Introduction

Welcome to Infant & Toddler Mental Health: Issues & Information for Educators, an interactive computer-based instruction course designed to help you achieve a better understanding of infant and toddler mental health, child development, and strategies you can use to promote positive relationships with children and their families. This course provides information that will help you to understand and identify your role as a child care provider, educator, and early childhood professional. Infant & Toddler Mental Health will provide you with research-based information on child development, attachment, temperament, and curriculum. This course also lists resources for both teachers and parents who would like more help or information about infant and toddler mental health.

This computer-based instruction course is a self-supporting program that provides instruction, structured practice, and evaluation all on your home or school computer. Technical support information can be found, in the Help section of your course.

Course Materials

Title: Infant & Toddler Mental Health: Issues & Information for Educators

Author: Melissa Bandy, MA, Early Childhood

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Academic Integrity Statement

The structure and format of most distance-learning courses presume a high level of personal and academic integrity in completion and submission of coursework. Individuals enrolled in a CBI distance-learning course are expected to adhere to the following standards of academic conduct.

Academic Work

Academic work submitted by the individual (such as papers, assignments, reports, tests) shall be the student’s own work or appropriately attributed, in part or in whole, to its correct source. Submission of commercially prepared (or group prepared) materials as if they are one’s own work is unacceptable.

Aiding Honesty in Others

The individual will encourage honesty in others by refraining from providing materials or information to another person with knowledge that these materials or information will be used improperly.

Violations of these academic standards will result in the assignment of a failing grade and subsequent loss of credit for the course.

Level of Application

This course is designed to be an informational course with application to work or work-related settings. The curriculum strategies were designed to be used in child care programs with children ranging in age from birth to thirty-six months. Some alterations may be needed when working with children with sensory processing disorders or other developmental disabilities.

Course Objectives

· To define Infant and Toddler Mental Health;

· To provide an overview of child development from birth to thirty-six months;

· To increase the ability to observe typically developing infants and toddlers, as well as to identify infants and toddlers with mental health issues;

· To provide information and best practice methods used in the care of infants and toddlers and their families;

· To increase knowledge in the research areas of attachment and temperament; and

· To provide resources for teachers and parents to help them and the children with whom they work.

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Course Description

The course Infant & Toddler Mental Health has been divided into six chapters. This course will provide information on such issues as definition, best practice methods, attachment, temperament, and infant and toddler curriculum. The subject areas are sequential and, although it is not required, they should be completed in the order in which they are presented in the program. After completing these six chapters you should have the basic framework for understanding the critical role of infant and toddler mental health, as well as developmental knowledge of children from birth to thirty-six months.

The first chapter is an Introduction and definition of infant and toddler mental health. This chapter will help you understand what infant and toddler mental health really is, and what it means to you.

The second chapter of the Infant & Toddler Mental Health course is titled Child Development. This chapter provides you with information on the principles of caregiving, development of emotions, child development theory, brain research, and language development. You will also find practical applications you can use in your classroom today, as well as a short video on toddler development.

Chapter three, Curriculum and the Classroom, will discuss some vital information concerning curriculum, such as what is appropriate, what is meaningful, and what promotes the relationship between you, the child, and the child’s family. In addition, you will be given the latest information on play and its benefits to development. The chapter includes a video on infant development for you to view as many times as you would like.

The fourth chapter is Attachment. In this chapter you will be given current research information on attachment, the development of attachment, and strategies that will help you develop relationships with the children with whom you work.

Chapter five, Temperament, will review the research on temperament. You will read and explore the role temperament plays in child development. You will also identify your own temperaments traits and identify some helpful strategies you can use in your classroom to support every child’s temperament.

In chapter six, Families, you will explore the idea that caregivers need to make an effort to insure that children and their families are greeted when coming and going and to explore the variables that influence making connections with parents. Some of these variables are language and literacy, culture, gender, class, and race. To finish, you will see a short video on ways to build strong relationships with parents and guardians.

These six chapters should give you a firm understanding of infant and toddler mental health, including its definition, topic areas, current research, and best practice techniques.

After you complete each chapter of the course, you will take an examination to assess your knowledge and ability to apply what you’ve learned.

Student Expectations

As a student, you will be expected to:

· Complete all information chapters, showing a competent understanding of the material presented;

· Complete all chapter examinations, showing a competent understanding of the material presented;

· Complete a review of any chapter on which your examination score was below 70%;

· Retake any examination, after completing an information review, to increase that examination score to a minimum of 70% (maximum of three attempts);

· Complete all course journal article and essay writing assignments with the minimum word count shown for each writing assignment; and

· Complete a course evaluation form at the end of the course.

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Course Chapters Overview

Chapter 1: Introduction

· This chapter will help teachers; directors, care providers, developmental specialists, and parents understand the definition of infant and toddler mental health and the mission of this program.

Chapter 2: Child Development

· What we know for sure

--What is research is telling us?

· Child development theory

--The development knowledge of Erik Erikson, Jean Piaget, and Lev Vygotsky

· Development of emotion

--Basic emotions and the development of social referenced emotions.

· Physical development

--Growth patterns and developmental stages

· Brain development

--Nerve cell development

--Vision and hearing

· Language

--Speech and language development

--Stages of language

Chapter 3: Curriculum and the Classroom

· Infant/toddler childcare research

· NAEYC

--Position statement

--Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP)

· Nurturing environments

--Promoting the relationship

· Behavior and guidance

--Caregiving as a curriculum

· Five dimensions

· Play

· Ideas for caregivers

Chapter 4: Attachment

· What is attachment?

--What are the categories of attachment and typical attachment behaviors?

· Attachment research

--Current studies and outcomes

· What is your attachment type?

--How does that affect the relationships in your life?

--What can you do to build a positive relationship with children?

Chapter 5: Temperament

· What is temperament?

--Definitions and discussion

· What are the different temperament traits?

· Traits identified

§ Research on Temperament

§ Research Areas

· What is your temperament?

--Goodness of fit

§ Strategies to use in your classroom

Chapter 6: Families

· Research study

--Communication between caregivers and families

· Influences on connections between parents and staff

· Video presentation:

--Seven ways to build strong relationships

Examinations

At the end of each chapter, you will be expected to complete an examination designed to assess your knowledge. You may take these exams a total of three times. Your last score will save, not the highest score. After your third attempt, each examination will lock and prevent further access. The average from your exam scores will be printed on your certificate. However, this is not your final grade since your required writing assignments have not been reviewed. Exceptionally written or poorly written required writing assignments, or violation of the academic integrity policy in the course syllabus, will affect your grade. As this is a self-paced computerized instruction program, you may review course information as often as necessary. You will not be able to exit any examinations until you have answered all questions. If you try to exit the exam section before answering all questions, your information will be lost. You are expected to complete the entire exam in one sitting.

Writing Assignments

This course has two required writing components.

To save your essays:

When you select the question or article you wish to write on, simple text or text edit will

automatically be launched. When you are finished, simply click SAVE.

You must SAVE before you write another essay or move on to another part of the course.

1) Essay Requirement: Critical Thinking Questions

There is a Critical Thinking Question for each chapter. You will do research on the question and write a brief essay relating it to the course content (and your personal experiences when possible). To view the questions, click on REQUIRED ESSAY and choose the Critical Thinking Question that you would like to complete; this will bring up a screen where you may enter your essay. You must write a minimum of 500 words per essay.

You must SAVE before you write another essay or move on to another part of the course.

2) Essay Requirement: Journal Articles

This task requires you to write a review of three journal articles of your choice on a topic related to this course. You may choose your topic by entering the Key Words (click on the Key Words button) into a search engine of your choice (Google, Dogpile, Yahoo, etc.). Choose three relevant articles and write a 200-word review of each. You may also access the ERIC system and choose a related topic from a journal listed in that system. Or you can access www.scholar.google.com or www.findarticles.com .Write a critical summary of the information given in each article, explaining how the information relates to, supports, or refutes information given in this course. Conclude your paper with your thoughts and impressions. (200 words per journal article minimum, 400 words maximum.) Be sure to provide the journal name, volume, date, and any other critical information to allow the instructor to access and review that article.

To write your essays, click on REQUIRED ESSAY and choose the Journal Article that you would like to complete; this will bring up a screen where you can write your review. When you are ready to stop, click SAVE. You may go back at any point to edit your essays. For more information on the features of this assignment, please consult the HELP menu.

You must SAVE before you write another essay or move on to another part of the course.

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Instructor Description

Infant & Toddler Mental Health has been developed by a team of professionals with educational backgrounds in the areas of child development, occupational therapy, developmental therapy, and behavioral sciences. Melissa Bandy, the instructor of record, is a Developmental Specialist with a Master's Degree in Early Childhood Studies. She has 10 years of combined experience in early childhood education classrooms with children ranging in age from birth to 8 years. She is currently teaching at the university level, and has conducted oral seminars as well as poster sessions on infant and toddler mental health, presented to teacher groups and educational conferences. Funding provided by: Idaho Head Start Collaboration and the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare in conjunction with the Early Childhood Studies Department of Boise State University

Contacting the Instructor

You may contact the instructor by emailing Melissa at melissa_bandy@virtualeduc.com or calling her at 509-891-7219, Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. PST. Phone messages will be answered within 24 hours. Phone conferences will be limited to ten minutes per student, per day, given that this is a self-paced instructional program. Please do not contact the instructor about technical problems, course glitches, or other issues that involve the operation of the course.

Technical Questions

If you have questions or problems related to the operation of this course, please try everything twice. If the problem persists please check our support pages for FAQs and known issues at www.virtualeduc.com and also the Help section of your course.

If you need personal assistance then email support@virtualeduc.com or call (509) 891-7219. When contacting technical support, please know your course version number (it is located at the bottom left side of the Welcome Screen) and your operating system, and be seated in front of the computer at the time of your call.

Minimum Computer Requirements

Please refer to VESi’s website: www.virtualeduc.com or contact VESi if you have further questions about the compatibility of your operating system.

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Refer to the addendum regarding Grading Criteria, Course Completion Information, Items to be Submitted, and how to submit your completed information.

Bibliography (Suggested Readings)

Berk, L., (2005). Infants and children (5th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.

Boris, N. (2006). Assessing clinical disturbances and disorders of attachment. Infant Mental Health Journal, 27(3) No. 167.

Bredekamp, S., & Copple, C. (Eds.). (1997). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs (revised ed.). Washington, D.C.: NAEYC.

Campbell, P. (2006). When home is hospital...working with sick babies, their families

and their hospital. Infant Mental Health Journal, 27(3) No.16.

Elkind, D. (2001). The hurried child: Growing up too fast too soon (3^rd ed.). Cambridge, MA: Perseus

Publishing.

Gallese, V. (2006). Intentional attunement: From Mirror neurons to intersubjectivity.

Infant Mental Health Journal, 27(3), No. 24.

Goossens, F., & Yzendoorn, M. (1990). Quality of infants’ attachment to professional caregivers: Relation to

infant-parent attachment and day-care characteristics. Child Development, 61, 832-837.

Gonzalex-Mena, J., & Widmeyer Eyer, D. (2001) Infants, toddlers, and caregivers (5^th ed.). Mountain View,

CA: Mayfield Publishing Company.

Heidemann, S., & Hewitt, D. (1992) Pathways to play. St. Paul, Minnesota: Redleaf Press.

Infant and Toddler Program, Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. Developmental Checklist.

http://www.healthandwelfare.idaho.gov/site/3369/default.aspx

Landy, S. (2002). Pathways to competency: Encouraging healthy social and emotional development in young

children. Baltimore: Paul H. Brooks Publishing Co.

National Association for the Education of Young Children. (1998). Guide to Accreditation.

Washington, D.C.: NAEYC.

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) early Childcare research Network.

(1997). The effects of infant childcare on infant-mother attachment security: Results of the NICHD study of early childcare. Child Development, 68, 860-879.

Mendoza, J., Katz, L., Roberston, A. S., & Rothenburg, D. (2003). Connecting with parents in the early years.

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Oppenheim, D. (2006). Maternal insightfulness into the emotional experience of the child: Its significance for children's development in normative and high-risk conditions. Infant Mental Health Journal, 27(3), No. 403.

Pawl, J. H., & Dombro, A.L. (2201). Learning and growing together with families: Partnering with parents to

support young children’s development. Washington, D.C.: Zero to Three Press.

Positive Beginnings: Supporting young children with challenging behavior. Supporting Families presenter’s

materials. A joint project of Florida State University and University of South Florida. 18-19, 30-40.

Rogers, S., & Sawyers, J. (1988). Play in the lives of children. Washington, D.C.: NAEYC.

Sagi, A., Koren-Karie, N., Gini, M., Ziv, Y., & Joels, T. (2002). Shedding further light on the effects of various types and quality of early childcare on infant-mother attachment relationship: The Haifa study of early childcare. Child Development, 73, 116-1186.

Zigler, E., Singer, D., & Bishop-Josef, S. (Eds.). (2004). Children’s play: The roots of reading. Washington, D.C.: Zero to Three Press.

Video:

NAEYC. (1993). Infant curriculum: Great explorations. # 847 Washington, D.C.

NAEYC. (1993). Toddler curriculum: Making connections. # 848 Washington, D.C.

Positive beginnings: Supporting young children with challenging behavior. (2005). Department of Childhood Education, Reading, and Disability Services at Florida State University in coordination with the Department of Communication Disorders at FSU and the Department of Child and Family Studies, Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute at the University of South Florida.

Promoting first relationships: A training program for service providers. NCAST-AVENUW at www.ncast.org, University of Washington, Box 357920, Seattle, WA 98195

Zero to Three. (2001). Learning and growing together with families: Seven ways to build strong relationships.

Updated 1/22/10 JN