Observing Communication

The place that I chose to conduct my observation in was at a store. Needless to say, I enjoyed what I saw. I found it to be cute and funny. Let me share with you what I saw: A woman walked in the store with her four year old daughter. Women became fixated on the child because she was so cute. One woman in particular was talking to the mother about the child as if the child wasn't there. I am a firm believer that children understand more than what we give them credit for. The look on the child's face told the whole store. Her face went from smiles to frowns. She actually looked like she wanted to be a part of the conversation but she wasn't invited to join. I read an article from the resources entitled "Communicating with Babies," by B. Kovach. It states that "You may have witnessed this scene countless times. Most adults talk to other adults about the baby in front of the baby. The problem with this is that even though the baby is the focus of the conversation, he or she is being described as if she is not there." This is true. Children want to be in the conversation anwering questions that they can answer. They can't have sophisticated conversation but they know some things about themselves. I believe that this conversation could have been more effective had the child been able to participate and answer some things for herself. The child actually looked hurt. Her feelings were sincerely hurt. I have learned thi week that when it come to young children, I am not a good communicator. I am guilty of what the woman in the store did. I talk to the parents about small children without directly talking to the child. I grew up in a house where it was believed that young children are to be seen and not heard. In order for me to be a better communicator, I need to pay more attention to the child. I need to look at the child as an individual.

Design of Childhood Facility

After listening to the media presented for this week, the one thing that stood out in my mind was Adriana's remark about the children and families. She talked about the biggest problem would be children been separated from their families. It is common for children to not want to leave a family environment and enter into a strange environment where they don't know anyone (at first). If I had a daycare center, it would contain the following: *Each child would have a picture or something that represent their family/home life. This will be done to allow the children to remain calm rather than go through a period of hysterics. *Of course, my door would be opened to any child, regardless of their nationality or their color. *I would provide toys, posters and artwork to illustrate the fact that I promote diversity. *I would also incorporate activities that appeal to the multiple intelligences to demonstrate the fact that all children do not learn the same way. *The physical environment would also be one that is clean and sanitary. I don't believe that parents would want to send their child to a facility that is filthy and furthermore, germs are easy to spread. *I would allow my children to work in different groups so that they may have an opportunity to work with someone who isn't like themselves. *Last but not least, my facility would be cost efficient and would accommodate all families and all races.