ABSTRACT
The description ‘I would say it’s just like having a best friend’ was offered to me in an interview with a key worker in a babies’ room in response to the question, ‘How would you describe the relationship you have with your key child?’ The response surprised me – I had anticipated something, if not more ‘motherly’, then more ‘adult’, suggesting a responsibility of care for the child, rather than a relationship of equality and reciprocity. However, as I continued my research in this children’s centre, it began to make sense. This chapter describes the ways in which relationships of care and friendship were constructed by the young children in the study and the adults who looked after them. It emphasises both the agency shown
The recent growth in numbers of children entering daycare settings at a very young age has prompted concerns about the well-being of babies and toddlers. The study presented here explores the ways in which staff in one setting support young children’s well-being during transitions. The data include observations of children under 3 during the first ten weeks of their attendance at a children’s centre and concurrent interviews with their parents and key workers. Findings reveal the ways in which relationships are formed between small children and their key workers, and the ways in which both parents and practitioners understand this relationship. In every instance, it is the child’s own preferences and prior experiences which shape the relationship with their key worker, so that the description given by one key worker – ‘just like having a best friend really’ – is seen as indicating the child’s own agency in constructing a relationship which helps her or him to experience satisfaction and to feel a sense of belonging in the setting. Observations of the children suggest that, as a result, even the youngest children can be empowered to explore and exploit all the opportunities and affordances of their environment and to develop peer relationships which support their continued involvement in activities.
