Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/cultural-differences-in-sleeping-practices-helping-early-childhood-educators-understand/5013891/
A fifteen-month-old from a Southeast Asian refugee family lay screaming in a crib in a child care center. This baby who had never slept alone in his life entered child care where, like all babies in that program, he was put down for a nap in a crib. This child experienced cultural shock. His screams were so intense that he was finally picked up. He wouldn't stop screaming until he was taken out of the nap room and put back in the playroom. Of course, nap time can be upsetting for any baby or child for that matter, whether it's a cross-cultural experience or not. Being expected to sleep in a strange place can be disturbing no matter what the child's age or background. However, if the child is not from the mainstream culture, then that information needs to be factored into the staff's understanding of nap time upsets.Out-of-home, cross-cultural child care is expanding more rapidly than ever. That means even more children are now facing huge changes in their lives as programs implement regulations and policies which are in direct contrast to what the parents do at home. The question of how to be developmentally appropriate and yet at the ...