|
|
| Can family snaps ease separation anxiety?
|
|
|
|
In an effort to help small children cope with separation anxiety an early childhood education and care provider in London is decorating the walls of the service with enlarged images of the children's families.
Bright Beginnings Day Nursery in Twickenham carried out the trial in response to a survey of more than 1000 parents by photographic company Albelli, which found that 64 per cent of parents thought it would be beneficial for early childhood services to include family pictures within the setting.
Director at Bright Beginnings, Raj Mehat said they wanted to find out what kind of positive impact the photographs would have on a child's development and happiness.
"Increasingly parents are enrolling their children in nursery in order to get back to work but this in turn can mean that parents miss out on some of those special moments in their development.
"Having photos of family members in the nursery environment also helped the children learn facial recognition," he said.
Educational psychologist, Kairen Cullen said photographs in early years settings are a great way to help young children keep their parents ‘in mind'.
"Enriching the pre-school environment in this way not only serves to support and strengthen the child and parent bond but also counters the sense of separation that children and parents can feel. Sometimes, when children become upset, the reminder and sight of a parent can make all the difference."
The research also showed that a growing number of parents connect with their children during the working day using photos, webcams and Skype. Some 58 per cent of parents involved in the survey said that they log in while their children are at nursery to stave of feelings of missing out on their children's development.
|
|
|
|
|
