Painful transitions: a study of 1-year-old toddlers' reactions to separation and reunion with their mothers after 1 month in childcare

The purpose of the study was to observe 1-year-old children’s separation and reunion with their mothers after attending kindergarten for 1 month, and then to analyse the observations in relation to attachment theory. The main focus of the analysis is on the children’s expressions of protest, despair and indifference. The authors ask the following questions: (1) what characterises children’s reactions and behaviour during separations and reunions with their primary caregivers? (2) how do the kindergarten employees meet the children’s needs during this transition?

After 1 month in kindergarten, all the observed children showed separation anxiety. In the morning, 5 children showed protest-related behaviour, and 6 children showed signs of despair. In the afternoon, 3 of the children showed protest-related behaviour, while 7 children showed signs of despair. 1 of the children showed signs of indifference during both transitions. All the children showed clear signs of separation anxiety, but appeared to be in different phases after 1 month in kindergarten.

Half of the boys showed protest-related behaviour in connection with the separations, but only 1 of the girls showed protest-related behaviour. When reunited with their primary caregiver, several of the children showed a mixture of behaviour. This, according to the authors, may indicate that the separation phases can be better understood as moving dimensions rather than fixed categories.

In the study, only 2 of the 10 kindergartens had the recommended child to staff ratio of 3:1. A child to staff ratio of 4:1 was common, and there were often even more children per adult in the mornings and afternoons. The authors point out that it is a paradox that the number of staff is at its lowest during the early morning and late afternoon when children are tired and most vulnerable. The observed children who cried eventually received attention, but there were often too many crying children in relation to staff to achieve 1:1 attention. Quiet and passive children were easier to ignore and be left to themselves. According to the authors, low numbers of staff, lack of education and formal training, and varied language skills may help explain some of these observations.

The study consists of video observations of 12 children aged 13-16 months from 10 different Norwegian kindergartens. The sample consisted of 3 publicly owned kindergartens and 7 private kindergartens. By chance, the participating children were 6 girls and 6 boys, all of whom had attended kindergarten for approximately one month. The data material was analysed based on attachment theory. The families were recruited by public health nurses in a Norwegian municipality. None of the children had siblings, they were in general good health and none of them had special needs. The families were asked if the children’s primary carers could be observed, which resulted in 12 mothers taking part.

Klette, T. & Killen, K. (2018). "Painful transitions: a study of 1-year-old toddlers' reactions to separation and reunion with their mothers after 1 month in childcare". Early Child Development and Care, 189(12):1970-1977.