Early Childhood Blog

This month’s blog is written by Jackie Musgrave who is the programme lead for Early Childhood at the Open University.

As March 2020 begins, the coronavirus epidemic appears to be gaining a grip in many parts of the world.  It is impossible to predict the impact of the epidemic, is it going to become a pandemic which affects vast numbers of people, potentially killing mostly vulnerable people, or is it going to peak and fade away?

At this uncertain time, my thoughts have turned to how those who work and care for young children can protect them from becoming infected by the virus. The current advice from Public Health England informing us of what we can do to prevent the spread of the virus includes hand washing and using tissues to cover mouths when sneezing and coughing.  So really, this is simply the same advice that we should all be following all the time to prevent the spread of any infection.

Children and practitioners in early childhood education and care settings are particularly prone to catching infectious diseases, any place where there are large numbers of people in close proximity are ideal spaces for the transmission of viruses, bacteria and fungi, the micro-organisms that cause infections.  However, as ECEC practitioners know, children can be very helpful to viruses because they are not especially reliable in their hand washing habits or their ability to know when they are about to sneeze; often spraying their virus-laden saliva far and wide.

Life-threatening infectious diseases are less of a threat to children than they were in the past. However, infections in children remain a significant cause of ill health even though they are regarded as a minor illness and the effect of infections, such as the common cold, can be underestimated. Kolak et al. (2013) highlight the impact of what can be regarded as minor illnesses on children, citing decreased levels of activity, increased irritability, reduced emotional competence and a reduced ability to engage with those around them, thus impacting on their social development. They go on to state that:

Even though illnesses that are relatively minor and of short duration may not necessitate visits to the doctor, it seems plausible that children who experience minor illnesses on a reoccurring basis may be at an increased risk for poor developmental outcomes. (p. 1234).

And of course, infections affect practitioners’ health and wellbeing causing absenteeism for those unwell and increased workloads for colleagues.

Returning to the earlier point about the coronavirus affecting people who are vulnerable, this is especially relevant to babies and very young children.  Not only do they have immature immune systems, but there is an increasing number of children attending early years settings with complex medical needs and chronic health conditions such as asthma and diabetes who are especially vulnerable to infection and require protection

Therefore, careful management of prevention to minimise the spread of infection is imperative to protect all children.

The imperative to prevent infections is ever-present, not just in these uncertain times.  Making the space to reflect on how we role-model effective hand hygiene and teach children when and how to hand wash as well as how to use tissues to catch those bodily fluids is a simple and effective way to improve the health and wellbeing of children and all adults – not just in this time of crisis but at all times.

References

Kolak, A. M., Frey, T. J., Brown, C. A. and Vernon-Feagans, L. (2013) Minor Illness, temperament and toddler social functioning.  Early Education and Development, Vol 24, No 8, p 1232-44

Further reading

Musgrave, J. Infectious diseases, infestations and the acutely ill child chapter in Musgrave, J. (2017) Supporting children’s health and wellbeing.  London: Sage

Musgrave, J. Preventing infections in early years settings.  April 2018 in Parenta magazine available from https://www.parenta.com/2018/06/01/preventing-infections-in-early-years-settings/

Useful information

Health Protection Agency: Guidance on infection control in schools and other childcare settings available from http://www.publichealth.hscni.net/sites/default/files/Guidance_on_infection_control_in%20schools_poster.pdf

Public Health England: guidance on infections in childcare settings available from https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-protection-in-schools-and-other-childcare-facilities/chapters-1-and-2-introduction-and-infections-in-childcare-settings

Public Health England: immunisation information for immunisation practitioners and other health professionals available from

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immunisation

February’s post has been written by Eleonora Teszenyi who is a lecturer on the Early Childhood team.

Participatory research is something that the OU Early Childhood Team is passionate about. I have had a recent experience when I became a participant by contributing to a research project, that focused on socialist childhoods. The project employed a collective biography methodology, in which a group of researchers worked together drawing on their own memories. Through telling, listening, writing and re-writing they got to the point where the written memories became ‘an embodied sense of what happened’ (Davies and Gannon, 2006:3) and in this way, all participants could re-experience it, so it became a collective experience. This methodology was new to me and got me excited. Having been brought up as a child in Eastern Europe, I had first-hand experience of the Soviet regime and was very happy to share my memories and see where it took me and the group.

If you want to know more about the research project ‘Re-connect/Re-collect: Crossing the Boundaries through Memories of Cold War Childhoods’ led by Professors Zsuzsa Millei, Nelli Piattoeva and Iveta Sivova, this is a good place to start.

Below you will find an excerpt from one of my memories that I shared with the group. It is from when I was nine and in the final year of lower primary. There was a town-wide sports competition, where there was also a spectacular sport related whole-school performance put on by each participating school. Here is how I remembered it:

The rehearsals had gone on for weeks prior to the event. The moves and formations were practised over and over again, until precision was achieved. Everyone had to have the exact gear and equipment requested by the school: for me, it was a blue leotard, white ankle socks and the removable round lid of a plastic hourglass-shaped stool. It was drilled into me by my teachers that everything had to be just right: my appearance AND my performance. This wasn’t a place for individual talents to be displayed, it was all about what the school could do. I was one in the crowd of approximately 720 pupils, who had to move together, make the right formations all synchronised to the music. I was nervous, felt lost in the crowd but at the same time I also felt that all eyes were on me. I feared that I would drop the lid, or turn the wrong way… in fact, I feared the consequences of possible mistakes more: the scorn and disapproval of my peers and teachers, that I had let them down, I had let the school down.

The crowds on their tiered chairs were watching, all seats were taken. Then the music started, I started to move, concentrating on every step and every turn. The rhythm of the music filled my head, my teachers’ instructions rang in my ears, then the music stopped, applause erupted, and relief flooded through my body. I’d done it!! No mistakes, no embarrassment, I’d done my best for the school. The feeling of pride started to creep in, my own pride of myself for achieving what was expected of me. I didn’t know what the school thought of my performance, whether they appreciated what I’d contributed or not. What mattered most was that in my mind and heart, I was a winner, but no one would know in that large crowd.

You might like to reflect on your memories of your childhood. Have you got any strong memories that had a lasting impact on you? Something that you think has made you who you are. Why not share it with us, we would like to hear your memories.

References

Davies, B. and Gannon, S. (2006) Doing collective biography. Maidenhead: Open University Press

Welcome to the Early Childhood blog! We have had an in-house blog for some time now to enable us to share ideas with our Early Childhood students at the Open University. However, we have now decided we would like to dialogue with a much wider audience. All of us, who have a professional and academic interest in the key issues around early childhood, know that there has never been a more important time to discuss them – so let’s get talking!

The author of the blog this month is Jo Josephidou a lecturer in Early Childhood. She writes…….

Here on the Early Childhood team we were interested to note that the Duchess of Cambridge has recently launched a campaign, along with The Royal Foundation, entitled 5 Big Questions. This is a short survey to find out what parents, practitioners, academics and other interested members of society, are the key things to get right for the very youngest children in the UK.

Why is it important that these questions are being asked?

For me, three things stand out, all interlinked to impact on the trajectories of these young lives. Firstly, there is the well documented issue around children’s wellbeing and happiness, then there is the impact of poverty, finally many would argue that the schoolification of young children’s lives, is both harmful and inappropriate. These three aspects, viewed against the backdrop of a perceived ‘harsh and uncaring ethos’ apparent in British society and policy, paint a dismal picture for many young children. The Duchess of Cambridge has such a high media profile that we hope that when her questions are responded to, then policy makers, politicians and wider society will sit up and take notice. Certainly, the aim of the survey is to ‘bring about positive, lasting change for generations to come’.

What are the key issues?

What do you think the key issues are? The final question on the survey asks: Is there anything else you would like to tell us about your views on the early years of childhood?

My own response to this question highlights a belief that we put too much pressure on young children too soon. We should be supporting them in their emotional development rather than getting them to read and write before they are ready. Parents, too, are pressured to return to work too soon when they should be supported to stay at home, if indeed this is what they wish to do. Furthermore, there needs to be a much greater focus on quality in early years settings with knowledgeable and skilled adults, who are paid a good salary, to care, nurture and support the development of the very youngest children.

So that’s what I think…. but what about you? Please don’t forget to respond to the survey; it should only take you a few minutes and it is so important that all of us with a parental, professional and academic interest around issues for young children make our voices heard in speaking up for them.

Let us know that you responded, and what you said, in the comments box below……….