long after those first 36 months( NICHD 2005; Sparling & Meunier 2019). Infant educators need to know how to develop responsive relationships with each baby while supporting their overall development and learning.
Curriculum in infant settings is— and must be— different from curriculum in settings with older children. It is unique because infants are acquiring foundational skills and knowledge in language and social and emotional development, and they are making sense of the world around them( Longley & Gilken 2019). Yet limited literature exists to guide infant teachers and those who support them— in both home- and center-based programs— in creating and implementing a developmentally appropriate infant curriculum that is relational, uses play“ as a flexible framework,” and is planned and adapted to“ moment-to-moment interactions”( Masterson & Grady 2024, 90).( See“ What Is a Developmentally Appropriate Infant Curriculum?” on page 30.)
We( the authors) are infant-toddler teacher educators with decades of previous experience as infant teachers and administrators. Through our work, we recognized the need for literature on high-quality infant curriculum. In this article, we describe two elements that are key: Individualizing routines and partnering with families.
Individualizing Routines
Nicole and Denise are teachers in the infant classroom at Hartsville Children’ s Center. They’ ve begun to dread Mondays because this day of the week feels chaotic to them. The babies are harder to put to sleep at naptime and want to eat at times other than the classroom’ s scheduled mealtimes. They often do not adapt to the group schedule until Tuesday or Wednesday.
Angela, a coach working with the teachers, asks Nicole and Denise if they are familiar with individualized routines for infants. Angela guides them to make a chart of the times each baby wants to sleep and eat on Mondays. From the chart, they see that at least one or two babies would be sleeping throughout the day, and there are some time periods when four or five babies would be sleeping. The babies would eat at different times, which would be much less hectic than feeding everyone simultaneously.
Nicole and Denise agree to try individualizing routines. After a few weeks, the teachers find they are less stressed, and the babies are receiving more individualized attention because they are not together in a large group all of the time.
Marginalization of Infant Teachers
Though their work impacts society for decades and generations, those who care for infants are marginalized by society( Longley & Gilken 2019). They are often referred to as“ babysitters”( Beck 2013) or“ caregivers”( Rockel 2014), which implies that anyone can be an infant teacher( Rockel 2014; Longley & Gilken 2019). This marginalization contributes to infant teachers being the lowest paid, least credentialed, and highest turnover group in the education field( IOM & NRC 2015; McLean et al. 2024). Race and gender are factors, as most infant teachers are Black and Latina women, who are paid less than their White counterparts( McLean et al. 2024).
High-quality infant programs require educators who are highly qualified, well-compensated, and stable in their jobs so that they can develop responsive, reciprocal relationships with each baby while fostering every baby’ s development and learning. Infant educators need ongoing supports for their own well-being, which include attention to their physical and mental health; supportive workplace relationships; respect, recognition, and equitable compensation( Kwon et al. 2021; Warner & Davis Schoch 2024); meaningful professional development opportunities; and clear career pathways. The Unifying Framework for the Early Childhood Education Profession addresses these and other critical elements to ensure high-quality programs for all children, families, and the professionals who work in them( American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees et al. 2020).
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