Boosting Brains by Building a Parent Nation
It takes a village to raise a child, the old proverb tells us. But we need to expand our perspective, according to pediatric surgeon, social scientist and mom Dana Suskind. In her heartfelt work, Parent...
When parents are selecting an early childhood program for their infants and toddlers, one of their top priorities is a safe environment. Parents should always assess safety procedures and how educators work to ensure the safety of the very young children under their care. Data from a large-scale national study conducted by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) found that two-thirds of the childcare settings they examined had at least one safety hazard.
“Safety was an extremely important aspect when we were looking for a program for our 9-month-old baby, because it creates the foundation for a healthy environment,” Ellianne Dean, a Minnesota mother of two young boys, said. “As a parent, it is necessary to be an advocate in ensuring children are part of an early childhood program that will set them up for success by prioritizing their physical and mental well-being.”
For early childhood educators with Child Development Associate (CDA) credential, the first requirement among the 13 CDA Functional Areas is to maintain a safe environment for young children. CDA students are also taught basic practices on how to prevent and reduce injuries. Educators in most communities are required by local and state licensing guidelines to adhere to certain standards to keep children safe while under their care. Keeping infants and toddlers safe is no easy task, because it requires vigilant supervision of young children, ongoing monitoring of the facility’s safety, collaboration among colleagues, and careful observation and individualized attention to an early child’s cognitive, psychosocial, and motor development.
Child safety is also more than learning pediatric CPR and first aid. Infants and toddlers are curious and eager to explore the world around them, which means that they can surprise an educator with a potentially dangerous action at any time. It takes a keen eye and meticulous attention to ensure that they are safe when sleeping in their cribs or attempting to crawl or walk; as well as, monitoring what foods are safe for each of them to eat (a topic we will focus on our next infant/toddler blog on Functional Area 2: Health). An early childhood educator also can help improve young children’s safety at all early childhood education settings (family child care, center-based, preschool, and home visitor) by paying attention to and sharing the following tips with families.
Safety During Playtime
Maintaining a safe environment while infants and toddlers play or engage in other activities helps them to learn how to navigate their surroundings in ways that minimize risks of being hurt by objects or other children.
Therefore, it’s important for educators to make sure that:
Safety During Naptime
Paying attention to infant and toddler safety when little ones are sleeping is also critical. This innclude following certain guidelines for (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) prevention. SIDS is the leading cause for death among infants from birth to 12 months, and it requires that children be monitored often while sleeping.
According to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, educators can help reduce the risk of SIDS and other hazards by:
In short, with good training, planning, and staffing, and careful attention to the young children in your care, you will play a vital role in promoting infant and toddler safety. Your work shows that quality care puts safety first. Other tips can be found in the Essentials for Working with Young Children (2nd Ed.) textbook’s early childhood education guidelines, and training sections on how to maintain a safe environment for infants and toddlers.
1 Bullard, J. (2011). “Safety in Early Childhood Environments.” Retrieved from https://www.education.com/reference/article/safety-early-childhood-environments/.It takes a village to raise a child, the old proverb tells us. But we need to expand our perspective, according to pediatric surgeon, social scientist and mom Dana Suskind. In her heartfelt work, Parent...
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Andrew Davis serves as Chief Operating Officer at the Council. In this role, Andrew oversees the Programs Division, which includes the following operational functions: credentialing, growth and business development, marketing and communications, public policy and advocacy, research, innovation, and customer relations.
Andrew has over 20 years of experience in the early care and education field. Most recently, Andrew served as Senior Vice President of Partnership and Engagement with Acelero Learning and Shine Early Learning, where he led the expansion of state and community-based partnerships to produce more equitable systems of service delivery, improved programmatic quality, and greater outcomes for communities, children and families. Prior to that, he served as Director of Early Learning at Follett School Solutions.
Andrew earned his MBA from the University of Baltimore and Towson University and his bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland – University College.
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Jan holds a CPA from the State of Virginia and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Lycoming College. She resides in Alexandria VA with her husband and dog.
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