The setting for my observation was one of a child care home which is located two kilometers away from my house. This daycare is meant for children with working parents. In this daycare, the children are infants and children between 8 months to 11 years old. The reason for me to choose this daycare is because my niece is also there. The caretakers here are very caring and with nurturing personalities and have been working with children for more than 10 years.
The setting was a group of 15 children of mixed sexes, all of the mixed abilities such as learning to speak, hyper-energetic and speech delays. The group was well staffed by four women with some children having one to one support. The setting is headed by a teacher and the children are well guided for the work, and the children learn through play and interact with each of them.
My observations were based upon the Tavistock model where the role of the observer is to plunge themselves in the interactions that take place between the infant and others present. The observer is to remain non-interventionist and as unobtrusive as possible, thus, in theory, experiencing everyday interactions and my responsibility was to observe a child for one to two hours for fourteen days and record my observations after the sessions. I also included my reflections, dilemmas, and partialities with my observation.
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The staff at the day care center were aware of my role, and the purpose of my observations. My own 8 months old niece was selected and I shall call her Nikka (pseudonym). My brother and sister in law are aware that I am going to do the observation in the daycare and they have given their consent towards this.
The first session took place after lunch and I placed myself at the back of the room, discreetly tucked into a corner hoping that my presence would not be noticed by the children. How wrong I was! The room was filled with a collection of spontaneous discoveries, books, toys, computers, sand, paint and dressing up clothes and the clutter of noise and emotions reminded me of my own home when I was growing up with my two siblings, the kids were exploring the world extends their emerging theories as to how the world works.
Initially, I found it very difficult to sit and focus on Nikka solely, as I was used to talking and making eye contact with other children, and not being able to engage or speak was difficult. For the first session, I watched Nikka intently and I had to clear my head of any judgments of her which were purely based on bits of information I had picked up from staff.
I had based assumptions of Nikka’s background and life, which were purely speculative and well-versed. It was this reflection that helped me focus between fact and feeling and challenging myself on how the information I had been given about Nikka had given considerable weight in how I thought she might play and socialize with other children.
I watched Nikka carefully glide from one activity to the next, first upon waking up, she cried to be carried up and entertained by playing and talking to her. Then, the moment she was placed on the walker, she cried again and that is where she has been taken out from the walker and was placed on the floor. Now, she started to crawl towards the chair and managed to grab the chair to obtain the support and slowly gently she started to walk towards the other children who were playing with the sand art.
She was letting it quickly sift through her fingers and making shapes and marks with the palms of her hands and was clapping and cheering alone. She slowly toddled off when a young boy, eager to play more adventurously bumped her out of the way.
Watching Nikka play, I did think of her purposes and what she was trying to create or inform through her thought and actions, and I did think of Piaget’s (1973) theory on children’s cognitive development. Again, I had to challenge my assumptions on stages of Piaget’s theory as they are not fixed and concrete in any child.
On several times, the other children came up to me bringing toys, puzzles, book and sought permission to go to the toilet, and at one point, a young child stood in front of me and started to talk with me and asking questions. I replied only briefly to the children and avoided eye contact when possible.
My desire to become involved with the children was very strong. However, remaining in a passive role allowed me to step back and slow down and examine in detail the relationship with the child.
The method of sitting observing Nikka was at times strange to me and having no prescriptive focus other than observing made me feel defenseless. It felt like the anxieties and feel like giving up with the observation and just play with the kids around.
In the room with Nikka, I had to comprehend my feelings around the observation. How I managed my feelings around observing Nikka also reminded me to be in control of my own feelings.
Nikka continued throughout my observation to drifts from one activity to the next. During my next observation, I saw Nikka was eyeing and smiling at the colorful women poster on the wall which is along the staircase heading upwards to the second level. At one point, I observed her crawling to the base of the staircase and carefully tried to stand up in a staggering movement and finally fell down. Then she sat for a moment, after that she pushed down through the legs by holding the base of the stair and bounce up. In a gentle manner, she lifts up her leg and place on the first stair. She did the same with the other leg too. The same steps occurred for the next level of the staircases and she managed to climb up to the third level.
At that moment, I thought of how unique and complex children are as they do not have the language to explain how they think and explore the world that surrounds them. By slowing down and observing them, I had the advantage and a willingness to speculate. Ending the hour observation was less problematic than I assumed and I quietly left the room.
In the following session with Nikka, I felt more relaxed and in tune with what I was trying to do. It was much more comfortable not having to put any kind of concept into practice. I had the luxury of not having paper and pens or an observation list to jot down. Therefore it was a non-threatening moment for me to observe Nikka.
Nikka made eye contact with me on a few occasions and smile when she noticed me looking at her although I was pretending not watching her. In this session, Nikka cried on and off and was little cranky although she already had had a nap earlier before I came in, she seemed somewhat tired and lethargic that day.
The remaining sessions observing Nikka became pleasing and watching her play was fascinating as her tiny hands grasped and touched the toys and objects around her. By observing her I able to capture moments by focusing solely on her.
I am aware of the importance of endings and although I had clearly given my responsibility to the staff, I said goodbye to the children and thanked them for allowing me to sit in their class. I think that they were more interested in circle time and the nursery rhymes rather than notice my quiet absence from the room.
Based on my observation, my niece Nikka is very independent and she is willing to try new things on her own without the presence of an adult. This has proven especially when she started to crawl and walk towards her point of attractions. Nikka begins to understand that she’s an individual and separated from her parents. She was not been influenced by separation anxiety. Nikka learns she can walk away from a place and walk back when she wants to and suddenly she feels is in control of her own destiny.
In this situation being an independent toddler, we could help Nikka in order to boost her self-esteem, her wellbeing and their sense of identity. Doing something for herself produces a powerful sense of achievement and success.
First, we can encourage a supervised and independent play which is to allow her to play while being supervised by an adult is a great step to foster independence. Sitting quietly next to the child, or staying in the vicinity while they are allowed to explore blocks, books or puzzles, is a great way to encourage self-amusement. At the same time, safety should be given priority and keep a keen eye on the little one.
Secondly, we could include her in the conversation to go a step further by teaching the baby to talk to by using baby sign language. Encouraging babies and toddlers to use signs gives them a feeling of confidence and competence, the basis of independence.
Next, don’t fence her in. As much as possible, allow her free movement to explore rather than placing her for long periods in a walker or in front of the TV. Before she can walk, place a few interesting toys just out of reach so that she enticed to start moving toward them. Kids who navigate their environment independently are developing problem-solving skill could instill a sense of confidence.
As a conclusion, observing Nikka had brought back the sense of refocusing on the child and their world. To observe was a chance to explore the children’s lack of power, vulnerability, and dependence on adults. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of observing Nikka.
