Signs of sexual abuse in young children 3. If infants and toddlers are to start developing into well-adjusted human beings, eager to learn, those experiences must be carefully tailored to their interests, temperaments, states and individual abilities to process and respond. They are developing working models for who they are, how important they are, and how they relate to others. Ethnic identity is part of this process. At the same time, we have learned that caring for infants and toddlers in groups does not just come naturally, even for individuals who have been successful parents.
Specialized training is required.
Finally, we have learned just how much infants' and toddlers' development is affected by the degree to which their families are under stress or are part of a network of social support. Child care and related services, functioning as a team, can be part of this support. It stands to reason that individualized care, such as that described above, requires low ratios of adults to children, small group sizes and continuity of care by well-trained teachers and caregivers. Recent studies confirm just how important these factors are to developmental outcome. Quality is significantly lower than that for preschool care.