The environment that infants and toddlers interact with from the moment they arrive at the centre to leaving the centre every day has an impact on their physical and psychological well-being. As every child is unique and has diverse needs, the way he or she responds to the surroundings is different too. It is important for early years educators to be equipped with the skills and abilities to identify influencing factors in the environment, recognize individual needs, and provide support with respect and responsiveness. This will allow educators to effectively support the emotional well-being of infants and toddlers in a healthy environment and cultivate psychological resilience. It will also help prevent potential cases of neglect or abuse in the children’s growing years.
Through this course, early years educators will learn to identify factors that affect infants and toddlers, identify signs and symptoms of neglect and abuse in young children, and explore how to identify infants’ and toddlers’ emotional signals. They will also learn to plan for effective usage of materials and explore strategies to support and model positive emotional responses to cultivate psychological resilience of infants and toddlers in a healthy environment.
