Revisions in laws about contact between children and teachers are a trend toward trust
The changes in New Zealand are welcome ones. It is hard to imagine doing the job that I do on a daily basis without having some sort of personal interaction with the children that I serve. The concept of not being able to comfort them when they fall, and then having to tell them that the reason that I have shied away from giving them a hug is that the government has told me that I must is abhorrent. This breeds not only mistrust for teachers and other authority figures, but also a mistrust for the government.
Many times when I walk into school after being away for a day, or have simply been eating my lunch in another room I am greeted with several voices crying out almost in unison. "Miss Carrie!" As I walk toward them someone will invariably reach out and hug my legs and cry, "Uppy!" (For some reason it is very popular at St. Mike's to add this ending to words involving affection-- even more popular is the request for "Huggies!") That this wouldn't be allowed goes against the very personalities of many of my funny, affectionate, silly children. There are others though that do not need this personla attention as often. There are even one or two that don't appreciate a gentle scuff of the hair as I pass by.
As time elapses a teacher can learn the individual affection needs of each child. One policy that various teachers at our school have instituted is the "Handshake, Hug of High Five." At hellos and goodbyes at the end of class, children are allowed to pick which of the three choices they would like. Many of the older boys pick the high five, and some choose all three.
For more inofrmation on the changes in the New Zealand law on child/teacher contact see my article: New Zealand Daycare
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