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What
is a Child Care Health Consultant?
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Handwashing
One of the best ways to reduce the transmission
of germs in child care programs is Handwashing.
Children and adults should wash their hands at
the recommended times including as soon as they
arrive, before and after food preparation, handling
and eating, after playing outdoors and after using
the bathroom and diapering. Handwashing is one
of the important steps we can all take to prevent
many infections and illnesses. You can find more
information on handwashing how's, when's and why's
at:
http://www2.globalhealthychildcare.org/default.aspx
http://www.dobugsneeddrugs.org/public/final_handwashing_rec.pdf
Biting
Biting
in infants and toddlers is considered a relatively
normal behavior. Young children use their mouths
to explore their worlds, and also bite sometimes
when they are frustrated or even teething. But
most children outgrow biting as they grow and
develop, and especially as they become more verbal
- using words to express their feelings rather
than biting. Biting can be prevented in most child
care settings by using developmentally appropriate
caregiving and interventions. To find out more
about these interventions, check out the following:
http://www.healthykids.us/chapters/biting_main.htm
SIDS
Prevention
Even
though the number of babies who die from Sudden
Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) has gone down dramatically
in the U.S., 20% of all SIDS deaths are still
occurring in child care settings today. The only
safe sleep position for all babies is on their
backs. And further precautions for safe sleep
include removing all toys and soft bedding from
the baby's crib. These "safe sleep"
measures should be followed at home as well as
at the infant's child care program. Find out more
SIDS information at:
http://www.healthychildcare.org/section_SIDS.cfm
Excluding
Children who are ill
Children
who are ill or who have a contagious infection
need to be excluded from child care until they
are well enough to return, or they no longer pose
a risk to others. There are "Exclusion Criteria"
that child care providers must follow according
to state licensing requirements. Although no one
wants a child to be kept out of care unnecessarily,
there are important reasons to follow exclusion
guidelines - for everyone's sake! You can learn
more about how, when and why ill children should
be excluded from child care and when they can
return at:
http://www.healthykids.us/chapters/sick_main.htm
http://aapredbook.aappublications.org/resources/midsheets.shtml
Further
health and safety information is available at
the following websites:
http://www.healthykids.us/
http://nrc.uchsc.edu/
http://www.kidshealth.org
http://www.aap.org
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