Relationship Based Practices for Infants and Toddlers in North Carolina : A Survey of High Quality Regulated Child Care Settings

Abstract

The first three years of life are the foundation for lifelong learning. A healthy adult-child relationship is critical to the structural formation of the brain during these early years. Based off of Attachment Theory and the effect attachments have on early brain development, national leaders in the field of early childhood development recommend four relationship-based practices (low staff: child ratios, small group size, primary caregiving and continuity of caregiving) in child care settings in order to facilitate these critical attachment relationships. This study sought to determine if high quality (4 and 5 star) child care centers in the state of North Carolina were implementing these practices. Through a self-constructed internet based survey, 4 and 5 star licensed child care centers in NC answered questions related to licensing, center and classroom structure, education of the person responding and information about current relationship based practices. Responses from 262 high quality child care centers were analyzed. Results indicate that the majority of high quality child care centers in NC fail to provide infants and toddlers with the relationship based practices recommended by national leaders in the field of early childhood education