Getting the balance right

A lot of discussion lately about child-led verses adult-led activities in early years settings, this mostly sparked by a parent being told by nursery staff that their child hadn't made a Father's Day card because he hadn't asked and all activities must now be child-led.

This is completely bonkers! - My almost 40 year old - partner can't remember when Father's Day is, so why should a young child?

The reality is that young children don't have as much experience of the world as adults, so naturally there are times when children need some kind of direction as to where their learning should be focussed. Observation and knowledge about individual children should enable the adult practitioner to offer a few suitable starting ideas, but the child can then take the lead with the adult being on hand to offer help and encouragement as the task progresses.

As adults, we know what skills we want young children to learn to help them to move on to the next step of the learning journey. We need to take responsibility for our youngsters and guide them to learning the skills they need to become fully rounded adults with the knowledge they need to take our world forwards not backwards.