25.2: Care Routines

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Amanda Taintor

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Defining Routines in Care

Caregiving routines—arrival and departure, feeding, meals and snacks, diapering and toileting, dressing, and napping—provide a framework for the infant/toddler day. Routine care is far from routine. A significant amount of individualization occurs during routines; they offer caregivers and family child care providers many opportunities to observe and understand each child’s ways and preferences and support development and learning across the domains( HHS, ACF, OCC, NITCCI, Infant/Toddler Curriculum and Individualization).[1]

During routine care, infants and toddlers have adults’ undivided attention as they focus on meeting children’s needs and getting to know them (Koralek, Derry, Amy Laura Dombro, and Diane Trister Dodge,2005). Routines offer opportunities to build relationships with each infant and toddler that promote attachment and trust. These are developmental milestones that are critical for children’s sense of security and willingness to explore people and objects in their environments. Routines involve children’s bodily needs, very intimate care, and potentially different perspectives from that of the family, so they should be highly individualized; in group care settings, each infant’s and toddler’s routine care is based on his or her own readiness and timetable for feeding, diapering and toilet learning, and sleep (Zero to Three, 2008). [1]

How the routine is carried out and when the routine occurs should be closely coordinated with children’s families so that care is consistent between home and the program. Because these routines are so individualized, they should be carried out by the child’s primary caregiver whenever possible. Families in home-based programs may individualize routine care for their infants and toddlers according to a combination of children’s needs, family schedules, and cultural beliefs and practices. Home visitors can work collaboratively with families to address topics such as using routine care times to support their child’s development and learning and changing routine care practices as children get older An important part of individualizing routines is using rituals. People often use the terms rituals and routines interchangeably, but they are not the same. According to Gillespie and Petersen, routines are “repeated, predictable events that provide a foundation for the daily tasks in a child’s life . . . Individualizing a routine means that the sequence is the same but the actions and timing may vary to accommodate the needs of individual children”(Gillespie, Linda, and Peterson, 2012 p. 76). Rituals, in general, are “special actions that help us navigate emotionally important events or transitions in our lives as well as enhance aspects of our daily routines to deepen our connections and relationships” (Gillespie, Linda, and Peterson, 2012 p. 76). For infants and toddlers, a ritual is “a special practice that helps a child accept aspects of a routine, even an individualized routine, that are stressful” (Gillespie, Linda, and Peterson, 2012 p. 76). Rituals that adults develop with children and use at home or in group care can ease emotionally loaded situations such as separations (including going to sleep), feeding and meal times, and learning to use the toilet.[1]

Coordinating routine care between home and program may sometimes be challenging. Caregivers attitudes and beliefs about how routines should be carried out may differ from what families believe and do.

[1] Early Head Start National Resource Center. (2014). Individualizing care for infants and toddlers: Part 1 [Technical assistance paper no. 16] is in the public domain