Feeding Time
Feeding
times with infants and toddlers is a vast non-digital technological experience
for all of those involved. The majority of children in my own centre are on
formula based meals, as they age this means that they are in the process of increasing
solids and minimising formula. During this feeding time, the children are
encouraged to use their hands to grasp and hold onto their own bottle as they
drink.
I
have observed that children who own straight, thin bottles often struggle to
grasp it during the complete time they are drinking. Children who
own the thick, moulded bottles are able to have their hands in the formed
grooves, are able to hold it much easier.
Long bottle: Left. Moulded bottle: Right.
I had never noticed this difference
before as I had previously thought that the thinner bottles would be much
easier to grasp with both hands, where as now with the thicker bottles, they
are able to use only one hand when they are drinking. This reinforces the idea
that technology ensures “capability in solving practical problems contributes
to self confidence and well-being” (Ministry of Education, 1996, p.94).
This
technological discovery gives children the opportunity to further enhance their
hand eye coordination as they have many different physical influences that they
are concentrating on during feeding. In early childhood, these are essential
skills (Smori, 1999) that are being developed with the aid of technology. The
child’s own body stance such as being held, partially lying down or sitting up
as they drink all need to be considered as they need to coordinate a position
comfortable for them where they are able to hold their own bottle by looking at
their stance and which will be easiest for them. In my own personal opinion, thicker
bottles are also a great way for children to improve their hand and arm
strength in a safe way as the bottles have hand moulds, over the thin bottles,
which could possibly put strain onto the child’s arms or hands, as it is not a
comfortable fit.
This
excellently constructed piece of non-digital technology is a fantastic way for children
to understand control and further develop their self-help skills. The children
learn that they have the confidence and are competent enough to feed themselves
and are able to develop a sense of responsibility as they take control of their
feeding times. This form of technology can often be described as “adaptation
and innovation are at the heart of technological practice” (Ministry of
Education, 1993, p.32). This summarises the art of taking a classic product and
adapting it to better suit its audience.
In my opinion, by encouraging the use of
these thicker bottles would be beneficial for children who prefer and are able
to hold their own bottles during feeding time. I feel that this would promote
cooperative learning (MacNaughton and Williams, 2009) with both children and
adults through the use of technology.
References
Baby Growths. (2012). Best bottle for babies. Retrieved from www.baby-growths.com
MacNaughton, G. &
Williams, G. (2009). Teaching techniques for young
children. N.S.W, Australia: Pearson Education Australia.
Ministry of
Education, (2007). The New Zealand Curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand:
Learning Media.
Ministry of Education. (1996). Te
Whāriki, he whaariki mätauranga mo nga mokopuna
ö Aotearoa: Early childhood curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand:
Learning Media.
Smori,
S. (1999) Technology in Early Childhood. Early Education, 19, 5-10.
Photo References
Baby
Growths. Baby bottle. Retrieved from
www.baby-growths.com
One
Mans Blog. Baby hands. Retrieved from
http://onemansblog.com/2008/01/11/the-creepiest-hand-soap-ever/
PVC.
Baby with bottle. Retrieved from
http://pvcfree.wordpress.com/category/baby-bottles/
The
Vree Land Clinic. Long baby bottle. Retrieved from
bottles-and-bpa-you-need-to-know-the-facts/
Hey kim reading your reflection it shows you have really observed the children using these two types of bottles. Through your blog I learnt how important and what the differences are between these bottles. As well as the learning the children are gaining from this piece of technology, as you have clearly shown this in your writing. While reading your blog i felt it was well written but what i notice was there were long sentences, so maybe you could put a full stop at the end of each important idea or when you feel there need to be a pause of a breathe. I liked the photos of the bottles you used as I can see exactly what designed bottles you are talking about. Do you think there is a way in your centre that all the children could use theses bottles to help their learning and development while using this technology? Overall a great reflection kim and can’t wait to read your next one :)
ReplyDeleteKia Ora Kim,
ReplyDeleteYou have written a great reflection on babies being able to have comfort when using this piece of non-technology. I was able to see you have observed this experience thoroughly and noticed all types of learning their gaining through-out. Until reading this I would have never thought this was an issue. Now you know what bottle works best for yourself and the babies, you could make this experience even more exciting and engaging by putting different sorts of sensory accessories around the bottle, such as chocolate wrappers, feathers or textured materials. You could help them learn to grasp the thinner bottle by using a similar type bottle and again making it exiting to them such as coloured water, glitter, pebbles or shells. This will help them during feeding time if their unable to have access to the grooved bottle. I enjoyed being able to see what types of bottles you were taking about, along with viewing some great, relevant photographs. Overall tumeke Kim on a well written reflection. Can’t wait to read your next blog
Megan
Kim, I were always curious on what bottle are the best, there are so many on the selves, but never really research about them and what suit best. I never realised what major differences there are between the thin bottle and the thick bottles. It great to see you use all these different readings, it seems like you really did your research and observe the babies using the bottles. We are always encouraging the older babies to use their hands to hold it, knowing what bottles works the best will make it so much easier for children to develop their self helps skills. It was great to see the photos in your blog, as I then knew exactly what bottles you were taking about. This is an excellent example of non digital technology. You have some good points about what children are developing by being encouraged to hold their own bottle. Well written and interesting.
ReplyDeleteHi Kim I really liked your blog on feeding times with infants and toddlers as the points and observations you made regarding the different sized bottles were very surprising and interesting. I really liked the pictures you used to demonstrate the different sized bottles as it helped me understand and visualize what you were talking about. I also really liked how you noticed all the developmental skills that were being developed through learning how to properly hold a bottle. It showed me that seemed very focused and interested in feeding times to be able to actually notice these benefits. Through these observations regarding the bottle sizes I think next time you could talk about what you have done with the information you have gained? Is there any ways you have found you can improve this experience overall? Have you stated you findings to your colleagues and the parents within the centre? Is there any ways you feel you could improve and help the children who have the smaller bottles during feeding times? Overall it was a very interesting blog which provided me with a lot of helpful information.
ReplyDelete