Abstract
The Baby Room (2013) highlights the issues of those working within the baby rooms in day-care settings with the use of data gathered through an action research project. It is a book that all those working in these rooms and all those who support these practitioners should read as it brings to the fore all of the anxieties that are encountered when caring for babies. This book is relevant in the light of the statutory requirement for baby room practitioners to have had specific training to develop a deeper understanding of the unique ways in which babies learn and develop.
The Baby Room (2013) sets out to challenge perceived ideas of what happens within baby rooms and the impact of these challenges on babies, parents and, more interestingly, on the practitioners.
The book clearly identifies the difficulties encountered by baby room practitioners on both a personal and professional level. It is clear from the discussions within the book that this is a group of practitioners who need to have their status and identity raised. It opens a window into the emotional well-being of those who are responsible for the youngest children, showing their need for professional development, dialogue and respect.
Each chapter begins with an overview of the research literature, clearly showing the relevance of this past research and contextualising it within the Baby Room Project. The authors’ use of rich data gathered through interviews discloses the views of those who care for babies. They advocate that this voice be listened to as well as the voices of the babies and their families. This is further developed by a call for
… greater attention to carer’s emotional health and well-being. (p. 46)
The authors further challenge this support for practitioners by asking for a third dialogic strand which gives baby room practitioners the space and time to, ‘… theorize their practice to engage in reflective exchanges’ (p. 61), to empower them to no longer feel ‘the lowest of the low’ but to be able to reflect, as illustrated by the comments of one of these practitioners.
It has reinforced my belief that I play a very important role in the babies’ education and care, and that this is acknowledged. (p. 62)
The discussion of how babies develop and acquire language is impelling, linking this natural instinct with the crucial need for babies to develop relationships with their carers, emphasising that this relationship can only be achieved when all concerned, babies, parents and practitioners, are acknowledged and respected.
The discussion around the environment confronts the way in which the early years ‘bandwagon’ can have an impact on how spaces are offered to babies; for example, the use of black and white resources and spaces throughout the room despite the fact that the research around this focuses on babies in the first days and weeks of life! This discussion is of relevance because misinterpretation of research can lead to misunderstandings in the ways in which babies learn and develop.
The discourse on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) provokes thinking about the way in which children under the age of 1 year can be listened to as individuals. Its critique of the juxtaposition of very young children as individuals, as opposed to members of families, challenges thinking about the concept of children’s rights.
In a detailed critical dialogue about Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model, the authors bring the research to life by contextualising this using studies from their project. The richness of the data presented gives the reader a clear image of how Bronfenbrenner’s research relates to the work of the baby room practitioner and illustrates how relevant this is to young babies’ emotional and social development.
This book concludes with throwing down the gauntlet for baby room practitioners to pick up and challenge their perceived status and to become dialogically engaged with both policy and practice.
The Baby (2013) fills a niche in the literature about working with babies. It gives a much needed voice to those practitioners in settings where they experience feelings of inadequacy and irrelevance. It plainly puts the professional reflective practice of those working with babies high on the agenda of discussion and research within the early years sector.