An experience a couple of week ago raised questions for me about educators’ awareness of children’s learning. I facilitated a professional learning session on babies’ and toddlers’ learning for around 100 educators. My aim was for participants to remind themselves about some of the less obvious important learning that occurs in the first two years […]
7 things we can do to build professional resilience
Originally posted in 2015, this post was updated in August 2020. Being an early childhood educator can be both rewarding and challenging. Above are just a few of the responsibilities early childhood educators have. Your wellbeing matters because, as an educator, it influences your interactions and relationships with children and young people. It also affects […]
Separating care and education – again
Child care features prominently in the news currently. That’s good? Not really. The problem is that the focus is only on the prohibitive cost to families and insufficient supply. There needs to be more child care, and it needs to be cheaper – end of story. The term education and care services began replacing preschool […]
Controlled Crying?
In this second part of a two-part blog series on the controversial topic of controlled crying, PAM LINKE examines the young child’s attachment and wellbeing. The first blog, written by Dr Anna Price and originally published on The Conversation more than three years ago, examined research into controlled crying, parent sleep and post natal depression. Since that time, ECA […]
Future-proof Australia against welfare dependency and inequality
We should all care about the findings of the Productivity Commission Inquiry into Childcare and Early Childhood Learning, recently delivered to the Federal Government, because it affects our future prosperity as a nation. This is a once in a generation opportunity to future-proof Australia against entrenched welfare dependency, inequality and lack of opportunity amongst a […]
Controlled crying is helpful, not harmful
Originally republished from The Conversation more than three years ago, this article covers the controversial topic of controlled crying from the perspective of parental sleep and post natal depression. As researcher DR ANNA PRICE from Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) writes, women ‘who said their baby’s sleep was a problem were twice as likely to experience […]
One way to increase flexibility, without increasing hours
While extended hours may provide flexibility for some families, other families may be looking for shorter sessions or greater choice about what hours they use and pay for. Flexible sessions are one way that early childhood services can align service operating hours with the needs of the family. A session of care is ‘is the […]
Everyone can benefit from Paid Parental Leave changes
The opposition to the Paid Parental Leave scheme has been unhelpfully vitriolic at times but the Government’s decision to redirect funds from Paid Parental Leave (PPL) into early childhood education and care is the right one. As an advocate for children, I support full wage replacement Paid Parental Leave –it would make it much easier […]
The great Christmas debate: how can we celebrate inclusively?
This blog was originally posted in 2014 and updated in August 2020. Expressing joy, sharing and giving, these are evergreen qualities yet Christmas can look and feel different in different settings. This blog post is a timeless reflection on the end of the year: all that it brings us and all that we bring to it. […]
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year?
It’s hard to believe that Christmas has almost rolled around once again. All around the country early childhood services will be madly scrambling to finish portfolios and be dusting off the boxes of Christmas decorations that were unceremoniously shoved in the back of the shed in mid-January. It’s also the time of the year when […]