Book Review: On being and well-being in infant/toddler care & education: Life stories from baby rooms by Mary Benson McMullen

Abstract

Child well-being is of critical importance to who children are, what they do, and how they grow and develop in years to come (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2021). This topic is of increasing interest to scholars and in debates about quality in early childhood education. However, research-based explorations of babies’well-being as a factor of quality in early childhood education are a rare find in the literature. Mary Benson McMullen’s book is a timely exception, with its main focus on the well-being of babies, their relational experiences with their families and care teachers, and the baby rooms they are part of. Based on her observations of baby rooms and experience of working with babies, families and care teachers, McMullen presents and analyses life stories to highlight both possibilities and tensions in infant/toddler care and education. I am drawn in particular to McMullen’s revelation that these curated stories derive from 12 years of research observations in four baby rooms in the USA. This careful selection and history gives each story a sense of authority to teach us something of value. Even though the stories are of a particular time and place, the reader is left in no doubt about the significance of these stories for today and tomorrow through the messages they embody. As I venture further into McMullen’s book, I feel excited about the possibility of using this book with my student teachers so that they, like me, may experience these stories in unique and meaningful ways. The book itself exhibits traces of many genres, from ethnographic to autobiographic, dramatic, historical non-fiction, and even romance and horror, depending on how the book is felt and experienced. No matter the genre, stories that are ‘bursting to be told’ (112) are the beating heart of this book. The protagonists are the babies, their families and their care teachers, who feature in plots that are engaging, gripping and noteworthy. Drawing inspiration from the works of Vivian Gussin Paley, McMullen’s book suggests we can all be storytellers and storysharers. The 160-page book is structured as six chapters. The first chapter sets the scene and provides a rationale for why the book is needed. The definitions and explanations are steeped in personal and professional wisdom. McMullen’s model of well-being, a central idea in this and other chapters, emphasises dimensions or ‘senses’ of well-being that have equal weighting in terms of importance. These senses include comfort and security, belonging, respect and communication, engagement and contribution, and efficacy and agency. McMullen describes her holistic model as a reimagining of Maslow’s (1943) original theory, intended to highlight the interconnections between the senses of well-being for babies, their families and their care teachers. For me, McMullen’s model represents a much-needed pushback on the linear progression and superficial ranking of human Book review