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Child care observation guide: types, reports, and examples

Document children's experiences with a childcare observation checklist. Track social, mental, learning, emotional, and other development with regular observation and recording

What is child care observation?


Child care observation is important in every child’s life, since it’s how parents and caregivers learn child behavior, identify strengths and weaknesses and come up with ways to offer support,. Child observation is most useful when dealing with infants and toddlers as they change very rapidly. Proper documentation and observation are crucial parts of the observation process.


Child care observation needs to be consistent over the long term and requires careful monitoring. That’s why professionals often use a child care observation checklist so they can ensure they observe all the relevant behaviors. Child observation checklist reports typically include data like a child’s behavior, communication skills, and IQ. Once they have this data, parents or caregivers can draw conclusions about their child’s development


Checklist-driven observation in childcare helps educators communicate with parents regarding their child’s developmental stage. The process starts with a child care observation template, which informs the areas that assessors investigate.


For example, you might find that certain toys or environments trigger personal growth more reliably than others. This helps you decide which tools and activities a child needs in order to take on new interests and skills. Such observations should be factual, precise, and as detailed as possible. Always record information using a checklist so that you can easily generate a report of your findings.


When you supervise multiple infants and toddlers, it becomes much harder to remember exact details about each child. This is why a daycare observation checklist is crucial, so that you can note details as you observe them.


Thorough childcare observation is the starting point of any research, conversation, and subsequent feedback/action. The process is the only way children can be assessed accurately, employees coached effectively, and lasting changes made.



Toddler hands drawing scribbles with crayons on a white paper



Why childcare observation is so important


Parents, medical staff, and educators all depend on childcare observation at one point or another. Especially in a schooling context, it is highly important to carefully observe each child so you can tailor specific activities and tasks to their needs. This allows children to develop well and at their own pace.


Observation may be one of the oldest, but simplest and most effective, techniques in childcare. It’s specific, which means you avoid generalizing and can focus on individual characteristics and needs.


As an educator, this involves noticing how they handle situations, how they interact with others, how they act in their learning environment, and how they socialize. Proper child observation:


  • Helps educators and parents understand why a child acts the way they do
  • Helps identify kids with behavioral challenges and special needs
  • Helps educators understand the child so they can relate better
  • Helps document each child’s skills, progress, and weaknesses
  • Helps discover how they converse and communicate with their peers and others


Another invaluable function of childcare observation is improving students’ learning experience and outcome by suggesting ways educators can adjust their teaching styles to fit each child. Thorough and intentional daycare observation can tell you:


  • What are the child’s inherent interests?
  • How does the child feel about and react to transitions and daily routines?
  • How do they react to different activities and/or environments?
  • What is their style of learning?


What are the 4 types of observation in early childhood?


As important as childcare observation is, there’s more than just one approach to it. The type of observation you choose depends on the child’s personal history and the kind of assessment you want to conduct. When you document observations, be comprehensive, update your notes regularly, and include all the important details. So what are the 4 types of observation in early childhood and how can you make the most of them?

  • Anecdotal Records: These involve recounting events in terms of the 3 W’s (what, when, and where). They are clear accounts of what happened and are written in past tense. Other factors, such as body language, reactions, and facial expressions are included in anecdotal records.
  • Running Records: A running record is a recording of what is going on at the moment. It’s written in present tense and gives a detailed account of all events.
  • Time Samples: Time sampled information about a child is recorded at different intervals. It’s useful in identifying negative behavior and its causes, as it helps you understand the situation surrounding the behavior.
  • Jottings: Jottings are a way of recording important events that happen during the day. These are short and precise sentences that document interactions, behaviors, and events.


To get the most of out these four forms of childcare care observation, consider employing:


  • Work samples: These are creative works like drawings, writings, figures, and other crafty creations. Assigning work samples helps you gauge the progress of each child. You can also note what the child did around the time they were working on the creation, and what inspired them to create said work.
  • Photographs: Images of each child, complete with notes and descriptions of what happened before and during the photo, help you document changes in their appearance and more


It is vital to use several child observation techniques to get an accurate picture of a child’s life and development. This documentation is the best way to see how far a child has come and how they are doing in the present day.


What is checklist observation in childcare?


A childcare observation report checklist is the tool used to evaluate growth and/or changes in a child over time. They shed light on areas where a child is lagging and reveal areas where they shine the most.


This is done by observing and sequentially comparing their behavior with set expectations. This way, the carer can see if and where there are issues. Checklists allow you to get a solid understanding of the child’s evolution and significant life events. Checklists also help you register changes in the child so you can make adjustments. For example, you might find it helpful to change the environment or method of teaching and handling a child.


Observation checklist data is easily shared with the child’s parents so they can make changes, offer necessary support, or contact childcare professionals if needed.


Educators complete checklists to record their findings on the children and their development. Checklists are easy to use, don’t take up too much time, are self-documenting, and are incredibly versatile. Use a childcare observation checklist to track things like health and nutrition, safety, caregiver-child interactions, parent partnership checklists, and more.


Regularly completed checklists serve as a traceable and tangible timeline of child growth, ensuring sudden changes don’t go unnoticed. With a platform like Lumiform, you can even create custom childcare observation checklists that match the needs of specific children.


Using the 4 types of observation in early childhood to write your report


As important as child observation is, it’s incomplete without a child observation report. This is why every educator needs to know how to write one. A child observation report puts together all the data you’ve gathered surrounding the child and condenses it into a simple, organized report. These reports can focus specifically on certain areas, such as social development.


For a productive observation, you need to pick a time when you’ll be able to pay the most attention to the children. Observing children and collecting data at the same time is sometimes difficult, which is where checklists come in. If you need an easy way to note down information while also teaching, you can easily use Lumiform’s child observation checklists that create reports for you after they’re completed.


As well as observing the children, you need to record significant events in detail as they occur. These notes are the foundation of checklist observation in childcare. If you’re looking to write a digital child observation report, it can help to use a template as a baseline.


When writing checklist observation reports from scratch:


  • Find the best format for relaying the data. This depends how the data will be used, as well as the type of observation you’re working on. Do you need a lot of white space for independent observations and long texts? Should you include photos?

  • State the goal and type of the observation so that the person using the checklist understands expectations

  • Include a specific column for demographic information about the child (gender, age, group, special circumstances), if applicable

  • Consider including information about who else was present during the observation

  • State the exact activit(ies) you observed and how the child behaved throughout

  • Include child development theory and research relevant to your observation
  • Finally, outline any resulting actions you plan to take after your observation or any plans to help the child improve


Wooden alphabet on a tray in a daycare facility

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