The earliest sets of predictable patterns are elicited by the infant herself. When she cries, her adults respond.  When she is pushed in the stroller, people stop and coo at her.  In short order she discovers that her behaviors “cause” the reactions around her and learns to repeat her behavior so she can continue to prompt the desired responses.  This “cause and effect” reaction is her first experience of “predictable sequencing” and lays the foundation for math concepts rooted in relationships.

You can well imagine how a disturbance in these predictable patterns and sequences can be problematic for the infant.  That is why both consistency of care and continuity of care are necessary and ideal for her.  Her learning is dependent on repeated experiences that result in the development of neural pathways that are laid down and then deepened over time.

The infant finds comfort in routine.  She thrives when all of her needs are met in a predictable way.  She enjoys exploring new terrain while returning to the familiar.  Practice and repetition are reassuring and should be encouraged.  Just when you think you can’t play “Peek-a-Boo” for one more minute, you remember that the infant relishes this repetition and is busy building neural pathways because of it.

This got me thinking about providing individualized care in a group setting.

Recently, I was visiting an “older infants” room in a center setting (6 mos.-1 year).  It was a lovely room with all of the appropriate bells and whistles I’ve come to expect in quality child care.  What surprised me was that the teachers fed the children simultaneously, changed them on the same schedule, and put them down for their naps all at the same time.  This is contrary to everything I’ve learned about caring for infants and toddlers “on demand.”

Nowhere is individualized care more important than in the infant and toddler setting.  Regardless of how the teachers managed to get all 6 babies on the same schedule, I can’t imagine that is best for all of them.  I am quite sure it is nice for the teachers.

The earliest mathematical concepts are reinforced for infants through a consistency of care.  Babies come to expect that when they are hungry they eat, and when they are tired they sleep.  When they are changed, there is a system in place that is consistent and follows a set order.  These set structures build trust between the infant and her  provider and ultimately create a sequence of events that is constant and predictable.

These relationships between people and events are logico-mathematical in nature and are paramount to children’s overall well-being.  For me NAEYC is really clear on this.  Developmentally Appropriate Practice asks that we consider the child in light of her/his family and culture.  Providing individual care for children under three should still be a priority, shouldn’t it?