In our last article on we reflected on "Functional Area 1 -- Safe". We said that ensuring children's safety is the primary responsibility of all teachers and caregivers of young children. This month, we focus on "Functional Area 2 -- Healthy". 

The Council is excited to announce that later this year we will release the newly-revised third edition of the landmark textbook Essentials for Child Development Associates Working with Young Children. The new Essentials will provide all of the most current research, information, ideas and strategies needed by entry-level early childhood professionals.  The textbook will be organized around each of the thirteen Functional Areas, along with new information about reflection, intentionality, observation, documentation and other key topics of interest to contemporary teachers and caregivers.

Healthy

Here is an advanced sneak peek of “Chapter 2: Healthy” for you to reflect on…

Providing children with a healthy environment and the skills to foster wellness are basic responsibilities of being a caregiver. Along with keeping children safe, keeping them healthy may very well be the most important thing you do. In order to be primed to learn, children must first be well and nourished. Providing children with a healthy foundation is a basic part of having a high-quality early childhood program.

There are a number of important tasks involved in keeping children healthy. These include:

1. Promoting wellness by ensuring that children are in a healthy environment. This also involves checking children daily for their health status and monitoring them over time.

2. Responding to illness and chronic conditions.

3. Providing nutritious snacks and meals.

4. Teaching children to take personal responsibility for their own health.

5. Working together with families to ensure children's good health.

6. Guarding children against child abuse and neglect.

Please take a moment to reflect on your own teaching practices.  What else might you add to the above list?  How do you ensure children’s health and wellness?  What tips and strategies would you share with others for teaching young children about good health and nutrition, for modeling healthy practices and for educating and involving families in their children’s good health and wellness?

Send your thoughts to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  Next month, we’ll share with you all of the wise responses we received from across the CDA community. In addition, we may also print your name and reflection in the new Essentials textbook and share your great ideas with all of the CDA-seeking community college students around the country who use Essentials as their primary textbook!

 

CDA Community Reflections on our last topic… “Safety”

Last month, we asked the CDA community to send us their thoughts about the topic of the last article, “Children’s Safety,” to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  Thank you to everyone who responded.  Here are some of the many wise responses we received:

 

 “As a technical assistance provider, I find that the playground is the #1 place that children’s safety gets forgotten by many teachers.  Too many teachers think that ‘Playground Time’ is their time to relax and talk to coworkers rather than being near the equipment, spotting children.”
                - Sue O.
                   Streamwood, IL

 

“In my classroom, we have a wonderful suitcase on wheels that has all of our emergency supplies, first aid supplies and parent contact numbers.  We take that to the playground, on field trips and on every neighborhood walk.  The kids think it’s a privilege to be the one to pull it so we added to our Helper Responsibilities chart.”
                - Carrie R.
                  Davis, CA

 

“We have monthly parent education pot-luck evenings at our school.  We often cover safety topics there.  Our parents really appreciate learning home safety ideas and about what we do at school to keep kids safe.”
                - Jim R.
                  Milwaukee, WI

 

“This is such an important topic!  We had a fire at our school last year and everyone got out just fine.  We had practiced with the children how to stay calm when the alarm goes off and where to meet outside.  An assistant teacher was able to put out the fire since our fire extinguishers were thankfully in working order!”
                - Irene M.
                  Pensacola, FL