Chapter 1 · the methods of childcare
There is no “on schedule”
Method (c) asks you to understand development, then throw out the idea that every child should hit it at the same time.
Method (c)
Understand development, care for the individual
Understand child development, and provide care matched to each individual child’s developmental process — taking full care, in doing so, to respect the differences between children.
But here’s the key
Knowledge, then individual — in that order
You need the general map of development to notice anything at all. But the map is never the child. Two three-year-olds can be in completely different places on it, and both be exactly where they should be.
In real life
Two children, same birthday month
One child in my class started full sentences at two; another is still pointing and single words at the same age. I don’t push the second one to “catch up” to the first. I meet each one exactly where they are today, and watch the direction they’re moving, not the position on a chart.
A common misunderstanding
“They’re behind.”
“This child isn’t where the age chart says they should be — something’s wrong.”
“This child is exactly where they are. I’ll support their own next step, not someone else’s.”
Why this matters to you
Comparing children out loud — even kindly — teaches the room to rank itself. Learn the stages so you can notice each child’s own next step, not so you can measure them against the child next to them.
Your turn
Have I compared a child to a peer this week, even silently?
Replace the comparison with their own last step forward.
About Bond Japan
NPO Bond Japan
Bond Japan connects international schools so they can learn from one another and deepen a shared understanding of early childhood education and care.
