Physical fitness is an essential part of everyday living. Physical fitness helps with the heart, lungs, and muscles as well other organs in the body to function well and helps with a long life span. Physical fitness also helps to control your weight. With plenty of exercise your body can control the amount of fat that builds up in the body and causes obesity. When you practice good health in your body you develop good bones, which is done by physical fitness. Physical fitness also helps to control the moods that you are in. After a great workout, it helps you to relax and feel great about yourself. Physical fitness helps to build stamina, give you energy, and strength.
During the preschool years children are learning many skills that help them to develop and grow. Physical fitness is one of the skills that can grow with the child. Children that exercise daily learn the importance of physical play. They also learn how to exercise. Exercise is a skill that is done daily but if not done correctly can cause harm to the body. The children will learn how to breathe during exercise and know how to do moderate, fast, slow, quick, high, low exercises. these words will help the child with opposites and positional words. Physical fitness also helps children to get to moving. Some children like to look at others play, but encouraging all children to participate helps every child to grow and develop.
Children that aren't involved in physical fitness are harming their minds as well as their bodies. Without physical fitness a child gains weight, gains self-esteem issues, and gain health concerns. Children that don't exercise are at risk for being obese. Obese children have lots of health concerns that take over their body and causes death to occur. The children also gain self-esteem issues. This come from being obese. A child that suffers from obesity is more likely to be left out when other children are at play. Children also are pressured by peer pressure and some children tend not to play with other children because of the way they look. Obese children are sometimes picked at by other children and this causes self-esteem in the child. Their have been many children over the years that have been diagnosed with heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, an other health concerns do to the way that their bodies are being taken care of. Physical fitness is one way that a child can help to prevent health concerns.
When adults get involved in the health concern of children they can help to manage the way children eat and exercise. Exercise is a good way to manage good health in children. By doing exercise activities with the children daily this helps to promote positive energy in the child. JumpRope for Heart and Start for Life are two great organizations that help children to stay physically fit as well as giving them incentives for promoting and doing exercises daily. An adult can do exercises with the children such as a marching band which develops gross motor skills. A marching bands help to teach the children to manipulate with more that one body part. they are marching and using instruments. They are also in a line so this teaches them how to follow directions. A marching band helps build muscles in the legs and get the blood flowing from the marching they are doing. Fine motor skills can be developed in exercise by cutting. Allowing a child to cut out shapes, lines, zigzags or other objects helps the child to build physical movement in the hands, wrist, and fingers.
Reading over several quotes this one made much sense of why we should exercise. "What fits your busy schedule better, exercising one hour a day or being dead 24 hours a day?"(Randy Glasbergen, Cartoonist) If you can't fit an hour a day into your schedule then 24 hours a day of death would be more pleasing for you. People have to choose to be alive or dead when it comes to your health. Some of us are dead with our health because we choose not to exercise. I feel the more we practice good the health the more it will become a part of our lives.
RESOURCES
http://www.functional-fitness-facts.com/why-is-physical-fitness-important.html
http://www.getkidsinaction.org/exercise/
http://www.exrx.net/Psychology/Quotes.html
Monday, October 10, 2011
Promoting Positive Eating Habits
Good nutrition is important for younger children because it gives them the essentials they need to grow and to be healthy citizens. Unhealthy eating habits are one of the leading causes of death in children. Children that eat foods that are unhealthy for them end up with health issues such as diabetes, hypertension, strokes, heart disease, and cancer. These are the leading factors that are killing our people today. A recent poll was done and heart disease and stated it was the leading cause for death in people. The poll stated that 709,894 people died from heart died in 2010. Heart disease comes from obese children. Obese children come from eating when they are stressed, eating just because, and eating to satisfy emotions or feelings. Some obese children are obese because of family traits, so they are passed down from generation to generation. 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! (Dr. P. Body. 2000)
Infants need to develop good eating habits because it helps them to use their motor skills. When using motor skills in infants they are able to learn to crawl, walk, hold on to things and clap. Poor eating habits cause them to not be able to not perform these developmental growth skills. Toddlers need good eating habits because it helps them to retain information. In the process of retaining information this leads to the fact that they have good attention span, their memory banks are in full control. They also can recall information that is being given to them. Preschoolers need to have good eating habits because this is when friendships develop. During friendships children tend to be mean to others and they have behavior concerns. Many children that are obese tend to not have so many friends because they are picked at and the other children tend to leave them when they are having outdoor play. It causes self-esteem concerns as well in children.
Adults should always help children with eating habits because, children just don't know. If they are taught to eat a certain way then they will continue to eat that way or eat that type of food because they think that is what's right. One way an adult can help a child is by modeling. When a teacher is in the classroom and she notices that a child is a picky eater,she can play games with the food or sing songs and have the whole class participate in the activity to get the child to try the foods as well as she has to try them. Another way is by not making food an punishment. Lots of teachers tell children if they don;t eat all the food they can't got o a certain activity. So children began to feel like eating is a punishment for them.
Three healthy recipes for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers
infants
Chicken/turkey Rice Stew
1 cup cooked cubed chicken or turkey
1/4 cup of brown rice
1/4 cup vegetables
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup breast milk or formula.
Puree all ingredients together and then pour the mixture into ice cube trays to make food cubes. If you don't want make food cubes or don't have enough ice cube trays you can make food plops by taking a spoonful of the pureed stew and placing it on a baking sheet and then placing that into the freezer immediately. Once your portions are frozen take them out and place in a large resealable bag to use at a later date. Don't forget to label and date the bag as well.
Toddlers
Fun Tuna Fish & Cheese Sandwich
Ingredients:
1 slice white bread 1 slice whole-wheat bread 1/3 cup flaked tuna, drained 2 thinly sliced pieces of Gouda cheese 1-1/2 tbsp mayonnaise Lettuce Small & Medium Fish shaped cookie cutters
Directions: Take the cookie cutters and cut the same shapes out of both slices of bread. Take the cut-out bread and switch them to the opposite slice. Mix up the mayonnaise and tuna. Create the sandwich by layering the bread, then adding the gouda, lettuce, then tuna and finally top with the second slice of cheese and the other piece of bread. Allow the children to spread the tuna over the sandwich and cut the sandwich with the cookie cutter.
Preschoolers
Whole Wheat Pizza Crust (adapted from AllRecipes.com)
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Step 1:
In a large bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water. Sprinkle yeast over the top, and let stand for about 10 minutes, until foamy. Mix the olive oil and salt into the yeast mixture. Add in the whole wheat flour and 1 cup of the all-purpose flour. Place dough onto a surface floured with the remaining all-purpose flour, and knead until all of the flour has been absorbed, and the ball of dough becomes smooth, about 10 minutes. Place dough in an oiled bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover loosely with a towel, and let stand in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. When the dough is doubled, place dough onto a lightly floured surface. I divided the dough into one larger piece (about 2/3 of total dough) and two small pieces for the small kids pizza. Form each piece into a tight ball. Let rise for about 45 minutes, until doubled. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Roll a ball of dough with a rolling pin until it will not stretch any further. Then, drape it over both of your fists, and gently pull the edges outward, while rotating the crust - this is very fun for the kids to watch or even try! When the circle has reached the desired size, place on a well oiled pizza pan. Bake crust only for 5-10 minutes at 500 degrees. Remove hot crust from oven and add tomato sauce (recipe below) and toppings. Reduce oven heat to 425 degrees. Bake pizza for 15 to 20 minutes. until the crust is crisp and golden at the edges, and cheese is melted on the top. Keep an eye on the cheese to prevent scorching.
Easy Pizza Sauce
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
28 oz can tomatoes - diced or crushed
In a heavy saucepan, heat olive oil at medium low. Add garlic and stir for about two minutes. Add can of tomatoes, with their juice. Bring the sauce to a boil, stirring. Reduce heat to low and cook for about 20-30 minutes. Add salt to taste.
These recipes provides the children with many vitamins and herbs that are good for the body. It also takes in mind that the child is still on formula but allowing the parent to slowly wing the child away from the formula. They also help with the developmental process of the children.
RESOURCES
Nutrition Policy. (2010). Why good nutrition is important. retrieved September 28, 2011. from http://www.cspinet.org/nutritionpolicy/nutrition_policy.html#eat
Dr. P. Body. (2000). Good Nutrition: The Basics. Doctor P.Boddy's Learning/Fun Center where health and safety are made easy.
http://nutrition.preschoolrock.com/index.php/news/54/104
http://www.babyandtoddlerrecipes.com/chicken-rice-stew-for-baby.html
http://www.babyandtoddlerrecipes.com/tuna-sandwich-recipe.html
Infants need to develop good eating habits because it helps them to use their motor skills. When using motor skills in infants they are able to learn to crawl, walk, hold on to things and clap. Poor eating habits cause them to not be able to not perform these developmental growth skills. Toddlers need good eating habits because it helps them to retain information. In the process of retaining information this leads to the fact that they have good attention span, their memory banks are in full control. They also can recall information that is being given to them. Preschoolers need to have good eating habits because this is when friendships develop. During friendships children tend to be mean to others and they have behavior concerns. Many children that are obese tend to not have so many friends because they are picked at and the other children tend to leave them when they are having outdoor play. It causes self-esteem concerns as well in children.
Adults should always help children with eating habits because, children just don't know. If they are taught to eat a certain way then they will continue to eat that way or eat that type of food because they think that is what's right. One way an adult can help a child is by modeling. When a teacher is in the classroom and she notices that a child is a picky eater,she can play games with the food or sing songs and have the whole class participate in the activity to get the child to try the foods as well as she has to try them. Another way is by not making food an punishment. Lots of teachers tell children if they don;t eat all the food they can't got o a certain activity. So children began to feel like eating is a punishment for them.
Three healthy recipes for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers
infants
Chicken/turkey Rice Stew
1 cup cooked cubed chicken or turkey
1/4 cup of brown rice
1/4 cup vegetables
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup breast milk or formula.
Puree all ingredients together and then pour the mixture into ice cube trays to make food cubes. If you don't want make food cubes or don't have enough ice cube trays you can make food plops by taking a spoonful of the pureed stew and placing it on a baking sheet and then placing that into the freezer immediately. Once your portions are frozen take them out and place in a large resealable bag to use at a later date. Don't forget to label and date the bag as well.
Toddlers
Fun Tuna Fish & Cheese Sandwich
Ingredients:
1 slice white bread 1 slice whole-wheat bread 1/3 cup flaked tuna, drained 2 thinly sliced pieces of Gouda cheese 1-1/2 tbsp mayonnaise Lettuce Small & Medium Fish shaped cookie cutters
Directions: Take the cookie cutters and cut the same shapes out of both slices of bread. Take the cut-out bread and switch them to the opposite slice. Mix up the mayonnaise and tuna. Create the sandwich by layering the bread, then adding the gouda, lettuce, then tuna and finally top with the second slice of cheese and the other piece of bread. Allow the children to spread the tuna over the sandwich and cut the sandwich with the cookie cutter.
Preschoolers
Whole Wheat Pizza Crust (adapted from AllRecipes.com)
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Step 1:
In a large bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water. Sprinkle yeast over the top, and let stand for about 10 minutes, until foamy. Mix the olive oil and salt into the yeast mixture. Add in the whole wheat flour and 1 cup of the all-purpose flour. Place dough onto a surface floured with the remaining all-purpose flour, and knead until all of the flour has been absorbed, and the ball of dough becomes smooth, about 10 minutes. Place dough in an oiled bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover loosely with a towel, and let stand in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. When the dough is doubled, place dough onto a lightly floured surface. I divided the dough into one larger piece (about 2/3 of total dough) and two small pieces for the small kids pizza. Form each piece into a tight ball. Let rise for about 45 minutes, until doubled. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Roll a ball of dough with a rolling pin until it will not stretch any further. Then, drape it over both of your fists, and gently pull the edges outward, while rotating the crust - this is very fun for the kids to watch or even try! When the circle has reached the desired size, place on a well oiled pizza pan. Bake crust only for 5-10 minutes at 500 degrees. Remove hot crust from oven and add tomato sauce (recipe below) and toppings. Reduce oven heat to 425 degrees. Bake pizza for 15 to 20 minutes. until the crust is crisp and golden at the edges, and cheese is melted on the top. Keep an eye on the cheese to prevent scorching.
Easy Pizza Sauce
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
28 oz can tomatoes - diced or crushed
In a heavy saucepan, heat olive oil at medium low. Add garlic and stir for about two minutes. Add can of tomatoes, with their juice. Bring the sauce to a boil, stirring. Reduce heat to low and cook for about 20-30 minutes. Add salt to taste.
These recipes provides the children with many vitamins and herbs that are good for the body. It also takes in mind that the child is still on formula but allowing the parent to slowly wing the child away from the formula. They also help with the developmental process of the children.
RESOURCES
Nutrition Policy. (2010). Why good nutrition is important. retrieved September 28, 2011. from http://www.cspinet.org/nutritionpolicy/nutrition_policy.html#eat
Dr. P. Body. (2000). Good Nutrition: The Basics. Doctor P.Boddy's Learning/Fun Center where health and safety are made easy.
http://nutrition.preschoolrock.com/index.php/news/54/104
http://www.babyandtoddlerrecipes.com/chicken-rice-stew-for-baby.html
http://www.babyandtoddlerrecipes.com/tuna-sandwich-recipe.html
Emergencies do Happen
A four year in a classroom setting brings to school with him some small portions of hard round candy. The teacher notices that the child continues to go in his pockets for something, but she is not clear about what it is. She ask the child to come to her and checks to see what it is. She notices the small candy and takes it from the child. She also puts the candy in a ziplock bag and saves it until the parents arrive to explain to them as well as the child the importance of not bringing things from home as well as the safety of the hard candy. She then explains to him, that first he can't have candy while in school and second that the candy is too small for him to chew on his own so he needs an adult around while eating this type of candy. The teacher goes on with the production of the class. She never thinks to look in the child's backpack to see if he has more candy in his bag. Nevertheless, the child does. The child goes into the backpack when the teacher doesn't notice him there and takes out another piece of candy and this time puts it in his mouth. He then goes back to his area and starts to play and have conversations with the other children there. The child begins to choke from the candy. The teacher notices that the child is not breathing. The teacher goes over to the child and grabs him. She notices the candy just below the tonsils. The teacher appoints the aid in her class to call 9-1-1. She then kneels down behind the child and wraps her arms around his waist. She then makes a fist with one hand and wraps the other hand over the fist just below the breastbone. She then makes a upward motion with her hands into the belly of the child. This is to make the candy move and open up an airway for breathing. After two pumps the candy pops out the child's mouth. The safety precautions that the teacher used on the child is called the Heimlich Maneuver. He instantly began to cry. The teacher comforts him calls the parents to let them know what had happened and he could be picked up for the day for more support from the parents.
Planning for a child that is choking is very important because it helps to save a life. If the staff or teacher had not trained for this type of incident she might have panicked and the child would have died from lack of oxygen. Adults need to also know how to perform this type of rescue on adults, infants and children because it is different in each case. When performing The Heimlich Maneuver on a infant that is choking you would hold the infant face down and give up to five slap on the back with the heel of the hand.
A scenario of CPR is a child in your class is on the playground and is allergic to grass the parents never tell yo that the child suffers from these type of allergies. You allow the child to play freely with his peers. You notice as the child is running around the track he seems to have shortness of breathe. You continue to watch him because the child keeps holding his chest. He never comes to you and say nothing is wrong. The child passes out. The teacher instantly rushes over to the child. She shakes the child to see if he is responding. The child is not. She then appoints someone to call 9-1-1. The teacher then positions the child on his back, making sure to protect the neck, spine, and head. She then opens up the mouth of the child and looks for any objects that might be in the airway. She notices nothing and pinches his nose, while securing the head back. She then gives two long breathes into the child's mouth. Then she positions her hands overlapping on the child's chest and leans forward so that her shoulders are over the head. The teacher then pushes downward on the chest using her weight and compresses on the child's chest for five times in three seconds. She then gives another breath and compresses on the chest five more times. She then checks for a pulse and breathing. The child begins to breathe.
Advance planning is the best way to prevent this type of situation from happening. It helps yo to know what to do when a child stops breathing or has shortness of breathe. It is also important that the teachers stress to the families how important it is to let them know if anything is wrong with the child. This allows the teacher to know what to do with the child when they go outside or other places that have grass. At home the families need to look for signs in children that indicate they maybe allergic to certain things, because in some cases the parents don't know that there children have allergies from a lot of different types of things.
Resources
http://firstaid.webmd.com/tc/choking-rescue-procedure-heimlich-maneuver-adult-or-child-older-than-1-year
http://www.ehow.com/how_7150_perform-cpr-child.html
Planning for a child that is choking is very important because it helps to save a life. If the staff or teacher had not trained for this type of incident she might have panicked and the child would have died from lack of oxygen. Adults need to also know how to perform this type of rescue on adults, infants and children because it is different in each case. When performing The Heimlich Maneuver on a infant that is choking you would hold the infant face down and give up to five slap on the back with the heel of the hand.
A scenario of CPR is a child in your class is on the playground and is allergic to grass the parents never tell yo that the child suffers from these type of allergies. You allow the child to play freely with his peers. You notice as the child is running around the track he seems to have shortness of breathe. You continue to watch him because the child keeps holding his chest. He never comes to you and say nothing is wrong. The child passes out. The teacher instantly rushes over to the child. She shakes the child to see if he is responding. The child is not. She then appoints someone to call 9-1-1. The teacher then positions the child on his back, making sure to protect the neck, spine, and head. She then opens up the mouth of the child and looks for any objects that might be in the airway. She notices nothing and pinches his nose, while securing the head back. She then gives two long breathes into the child's mouth. Then she positions her hands overlapping on the child's chest and leans forward so that her shoulders are over the head. The teacher then pushes downward on the chest using her weight and compresses on the child's chest for five times in three seconds. She then gives another breath and compresses on the chest five more times. She then checks for a pulse and breathing. The child begins to breathe.
Advance planning is the best way to prevent this type of situation from happening. It helps yo to know what to do when a child stops breathing or has shortness of breathe. It is also important that the teachers stress to the families how important it is to let them know if anything is wrong with the child. This allows the teacher to know what to do with the child when they go outside or other places that have grass. At home the families need to look for signs in children that indicate they maybe allergic to certain things, because in some cases the parents don't know that there children have allergies from a lot of different types of things.
Resources
http://firstaid.webmd.com/tc/choking-rescue-procedure-heimlich-maneuver-adult-or-child-older-than-1-year
http://www.ehow.com/how_7150_perform-cpr-child.html
When Crisis Arise
In the area that I work in crime is a very important part of our day. The children live in a high drug, burglary, and family violence area. The scenario that I chose is a guy robs a local convenient store, has a weapon, and is on a high speed chase from the police. This happens while two classes are on the playground with forty children and only four adults. The children and the staff notice the helicopter flying high over the area where the school is located. The also notice that the sirens from the police car is getting louder, so that indicates that the police is getting closer to where the school is. The main danger of this is children are outside on the playground and the playground faces the street. An armed and dangerous man is out on the lost and is nearby the school grounds from the sounds of the sirens. The children as well as the staff is in danger for their lives not knowing what this mad man is capable of doing next.
In this cases my colleagues and I should be aware of this because our school could be at risk to be involved in a crime. We also need to know how to be able to evacuate the play area in a timely manner with the safety of all the children in hand making sure no one gets hurt while transitioning back into the building or a safe location. In this case not being prepared can cause a someone to be killed or even a child to be hurt.
In this case the plan I would develop would be to get everyone out safe. In this plan the teachers would appoint one teacher to be the go to person and another teacher to round all the children up. This would be much easier done if while on the playground the teachers are interacting with the children and they would be in close reach. The teacher that is the go to person would check off the roll as the children come to her to make sure that she has everyone. The teacher as well as the children would enter the building and go to a safe location inside the school making sure that all doors are locked to keep them safe and strangers not being able to enter, because this high speed chase could result in a foot chase and the criminal enter into the school and take some of the children/staff hostage.
Another scenario would be a fire in the building. In the kitchen at our local head-start program a fire started and all everyone has to evacuate. In a fire someone could get burned, inhale smoke, or killed in a fire. Everyone in the building and buildings close by are at risk for being hurt. In this case my colleagues and I should be prepared for a fire to get out safe. Not being prepared for a fire can lead death, health issues for some people, and body parts being burned.
In this type of danger I would have a monthly fire drill with the child at unannounced times to get the children and the teachers familiar with fire drills and that they might happen at any moment. In my plan I would incorporate that they teachers take with them at all times emergency contact numbers, allergy records, and a roll book or sheet of paper with all the kids names listed on it(ohs revised 2011). The contact information would be to let the family know that our school is on fire and we will be at a certain location. The allergy records would be if the children have to eat at the location we are going to and the teacher is not their to say who can have what. The roll book would be to count and make sure all of the kids are counted for that day. During the fire plan the children will follow the teacher out the building while another teacher stays at the rear to make sure all the kids get out the building safe and quick. Also during the drill the teachers can talk with the children about hot/cold touches. They can discuss the important job of firefighters and how the clothing they have on is to help protect them and you.
At home the families can have fire drills at home as well. They can make sure that the children know where to meet up once they are out the house. The family can also discuss with the children the importance of not running from the firemen that will be coming in the building to get them just as well as the teachers.
RESOURCES
http://www.bmcc.org/Headstart/Manuals/Facilities/chapter2.htm
http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta-system/health/Health/Environmental%20Health%20and%20Safety/Environmental%20Healthy%20and%20Safety%20Program%20Staff/health_fts_11008_022306.html
In this cases my colleagues and I should be aware of this because our school could be at risk to be involved in a crime. We also need to know how to be able to evacuate the play area in a timely manner with the safety of all the children in hand making sure no one gets hurt while transitioning back into the building or a safe location. In this case not being prepared can cause a someone to be killed or even a child to be hurt.
In this case the plan I would develop would be to get everyone out safe. In this plan the teachers would appoint one teacher to be the go to person and another teacher to round all the children up. This would be much easier done if while on the playground the teachers are interacting with the children and they would be in close reach. The teacher that is the go to person would check off the roll as the children come to her to make sure that she has everyone. The teacher as well as the children would enter the building and go to a safe location inside the school making sure that all doors are locked to keep them safe and strangers not being able to enter, because this high speed chase could result in a foot chase and the criminal enter into the school and take some of the children/staff hostage.
Another scenario would be a fire in the building. In the kitchen at our local head-start program a fire started and all everyone has to evacuate. In a fire someone could get burned, inhale smoke, or killed in a fire. Everyone in the building and buildings close by are at risk for being hurt. In this case my colleagues and I should be prepared for a fire to get out safe. Not being prepared for a fire can lead death, health issues for some people, and body parts being burned.
In this type of danger I would have a monthly fire drill with the child at unannounced times to get the children and the teachers familiar with fire drills and that they might happen at any moment. In my plan I would incorporate that they teachers take with them at all times emergency contact numbers, allergy records, and a roll book or sheet of paper with all the kids names listed on it(ohs revised 2011). The contact information would be to let the family know that our school is on fire and we will be at a certain location. The allergy records would be if the children have to eat at the location we are going to and the teacher is not their to say who can have what. The roll book would be to count and make sure all of the kids are counted for that day. During the fire plan the children will follow the teacher out the building while another teacher stays at the rear to make sure all the kids get out the building safe and quick. Also during the drill the teachers can talk with the children about hot/cold touches. They can discuss the important job of firefighters and how the clothing they have on is to help protect them and you.
At home the families can have fire drills at home as well. They can make sure that the children know where to meet up once they are out the house. The family can also discuss with the children the importance of not running from the firemen that will be coming in the building to get them just as well as the teachers.
RESOURCES
http://www.bmcc.org/Headstart/Manuals/Facilities/chapter2.htm
http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta-system/health/Health/Environmental%20Health%20and%20Safety/Environmental%20Healthy%20and%20Safety%20Program%20Staff/health_fts_11008_022306.html
Health, Safety, and Nutrion for Children
Preschool children are very observant and wondrous children at this age. They tend to ask questions about things, observe things, and test things out to see what type of reaction they will get from it. Five potentially hazardous situations or safety threats are choking, falls to surfaces, poisonous plants, fire, tornado, and bus drills, and cleaning supplies.
Choking is the one of safety threat in preschool children. They are growing, but at this age they still tend to put things in their mouth as well as chew on things that will choke them. Not only are the children to be aware of things that might choke them, but there foods that are choking hazards that the cooking staff as well as the teaching staff need to be aware of to help prevent the children from becoming exposed to these foods, which aren't limited to peanuts, chewing gum, popcorn, chips, hotdogs, carrot sticks, tough meat, candy, whole grapes, cherry tomato, and large raw fruits and vegetables (Department of Agriculture 2011). When teachers are putting out materials in the classroom it would be helpful to talk about the materials with the children and discuss the proper use of each material. With foods that are being served, they need to make sure that they are finely cut to help the child to be able to chew the foods. At home the parents can make sure that all small objects are kept out if the reach of the children.
Falls are the leading cause of accident reports in child care centers. Children from water spills, shoes untied, and high places. Teachers can discuss with the children the importance of not playing in the water when they wash their hands. Supervision is the key to may falls not happening. When on the playground monitoring and interacting with the children to ensure that they are playing on the equipment safely will help prevent some of the falls. At home the parents can help children learn to tie their shoes to help prevent tripping and falling on shoe laces.
Poisonous plants is another hazardous situation in the classroom. In many schools it is part of the curriculum to have live plants and animals in the class, but some are harmful to children. The staff needs to be aware of the plants that they are growing in the classroom to help protect the children. At home the parents can talk with the children about plants that help us and plants that harm us. They can show the children pictures of plants and the children will bring the information back into the classroom and this helps keep everyone safe.
Fire, tornado, and bus drills are very important in the classroom. These drills help the children to know what to when it happens, how to know the signs that it is happening, and where they should go when it happens. During fire drill everyone must evacuate the building and go to a designated area until it is safe to re-enter the building. During a tornado drill everyone needs to go into a place where there is no glass or windows, cover ball up in fetus style, and cover their head for protection. A bus drill helps the children know where to go if the bus happens to catch fire or in an accident. the children will know where al the exits on the bus are located. At home the parents need to have a fire and tornado drill and evacuation plan so that if something happens at the home the child knows where to go and what to do.
Cleaning supplies are so tempting for children. They see the nice paper and they think its things to drink or touch, as well as they love to be helpful and cleanup their own mess. These supplies should be kept out of the reach of children as it says on the label of every bottle. Cleaning supplies should be used for the purpose they say. Cleaning only. At home the parents can make sure that they kept all cleaning supplies away from the children in a locked cabinet that they can't get to.
United States Department of Agriculture. (2011). Choking Hazards. Washington, D.C. authur. Retrieved September 10, 2011 from http://www.choosemyplate.gov/preschoolers/FoodSafety/chokinghazards.html
"http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ohs/" http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ohs/
Choking is the one of safety threat in preschool children. They are growing, but at this age they still tend to put things in their mouth as well as chew on things that will choke them. Not only are the children to be aware of things that might choke them, but there foods that are choking hazards that the cooking staff as well as the teaching staff need to be aware of to help prevent the children from becoming exposed to these foods, which aren't limited to peanuts, chewing gum, popcorn, chips, hotdogs, carrot sticks, tough meat, candy, whole grapes, cherry tomato, and large raw fruits and vegetables (Department of Agriculture 2011). When teachers are putting out materials in the classroom it would be helpful to talk about the materials with the children and discuss the proper use of each material. With foods that are being served, they need to make sure that they are finely cut to help the child to be able to chew the foods. At home the parents can make sure that all small objects are kept out if the reach of the children.
Falls are the leading cause of accident reports in child care centers. Children from water spills, shoes untied, and high places. Teachers can discuss with the children the importance of not playing in the water when they wash their hands. Supervision is the key to may falls not happening. When on the playground monitoring and interacting with the children to ensure that they are playing on the equipment safely will help prevent some of the falls. At home the parents can help children learn to tie their shoes to help prevent tripping and falling on shoe laces.
Poisonous plants is another hazardous situation in the classroom. In many schools it is part of the curriculum to have live plants and animals in the class, but some are harmful to children. The staff needs to be aware of the plants that they are growing in the classroom to help protect the children. At home the parents can talk with the children about plants that help us and plants that harm us. They can show the children pictures of plants and the children will bring the information back into the classroom and this helps keep everyone safe.
Fire, tornado, and bus drills are very important in the classroom. These drills help the children to know what to when it happens, how to know the signs that it is happening, and where they should go when it happens. During fire drill everyone must evacuate the building and go to a designated area until it is safe to re-enter the building. During a tornado drill everyone needs to go into a place where there is no glass or windows, cover ball up in fetus style, and cover their head for protection. A bus drill helps the children know where to go if the bus happens to catch fire or in an accident. the children will know where al the exits on the bus are located. At home the parents need to have a fire and tornado drill and evacuation plan so that if something happens at the home the child knows where to go and what to do.
Cleaning supplies are so tempting for children. They see the nice paper and they think its things to drink or touch, as well as they love to be helpful and cleanup their own mess. These supplies should be kept out of the reach of children as it says on the label of every bottle. Cleaning supplies should be used for the purpose they say. Cleaning only. At home the parents can make sure that they kept all cleaning supplies away from the children in a locked cabinet that they can't get to.
United States Department of Agriculture. (2011). Choking Hazards. Washington, D.C. authur. Retrieved September 10, 2011 from http://www.choosemyplate.gov/preschoolers/FoodSafety/chokinghazards.html
"http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ohs/" http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ohs/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)