The Preschool Years (3 to 5 Years Old)

Discuss the health and safety practices that you will implement for your preschool child.

1. When children reach the age of three, they are old enough to learn to wash their hands themselves. Hand washing plays an important role in reducing the spread of infections. The reason that hand washing is so vital is because the most common way for germs to enter to our body is through the mouth. Since children love putting their hands in their mouth, it is very important that they get into a routine of washing their hands with soap and water, especially before eating food.

2. Another one is good eating habits. Since they are eating solid foods now, it is important that they start good habits. This includes serving size and making sure they have variety from the basic food groups, grains, vegetables & fruit, milk products and meat & alternatives. Since preschoolers have small stomachs that fill up quickly, they need to eat small amounts of food more often throughout the day.

3. Children should be supervised when they eat because children can choke on food. This could happen from putting big pieces of food in their mouth, laughing or crying when they have food in their mouth or eating and drinking at the same time.

4. Since children are curious, you have to make sure that you do not leave any sharp objects lying around like knives or scissors. You can avoid this by storing these types of objects away in a safe place.

5. A major concern today is child obesity. It is important to get children involved in physical activities at an early age. By getting them involved in physical activity at an early age, it will keep them in physical activities as they get older.

6. As children like to climb things, it is important to keep furniture away from windows. Windows should be secured with screens or grills to stop them from opening more than 10 centimeters.

7. As cars are not made for children, it is important to make sure that car seats are secured properly in cars and that they face the correct direction.

The School Age Years (6 to 12 Years Old)

As a parent, what are some of your concerns regarding your child’s health and safety during the School Age years?

1. When children play in playgrounds, make sure that there are no ropes, strings or chords attached to the play structures. Children may accidently wrap these objects around their necks and suffocate.

2. Make sure all wall units and shelving are securely fastened to the walls. A children may accidently pull on a shelf or a drawer and have the unit come down on them.

3. Many cities have creeks or rivers running through them. It is important to teach children to keep away from creeks and rivers and not to go on ice in the spring.

4. Many children develop eating disorders, particularly girls. It is important to teach your child that being stick thin is not the norm. Children are bombarded by media messages about the way how one is to look. Watch for signs of binge eating, purging and diet pills usage. It is important for the parent to be sensitive to any weight issues as children look up to their parents.

5. Children start to learn to ride bicycles at this age and it is important that they learn bicycle safety rules and that they wear properly fitted bicycle helmets.

6. As children are curious, it is important to keep matches and lighters away from the children’s reach. Many house fires start from children playing with matches.

Reflection Paper (1 page)

Think about how might your child’s development might be different if s/he was raised by people with different socioeconomic, ethnic or cultural backgrounds. How would the concept of the “whole child” play a role?

(Please avoid stereotypes)

Brooke was raised in a household where both parents loved her, there was no physical or mental abuse and they were middle class people. If she had come from a family that did not demonstrate a positive parenting style, she could have a social, emotional, or learning problem. Since Brooke’s mother stayed home, she had plenty of time to bond with her. If she came from a home where both parents worked and were under work stress, this could have affected their relationship with Brooke.

If Brooke came from a lower income family, then she probably would have a higher chance of having health problems due to type of food that was being consumed. It is important for children to have proper nutrition in order to develop properly.

Brooke’s parents are well educated and they know the importance of teaching her how to read and play games. If Brooke had come from a home where the parents had a low literacy rate, then they might not understand a doctor’s or a teacher’s instructions and this could adversely affect Brooke. In addition, they would not be able to play learning games with Brooke.

As Brooke was enrolled in preschool daycare, she was exposed to a social support network. This network promotes emotional and physical well- being of children. This social network includes teachers and other families. If Brooke had come from a low income household, she will not been able to attend daycare and be exposed to these learning programs.

Since Brooke’s parents are not poor, she has an opportunity to get a good education, eat adequate food and have nice clothing as well as buy recreational equipment like a bicycle. If she had come from a low income house, her chance of getting any these items is very slim. In addition, people living in poverty are much more likely to develop health problems. If she came from a poor home, then she would likely be unprepared to start school and probably show an aggressive behavior.

As Brooke’s parents are white, Brooke did not have to face any stigmatization from other children. If she did come from a culture that was different, chances are she would have faced some sort of discrimination. Some cultures have specific practices that can also have an impact on the overall health of Brooke. These range from religious dietary restrictions to toilet preferences. In addition, some cultures have a different approach to healing, in particular with doctors, medicine and how they view health and illness.

By understanding how all families are not the same, it is easy to see why children have different personalities and learning abilities. As long as the proper network is in place, all children should be able to learn and be happy.

Self – Evaluation

I really enjoyed this assignment. It was amazing to see a child grow from birth to age 11. It was interesting to see how the child’s personality and learning ability were formed from the way the questions were answered. It was also fascinating to see how the child’s physical, social/ emotional and intellectual traits developed and how they compared to the various sources used. It was an easy program to use and was not too time consuming.

Some of the challenges I had was not being sure of what to print out in the first part of the assignment. Chris cleared this up for us. The most challenging aspect of the assignment was writing about how my child might have developed differently if she was raised in a different type of household. However, the textbook helped with this.

I learned about the different stages of the growth of a child and that not each child develops at the same pace. I learned about the different health risks and the consequences of them for the different age groups. I also learned how important early childhood education is and the impact it has on the child as s/he gets older.

Bibliography

1. Ages and Stages: A Brief Overview: Birth to 12 years.

2. www.child-development-guide.com

3. www.healthofchildren.com

4. www.myvirtualchild.com

5. Kail, Robert V. & Zolner, Theresa. Children: A Chronological Approach. Toronto: Pearson,

2012.

6. Kernested, Deborah & Pimento, Barbara. Healthy Foundations in Early Childhood Settings.

Toronto: Nelson Education Ltd., 2010.