Abstract
This study aimed to clarify the physical actions taken by childcare teachers toward crying 2-year-old children within group childcare settings involving multiple children. We observed two childcare teachers and eight children (average age 2 years, 9 months) in a 2-year-old nursery class in Tokyo. Childcare teachers’s physical actions were analyzed using a time-sampling method, categorized by position, hand movements, posture, and gaze. Our findings showed that the childcare teachers employed physical contact to soothe crying children. They also utilized their entire body to attend to other children simultaneously. It is suggested that such physical actions not only support the emotional regulation of crying children but also contribute to assisting other children in the group.
