Working with babies, young children and families on digital platforms

In the current Covid-19 crisis, it’s easy to think that babies and under 5s will be unaffected by the changes we’ve all experienced. Research, however, tells a different story.

The current situation will take its toll on very young children for a number of reasons; their parents’ anxiety; the huge changes to their routine (such as no longer being able to attend nursery or play group); and the variety of losses experienced, such as not being able to see family members or no longer having contact with playmates. Even if under 5s do not have the ability to put this into words, as parents, carers and early years professionals, we need to be alert to this and seek to lessen its impact.

Social distancing has meant that early years practitioners are required to use digital platforms to support babies, young children and families. Though this makes early intervention seem challenging, this booklet offers practical guidance to help you adapt to this new way of working and to help maintain a focus on babies and young children as a way to keep contributing to prevention and early intervention.