“We should educate while we care and care while we educate”
-Magda Gerber
Quality caregiving is based on respectful and responsive care. Through respectful, responsive, and supportive interactions with teachers, young children learn about themselves and how to relate to others. Young children’s social-emotional development involves the way they feel about themselves, understanding of feelings, ability to regulate and appropriately express emotions, and capabilities in building relationships with others. A trusted relationship between young children and his/her teacher is formed during meaningful caregiving routines. The daily predictable experiences rich in dialogues that encourage young children to be an active participant in the caregiving routine, help them to recognize him/herself as being important and competent. Repeated experiences promote cognition, physical, language, and social-emotional development. Contented young children whose needs in these major developmental domains are met are more open to exploring the environment and new experiences.