Atividades de atenção pessoal, movimento livre e brincar dos bebês: um estudo de caso na rede municipal do Recife sob a ótica da abordagem Pikler

Abstract

The present study had as its theme self-care and free movement in babies from 0 to 3 years old in the daycare context. We adopted the Pikler approach as theoretical basis and the principles of respect, trust, and bonding in collective work with babies and children, contemplating their individualities. The Pikler approach is directed to children and babies from 0 to 3 years old, in their daily life, in their interaction with adults, and in their autonomy. It was proposed by physician Emmi Pikler, from her first experiences as a pediatrician, where she could see that the intimacy and reciprocity of the adult with the baby were of great importance for its development and to provide the child's autonomy. Thus, this work is characterized as a qualitative field research with the general objective of understanding how daily attention and free movement activities occur in a municipal nursery in Recife-PE. In addition, the specific objectives were to identify how babies' personal attention and welcoming activities occur and how babies' individuality is considered in these activities, and also to identify whether the school physical space and the routine established by the teacher provide for the babies' free movement. A multiple case study was then carried out (involving five babies aged between 10 and 11 months and the educational professionals who worked with them) in a nursery class in a municipal daycare center in the Metropolitan Region of Recife. The research data were collected through interviews with the educational professionals (teachers, child development assistants, and a trainee) who worked with the babies and also through observations of the babies during their routine at the daycare center, based on video recordings. Through the analysis of the data collected, it was noticed that the activities of daily attention and free movement happen in a routine and often mechanized way, without giving due value to the performance of these activities and without understanding their importance for child development. It was identified that hygiene care, feeding, and the welcoming of the babies take place in order to favor the work of the adults and to comply with the routine established by the daycare center and, therefore, do not aim at meeting the babies' needs in the first place. During collective moments, the attentive look to the particular needs is not considered, prevailing the collective and homogenizing look. We conclude, therefore, that the very configuration of daycare centers is not favorable to meet the individual needs of children, considering that in these collective environments there are a large number of children for few adults, especially when we take into consideration that this age group demands a lot of care and exclusive dedication from the adult.