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TRACEY MACLAY

Early childhood teacher, yoga teacher for children and adults, therapeutic massage therapist

Bachelor of Education (Preservice Early Childhood), Bachelor of Early Childhood. Assoc. Diploma of Social Science (Child Studies), Cert. 1V in Training and Assessment TAE40110, Angel Yoga for Kids Level 1 Teacher Training, Kids Yoga Certificate (Early Childhood, Primary & Teens) Being Yoga, Certificate of Level 1 Yoga Teacher, Currently studying Cert. 1V Massage

WELLBEING

DEVELOPMENTAL TASKS FOR KIDS UNDER 2 YEARS OLD

BY TRACEY MACLAY

Posted  February 7 2017 | 0 Shares

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Bowlby’s Attachment Theory
John Bowlby (1907-1990) was a psychoanalyst who theorised that many mental health issues can be traced back to events that occur during early childhood. According to Bowlby, children have a biological need to form attachments to others in order to survive.
A child will be attached to a primary caregiver (usually the mother) who should provide continuous care for approximately the first two years of life. If not, there may be serious consequences, the worst-case scenario being affectionless psychopathy.
Important social and emotional behaviours like learning to trust other people and feel valuable and effective in being interactive with others are learnt from the parents, and eventually become part of their internal self.
Effective social functioning is the result of a connection with someone that takes place in a positive manner. We learn how to regulate our emotions. We learn to relate to others, understand, and feel empathy for them based on our own emotions. Because of this, developmental tasks are extremely helpful.
Developmental tasks and tips to help parents and educators cope with the under-2 stage
Look for perspective when you think of difficult times. The under-2s are a difficult stage, but realise that nothing lasts forever. According to Buddhist teachings, everything is impermanent. What this means: The moment will pass. The difficult stage your child is in, will pass. Keep an open mind and treat children with kindness, compassion, and consistency, and they are more likely to develop internal control.
The moods we feel at different times in parenthood and/or educating will also pass. We can think negative feelings can last forever when we are depressed at times and we tend to catastrophise our troubles, rather than seeing it as a time to learn and knowing that suffering can often help us move forward to higher ground.
Meditate mindfully. Recent developments in neuroscience has shown that people who practice this have the same part of their brain activated as do people who form secure attachments. Therefore, both secure attachment and internal attachment can strengthen mindfulness in people who practiced both.
Moments of mindfulness or meditation are great to try and practice for a short time with your under-2s. They can sit in your lap, lie next to you with an eye pillow on their stomachs or a soft toy and watch it rise and fall as they breathe. Use relaxing music or stories for relaxation and/or mindfulness. Have them try to visualise the stories to calm their minds and bodies.
Yoga with under-2s
Mums-and-bubs classes are a great way to continue your yoga practice, spend time with your child, and get involved with more developmental tasks. When they start crawling, home practice works as long as they are close by. They may even join in sometimes as they grow. Poses like downward dog and rocking and rolling are fun for under-2s and come naturally. Of course, it’s not important to impose alignment on them — at this point, it’s about exploration and learning through play.
Kids will like yoga with simple songs and actions, stories of animals, nature, and related yoga poses. Kids love repetition at this age, so it is fine to repeat stories in maybe three week cycles. Rhyme is also good to introduce to yoga. Simple affirmations can be introduced, like “I am happy,” and “I am kind.” In a little kids’ class, you will often get under-2 siblings and they should be free to come and go and they please and join in when they wish, as they only have very short attention spans. Mum or dad joining in can help with participation with under-5s.
Breathing techniques
Children have a faster breathing rate per minute. For children two to five years old, it is 20-30 breaths per minute. Encourage them to slow their breath down, but don’t expect it to be as slow as yours. Ask your child to slow down their breathing when stressed, and help count it out for them at a rate they can keep up with. For young children, breathing in and then breathing out in the sound of a “bee” can be fun and a good introduction to the sound “om” (which, in yoga, is the universal sound that underlies everything in the universe).
Practice full, deep breaths right from your lower stomach. It is the location of the sacral chakra, which is associated with motivation and openness to change. Pull the breath up into the rib cage, where the solar plexus is located. This chakra point is associated with self-worth, ego, and how we see ourselves and others. Pull the breath further up into your throat chakra, where we learn to speak our truth in a mindful manner. Practice each day, inwards and upwards, then back down through your chakras, breathing any tension out. Work up to 6 or 7 counts in and same on the out breath for children over 10 years.