Caregiver–infant and toddler interactions during diapering: Caregiver responsiveness and child well-being and involvement

• In Event: Beyond the Parent-Infant Dyad: How Infants Shape Educators’ Behaviors

Abstract

Introduction: The present study addresses the multiple gaps in the literature on process quality for infants and toddlers in classroom settings by focusing on the frequent daily routine of diapering. We hypothesized that the quality of process variables of caregiver interactions during diapering would relate to children’s experiences, especially in the social–emotional domain. We examine relationships between important process quality features, specifically caregiver responsiveness and encouragement, and the child’s experience of well-being and involvement, during the understudied routine of diapering. We hypothesized that features of process quality would relate to child well-being. Additionally, we hypothesized that child involvement, as a manifestation of children’s active participation, would also be related to higher quality caregiver–child interactions during diapering.
Study Population: Potential participants were recruited from 36 mixed age infant–toddler classrooms across three sites of a high-quality childcare program serving low-income children in a mid-western city in the United States. After the recruitment and consent process, the study participants included 31 infant–toddler caregivers and 74 children, ages 3–37 months, in their care in 30 center-based classrooms.
Methods and Results: The duration of the first and second diapering interactions was timed. Across the two diaper changes, the grand mean was 3.52 min (SD = 1:20). The relationship between caregiver interactions and child well-being during diapering interactions was first tested. The multilevel regression model included responsiveness and encouragement, as well as all covariates, as independent variables, and child well-being as the dependent variable. Both responsiveness (β = .06, p < .05) and encouragement (β = .09, p < .01) were modestly but significantly related to child well-being. The analysis indicated that higher responsiveness and encouragement were each positively related to child well-being. The relationship between caregiver interactions and child involvement was tested in model 3. The multilevel regression model included both responsiveness and encouragement as independent variables and child involvement as the dependent variable. The results indicate that responsiveness was related to child involvement (β = .09, p < .001). However, encouragement did not have a statistically significant relationship with child involvement. Responsiveness contributed more to the variance of child involvement than encouragement. Specifically, age was significantly related to child involvement, indicating that older children were more highly involved in the care routine.
Implications: This study contributes important quantitative findings to inform early childhood educators and policymakers about how to enhance infant and toddler educational practices that support child well-being (Degotardi et al., 2016; Hallam et al., 2016; Chazan-Cohen et al., 2017). This study focused on the quality of interactions that occur during the frequently occurring diapering routine. opportunities for learning, acting on the child’s interests and activity, and for However, the observed fast-paced, diapering practices mostly adhere to hygienic and custodial practices with squandered opportunities for relationship building and crucial embedded language and learning experiences derived from the child’s interests (Laurin, 2018; Laurin & Goble, 2018). Addressing routines, especially diapering, is critical material to cover for pre-and-in-service professional development.

Authors

• Deborah E. Laurin, West Coast Institute
  Presenting Author

• Shannon Guss, University of Oklahoma - Tulsa

• Diane M. Horm, University of Oklahoma-Tulsa