Physical Fitness

There are many reasons why physical fitness is important for young children. Here are a few;

•        Build and maintain healthy bones, muscles, and joints

•        Control weight, build lean muscle, and reduce fat

•        Prevent or delay the development of high blood pressure

•        Reduce feelings of depression and anxiety

•        May increase children's capacity for learning

•        Promote social well-being

Even at the tender age of 3, 4, or 5, your child needs lots of opportunities for physical activity, both for good health and for skill building. At this age, kids are busy developing gross motor skills-learning to use the large muscles in their legs, arms and trunk to run, jump, throw, catch, and kick. They are also working on fine motor skills, although those develop a bit later than gross motor skills. One would still want to provide preschoolers with plenty of time to work all their muscles.

Gross-motor skills in early childhood relate to a child's development of large muscles and the ability to move from place to place or do physical activities that involve the large muscles of the body, arms and legs. Large-muscle development in young children is necessary for crawling, walking, lifting and other types of physical activities.

Fine-motor skills in early childhood relate to a child's development of small muscles and the ability to control use of the hands and feet, and do activities that involve the small muscles of the fingers, toes and other parts of the body. Small-muscle development in young children is necessary for physical activities such as grasping, cutting, throwing and drawing.

Balance and coordination skills in early childhood relate to children's development of a sense of balance and the ability to coordinate movements so they can perform more complex physical activities. The development of balance and coordination skills in early childhood involves movement of the body in activities such as twisting, turning, pulling or maintaining stability. Balance and coordination skills are necessary for catching, clapping, eating, playing and other types of physical activities.

If a child does not engage in physical activity could result in abnormal growth in children. When we consider obesity/overweight, or even when we thing about fitness in children, we often focus on diet alone. Schools should offer programs that teach children how to choose healthy physical activity as well as foods.

One inspirational, thought-provoking quote that captures my attitude is, “childhood obesity poses significant risk to children who are obese has tripled in the past 25 years. Some factors that contribute to obesity include overconsumption of fats and sugars and an increase in sedentary activities. Teachers can help children to make more healthy selections of food and to read their own inner food cues, and at mealtimes they can provide foods that encourage children to follow the food pyramid.” (Robertson, 2010)

Adults and children can develop good fitness habits by doing physical activity everyday at the same time without fail. Teachers can do the head, shoulder, knees, and toes song with the children and have them to act it out as they sing along. Another activity is playing red rover. Playing red rover give the children the physical activity of running.

References

Sanders, S. W. (2002). Active for Life: Developmentally appropriate movement programs for young children. National Association for the Education of Young Children: Washington, DC.

Bayley, N. (1993). Bayley Scales of Infant Development (2nd ed.). New York: Psychological Corp.

Robertson, C. (2010). Safety, nutrition, and health in early education (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Healthy Nutrition

Staying healthy includes a balanced diet, staying clean, getting plenty of exercise as well as keeping your heart strong and free of drugs. People who practice good nutrition, hygiene and exercise patterns develop a lifetime of habits that will keep them healthy for many years. Especially when they are older! The three things that help promote a healthy diet are variety, balance, and moderation. Variety means that you must include many different foods from each level of the Food Pyramid because no single food can supply all of the nutrients that your growing body needs on a daily basis. This can help to expand your food choices. It is best to eat foods of all colors. The more colors and textures in your daily meals, the better range of nutrients you'll get. Balance means that you must eat the right amounts of foods from all levels of the Food Pyramid each day. This way you will get all the calories and nutrients you need for proper growth and development. Moderation means that you are careful not to eat too much of any one type food.

To make the most out of the Food Pyramid, we'll need to figure out what counts as a serving. The size of each serving depends on your size. That is why there is a children's menu at restaurants , so you don't get stuck with an adult sized meal! The right amount of servings from each of the food groups depends on your age, sex, and body size and activity level. A lot of the time you will find that the meals you eat are made up of parts from more than one food group. Remember: Healthy eating does not have to mean giving up foods you like best, just learn to balance the food choices you make. You can enjoy snacks and meals while still keeping yourself in good health (Meditrends, 2000). Fruit Dip 2 c. low-fat sour cream, 1-ounce package sugar-free instant vanilla pudding mix 1/4 c. fat-free milk 4 tsp. lemon juice Makes eight servings (1/4 cup per serving). Each serving has 90 calories, 5 g fat, 7 g carbohydrate and 4 g protein. (Penn State Cooperative Extension).

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread 1/3 c. canola oil 1 c. sugar 3 eggs, beaten 3 c. flour 4 to 5 medium bananas 1/2 c. chocolate chips 2/3 c. buttermilk 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 c. walnuts or pecans, chopped (optional) Makes 24 servings. Each serving has 210 calories, 8 g fat, 33 g carbohydrate and 4 g protein. (Recipe courtesy of Sheri Coleman, Northern Canola Growers). Waffle Snack 1 frozen waffle 1 Tbsp. low-fat cream cheese or peanut butter1 tsp. jam Makes one serving, with 190 calories, 8 g fat, 22 g carbohydrate and 5 g protein.

Robertson (2010) stated, “The national school lunch program, begun in 1946, is a federally assisted meal program. It operates in more than 100,000 public and nonprofit private schools and provides lunches to more than 30 million children every school day (Food and Nutrition Services, USDA, 2007). Today, this program has been expanded to include reimbursement for snacks served in afterschool programs for children under the age of 18 years.”

References

 Meditrends. (2000). Dr. P Body's learning/fun center. Retrieved from http://www.drpbody.com/nutrition.html

 North Dakota State University. (2008). Nutrition snacks for preschoolers. Retrieved from http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/yf/foods/fn1380.htm

Robertson, C. (2010). Safety, nutrition, and health in early education (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

CPR and Choking Emergencies

The staff at Giant Steps daycare are about to experience a memory they will never forget. Giant Steps is a daycare for children with special needs on one of the building wings. They have seven year old Jerriah who has a feeding tube and a trait in her throat. Jerriah has several needs that require 24 hour surveillance such as she has seizures and is prone to stop breathing. The staff is aware of Jerriah conditions, but has never experience any problems with her since being in their care.

As the staff assigned to Jerriah is doing her (Ms. Tracy) daily checks she notices that Jerriah is not breathing. She immediately pushes the panic button on the wall which will alert all staff that there is a code blue in the building. Other trained staff will know to come to Ms. Tracy room. In the mean time Ms. Tracy remains calm because she knows the importance of it. Ms. Tracy is trained CPR personnel who specialize in children with special needs. Ms. Tracy then gets Jerriah and places her on the floor and carefully holds her forehead. She the places two fingers on Jerriah chest to perform compression at the rate specified for children Jerriah age.

Ms. Tracy notices that the steps are not helping Jerriah. She alerts the aid to dial 911. At this point the nurse on staff has arrived to Ms. Tracy room. The aid is updating the nurse on what has taken place so far. The nurse then tells Ms. Tracy to step away and let her take over. The nurse performs the same procedure with exception of blowing into Jerriah mouth. Jerriah immediately starts to show signs of breathing. The nurse suggests that Jerriah be taken to the hospital as a precaution.

The nurse asks Ms. Tracy to give her exact details as to what happen. After speaking with Ms. Tracy the nurse suggests that Ms. Tracy take another course of CPR as she forgot to blow into Jerriah mouth during the course of giving her CPR. It is safe to say that Ms. Tracy panic and did not remain calm as we thought earlier. It is important that caregivers know exactly what to do in case of an emergency. They are not to panic in any way as panic could cause problems and the child will not receive the proper treatment in course of panic.

Down the hall in wing two of Giant steps is Ms. Jones class in Ms. Jones class she has Jerriah twin Jerriya. Jerriya does not suffer from illness like her twin sister Jerriah. Ms. Jones class is having snack time and she notices that Jerriya appears to be choking. Ms. Jones immediately gets to her feet and sees if Jerriya is really choking. She asks Jerriya is she choking; Jerriya is unable to answer her. Ms. Jones then knows for sure that Jerriya is choking. Ms. Jones tells the aid to remain calm as she will also and to keep the rest of the class calm. Ms. Jones knows that it is important for the class to stay calm because it best for Jerriya.

Ms. Jones asks the aid to push the orange button to alert other staff and dial 911 while she performs the following steps. Ms. Jones stood behind Jerriya and wrapped her arms around Jerriya waist. Ms. Jones made a fist and placed it between the chest and the navel; she took her free hand and grabbed the fist pressing into the abdomen with a quick push upwards. Ms. Jones repeated this step two times before the object came out of Jerriya mouth. It appeared that Jerriya had stuffed her mouth with snack food she was given. Ms. Jones suggested that Jerriya be transported to the emergency room for precautions.

References

Robertson, C. (2007). Safety, Nutrition, and Health in Early Education (4th Ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Staywell custom communications. (2010). How to help a choking child. Retrieved from http://healthlibrary.brighamandwomens.org/RelatedItems/1,197

Emergency Preparedness

Being prepared for emergency disasters requires a lot of planning ahead, especially if you live in an area where disasters are known. Professionals in early childhood environments have to be prepared for any and all disasters, whether they are in a disaster area or not. Disasters are not only limited to those that are caused by nature.

Disasters happen almost every day in the world. Let’s look at disasters that are caused by humans for example. In my opinion a human related disaster can never be too prepared for. If an early childhood environment is in danger due to a shooter on campus. The first thing to do in such situation is to remain calm and call for help or call out the code so someone can call for help. Teacher should have a place where they should go in case of such emergency. They should have emergency contact numbers at hand to contact parents and let them know what is going on and updates on the safety of their students.

To assess the risk of a school shooting happening in my area would be to research the community to see if passed incidents of this nature has happened in the past. There are complication that could arise such as phone lines being cut, media attention, and panic. Media attention can put the entire school in jeopardy by sending out information that has not been confirmed by law officials. This could cause parents to panic and crowd the school and interrupting officials from assessing the problem.

Another disaster would be a fire in the building. Assessing the risk of a building fire takes professional advice. Contact a local building inspector to make sure the building is up to standards. One could do some risk assessing themselves by making sure all plugs look safe, make sure they do not see any lose or hanging wires, classroom is free of clutter and papers as this could make it hard to evacuate. Complication that could arise is panic. If the teachers panic the students will also panic, as they do look at the teacher for instruction and safety.

To be prepared for such incident the teacher should follow the evacuation plan the school has in place. The teacher should enforce routine fire drills to prepare the students in case there is a real fire. Emergency contact should be at hand, the name of each student so that the teacher can do a role call. To keep the families involved with their children that is in their care. The teacher should ask the parents for more than one contact number in case of such emergency. The teacher should have a cell phone designated for this type of emergency with the parents name stored. The teacher can then use those contacts to contact parent/caregiver of the situation and assure them that their child/ren is safe. Once all contacts have been made the teacher can tell the parents that they will be updated on regular intervals and not to panic and crowd the school as this could cause problems.

References

Robertson, C. (2007). Safety, Nutrition, and Health in Early Education (4th Ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Child Safety

Child safety is one of the most important issues to consider during child rearing. Most accidents are the leading cause of death in infants. It is important to keep your child’s safety in mind at all times. We as parents want to keep our children safe from harm. According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, “while many parents and guardians feel they are faced with new and unprecedented challenges when trying to keep their children safer in today’s fast-paced and increasingly global society.”

When caring for infants/toddlers we must know some of the risk that they are susceptible to. One is Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). SIDS usually happens in infants that are less than one year of age. Some measures used to prevent SIDS are as follows; a mother to be should consider early prenatal care, proper nutrition, and continued checkups with their OBGYN.  Avoiding teenage pregnancy reduces the risk of SIDS also. The more children a teenager has the higher the risks are, also the use of drugs increases the risk of SIDS. To help ensure the safety of your infant one should seek early medical attention during pregnancy, avoid the use of drugs while pregnant, and remember to place infants on the their back when putting them down for a nap or to bed. (Robertson, 2007)

Another safety issue is choking in infants/toddlers. Choking is when an object or food is blocking the airway. Choking is usually caused by the infant putting a foreign object in the mouth. To avoid choking in infants/toddlers, they should not be left alone. Small objects should not be placed in reach of the infants/toddlers. Never feed infant foods that require the use of teeth. Do not give infant foods that have sharp edges as this too can cause choking. Parent should be aware of toys and objects they purchases. Such items that have the choking warning should be avoided. Choking is 100% preventable.

Childcare safety is another issue that we face day to day. When considering childcare for your infant/toddler you as a parent to should fully know the risk of having someone else care for your child. To avoid the abuse of children while in the care of others be sure you know the person/people who care for your child. Let the caregiver know what you expect of them. Be clear and to the point in letting the caregiver know that you will not tolerate the abuse of your child or any children and that you will report them without hesitation. Parents who have to use a daycare should consider researching all backgrounds of that facility and only choose those that have nanny cams. Parents who will their homes to have someone come in and care for their child should also consider installing a nanny cam.

Another issue in child safety is the attending of infants/toddlers. Infants/toddlers should never be left unattended no matter how short of time you think you may be gone. During the summer one of the leading cause of death is when the caretaker/caregiver has left the child unattended in a vehicle and the child dies of such activity. Again, a parent that uses daycare transportation for their child should strive to chose only those who have the child detection equipment. Avoiding the use of poor judgment can prevent such accident from happening.

Drowning is the second major cause of death to children under age five (American Heart Association, 2005). Equipment that uses water should be carefully monitored and cleaned often. Hot water should be kept at 120 degrees. Never leave standing water unattended as children are likely to play in and around it. Never leave a child unattended in a tub or pool of water. In a family home the bathroom door should be kept closed at all times. Children should be supervised when in the use of water. There are many interesting ways to keep children safe in and outside of the home.

Reference

Robertson, C. (2007). Safety, Nutrition, and Health in Early Education (4th Ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.