Early-years professionals
in childcare settings: what we observedNurseries, small nurseries, childminders, schools, holiday clubs: before offering , we wanted to see how children really take hold of it during a day in a childcare setting. Rather than describing what the product should do, we looked at what actually happened. Here is our approach, what we observed and what we learned.
Our approach
Our background combines retail and early childhood. For , we chose to start from the field rather than from a promise: an object designed to accompany emotions must first find its place in the real daily life of a team and a group of children.
The first trials covered ten emotions. The cushions were made available to children in an early-years setting, with no specific instructions for use, so they could discover the characters at their own pace.
An early-years professional observed the children's initiatives over the days: spontaneous choices, conversations with adults, free activities, rest times. Each notable situation was recorded, with its context and the child's own words.
Following the advice and feedback of early-years professionals, we kept five emotions to start with, the easiest to recognise: joy, anger, sadness, tiredness and love. The feedback also helps us adjust the product: readability of the faces, colours, finishes, a closure with no hard parts.
These are field observations, carried out in a single setting, not a scientific study. The situations described below are anonymised; the interpretations reflect the observer's professional view and are not certainties.
Why a visual point of reference
Emotions run through every day in a group: the joy of being together again, the anger over a disputed object, the sadness of a goodbye, late-morning tiredness, the tenderness of a cuddle. They say something about what each person is going through and what they need.
When words are not there yet, or not available in the moment, a simple face can act as a support. It is recognised at a glance, pointed at, hugged. The adult can then welcome the emotion and put a word to it, without judging it.
In the field
A few situations that particularly caught our observer's attention, around the five emotions selected.
On a summer afternoon, a child is getting ready for water activities. Asked “Are you OK?”, he does not answer: he goes to fetch the anger cushion and brings it back. Asked again, he goes off, puts anger down and comes back with joy. “Are you happy?” — “Yes!”, with a smile.
The child used two characters one after the other, without being asked, to take part in the exchange.
A child is going through a period of change: a baby on the way, starting school soon, leaving the nursery. His days are marked by tears and anger. One day, he brings the joy cushion. “Do you like it?” — “No, because he's happy.”
Perhaps he was expressing, in his own way, that he did not feel happy at that moment. This is a professional interpretation, not a certainty.
Welcoming a child's words, even when they surprise us, without immediately giving them a meaning.
A little girl repeatedly says she wants to see her mummy. On her own initiative, she picks the love cushion, looks at the face, smiles, says “Mummy” and kisses the character.
A choice, a word, a smile and a gesture of affection, spontaneously woven into a moment of the day.
At nap time, a child first takes the joy cushion, then comes back: “That's not the one I want.” He chooses tiredness: “Because I'm tired, me.” He goes off to settle down with it.
More broadly, some children would fetch the cushions before falling asleep or keep them close, sometimes like a comfort object.
The cushion becomes a way to express a choice and how they feel at that moment.
Placed along obstacle courses, the cushions become landmarks to reach, things to go around or points to pass through. Children find them as they move and include them in their exploration of the space.
The characters are no longer only to be looked at: they become part of the movement activity.
The idea is simple: name an emotion and invite the children to find the matching character. Depending on their abilities, they point to the cushion, fetch it or name the emotion themselves.
Everyone takes part in their own way: pointing to, picking up or bringing a character is already an answer.
One child pretends to look after a cushion; others settle it down for a nap or give it a role in an imagined situation. The character takes its place in the scene, as a teddy would.
Children bring the characters into their own stories, following their own ideas.
In your setting
Depending on the children, the situations and the time of day, the cushions found their place in many ways. Sometimes as we had imagined; sometimes where we had not thought of.
Observing these initiatives also means leaving room for the way each child explores, chooses and expresses themselves in everyday life.
is above all an object of comfort and conversation: a decorative cushion cover, not a teaching aid or a therapeutic tool. The uses shown here are those the children and the team came up with freely; they do not replace listening or the support of professionals. In group settings, it is used under adult supervision, following your setting's rules.
Equip your setting
Number of rooms, children cared for, expected quantities, timescale: tell us what you need, even if it is still only an idea. We reply personally, usually within a few working days.
Professionals
45 × 45 cm covers sold individually, each in its zip pouch. Cushion pad not included.
