Physical Fitness

Physical fitness is an essential piece of early childhood growth and development for young growing children. Physical movement helps children progress in the gross and locomotor skills they need to build and move properly (Goodway & Robinson, 2006). Physically active children are also more likely to be healthier and have better cardiovascular health than nonactive or obese children. Regular physical movement and exercise are two of the most successful ways to help children suffering from obesity. Which can both pose a threat to a child’s life.

The more you can get children up and be moving the healthier their development and growth of muscles, heart, and bones (editor, 2018). Physical activity is also essential to promote emotional socialization in children. The children will learn to play together exercising their minds and imaginations playing games together.

Five reasons why physical fitness is essential to children:

·         Physical Fitness helps children rest and sleep better.

·         Physical fitness aids in high self-esteem and socialization skills

·         Physical movement allows children to grow healthy bones, muscles, healthy weight and healthy hearts.

·         Physical fitness helps with the development of improved posture, gross motor skills, and locomotor skills.

·         Physical fitness contributes to children being able to focus and learn in school.

Children are learning a multitude of developmental skills during early childhood. One developmental ability they start learning is participation in sports and physical activities. How to run, jump, and participate as an athlete. Games of kickball or tee ball are great sports for children in early childhood education programs. Parks and recreation organizations are usually in every town. Get children interested in games early. Another developmental skill is socio-emotional skills. Children learn the skills to work as a team during physical fitness. They socialize with other children and learn problem-solving tasks as a group. 

Physical fitness doesn't just exercise the body it also exercises the brain. Helping children use and develop their critical thinking skills as they learn different activities (Robertson, 2016). Mazes and obstacle courses built for younger children is a great way to work as a team, exercise the body and make the brain exercise as well.

Early childhood programs should offer different physically active learning skills help children grow and develop. “Physical activity in childcare should be spontaneous and intentionally planned.” (editor, 2018) Let the children use their imaginations remember they are not just exercising their bodies they are exercising their minds as well.

The school, my grandson, attends has a quote hanging in their gym it says, “The Human body is the best picture of the human soul.” ` Ludwig Wittgenstein. This quote couldn’t be more accurate with physical fitness and healthy eating. Taking care of your body and teaching young children early to take care of their bodies will help them long into adulthood.

References

editor. (2018). Physical Activity in Early childhood. Retrieved from Healthy Kids eat well, get active: https://www.healthykids.nsw.gov.au/teachers-childcare/physical-activity.aspx

Goodway, J., & Robinson, L. (2006). SKIPing toward an Active Start Promoting Physical Activity in Preschoolers. Beyond the journal; young children on the web.

Robertson, C. (2016). Safety, nutrition, and health in early education (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.

Schilling, T., & McOmber, K. (2006). Tots in action on and beyond the playground. Beyond the journal: YOUNG CHILDREN ON THE WEB.

Wit & Wisdom. (2016, February 20). The Week, (1061), 21.

Healthy Food and Nutrition

Proper behavioral nutrition and eating habits are essential for children of all ages. Children require healthy foods and a well-balanced diet to grow physically, mentally and emotionally.

Infants – Infants need to be in control of their eating habits and patterns. Whether they are breastfed or bottle fed. Infants give cues when they are hungry, and parents, as well as teachers, should watch for these cues (Robertson, 2016). Solid food should not be introduced until at least four months of age.

Toddlers – Eating is a wonderful place for toddlers to start asserting themselves. Making food appealing and easy to will keep their interest. Toddlers need a well-balanced diet to give the vitamins and minerals to stay healthy (Berger, 2016). They are no longer on formula or breastmilk, so the only nutrition they get is from the food they ingest. Making sure they are eating a wide range of fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins will keep them healthy and growing.

Preschoolers – During the preschool age children are more interested in playing than eating. Incorporating fun into learning about healthy foods will help children get involved in new foods (Robertson, 2016). Teachers and parents can be role models to healthy eating habits. 

The adults in the child or children’s lives should be good role models for healthy eating habits. Routines are essential for children. While in an early childcare center the children start learning manners at the table, like sitting correctly in a chair, sitting up to the meal, and using utensils. Well learning these healthy habits are essential so is determining why the foods they eat to fuel their bodies. Proteins and carbohydrates are so necessary for a growing child. Learning what a protein is and what it does in the body will make eating fun. Also, allowing children to help in the kitchen will make them more likely to want to eat food that is healthy.

An example of this would be, buy a salad spinner. Clean up some vegetables and put them in the spinner. Explain that you need the child to mix up all the good stuff so when they eat it, their muscles grow, their eyes get bright and their heart gets strong. Make it fun. Teachers can incorporate activities throughout the year based around trying new foods. Allowing the children to draw a new food item each week out of a box and learning about what it does for their bodies when they eat it. Use fun easy recipes the children can take home and try with their parents. Below I have included three incredibly easy, but healthy recipes children can make with their parents. 

Illness Prevention and Emergencies

My first scenario: Daycare is in session, and the children have all sat down for lunch. There is four table of children and five at each table and a caregiver at each table. The children at the three-year-old table are enjoying fresh fruit, grilled cheese sandwich, and tomato soup. The teacher at the three-year-old table notices one of the children struggling to breath and their eyes watering. The teacher immediately reacts to the signs.

My second scenario: Pre-k was in the middle of play time. Groups of children ages three and four were engaged in group play. The Lego table had three children around it all laughing and building there are two adults in the room, one teacher, and one aid. One of the children at the Lego table has fallen to the floor and is unresponsive to his name being called. Both the teacher and the help react to the child.

           

The proper procedure for a choking child will depend on whether the child is still breathing and conscious or unresponsive and not breathing. In either situation, a call needs to be placed to 911 (Robertson, 2016). Once the call is made, assess the child.

The child is struggling to get air and is conscious. Assess the situation, ask the child are you choking? If they can’t speak, they can make a possible nod. Follow up by checking if the child is sitting or standing. First, position yourself behind the child put your arms around their waist. Place one of your thumb side of your fist in the middle of the child's abdomen, just below the breastbone. Take your other free hand place it on top, press inward with rapid, upward thrusts. Repeat the thrusts after five back blows until the object is coughed up or the youngster begins to breathe or cough.

The child is unresponsive and not breathing. If the child is unconscious, they need to be lowered to the floor. Place them on their back and try using the tongue-jaw lift (Francis, n.d.). Open the child mouth, with your thumb hold down their tongue and gently lift their chin opening the airway.  Performing this task, you may be able to clear the airway but if not kneel on top of the child and perform the Heimlich maneuver. If you place the heel of one of your hands in the middle between the navel and rib cage, and your other hand on top. Press firmly but gently into the abdomen, using six to ten rapid inward and upward thrusts. Perform a finger sweep to see if the object dislodged (Robertson, 2016). Once ejected and the child is still not breathing continue CPR until emergency help arrives.

Teachers and caregivers need to be prepared for emergency situations always. Emergencies can happen at any time and can quickly escalate if you are not equipped or trained. Basic training for first aid and CPR will help you stay calm and be able to react promptly to a medical emergency, an allergic reaction, a natural disaster, or a life-threatening humanmade emergency such as a shooting.

Parents, teachers, and caregivers should all be prepared. Parents should practice safety in their home with their children. Evacuation plans for fires; allergic reaction plans for children with severe allergies to things sometimes found in the house, and CPR training for one or both parents is necessary. Also, poison control and emergency numbers should be posted, and children should be taught how to use 911. Teachers and caregivers should all be prepared by going through yearly training for first aid and CPR. Drills are conducted for fire and severe weather, so I believe that exercises for first aid and CPR should be performed yearly as well. You can never be too prepared for an emergency when it comes to children.

References

Berger, K. S. (2016). The Developing Person Through Childhood. New York: Worth Publishers.

Francis, M. (n.d.). What to do when your child is choking. Retrieved from Parents magazine: https://www.parents.com/baby/injuries/choking/what-to-do-when-your-child-is-choking/

Robertson, C. (2016). Safety, nutrition, and health in early education (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.

Emergency Preparedness: Natural and Human-Generated Disasters

The first disaster is a tornado and the second is a fire I am using for my scenarios. These are the two most common disaster in our area. Our daycare over the last ten years has been affected by both types.

Tornado’s

The time of the intense storm was during June 2018 school is out for the summer and the daycare is at maximum capacity which is 55 children and ten staff. Storms have become volatile, and there is a warning of a severe thunderstorm warning that started at 10 am. It was a Tuesday, and I was working from home. Just after noon, I heard the fire whistleblowing, but I didn’t think anything of it until I heard the thunder. Turning on the news, I see reports of a tornado headed towards Okawville moving at 65mph. The whistle I heard wasn’t a fire whistle it was the tornado sirens warning the town.

Fire’s

The summer of 2013 our small town was in drought conditions. School had just started back up, so daycare only had non-school age children participating. The temperature didn’t allow for the kids to be outside so during playtime all the children under age four in the daycare were on the school side playing in the gym. A couple of children asked to go to the bathroom. They immediately returned to telling the teacher there was smoke in the bathroom. She used the intercom to call the principle to check it out, but by then it was too late the air conditioner on the roof of the school was on fire and had fallen into the hallway.

The main dangers with both these situations are someone getting hurt, lost or even death. Fires and Tornados can both cause devastating damage. However, the most devastating would be the loss of life. Keeping children calm and safe when faced with a disaster is the most important job of the teachers and caregivers. With both these disasters, everyone is at risk. Teachers, caregivers, and the children are all at risk and if the plan or guidelines are not followed devastation could happen.

Teachers and caregivers need to be prepared when faced with a disaster situation. Everyone in a leadership or caregiver role needs to know and understand disaster processes. Practicing with the children in the form or drills will help the children learn to stay calm and follow directions in a real-life occurrence (Agency, 2018-2022). Teachers who are not prepared for a disaster or don’t follow the process of safety will not only put their lives in jeopardy but also the lives of everyone around them. The consequences of not being prepared could be a loss of life. Children will follow their teacher’s actions. If they identify the teacher or caregiver is scared and running, they will do the same. So, to keep everyone safe, calm, and free from being hurt the teachers and caregivers need to be prepared for any situation.

The first steps to develop a plan of action for disaster situations is the planning phase, to know what kind of disasters are possible in the area you live in. Identify some preventive measures to lessen the risk (Robertson, 2016). For our area, severe weather, fires, and flooding are all probable and frequent. The second step in being prepared is the reach of to emergency personnel for the most direct plan of action for evacuation procedure in the case of a fire and a safe room to “shelter in” in case of severe weather such as a tornado (Robertson, 2016). The impact phase is the moment in time that the emergency happens. Everyone needs to be prepared. Notification will alert the school, and all-weather radio will warn of danger, and the caregivers will act accordingly to whatever disaster they are faced with. The next stage in preparedness is the relief phase the time right after the emergency when teachers and caregivers are focused on survival and first aid if needed for themselves and the children (Robertson, 2016). The recovery phase is the last stage, and it is focused on supporting the children and their families coping with the disaster.

While researching the procedures for the daycare, my grandson goes to I found they have plans set up for most all disasters possible. There is an education wall in each of the classrooms and drills are performed twice a year (Brandemeyer, Shunt, & Kurtz, 2013). There is an emergency callout set up for parents when alarms are set off in the daycare. Each room is equipped with first aid portable bags for every teacher to grab as they are leaving the classroom. There is a central location that holds the names of all children and staff in the building every day. It is the responsibility of the leader on duty to have the list of names and lead the team and children to the evacuation point or shelter in the area (Brandemeyer, Shunt, & Kurtz, 2013).

References

Agency. (2018-2022). The Strategic Plan. Retrieved from Fema: https://www.fema.gov/strategic-plan

Brandemeyer, G., Shunt, P., & Kurtz, C. (2013). Immanuel Lutheran Safety Operating Procedures & Guidelines. Okawville, IL: Okawville Times Publishing.

Bureau of Plans (2003, August). DAY CARE FACILITIES Emergency Planning guide. Retrieved from Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency: https://class.waldenu.edu/bbcswebdav/institution/USW1/201870_05/BS_BSCD/EDUC_1005_WC/artifacts/USW1_EDUC_1005_Week_2_Day_Care_Facilities_Planning_Guide.pdf

Robertson, C. (2016). Safety, nutrition, and health in early education (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.

Safety in Early Childhood Environments

Preschoolers -

Once children reach a preschool age of three and four, they start to come upon a multitude of safety issues and hazardous situations. In the midst, these safety issues five of them are most important to me. The safety concerns or problems I am identifying are injuries during supervised and unsupervised times, choking, dangerous weapons, drowning and poisoning.

Drowning-

The leading cause of death among children is drowning. Most drownings are because of the absence of a parent or caregiver supervision. Some other reasons for drowning are parents not watching as children play near home pools and bathtub water. Safety policies listed for water play during daycare are no children under age three is permitted to be in the kiddie pools (Brandemeyer, Shunt, & Kurtz, 2013). Two to three ratios of caregivers to children during water play activities. Infants and toddlers under age three must be kept inside during water play activities. Water balloons are not permitted at any time. No more than two inches of water is allowed in the kiddie pools (Brandemeyer, Shunt, & Kurtz, 2013). The measure that can be taken to prevent accidental drownings is following the policy’s listed in the safety guide always, monitor children when around water with full supervision, and have all caregivers certified in first aid and CPR (Editor, 2014).

Parents can confirm the safety of their children at home by safeguarding the children. Warn them against playing near the swimming pool. Keeping a locked gated area around a home pool. Parents must educate children on safety practices such as lessons, safety devices, and rules on what to do if an accidental fall occurs in a swimming pool.

Poisoning-

Preschool children are curious creatures. Brightly colored liquids and containers attract their preschooler’s attention because the bright colors look like candy and juices (Berger, 2016). Preschool children cannot understand labels on bottles or can read the descriptions. All they see is a brightly colored drink that looks inviting. Safety guidelines listed are all chemicals to be locked up. All cleaning supplies shall be in one cabinet locked and behind a locked door (Brandemeyer, Shunt, & Kurtz, 2013). No chemicals shall be left unattended while cleaning up play areas (Editor, 2014). No children are permitted in a room while it's being cleaned. After meals are served, children are to be moved to another while cleanup takes place (Brandemeyer, Shunt, & Kurtz, 2013). 

Measures in place need to be always followed. Education should be given to children on the effects of drinking unknown liquids.

In the home, parents can take the proper precautions to lock lower cabinets to keep children out. They can also if available keep doors closed to laundry areas. Poison control numbers should be readily available in case of an emergency.

Choking-

A choking threat is any object that could be lodged in a child’s throat blocking their airway and making it problematic or intolerable to breathe. Developing children naturally explore items by sticking them in their mouths. Preschool children have a risk of choking on small toys, coins, Legos, and food (Brandemeyer, Shunt, & Kurtz, 2013). Policies in place restrict certain foods. Food such as nuts, raw vegetables, chunks of meats including hot dogs or cheese is not permitted to be served to children under age five (Brandemeyer, Shunt, & Kurtz, 2013). Small building blocks are not to be used in playrooms with children under age five (Brandemeyer, Shunt, & Kurtz, 2013). Some safety measure to follow when serving meals makes sure food is cut into small pieces (Editor, 2014). Follow all guidelines on nutrition. While children are eating they need to be seated in the upright position in a chair pushed up to a table. Supervision should be applied during the complete meal.

Parents can take precautions to make children sit and not walk around with food. Children should not be allowed to eat in a car while driving or moving. Playrooms should be free of small objects, latex balloons, pens or markers, coins, and marbles.

Injuries during a supervised & unsupervised time-

Injuries can happen at any time. Children are natural risk takers. They don’t understand that they can get hurt until a fall or injury happens. More injuries occur due to lack of supervision than during supervision. Policies and guidelines in place will help with unsupervised injuries however not all hazards can be prevented. Among these injuries include accidents caused by equipment that is malfunctioned. Guidelines laid out for checking equipment used by children to assess their condition and function. Supervision should be the proper ratio for caregivers to children. Injury’s such as falls, from heights because of missing bars, other children pushing trying to get a turn, or holes in surfaces not adequately inspected.

Parents can take precautions by educating their children on always following directions or their caregiver. They can also teach their children about assessing the equipment they are playing on and if they recognize something dangerous to tell an adult.

Dangerous items-

Numerous items can become potentially hazardous and be a danger to preschoolers. Sticks, knives, scissors, forks, firearms in a home environment can all be a safety hazard for preschoolers. Injuries that can occur are running with sticks could poke out an eye or pierce the skin. Knives and forks used in daycare during food handling. Scissors during activities could cause injury to oneself or another child. Firearms in the home are a severe risk because of the curiosity of children. Measure to be taken to prevent injuries are keeping debris clear of the outside play area (Editor, 2014). Supervision always with the proper ratio of children to a caregiver. Guidelines state for rounded child scissors only (Brandemeyer, Shunt, & Kurtz, 2013). Scissors are to be used while the child is seated at the table alone. Rubber tipped forks and spoons will be used by the children during mealtime (Brandemeyer, Shunt, & Kurtz, 2013). Knives and other prepping utensils will be put away and locked in a cabinet before serving.

Parents can follow the same safety measures lined out by the daycare policies. Parents who own firearms should keep all weapons and ammunition under lock and key. Weapons should not be displayed in front of children.  Parents and teachers both should educate the children on gun survival safety and what to do in a situation when a gun is present.

References

Berger, K. S. (2016). The Developing Person Through Childhood. New York: Worth Publishers.

Brandemeyer, G., Shunt, P., & Kurtz, C. (2013). Immanuel Lutheran Safety Operating Procedures & Guidelines. Okawville, IL: Okawville Times Publishing.

Editor. (2014, September 22). Illinois Department of Children & family services. Retrieved from http://nrckids.org/STATES/states.htm: https://www2.illinois.gov/dcfs/aboutus/notices/documents/rules_407.pdf