This measure refers to teachers’ ability to create a warm, safe, and nurturing environment and refrain from using negative or harsh language, behaviors, and discipline. If the teacher is warm and responsive, the children will feel safe and comfortable in the classroom. For example, if a child spills her food, the teacher can say in a positive tone, “Uh oh, you spilled your food. Let’s clean it up together.” In contrast, teachers should avoid speaking negatively or harshly, for example, “Why did you spill your food? Now I have to clean it up.”
Category: Category 2: Teacher-Child Interactions
Subcategory: Warm and Responsive Style
Examples
In this section you will find videos, images, and/or documents that can be used to better understand this measure. These examples can also be used in conversations between mentors, directors, and/or teachers to discuss how the program's current practices compare to these examples.
Video Example
This exemplar video segment shows an infant teacher expressing warmth and affection toward two babies in her classroom. Her interactions with the babies is positive and helps the children to feel safe and comfortable.
Age(s): Infant
Video Example
In this exemplar video, a toddler teacher welcomes a child into the classroom. Her expression of warmth and affection creates a feeling of safety and allows the child to feel comfortable in their learning environment.
Age(s): Toddler
Video Example
In this video, a child and a caregiver play a game of “hide and seek.” Notice how the caregiver celebrates enthusiastically with the child when he finds her. These brief separations and reunions increase his feelings of safety and trust as he learns that his special person will be back soon.
Age(s): Toddler
Video Example
The Roots of Early Leaning is a video from the Department of Early Education and Care. The recording depicts segments with teachers interacting with children in positive ways. The teachers in this video have created warm, safe and nurturing environments which allow the children to feel comfortable as they learn This video is a part of a larger professional development series.
Age(s): Infant, Toddler
Video Example
This exemplar video shows clips of teachers of all ages expressing warmth and affection to children in their classrooms. Their interactions are positive and the positivity helps the children feel safe and comfortable in their learning environments.
Age(s): Infant, Toddler, Preschool, School-age
Practice Opportunities
These resources include tips, strategies, activities, or specific tools related to this measure that programs can put into practice.
Publication
Build Relationships with Children, a publication created by Department of Early Education and Care, discusses techniques teachers can use to support relationship building within their environments. The techniques described can be used to insure children feel a sense of trust and wellbeing from the adults that care for them.
Age(s): Infant, Toddler, Preschool
Publication
Building positive relationships in the early childhood classroom, is a publication created by Penn State Extension which discusses ways to create warm trusting relationships with children. The document describes four methods teachers can use to ensure the children they care for feel safe and comfortable in their surroundings.
Age(s): Toddler, Preschool
Activity
In this activity, the caregiver supports the baby’s social-emotional skills as they play a crawling and chasing game. As they play, the caregiver encourages the baby with praise and affection. Playing on the floor, within the baby’s view, increases a baby’s feelings of safety because they can see you clearly.
Age(s): Infant
Publication
This publication from Penn State Extension discusses ways to create a positive classroom atmosphere. The document describes strategies teachers can use to ensure the children they care for feel safe and comfortable in their surroundings.
Age(s): Infant, Toddler, Preschool, School-age
Publication
One of a child’s first communities are often early childhood classrooms. These classrooms are where they learn how to interact with and how to treat others. This article, DAP: Creating a Caring, Equitable Community of Learners, dives into ways teachers can create a community of caring learners by providing an environment where all members feel safe and welcome.
Age(s): Infant, Toddler, Preschool, School-age
Publication
This publication put out by HUD, includes suggestions on how to create a predictable, nurturing environment for infants, toddlers and pre school children. Fostering Healthy Social and Emotional Development in Young Children: Tips for Early Childhood Teachers and Providers covers topics that will equip teachers with several ideas on how to create safe and secure environments for all children.
Age(s): Infant, Toddler, Preschool
Publication
Get “In Tune” a publication created by the Department of Early Education and Care, gives teachers ideas on how they can have back-and-forth “talks” with babies before they can understand or speak. During these “talks” the teachers will use kind and caring language free from demeaning comments. This type of language helps to create a warm, safe and nurturing environment.
Age(s): Infant, Toddler
Publication
This document provides tips to help caregivers use co-regulation to support early development of self-regulation skills in infants. Babies will experience moments of distress in any normal day. You can prevent and buffer some of this by creating a warm, safe environment.
Age(s): Infant
