Implementing Childrens Wellness Discussion

please respond to isabel 

One of the areas I feel I might struggle with implementing children’s wellness is developing a curriculum on health, safety and nutrition. Working in a daycare for eleven months gave me the opportunity to realize that is not just watching over a group of children. There are many things to take into consideration when it comes to children’s wellness. You have to create a lesson plan every week with activities suitable for children in every age group. Also, plan a weekly menu that consist of healthy meals and snacks. According to Sorte, Daeshel, and Amador (2017), “serving safe and healthy food is a common responsibility of early childhood educators” (p.3). Sometimes this is kind of hard if there are children with allergies or are lactose intolerant. An actual preschool setting might be a little different than a daycare. In preschool, children are a bit older and know how to feed themselves. In daycare, there are mostly infants and toddlers. Infants are fed by adults, and toddlers mostly eat by themselves, but anything you give them has to be served in small bite size pieces. Toddlers might put a lot of food in their mouth at a time, and this can cause them to choke. Therefore, there is always a teacher supervising the children and making sure they eat little by little. There are other times when children do not feel like eating and teachers cannot force them to. Children new to daycare setting often take some time to adjust to the type of meals that are served. Some children are not used to eating vegetables and fruits.

When it comes to playing outside, teachers need to make sure there is nothing that might cause any type of injury to children. Especially during summer, children love to play with water. In the daycare, there is a water table in which children can play. After the children are done playing with the water table, teachers have to make sure it gets emptied. Teachers also need to make sure children play with the equipment the proper way, such as when using bikes or slides. Children sometimes want to go down the slide laying on their stomach, and teachers always remind the children, they need to go down the slide sitting on their bottom in order to avoid any injuries. As stated by Sorte, Daeshel, and Amador (2017), “safety is increased through practices that reduce the likelihood of injury or exposure to environmental toxins. Teachers promote safety by creating safe environments, implementing appropriate procedures, and supervising children’s safe interactions” (p.4). There are so many other factors teachers have to consider for children’s wellness, such as immunizations. In the state of California is required that children attending any daycare or preschool setting to have all their immunizations current according to their age. Communication between teachers and parents is also very important. There might be issues at home affecting a child’s behavior such as a recent separation or divorce of the parents. According to Sorte, Daeshel, and Amador (2017), “children do not grow and develop in isolation, nor are teachers the only people concerned about children’s healthy growth and development. Children’s wellness is heavily influenced by the contexts, or settings, in which they live. These contexts include the environment and circumstances that surround the child and affect the child’s experiences” (p.14). Early childhood teachers work hard in order to implement children’s wellness activities in their curriculum. The better a teacher is prepared; the better outcomes children are going to have in their early childhood education.

Sorte, J., Daeschel, I., & Amador, C. (2017). Nutrition, health, and safety for young children: Promoting wellness. (3rdEd.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.