This Factsheet is a summary of "How should we care for babies and toddlers?: An analysis of practice in out-of-home care for children under three", CRRU occasional paper #10, by Helen Penn (1999).
This publication makes an important contribution to the understanding of our values and beliefs in caring for our young children. By taking a broad perspective and including historical, psychological and cultural evidence about early childhood, this paper reveals that how we care for infants and toddlers is open to many interpretations, as reflected by the diversity of existing practices. Penn forces us to examine alternative values and practices in caring for infants and toddlers, and to look beyond our own conventional paradigms and understandings. She inspires us to question our conventions and to explore the "arc of human possibilities" in the caring of our young children.