will be a relationship more like that of child and parent. This one aspect--continuity of caregiver--is surely one of the best ways to tell the difference between good child care, in which your baby can thrive, and child care that can be emotionally harmful, sometimes with long-lasting effects. Click here to join the discussion on Newborn and Infant Child Care Click here to join the discussion on Toddler and Preschool Daycare
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