Request for an opportunity to observe a baby and their development as part of professional training

[kekrisanda]

Thank you for taking the time to consider my request. My name is Katie Krisanda and I started my MSc in Psychodynamic Counselling and Psychotherapy with Children and Adolescents at The University of Birkbeck in October 2018.

One of the requirements for the course is that each student must undertake an observation of an infant for an hour once a week in their home during their first year of life. The purpose of the observation is to enable me to learn about child development from direct experience, rather than relying solely on theory and reading to develop my learning. I am looking for a family living in Windsor that would be open to taking part and I am writing to ask if this is something you or someone you know might be open to considering. The observations would ideally begin between now and December 2018 and your baby must be between 7 – 10 days old when the observations begin. The observations would take place for up to a year and would only be undertaken during the academic term time.

I recognise that this is a big commitment and wanted to let you know that infant observation is a regular part of the training of many professionals working with children because of the invaluable opportunity it provides to understand children in their own environment. I have always been very passionate about working with children and learning about child development.

I would be happy to have an initial call or meet with you to discuss any questions you may have about the process and the commitments in more detail. Please contact me on [email protected] or 07593 710 937.

Thanks so much
Katie

[Jinglebells99]

Hi, I don’t know if you’ve had any response to your request but when I had to do child observation as part of my social work training, I approached a local nursery who were able to identify a family who were happy for me to observe their child once a week at the nursery. They were teachers. Observing at nursery was much less obtrusive than visiting the family at home. Obviously more difficult that you are wanting to observe a younger child. The child i observed was a toddler. I remember it being difficult not to interact with her.