HEALTH AND NUTRITION
Week Two – Preventing Infection in Early Childhood Centers
Part A
Time to Apply Critical Thinking
Preventing Infection in Early Childhood Centers
As parents drop off their child at a childcare center- they are probably thinking: Will they eat enough? Will they take a nap? Will she miss me? How will he get along with the other children? These are all important questions, because they want to be assured that their child is safe and healthy. We know children share a lot of germs. Respiratory and gastrointestinal infections spread quickly in early childhood facilities. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an average of 20,000 children younger than 5 years of age are hospitalized each year because of flu-related complications.
After reading Chapter 8 and 9 in your text about preventing infections, reflect on how centers might prevent the spread of infections and then review
this summary of an articleLinks to an external site. (external link, click to open) from the National Library of Medicine that discusses exclusion from a director’s perspective and this list
Communicable Diseases and Exclusion from Child CareLinks to an external site.
Links to an external site.chart from NC Child Care Health and Safety Resource website.
When you are ready to post, share with the group how you feel about exclusion policies in childcare centers. Are we strict enough or not strict at all? What information (from the book, article, and/or website) can you share to support your thoughts?
Resources
Part B
Strategies to Maximize Mental and Physical Health After the Pandemic
We can probably all agree that going through the COVID-19 pandemic has caused multiple challenges for many people and their families. Many families found themselves sheltering in place, some found themselves unemployed, some had to work additional hours as essential workers, some found themselves or their loved ones became infected or died. Stress and anxieties were common as a result of the pandemic.
One of our tasks as early childhood professionals is to prevent illnesses to help keep children and staff healthy and safe. Yet, there is still work to do after a crisis has happened.
You will read two articles and then reflect upon designing strategies to maximize the mental and physical health of children and adults in early care and education programs in accordance with culturally, linguistically, and developmentally sound practices.
Instructions
1. Read Lesson 6 (pp. 8-9) of the article
Learning renewal – Ten lessons from the pandemic
Download Learning renewal – Ten lessons from the pandemic
Links to an external site.
(McAleavy, Riggall, Korin, Ndaruhutse & Naylor, 2021). If you have time, read this entire article because it contains excellent information.
2. Read the full article
Supporting young children after crisis events
Download Supporting young children after crisis events (Schonfeld, Demaria, & Kumar, 2020).
3. Write a two-page paper:
· Based on the information in the articles, what are two strategies you can do to maximize the mental and physical health of children and adults in early care and education programs after the pandemic in accordance with culturally, linguistically, and developmentally sound practices? Use specific examples.
· How would you go about implementing these two strategies as a teacher or caregiver? Use specific examples.
· What ecological system(s) would be affected when you implement these two strategies as a teacher or caregiver?
· What specific examples from Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory helped you decide what ecological system(s) would be affected by your two strategies? Use the information in section 2 of the
On track guide – Supporting healthy child development and early identification in the early years
Download On track guide – Supporting healthy child development and early identification in the early years (Best Start Resource Centre, 2015).
