Recording Your Child's Play with a Purpose

Do you have seemingly endless footage of video and pictures of your children?  Baby’s day out, things they have built using blocks, how messy they have gotten using paints?  Most parents do.  And since the common use of digital cameras, hand held devices and smart phones, these images are taken more frequently and shared more readily than ever before.

Early Childhood teachers have begun using such media as a form of recording observations.  Many quality care programs require teachers to observe and document children’s progress in the classroom.  In some cases, these observations are used to plan lessons and pick units of study.

As parents, we should think of videoing and photographing our children’s play the way early childhood educators do. Ideally, the parent records the child without their knowledge, or videoing becomes so common place that it does not disturb the play.  For proper documentation, the parent should record the process of what the child is doing, and not the product.  For example, recording your child while she colors, including the words she uses when she asks for crayons, if she holds the crayon in a fist or pencil style, uses her right or left hand, and recording what she says about her picture while she draws, will tell you so much more about her thinking process and physical development than just asking her to hold up her finished product and say “Cheese!”

There are a variety of ways you can use your new recordings besides keeping them as precious mementos.  First, you can create a blog of your child to share with far away grandparents or your deployed spouse and to also organize your observations.  Second, you can show your children your observations allowing them to see how they have grown and developed over time, or even to help them master a current skill.  This comes in handy when for instance, you are teaching your child how to ride a 2 wheel bicycle and he insists the bike is tipping for no reason.  Showing him a video of himself leaning to one side gives him a chance to see how he can correct his movements and assist in his learning process.

Finally, and most importantly, you can use your new documenting skills when speaking to professionals about your child’s development.  It can be difficult to explain concerns you have about your child, especially if you do not fully understand the behaviors you are concerned about.  But showing documentation you have recorded over time regarding your child’s development will make your discussion with a professional more efficient and make you a better advocate for your child.

KinderJam’s philosophy is that parents are child’s first and best teacher.  Thinking like an early childhood educator will benefit your child and better prepare you for the times you will have to advocate for your little one.  Plus, having extra video of your child’s growth will give you something to watch when he’s a teen ager!