Primary caregivers

Implementing a system of primary caregiving is another way to establish a continuity of care. Primary caregiving takes place when one adult provides the primary care for a child. This doesn’t mean that this is the only person that interacts with the child, but it is the adult that is most able to develop a trusting and nurturing relationship with a particular child. This person is responsible for observing and assessing the child to track development across all domains and for communicating with the family about the child on a regular basis. Since developing a sense of trust is one of the primary tasks of infancy, it is especially recommended that primary caregiving relationships are established for this age group, but are marks of a high quality program at any age. This allows children to be known and treated as individuals. This will be recognized by parent and child alike and will create a sense of respect between parent, child and caregiver that characterizes high quality program. Primary caregiving relationships are established when the child has been in the program a few weeks and the child and an adult have gravitated towards one another. If this doesn’t seem to happen naturally, sometimes a primary caregiver must be assigned. Of course, in a family child care setting with one or two providers, the primary caregiver remains constant over time. It is helpful as a provider to determine if your personality meshes with the children in your care.