Physical Fitness

Write an introductory paragraph or at least five bullet points that explain why physical fitness is so important for young children.

       Physical fitness is important for young children.  It is important because it can

• Prevent obesity and control weight
• Reduce or prevent hypertension
• Raise HDL ("good") cholesterol and lower bad cholesterol
• Reduce the risk of diabetes or other diseases
• Improve psychological well-being (gaining more self-confidence and higher self-esteem). 

As a result, it can add longevity to their lives.

Include at least three developmental skills that children are learning at this age, and describe how physical activities can help children toward mastery of these skills. Be sure to cite evidence from the learning resources or, if desired, use other resources to support your claims.

         There are at least three developmental skills that children are learning at this age.  At this age, their 

developmental skills could consist of “catching, throwing, and striking” (Goodway & Robinson, 2006).  If 

and when children are engaged in activities that allow them to improve their ability to catch, throw, and strike it enables them to master each skill.

  Explain what can happen when children do not engage in healthy fitness activities. Be sure to consider the impact on children of being overweight or obese, including implications for health and self-esteem.

     From what I have read, there are several things that can happen when children do not engage in healthy fitness activities.  Such as overweight, cardiovascular problems, hypertension, fatigue, low self-esteem, and delayed or stunted developmental and growth.  According to the American Heart Association, “Physical inactivity is a major risk factor for developing coronary artery disease. It also increases the risk of stroke and such other major cardiovascular risk factors as obesity, high blood pressure, low HDL ("good") cholesterol and diabetes”(American Heart Association, 2012).  Due to the alarming reasons stated above, it is imperative that children receive some sort of physical exercise in their lives.      

Indicate how adults can help children develop good fitness habits. Describe at least two activities, such as specific games or movements, which are appropriate and enjoyable for children of this age. At least one of the activities should involve gross-motor (locomotor) skills, and another should involve fine-motor (manipulative) skills. Remember, the activities you recommend should be developmentally appropriate, which includes noncompetitive.

Adults can help children develop good fitness habits by promoting and modeling age appropriate activities on a daily basis. They can do simple activities as throwing a bean bag into a pal or playing hopscotch.  More importantly, the activity should include both the adults and children.      

Based on your readings, include at least one inspirational, thought-provoking quote that captures your attitude and/or philosophy about fostering children's healthy growth and development.

     “A healthy school environment can result in greater academic achievement, healthier students and school staff” (American Heart Association, 2012), is an inspirational thought that captures my attitude about fostering children’s healthy growth and development.  This thought is inspiring to me, because if I can develop this mindset and share it with my peers, together we can produce healthier children.   Most importantly, the children and adults will become benefactors of this saying.                        

For your fact sheet, draw on the information in the fitness articles from this week's Required Resources and your own research to provide evidence about the positive impact that physical activity has on children's health, both now and in the future. Be sure to cite your sources.

There are several reasons why physical activity can be a life changing experience for children at this age.  Reasons such as to decline obesity, reduce or prevent failing health problems, prevent fatigue, raise self-esteem, prevent cognitive and growth developmental delays, and produce healthy citizens (present and future). Moreover, being physically active today can save their lives tomorrow. 

Reference

American Heart Association article received on April 5, 2013, form       

  http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/Physical-Activity-and-Children UCM    304053_Article.jsp

Goodway, J. D., & Robinson, L. E. (2006, March). SKIPing toward an active start:

Promoting physical activity in preschoolers. Beyond the Journal: Young Children from http://www.naeyc.org/files/yc/file/200605/GoodwayBTJ.pdf

Robertson, C. (2013). Safety, nutrition, and health in early education (5^th ed.).  

Belmont, CA. Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.

Healthy Food and Nutrition

Summarize why good nutrition and eating habits are so important to children in each age group. Cite evidence from Chapter 6 in your text and/or other resources to support your claims.

Good nutrition and eating habits are very important to children in each group. According to the Safety, Nutrition, and Health in Early Education textbook on page 244, “Good nutrition can help children maintain health and fight off infections, colds, and other communicable diseases” (Robertson, 2013).  It also enables children to grow and develop adequately.  As a result, is imperative that children receive good nutrition and eating habits so they grow and development mentally, physically, and emotionally.

Refer to Chapter 8 in your course text and explain why adults should actively help children develop healthy eating habits and at least two ways this can be accomplished.

Adults should actively help children develop healthy eating habits and a least two ways.  Such as modeling eating habits and providing age-appropriate foods.  Thus, the early childhood professional could implement new food tasting days before introducing new foods to his or her children.

Provide three nutritious recipes that family members can prepare with

 preschoolers and explain the nutritional value of each. (To locate recipes, look through the various suggested Web sites or do research as needed.)

There are three nutritious recipes that family members can prepare with preschoolers.  The recipes are Celery-race-cars, Apple Marshmallow, and Fruit Salad Cups.  First, I will begin with the Celery-race-car recipe.  Celery-race-cars are healthy treats that consist of cut celery, 4 crackers or pretzels, raisins, peanut butter or cream cheese.  The nutritional value of this snack provides children with a fruit, a dairy, a vegetable, a protein, and a grain. 

Next, the Apple Marshmallow recipe is a simple snack that preschoolers can help make with their families.  This recipe consists of an apple, peanut butter, and six miniature marshmallows. Although this snack calls for sugar, it provides them with a fruit and a protein. 

Last of all, the Fruit Salad Cup is also a recipe that preschooler can help make with their families.  It consists of an orange (halved and hollowed out for a bowl) (save the inside to add to fruit salad), apple wedges, pineapple chunks, cubed melons, halved or quartered grapes, vanilla extract, and lemon juice.  Although this recipe only requires all fruits and no other servings from my plate, it is still a healthy and colorful snack. 

Offer strategies and suggestions to make cooking together an enjoyable learning experience for children. 

            Cooking can be an enjoyable learning experience for children.  Instead of parents preparing all of the families meals, they can actually include their children with meal preparations. For instance, when my children were growing up, we would make pizzas, tacos, homemade applesauce and other dishes together. During that time, our cooking day would occur on a Friday or a Saturday.  As a result, assigning children with minimum tasks (help setting the table, clearing the table) during meal preparations or as helpers can help transition them to eat new foods without hesitation.

                                            Reference

Online source Retrieved on March 26, 2013, from www.sproutonline.com/crafts-and-receipes.

Robertson, C. (2013). Safety, nutrition, and health in early education (5^th ed.). Belmont, CA.          

 Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.

CPR and Choking Emergencies

   One day at the Kidz Zone Center, a 6-year-old male student has stopped breathing and is apparently choking on a piece of carrot.  After noticing that the child is unable to speak, I rush over to him and began shouting to the other early childhood professional to inform the center director of the incident and to notify the child’s parents.  After the other early childhood professional returned with clearance from the director, I pick the child up and placed my arms around his abdomen and began performing the abdominal thrusts.  After performing the third set of abdominal thrusts, the carrot spews from out of the child’s mouth.  Unfortunately for him, he has become unresponsive. Without hesitation, I check for his pulse (carotid pulse) and check his breathing (look, listen, and feel) carefully place the child onto the floor and begin performing 30 chest compressions of no more than 2 inches.  After performing the first 30 chest compressions, the child begins breathing.  So, I stopped administering CPR and slowly sat him up and asked him several questions that only he could provide the correct response to.  After the child was properly attended to, the incident was documented.

·         Next, summarize why advance planning is often the best way to respond to or prevent an emergency situation and the kinds of training (e.g., CPR or first aid training) you believe are needed in order to prevent or positively resolve such emergencies.

Advance planning is the best way to respond to or prevent an emergency situation before an accident or an emergency occurs.  There are several reasons to why advance planning is the best way to respond to or prevent and emergency situation.  Such as having knowledge of emergencies, timing, and properly treating the emergency.  In doing so, the early childhood professional will be trained in recognizing and responding to any emergency and effectively treating the victim.  For example, the early childhood center should have a first aid kit stored and stocked in each room.  The center should have emergency numbers posted near their emergency equipment, and contact numbers of each child’s parent on hand.  As a result, CPR should be mandated for all employees on a regular basis to save lives and to prevent injuries. 

·         Finally, describe any other steps adults must take to ensure they are prepared to handle these kinds of crises, including such information as first aid supplies, family emergency contact information, and so on.

There are steps to which adults must take to ensure whether or not they are prepared to respond to different types of crisis. Such as keeping a first aid kit on hand, children’s emergency information, post evacuations maps, perform drills, be properly trained to recognize and respond to each crisis, and anticipate the unexpected.  First, I will begin with the first aid kit. The first aid kit should be a comprehensive kit, and the kit should be checked on a monthly basis.

Next, children’s information should be updated with a parental release form included in their file. The emergency information should also be filled out by the child’s guardian with accurate list of telephone numbers, addresses, and a list of people to contact in case of an emergency.  This information should also be kept in a fireproof file.

Third, the early childhood center should post maps that will effectively evacuate to a safe place. These maps should be visible but not in the child’s reach. At the same time, the center should perform drills that permit them to utilize each evacuation process. 

Overall, every early childhood professional should be trained in how to prevent, respond, and to treat an emergency before an emergency ever arises. The professional training should update on a regular basis.  He or she could promote safety by modeling safe procedures and posting pictures on his or her classroom wall.    

Reference

American Red Cross: Prepare for Emergencies with American Red Cross First Aid, CPR and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) Courses. (n.d.).  Retrieved on March 18, 2013, from http://www.redcross.org/services/hss/courses/aed.html.

Robertson, C. (2013). Safety, nutrition, and health in early education (5^th ed.). Belmont, CA. Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.

 

Emergency Preparedness: Natural and Human Generated Disasters

Describe each of the disaster scenarios you have chosen (such as a hurricane that has quickly developed in your area) and a real or hypothetical early childhood setting (such as a Head Start program housed on a university campus near the coast). What are the main dangers posed by these situations? Who is at risk?
·         Explain why you and your colleagues should be prepared. What are the consequences of not being prepared?

·         Summarize the appropriate steps you would take to develop a plan in advance for this disaster and how you would deal with it if it occurs.

Be sure to:

·       Explain how you would assess the risks.

·       Identify potential complications created by this disaster besides the main disaster/danger itself.

·       Describe any other steps you and/or your early childhood program should take to be prepared to handle this kind of crisis. What kinds of materials or documentation (e.g., first aid supplies, family emergency contact information, and so on) would be necessary and/or helpful?

·       Explain how you might involve the families of the children in your care.

  There are several dangers that could threaten an early childhood environment.  Such as tornados,
hurricanes, fires, bomb threats, school bus accidents, and school shootings.  In the area where I live a
tornado and bomb threat could devastate an early childhood environment and contents.  First, I will begin with the tornado scenario.  Then, I will discuss the bomb threat scenario. 

            One Tuesday morning at the Screven County Elementary school, a tornado was spotted twenty-six miles away.  The principal announced that a tornado had been spotted and reminded the staff and children what precautions that they would take just as they practiced for the drill.  Thirty minutes after the principal had made the announcement, the tornado had already been spotted near the school site.  At that time, the principal announced that the school was getting ready to sound the alarm for them to get positioned.  Within minutes the tornados violent winds began ripping disfiguring the schools structure.  Just as it ripped off of the awning on the fourth grade wing, a car was thrown into the building.  The car landed in the middle of the hallway.  As a teacher got up to check to see what the noise was, several of her students ran behind her.  When the teacher went back to the other students, she discovered that one of her students who was with her were not in place.  Unfortunately, the child had wandered into the hall where the car was and was swept up by the tornado.  During that time, the teacher was unable to contact neither an administrator nor another faculty member.  Moments later, the tornado had dismangled several parts of the building and it three-thru-four playground.  Then, it vanished. Within in moments, the school superintendent, several fire departments, EMS workers, police officers, the transportation department, parents, and the local news team flooded the school’s parking lot.  Afterwards, the administrators, the superintendent, and emergency workers began rushing to the aide of the students and teachers.  Once everyone was rescued and exited what was left of the building, the fourth grade teacher reported that one of her student’s was missing.  Immediately after her statement, the emergency response team began scanning the neighborhood and wooded area.  Unfortunately, the child’s body was recovered and located several miles away from the school in a field. 

            Although tornados are disasters that pose detrimental effects, there are plans or state mandated policies that are in place to ensure the safety of all parties involved.  Those plans or policies state what action(s) should be taken to prevent harm to every individual. The plans also provide information that state how to safely exit and seek shelter if a disaster or danger should arise.  All staff members are required to take their roles, their student’s contacts information, and a first aid kit with them in case of an emergency. In this scenario, the tornado is the danger to all parties involved.  Even though the school had practiced and were current on their tornado drills, staff and children lives were in danger.  For example, the teacher decision to leave her safe area to check an unsafe area.  The teacher should not have left from her designated area unless the area became unsafe for both her and the students.  She should have never left her students behind.  She should have checked to see if all of her students were present and accounted for. Because the teacher did not fully follow protocol, a life was lost in her care.

Since a life was lost from the disaster, the school can make changes that will improve their emergency plans.  Due to the child’s life that was lost, the school should designate a large area that houses each grade so each class is not isolated from their peers.  The school should have more than one alternate route to evacuate students to if the other area becomes unsafe.  The school could also implement another form of communication during a disaster.   

     Next, I will describe a bomb threat scenario. Several days before the bomb threat, a freshman student had been wrongly accused of taking chemicals out of the chemistry lab.  When the student tried to convince the teacher that his station was missing certain items before he had arrived at his station the teacher refused to hear him out.  Two days later, the male student approached his chemistry teacher and told him that he had a grenade in his backpack.  At first, the teacher laughed as if the student were just kidding.  Moments later, the frustrated student reached into his backpack and pulled out a grenade.  Then, the teacher pressed his distress button.  When the office called out the teacher’s name over the intercom, the student began yelling at the teacher.  During that time, all of freshman’s peers had entered the classroom.  Several minutes later, the office called the Chemistry teacher again, but the teacher never responded back to the office.  Within minutes an administrator appeared at his door and saw the student standing at the door entrance with a strange device in his hand.  Immediately, the administrator contacted the school’s local resource officer and the school’s superintendent and reported to them what he saw.  Afterwards, a funny sound buzzed over the intercom.  The teachers began locking there classroom doors and placed color coded construction paper underneath their doors.  After the administrator returned to the classroom, he noticed that student was still standing near the door but the teacher and students were standing on the other side of the room.  As the administrator stood on the other side of the door, he asked the teacher if everything was okay.  And very slowly, the teacher responded “No, everything is not okay in here.” Before the teacher could finish his statement, the student began yelling at him.  So, the administrator addressed the student by his name and asked him why he standing at the door whiles his peers and teacher stood on the other side of the classroom.  Without delay, the student replied, “they are scared because I have a grenade in my hand.” During their conversation, the other classrooms were being evacuated by emergency responders and the local police and sheriff department.  After the other classrooms were evacuated, the police began talking to the student over the intercom.  As the negotiator talked with the student, the student began telling the negotiator what led him to bring the grenade to school.  An hour went by, and the negotiator kept the student talking.  Finally, the student began crying uncontrollably and the negotiator was able to persuade him to let the teacher and his peers go without harm. 

     In this scenario, there are several things that placed the children in danger.  First, the teacher did not have a student-teacher relationship with the student. Next, the student should have never brought a grenade to school to intentionally harm someone else.  Because the situation had placed the school environment in danger, the school should implement an open door policy for both staff and students.  The school should also implement metal detectors in their buildings.  The school should also have designated persons or counselors in place to meet the needs of all children. As for the teacher, he should have investigated the matter before accusing the student of stealing.  He should have an inventory checklist posted at each chemistry station.  Meanwhile, the student should have reported the missing items beforehand. 

                                                                       Reference

 Robertson, C. (2013). Safety, nutrition, and health in early education (5^th ed.). Belmont, CA.          

      Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.

Safety Practices and Policies

Identify at least five potentially hazardous situations/safety threats common to your age group.

     There are five potentially hazardous safety threats common to toddlers.  The potentially hazards are falls, burns, guns, poisons, and toys with small parts. Due to the safety hazardous stated above, it is very important to create a safe environment for children of this age group.   

Because of the developmental of toddlers, they tend to explore and test their limits in a new way.    

For each of the hazardous situations or safety threats:

o    Summarize specific safety policies that apply to these situations/threats.

     
The safety policies at the Headstart center states that any equipment (furniture) and toys will be age 

appropriate for both indoor and outside use.  It also states that the equipment will be hazardous free from 

toxins, kept clean, with adequate space to move about, and secured.  It also provides instructions to how 

and what the caregiver should do when caring for the injured child.

o    Describe measures that should be taken to prevent and/or deal with these situations/threats.

     The measure that should be taken to prevent and deal with these situations is to model and practice safety 

precautions with the children.  For example, the caregiver can demonstrate the proper hand-washing 

technique with his or her students.  The caregiver can also ask the toddlers questions that pertain to inside 

and outside rules when they are assembled together in a large group.

o    Indicate what families can do to ensure the safety of the child at home.

     At home, families can implement an escape map in case of a fire, perform fire drills, maintain their smoke 

detectives, install or purchase fire extinguishers, rearrange their furniture to lessen the chances of an injury, 

remove or lock up any cleaning substances or chemicals, install safety gates, use baby monitors, remove any 

cords or cables out of sight, lock or secure cabinet doors, remove and lock-up firearms, knives, and etc.  

The most important thing that families can do to ensure safety is to closely monitor their children themselves.

  

Reference

Robertson, C. (2013). Safety, nutrition, and health in early education (5^th ed.).   Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.