WHAT ARE QUALITY ROUTINES?

1. WHAT ARE QUALITY ROUTINES? It is essential that care routines meet both the physical and emotional needs of the child. This can be achieved by:

2. Providing children with a sense of security. Children need to be able to anticipate the sequence and order of events that will occur throughout the day. Routines that are consistent and occur in a predictable, logical sequence provide children with a sense of order, stability and security and help them to anticipate what is about to happen. Children begin to understand about time from the regular order of events in a day. For example, ‘After morning tea we will listen to some music’, ‘Before lunch we will read some stories’ and Daddy will pick you up after outside playtime’.

3. Providing (where possible) continuity of home routines and rituals. Continuity of care is very important, particularly when caring for infants and toddlers or when new children enrol at the service. Familiar routines and rituals contribute to a child’s sense of security and wellbeing. Asking simple question such as, ‘Tell me about how he like to go to sleep’, will provide information about whether the baby likes to be in a dark room, if he has a comfort toy or rug and how he likes to be smoothed.

4. Respecting cultural practices. When children enter group care there is often an expectation that the family and child must ‘fit in’ with service routines and practices. This is clearly not a ‘quality practice’. Carers must respect diversity and cultural values and practices. At enrolment time it is important to ask questions, identify important values and practices, and develop routines that as far as possible follow children’s familiar routines.