The ethical dilemma in Early Childhood Education that I would like to present is the dilemma of a parent having instructed the educator of a full day early learning preschool program to make sure that his toddler eats all of his food before he can leave the table.
Educators try a variety of techniques including bribery and fear, however neither assists in the child finishing his lunch and have a negative impact on the child's mood and behaviour.
When the educator mentions to the child that his parents will find out he begins to cry and begs the educator not to tell them.
Educators empathize with the child understanding that appetites can vary day to day. They allow him to scrap his plate and continue in the routine.
The next day the parent approaches the supervisor furious that the educator did not follow through on having their child finish their whole lunch and mention that they will be bringing this up with the supervisor, the educator assures the parent that it will not be an issue and does not bring the issue up with the supervisor.
This day at lunch educators make the child stay at the lunch table until he has finished everything while the other children tidy up for rest time. The child eventually falls asleep at the table.
The staff aren't happy with this outcome and they feel that they are not meeting the Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice.
The ethical dilemma in Early Childhood Education that I would like to present is the dilemma of a parent having instructed the educator of a full day early learning preschool program to make sure that his toddler eats all of his food before he can leave the table.
Educators try a variety of techniques including bribery and fear, however neither assists in the child finishing his lunch and have a negative impact on the child's mood and behaviour.
When the educator mentions to the child that his parents will find out he begins to cry and begs the educator not to tell them.
Educators empathize with the child understanding that appetites can vary day to day. They allow him to scrap his plate and continue in the routine.
The next day the parent approaches the supervisor furious that the educator did not follow through on having their child finish their whole lunch and mention that they will be bringing this up with the supervisor, the educator assures the parent that it will not be an issue and does not bring the issue up with the supervisor.
This day at lunch educators make the child stay at the lunch table until he has finished everything while the other children tidy up for rest time. The child eventually falls asleep at the table.
The staff aren't happy with this outcome and they feel that they are not meeting the Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice.
Questions:
1. As the educator what would you have said to the parent? would you have brought this issue to the supervisor?
2. How can you the educator help to support your responsibilities to the children making the well being learning and care of children the foremost responsibility?
3. How can you the educator maintain responsive and collaborative relationships with this family?
4. What resources could the Supervisor provide to the parents to better understand childhood nutrition?
5. Did the educators handle this dilemma professionally and appropriately? What would you do differently, as a supervisor what would you need to discuss with your staff?
6. What are the next steps for the supervisor to take in order to ensure the safety and proper care of the child in question.
Summary:
After reading all the responses from my classmates regarding the ethical dilemma I proposed of a child’s parents requesting that the child must finish their plate before leaving the table. The responses targeted the fact that the educators did not use the correct strategies and also needed to provide the parents with educational resources regarding childhood diets.
My classmate mentioned that she would encourage dual-decision making between parents and educators when figuring out how to approach the child regarding mean time. This will allow parents to feel involved and help to make them feel more connected to the program while making their concerns of importance.
In having the educators work in partnership with parents you're helping them to supporting them in meeting their responsibilities to their children
One classmate stated that meals are spaced out to increase motivation to eat and that it is against the code of ethics to force a child to eat.
They also suggested that a resource that could be given to the parents is the Canadas Food Guide, they went on to mention the importance
Overall my classmates and I understand that the situation was not handled ethically or professionally. Educators did not follow standards of practice and the supervisor needs to arrange a meeting and provide proper resources to the parents.
Analysis:
In terms of the code of ethics I believe that the staff were not following through on their responsibilities to the children. This references Section A of the Code of Ethics. In Section A of the Code of Ethics, it is established that children need to be in environments in which they experience a sense of belonging (College of Early Childhood Educators, 2011). By using fear and bribery I believe the staff made the child feel uncomfortable as though they had no control over their own eating and environment. The staff also did not respect their responsibilities to child, listed in the Section B of the Code of Ethics (College of Early Childhood Educators, 2011). The staff should have tried positive reinforcement and if the issue continued a meeting with the parents and supervisor should be arranged after seeing the child struggle with meal time. The meeting with the parents should consist of discussing the child’s inability to finish the plate and should provide parents with further information on policy’s as well as children food guides.
In terms of the standards of practice, standard I, caring and nurturing relationships that support learning, was not followed in this ethical dilemma. Section C standard I states that “Early childhood educators strive to establish and maintain ongoing communication regarding the development of a child under the member’s professional supervision with the child’s parents or guardians” (College of Early Childhood Educators, 2011, p.13). The staff did not communicate with the supervisor to find a solution together. The supervisor could've then spoken with the parents to arrange a plan to help the child have more successful meal times in terms of the parents expectations while following the centres policies and procedures.
Section D in standard I establishes that the Early childhood educators should adjust to the needs of the children and families (College of Early Childhood Education, 2011). Although the staff tried to appease the parents by forcing the child to finish their meal before tidying up, the staff use the appropriate techniques to help the child feel as though they were in control of their own environment. Section E standard I establishes that educators should be receptive listeners and offer support by responding appropriately to the needs of the children (College of Early Childhood Educators, 2011). The educators did not spend enough time trying to making the child feel heard on why they could not finish their meal making the child feel uncomfortable. There were also no observations or written communications that kept track of the child daily food intake or possible reasons for the child’s lack of hunger motivation at meal time.
Standard II addresses developmentally appropriate care and education. Section A Point 2 establishes that Early childhood Educators should recognize the developmental milestones and behaviours in each and every child and they should acknowledge and respect those differences (College of Early Childhood Educators, 2011). The staff in the room did not recognize that the child was having trouble finishing the plates as requested by the parent and the educators failed to support and comfort the child. The educators should have recognized this and arranged a meeting between the supervisor and parents to discuss possible solutions and provide appropriate resources on childhood diets.
After listing and analyzing the different standards and points from the code of ethics it is important to list some solutions to the problem. One solution to the problem could be to plan a meeting with the parents to discuss the situation. The supervisor should be prepared with the policy to explain why educators cannot force a child to do something they don't want as well as a list of solutions in order to meet the child’s nutritional needs. It may be appropriate for the staff and parents to have a meeting regarding the child’s behaviour as an opportunity for the parents to exchange ideas and develop a plan to help the child feel they have more choices at meal time.
The final solution would be to encourage the child using positive motivation and role modelling from peers and staff. The child could also be given the opportunity to eat when they are hungry and parents could be reassured that through written communication that the child is consuming the appropriate amount of food per day.
As children’s appetites vary from day to day and it is up to the parents or care providers to be responsible for what, when, and where food is offered in partnership with the childcare where as the child is responsible for how much and whether they eat from the foods offered.
Early childhood educators do not have all the answers to this complex topic. They know a lot about child development and parents know a lot about their own child. Although early childhood educators are required to have a relevant level of knowledge about the healthy feeding of children, they are not dieticians. When developing policies or when faced with ethical dilemmas about feeding children, there are community resources available in order to help and refer families to.