Babytime as a Caregiver

I started delivering baby storytimes soon after graduating from library school back in 2014, and it’s since become one of my favourite parts of being a librarian. I had never actually held a baby before starting as a children’s librarian and everything I knew about working with babies I learned in the classroom. Still, I always felt confident enough telling mothers, grandmothers and other caregivers how best to help their babies develop their vocabularies and literacy skills – I did have a masters degree, after all, and that had to count for something, right?

Five years later, I had a baby, and started attending library baby storytimes as a patron. Being on the other side of the carpet taught me some valuable lessons about what makes for a successful babytime. Some of my experiences reinforced my own practices, while others have given me some food for thought that I’m looking forward to acting on when I return to work. It turns out I may not have always known quite as much about program planning as I thought I did all those years ago. Put the kettle on and settle in, friends, because I’ve got a few thoughts to share!

I will also, for your enjoyment, intersperse this post with pictures of my sweet baby. You can thank me later.

Offer Programs at a Variety of Times

Many libraries seem to offer their storytimes at similar times, even if they offer them at different locations on different days of the week. If the time they’ve chosen doesn’t work with your baby’s nap schedule, you’re unfortunately out of luck! One of my local libraries offers babytimes in the mornings and in the afternoons, which means if one program doesn’t work with your schedule, there’s another option that might. Obviously no schedule will ever be able to accommodate everyone, but offering a variety of options increases the likelihood that families will be able to find a time that works for them. The same goes for weekend and evening offers – my partner will be taking our baby to a Saturday baby program, which means they will be able to participate in an important and meaningful activity together that they would have missed out on if it wasn’t offered on weekends.

Manage Group Sizes

Just because you can fill a meeting room to capacity doesn’t necessarily mean you should. I stopped attending story times at a particular library because they were so crowded – there was barely room for us to move without bumping into another family, I struggled to hear the facilitator over the chatter of other attendees, and our little one found the noise overwhelming. Overcrowded programs limit opportunities for participant participation and interaction, and can make it difficult for children to focus and process information – for some children (and their caregivers!) the noise level can even be distressing. How can children and their caregivers get the most out of a program when they can’t even sit comfortably in the space? Yes, some caregivers will be disappointed if you refuse them entry into a program – I worked at a library that instituted a ticket system to manage group size, and faced the wrath of disgruntled caregivers. But if our focus as librarians is on providing the best possible service with the most educational impact, sometimes we have to ruffle a few feathers in order to do just that. 

Run a Tight Ship

As a storytime participant, few things are more frustrating than trying to learn a new song while the caregiver beside you chatters away on their cell phone or watches a Youtube video with the sound on. Facilitators – set ground rules for your program, and don’t be afraid to enforce them! Remind people to turn off their cell phones, ask them to lower their voices if they’re making it difficult for you to be heard, encourage them to participate in the activities. Take the time to inform people of your house rules at the beginning of each program and remind people of them when needed – you can in fact be both firm and polite. Don’t let a few inconsiderate people ruin the experience for everyone else.

Be Mindful With Your Advice

As a new parent it can seem like there are so many things you should be doing to ensure your children grow up healthy and happy, and even more ways in which you can utterly ruin them. As a literacy expert, offer your storytime advice (sometimes called “literacy sprinkles”) with a light hand and a reassuring smile. Emphasize how easy, flexible and downright fun it can be to support literacy at home. At recent storytimes I’ve received tips like “sing along with the radio in the car”, and “read the text on your cereal box to baby when having breakfast together” – such simple and doable suggestions! I should leave storytime  feeling inspired and empowered, not worried or anxious that I’m not doing enough to support literacy, or worse, that I’ve already failed as a caregiver. Oh, and it never hurts to reassure us that our babies will turn out just fine even if we miss a day or two of reading, because honestly, they will.

Smile

This one might sound like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised at the impact a smile can have. I’m naturally shy and socially awkward, and a warm, welcoming smile from a librarian can be so reassuring when walking into a room full of new people. Smile throughout the program and your group will too, even when they haven’t had more than two hours of consecutive sleep for the past three weeks. Oh, and if my baby has a meltdown and I’m flustered and embarrassed and it takes me a few minutes to gather my things and leave the room? Smile reassuringly and comfortingly and I’ll be much more likely to come back another time.

Repeat, Repeat, Repeat!

I’m perpetually tired, which makes learning new things particularly challenging – even remembering songs I’ve known since childhood can be a struggle when I’ve been up several times in the night. Please don’t try and fit thirty different songs and rhymes into your half hour program, because there’s no way I’m going to be able to learn that many new things, and do give me a chance to practice a new song a few times before moving on to the next one. Oh, and feel free to repeat at least some of the same songs week after week – my poor sleep-deprived brain will thank you!

Offer Adaptations

When baby was very tiny I didn’t feel comfortable throwing him up in the air or bouncing him on my knees, and felt a little self-conscious about it, so imagine my relief when a librarian offered some alternatives and adaptations for her action rhymes – we could lift baby up and down while sitting rather than standing, and could sway baby instead of bouncing him. Offering options can make activities more accessible for caregivers with different levels of confidence or mobility, and make everyone feel welcome.

Perhaps the most important thing I’ve learned from attending storytimes as a participant is the importance of providing opportunities for audience input and feedback. It boggles my mind how many events I planned as a new librarian without ever seeking input from the very people I was planning programs for! If you want your programs to really serve your community, ask attendees what kinds of programs they’d like to attend, what times might work for them, how they feel about the programs currently on offer, and what suggestions they might have for improving them. Yes, as librarians we have knowledge and expertise to share, but so do caregivers, and it’s critical that we not only provide opportunities for feedback, but also act on that information, and create an environment in which patrons feel comfortable expressing their thoughts and ideas.

And so, if there are any fellow librarians in the audience, I’d love to hear how your library solicits feedback from patrons, because this is something I’m very passionate about incorporating into my practice going forward.

Oh, and I hope you enjoyed witnessing the utter perfection that is my baby. You’re welcome!