It is the responsibility of early childhood education and care services to protect young children from infectious diseases. This means that all staff working in these services must be aware of the guidelines for preventing disease transmission. In this blog post, we will discuss some of these guidelines, so that you can ensure we are providing a safe and healthy environment for your child. How we work to protect the health of your child At My Cubby House Early Learning, we follow the guidelines as published by the National Health and Medical Research Council in our approach to caring for the health of children in our care. For more information on these guidelines, you can visit: https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/reports/clinical%20guidelines/ch55-staying-healthy.pdf The first step in preventing disease transmission is to ensure that all staff members are up-to-date with their vaccinations. This includes vaccinations for common childhood diseases such as measles, mumps, and rubella. It is also important for staff members to have influenza and of course COVID19 vaccinations. These vaccines help to protect both children and adults from serious illness. It is also important to follow good hygiene practices in early childhood education and care services. This includes regular hand washing, using alcohol-based hand sanitisers, and cleaning surfaces with disinfectant. Good hygiene practices help to reduce the spread of germs and prevent outbreaks of disease. Finally, it is important to have a plan in place for dealing with sick children. This includes having a separate area for sick children, and ensuring that all staff members know how to recognise the signs and symptoms of common childhood illnesses. If a child becomes ill, it is important to follow the correct procedure for isolating them from other children and seeking medical advice. What parents can do to help keep their child healthy in childcare? By following the guidelines set out by the National Health and Medical Research Council, early childhood education and care services can provide a safe and healthy environment for children. As a parent, there are also some things you can do to help prevent the spread of disease in early childhood education and care services. Make sure your child is up-to-date with their vaccinations. This includes vaccinations for common childhood diseases such as measles, mumps, and rubella. Ensure your child practices good hygiene habits. This includes regular hand washing, using alcohol-based hand sanitisers, and cleaning surfaces with disinfectant. If your child becomes ill, keep them at home and seek medical advice. If you have any questions about this article and how My Cubby House cares for the health of your child, please don’t hesitate to contact us 07 5527 1679. Don’t forget to share this via Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Buffer, Digg, Tumblr, Reddit, StumbleUpon, Delicious, WhatsApp, Line and Naver.
We found a great resource which discusses Queensland’s Early Childhood Development Story. This is the story of how children grow well. Each chapter is important to the story. Every person has a role to play—parents, grandparents, aunties, uncles, community members, educators, and service providers. Read Queensland’s Early Childhood Development story to learn how you can help children grow well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-88DCY6-Nk Chapter 1: Loving relationships Children feel loved and secure in warm, caring relationships. Loving relationships help children to feel safe. Showing them they are loved builds their confidence, ability to bounce back when things get tough and eagerness to learn. Regular routines for sleep, play and meals reassures children that they can trust their world. When you encourage children to talk about their feelings, listen to them and respond, you help them to connect with you, and feel valued. Talking with children about everyday experiences and celebrating their achievements, builds their language. This helps them to speak up and participate in everyday life. What does this look like? Listening and responding to children builds their language and social skills. When you listen, they learn to listen to you. Having more language means children can better express their feelings. Holding and cuddling your child releases good hormones that support their growth. You can connect emotionally with your child by talking, smiling, hugging, and laughing. Download the poster (PDF, 914KB) Chapter 2: Healthy environments Children thrive in safe, healthy and positive environments. Healthy homes and communities are places and spaces where children can safely grow and develop. Providing a variety of nutritious foods and water gives children fuel to grow strong bodies and brains. Good eating habits and regular active movement are important to start in the early years. Environments free from toxic substances are also important for growing bodies and brains. Every step through a child’s world—from home and into the community—brings opportunities for physical, social and emotional development. Children can explore confidently when families create a healthy balance between safety and freedom. What does this look like? Children love to help prepare meals. Did you know this can help them develop good eating habits and reduce the risk of health problems later in life? Children need to explore the world around to grow physically and mentally strong.Living in Queensland means using sun protection, hats and shade, and drinking water , to keep cool and safe. Download the poster (PDF, 1.1MB) Chapter 3: Learning everywhere Children are learning everywhere, every day. From their first moments, children are learning, experiencing the world through their senses and interacting with the important people in their lives. It is these important people who show children how to communicate with others. When children play they have fun. They also build physical, cultural, social and emotional skills, and discover more about themselves, others and the environment they live in. We are a diverse state with natural and built environments: from the outback to the rainforest, rivers and the sea. We live in remote areas, regional towns and large cities, all areas with rich cultural heritage. Wherever families live, it is important for children to play, explore and learn—at home and in the wider world. What does this look like? Play is essential for learning. Everyday experiences like shopping, cleaning or gardening are opportunities for children to play and learn. Positive communication builds brains. Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, you can share conversations, stories and songs with children. Download the poster (PDF, 1MB) Chapter 4: Strong connections Children’s sense of belonging is built through strong connections to family, culture and community. Knowing who you are and where you belong—with family, culture and community—is important. When children and families feel connected to community, they find friends and develop a sense of belonging and wellbeing. Queenslanders have diverse cultural backgrounds, languages, values and beliefs. When everyone is recognised, feels included and welcomed, we build a positive sense of belonging and encourage children to embrace and celebrate the diversity around them. This creates a shared understanding and respect for identity. What does this look like? Having friends and feeling connected to community is good for families.Local festivals, community gardens, sporting and cultural activities all offer opportunities to connect to community and belong. Participating in community life builds wellbeing and provides opportunities to share culture.What family or cultural traditions are important to you and your children? How can you share these with friends or neighbours? Download the poster (PDF, 1.1MB) Chapter 5: Supportive communities Children and families thrive when communities and services are supportive and meet their needs. Children and families do best when supported by a stable network of connections in the early years. Making the most of the services and support available can make a big difference to the lives of children and families. When services value and include the voices of children and families in planning and delivery, we are providing the most responsive and relevant programs to support them in navigating the rough and the smooth times. What does this look like? Families have access to services which can work with them to give their children a great start in life.Ask your local child health nurse, GP or early childhood teacher or educator about how you can make the most of early childhood, health and family support services in your local area. Download the poster (PDF, 1.1MB) The story goes on: Growing well together When every Queensland child grows well, we all do better. We can all contribute to making sure that families have access to supportive relationships, nutritious food and healthy environments for their children. There is a role for everyone in providing opportunities for learning and enjoyment, supportive local services, and a sense of community. Every interaction matters—big or small—because it can have an impact on a child’s wellbeing and whether or not they reach their full potential in later life. By recognising the importance of the early years and their lasting influence, we can take action together to give children the best start to life.
We found a great resource which discusses the importance of play in children’s learning and development. Learning through play is one of the most important ways children learn and develop. Educators at your child’s early childhood education and care service might have told you that they use a ‘play based’ approach for children’s learning and development. Play is an activity where children show their remarkable ability for exploration, imagination and decision making. While play is often described as ‘children’s work’, it is intensely enjoyable for them. The type of play children engage in and its purposes change over the course of childhood from infancy to adolescence. You may have realised that as a parent, you don’t generally have to make children play or provide incentives to play. This is because children seem to have a natural urge to play and playing brings a level of pleasure and interest which means it can be maintained without external rewards. How does play support your child’s development and learning? Physical development – active play using large and small muscles such as climbing, running, ball games, digging, jumping, and dancing. This supports children’s overall health and sense of wellbeing, physical growth, appreciation for the benefits of active lifestyles and skills for independence in self-help such as dressing or feeding. Social and emotional development – dramatic and imaginative play which includes dressing up and role play can develop positive social and emotional skills and values. This provides opportunities for children to: practise how to work with other children, negotiate ideas, and make choices and decisions develop self-confidence by experiencing success and challenges learn to control their emotions, reduce impulsive behaviour, or reduce stress as they act out feelings and events that might be worrying them develop empathy and fairness as they learn to play alongside and with other children. Cognitive development – when your child plays individually and with others their cognitive skills, such as thinking, remembering, learning and paying attention are all being developed. Children develop the following cognitive skills through play: problem solving the power of imagination and creativity concepts such as shapes, colours, measurement, counting and letter recognition strengths such as concentration, persistence and resilience. Literacy and numeracy development – play requires thinking, language, interactions, curiosity and exploration. Through play children develop skills and understandings including: an increased understanding of words and their use listening and speaking skills writing skills through scribbling, painting and drawing learning how stories work (plot, characters, structure, purpose and format of words on a page) learning that objects can stand for something else (a block can be a symbol for a telephone) which is foundation learning for formal reading, spelling and numeracy because letters, words or numerals are part of symbol systems learning that letters, words, symbols, numerals and signs have a purpose and are meaningful to others. What does a play based approach to learning look like? Educators at early childhood education and care services use a wide range of play based experiences for children’s learning and development rather than using structured ‘lessons’ or formal teaching experiences. They set up games indoors and outdoors that are age appropriate, which can be played safely and enjoyably by every child. Educators encourage children’s learning through play by: providing resources that reflect children’s ages, interests, knowledge, strengths, abilities and culture to stimulate and support play. Resources which allow open ended use of items like blocks or cardboards boxes foster creativity and the ability to manipulate concepts mentally as children. For example, turn a box into a car. planning play experiences based on the assessment of children’s individual differences, interests, developmental needs and ability. For example, as a child learns to hold a pencil to draw and write, educators will give children different sized objects to grasp, and to build strength in the child’s fingers. observing children as they play so that they can understand how they play with other children, what skills and understanding they demonstrate in play and what activities can strengthen their skills in play. joining in children’s play to extend the child’s learning and to model skills such as reasoning, appropriate language, and positive behaviours. providing large blocks of unhurried and uninterrupted time for play for children’s ideas and games to develop. How can you contribute to your child’s learning through play? Children’s success as learners depends on strong foundations developed from infancy. Play based learning fosters critical skills, understanding and dispositions which are essential for your child’s lifelong learning and wellbeing. You can encourage your child’s learning through by: sharing information about your child’s interests and abilities with their educators so that they can plan play experiences for your child based on their interests and abilities playing with your child discussing your child’s program with the educators at your child’s service, and the activities your child enjoys playing and taking part in advocating for safe and interesting play spaces in your local community. Source: Startingblocks.gov.au Don’t forget to share this via Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Buffer, Digg, Tumblr, Reddit, StumbleUpon, Delicious, WhatsApp, Line and Naver.
We found a great resource that we thought we should share with you about ways that you can you help your child settle into an education and care service. Starting at a service can be an emotional experience for you and your child. Children may experience difficulty settling into a new environment, particularly if they find it hard to separate from family or familiar caregivers. These suggestions may help you support your child during the settling in period. They may cry, be grumpy or throw tantrums until they get used to the new environment. Plan an orientation visit to the service An orientation visit before your child starts will give them a chance to explore their new environment. They can begin to develop a relationship with the educators and meet other children at the service with the security that you are close by. Familiarising your child with their alternate carers and care setting will be a huge help to them. Discuss your child’s interests, routines and rituals with the educators. The service may also be able to provide you with a family handbook at this time. This should include information about the service’s operations and key policies and procedures which may help you to plan to settle your child into care. Prepare them for spending time without you Leave your child with their grandparents or your friends for a few hours every day so they get used to your absence. Talk about child care with your child and let them know that you are happy and confident that they will have a good time and will be cared for. If possible, start with shorter or fewer days then gradually increase their time spent at the care centre. Once they develop a settling routine, they should be more comfortable. Don’t let your emotions or anxieties affect your child. Try and hold back your tears when you drop them off. Say ‘goodbye’ confidently and reassure them when you leave that you (or someone else) will be back later to collect them. Give your child sufficient time to say their goodbyes in the morning. Arrive at the service early so you have time to prepare your child for a good day. Comfort them Ask your child if they would like to take their favourite toy or colour book to the service. Find a preferred staff member that your child can be left with when you drop them off for the day. Spend some time settling your child into a favourite activity before you leave. Inform the service about what comforts your child and discuss how you manage activities or times of the day they find unsettling. For example, does your child have a toy or blanket that helps them to settle? Show empathy – in the morning if you see your child upset on your way to the service, talk to them and reassure them that they’ll be okay. Ask them to share their feelings with you. Listen to them and tell them what they are feeling is normal and it’s a big step for them as they are growing up. Where possible, organise play dates outside of the service. This will help your child be more comfortable with the other children at the centre. Encourage them Every time you go to pick up your child from their service, tell them they did great that day. Encourage your little one pack their bag with essentials they will need for the day. If they are too young to pack their bag themselves, ask them if they would like to take a toy/book with them. Pack a comforter – a toy or blanket that is something familiar from home for them. Take the time to have a nice conversation at the breakfast table. Tell them the time at what you’ll be picking them up, and perhaps offer them a reward if they behave well at the service. Talking with children and encouraging them to voice any concerns or anxieties they may have is a helpful strategy. For your peace of mind it can be helpful to call the service later to see how your child settled. Children who become very upset when they are left often settle very quickly and happily once the actual separation is over. The service should enable you to contact them throughout the day. You may also want to speak to the educators at the service about how you can better support your child’s transition. How can the service assist your child to settle? The educators at the service should also demonstrate openness and sensitivity in assisting your child and family to settle. Some important ways for them to do this include: Providing you with verbal and/or written information about what can be expected when your child is settling and giving you settling tips during this process. Keeping you informed about your child’s settling, and actively seeking ongoing information from you about your child’s needs and interests. Inviting you to call or visit the service Giving you information about anything that may be happening at the service that may affect your child’s settling. For example, the absence of key people who work with your child. Reviewing the settling process for your child with you to identify how this is going. Reconnecting with your child after a day in childcare It’s not only a new experience for your child, it’s also important for you to know how they feel about going to their early childhood education and care service. This will help you connect and build a strong relationship with your child. After you pick them up from their centre, give them your undivided attention. They might be grumpy because they haven’t seen you the whole day, so shower them with all the love you can. Create a meaningful conversation with them after their day at a service. Here are some suggestions: Ask them about their favourite activities of the day. Talk to them about the friends they have made.
Is your child really ready for the transition to school? The time has come for your child to move on from daycare or preschool and start school. It is a lot of change, but the transition can be made easier with some preparation. This blog post will give you tips to help prepare your child for this big step in their life. Transitioning to school is all about change. Your child may see school as an unknown place with new rules, people and activities. It may also be the end of regular days filled with playtime, art projects and songs by the teacher. Instead they will be expected to sit in class quietly for most of the day while they complete work on their own. Teachers expect them to listen and follow directions without interrupting or complaining. Your child may feel anxious about all of these changes and it is up to you as the parent/guardian to make this transition easier and smoother. How can you prepare your child for the transition? Preparation will help reduce anxiety and make the change more comfortable for both you and your child. These tips should be implemented a week or two before school starts: Talk about what will happen at school Prepare the things they will need together Model good behaviour Prepare your child for separation Give your child a tour of the new school Talk with your child about what will happen at school. Let them know when they will make the transition; also talk about where they will go (classroom), who they will see (teacher, principal), and give some examples of what they will be doing (listening, playing). Prepare the things they will need together at home before the first day of school. Items might include, back packs, folders with pockets, pencil boxes, snacks for school lunches, etc. If possible, have your child help pick out these items with you. This will be an important part of making your child feel like they are a part of the transition to school. Encourage your child to follow directions from an adult they know (teacher, principal); role play at home by asking your child what you would like them to do if they start to run in the hallway or touch something that is off limits. This will decrease the chances of them misbehaving in the new environment. Prepare your child for when you need to leave them at school. Talk about why they are going to school and who will be taking care of them (teacher). Let them know that you will arrive and pick them up later on; reassure them that it won’t be long and they will see you again soon. Ask them how they feel about school and if there are any activities or subjects they would like to try (art, music). Help your child become familiar with the environment by visiting school during their first few days of class. Make it a game; watch for certain animals or colours on clothing. Point out different rooms (office, tuckshop) and ask them what they think is happening there. This will help them visualise the school, and give them a good idea of where they need to go. There are many more ways to prepare your child for the big transition from daycare or preschool to full time school; these tips should get you going in the right direction. Remember that change is hard, but having a supportive family will make it easier. If you would like any further tips on preparing your child for the transition to school, please get in touch with our team. Don’t forget to share this via Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Buffer, Digg, Tumblr, Reddit, StumbleUpon, Delicious, WhatsApp, Line and Naver.
The following article discusses how loose parts can be used for teaching science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM) in an innovative way. Since the beginning of time, children love to play with any objects that they can get their hands on – loose parts. This time of play is known as “free exploration”. During free exploration, children can discover properties and ways to use objects that they have never thought of before. They are also able to develop an understanding of basic scientific concepts, such as how items work and why they are the way they are. With loose parts, teachers have a wide variety of tools to use in their teaching of STEAM. Although loose parts can be used in all different types of learning, they are especially helpful when teaching the arts and sciences. During science lessons, teachers can use loose parts to investigate the properties of certain objects. For example, teachers could use different sized beads and string for children to explore how items can be sorted by their mass or length. During technology lessons, teachers can use loose parts to make children build and construct objects without the need for a printed instruction sheet. For example, teachers could make children build their own mud village using only natural resources like stones, leaves, sticks and bark to support the homes. During engineering lessons, teachers can use loose parts to make children think creatively about how they are going to design an object or model of something that does not exist yet. For example, teachers could give children a few large natural materials, such as sticks and leaves, and have them figure out the best way to support a hammock that is strung between two trees. During art lessons, teachers can use loose parts to make children express themselves through art without the need of any types of tools. For example, children could build different sculptures from soaps and clay without the need of a knife or stick to carve out shapes. In order to fully explore their creativity, teachers can allow children to decorate or paint their objects in whichever way they see fit. Lastly, during mathematics lessons, teachers can use loose parts to make children explore different concepts through discovery. For example, children could experiment with the difference between odd and even numbers by using objects that are only available in even quantities such as marbles and sticks, or odd quantities such as beads and rocks. Overall, there is not a specific way that loose parts can be used to teach STEAM. There are many different possibilities and ways that teachers can use loose parts in their classroom based on children’s interests and the overall theme of a unit. However, although there is not a set way for how loose parts should be used, it is important to remember that children learn differently from one another. Therefore, it is also important to remember that children will learn in different ways when using loose parts depending on their learning styles. To find out more, follow the links below: https://www.education.sa.gov.au/sites/default/files/npsa-familyday-care-loose-parts.pdf https://www.learningzonechildcare.com/what-is-steam/ Don’t forget to share this via Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Buffer, Digg, Tumblr, Reddit, StumbleUpon, Delicious, WhatsApp, Line and Naver.
Babies and young children learn and develop through everyday hands-on experiences. Reading books and stories to your child, singing songs, and sharing rhymes can help their development in many ways. For example, reading boosts language and literacy skills, promotes creativity, and allows children to express their thoughts and emotions verbally. Acquisition of language is one of the early childhood’s most significant achievements that determines academic, personal, and professional success later in life. The Benefits of Reading Talking and reading to babies and young children promotes brain development and boosts the child’s cognitive skills. Communication between adults and children promotes social and emotional development. Reading rhymes and stories aloud to babies is one of the best ways to stimulate your child’s brain development. Reading books and stories to young children also can: Help your child expand their vocabulary Help your child learn sounds and words Increase their exposure to language and boost early literacy skills Improve their listening skills Spark your child’s imagination and creativity Spur their curiosity Provide an opportunity to bond with your child Instill a love for reading and learning Enhance memory, problem-solving, and other cognitive skills Improve your child’s communication and social skills Teach them impulse control and patience Improve your child’s attention span and ability to focus Help them distinguish between reality and make-believe Nurtures your child’s social and emotional development Teach your child about the world Promote diversity and acceptance, teaching your child about your own and other cultures Reading and Language Development Language and literacy are the backbones of a child’s future learning, and books are the best way to promote language, literacy, and speech development in babies and young children. Reading stories helps young kids learn the alphabet at a young age. It teaches them letters and enables them to learn sounds, words, and language. It develops the child’s ability to use language to express their feelings and build a strong foundation for the later abstract thinking processes. Reading to Your Child Studies show that books with many colourful images, contrast, and illustrations are the most stimulating for the baby’s brain. Here are a few tips for reading to babies and young children. Start reading to your baby from the earliest days. Make reading a part of your daily routine and share a variety of picture books, nursery rhymes, alphabet books, and any other age-appropriate books that you or your child find interesting. While reading aloud, show pictures in the book to your child, point to various objects and make sure to name them. Ask your toddler to recognise the letters of the words and the sounds each letter makes. Allow the toddler to choose the book to read Encourage preschoolers to trace and write the letters and to identify uppercase and lowercase letters. Share stories that display a variety of characters and social situations to help your child understand the emotional expression and develop empathy Key Takeaways Babies and young children enjoy books and stores. Take advantage of this natural interest to instill the love for learning. Reading and storytelling promotes brain development in infants and young children. Reading sparks creativity and imagination, promotes language and literacy development, and encourages emotional expression. Singing songs and rhymes also nurtures early literacy skills. Reading books together helps bond with your child, promoting secure attachment. Below are a number of useful resources for more information on this topic: https://raisingchildren.net.au/babies/play-learning/literacy-reading-stories/reading-storytelling https://www.nytimes.com/guides/books/how-to-raise-a-reader https://www.education.vic.gov.au/documents/about/research/readtoyoungchild.pdf Don’t forget to share this via Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Buffer, Digg, Tumblr, Reddit, StumbleUpon, Delicious, WhatsApp, Line and Naver.
Protective Behaviours Protective Behaviours are an empowerment process that raises self‐esteem and self‐confidence and enhances assertiveness in the context of feeling safe (Rose, J 2004). It also refers to developing consciousness of the situations in which the child’s personal space and safety may be compromised, so that he or she can respond according to particular circumstances. Protective behaviours education is important for empowering young children. It focuses on teaching self-safety, self-esteem, decision making, communication, emotional management and necessary skills to identify unsafe situations. In this blog we explore ways in which can we teach young children Protective Behaviours: How to Teach Protective Behaviours Teaching protective behaviours to children is often viewed as difficult because all too often we can shy away from uncomfortable conversations. Start From Conversation It is better to start with a natural conversation and discuss what safety ‘feels like’ in situations that the child will identify with — safety when crossing the road, wearing a helmet while riding, wearing a seat belt etc. Ask Simple Questions Ask simple questions to evaluate the comprehension level of your child and to enhance their curiosity for further learning. The questions should be age-appropriate: How do you feel when you are safe? When do you feel most safe? What makes you feel safe? What makes you feel unsafe? Build Connections Connect this discussion with feelings and emotions and our physiological reactions. How do their bodies feel when they feel unsafe or afraid or something feels ‘just not right’? Discuss physical reactions such as a fast heartbeat, sick feeling in the stomach etc. Building these connections help children to identify people or situations that make them feel unsafe. Enhance Vocabulary to Convey Feelings Children should be able to understand their feelings first and then have words to convey them. To enhance this, it is important to create opportunities for children to speak openly about their feelings. Not only will this help them to let you know when they have had experiences where they have felt unsafe, it will also improve their communication skills and even self esteem. Teach How to Ask For Help It is important that your child feels safe in asking for help. To facilitate this, identify a number of ‘Safe Adults’ – adults with whom the child feels safe and can easily talk to. It is then important to encourage the child to talk to these ‘Safe Adults’, without hesitation, about any situation where they feel or have felt unsafe. How MCH promotes Protective Behaviours My Cubby House Early Learning promotes the importance of teaching children protective behaviours through group discussions, Storytime, and Social stories. We discuss with the children about 5 ‘Safety Hands’, where they can name 5 people they can trust and turn to for help when they feel unsafe. We talk about the butterfly feelings that they feel in their tummies that signals to them that they are feeling unsafe in a situation. Raising awareness of signs of feeling unsafe helps children understand and make safe choices and ask for help. Water, fire, Road, Insect and snake safety lessons are also incorporated and implemented as part of the My Cubby House Protective Behaviours programs. We also offer Braveheart-Ditto’s Keep Safe Adventure Show that teaches children protective behaviour strategies and about personal safety in a fun, interactive and engaging way. https://bravehearts.org.au/ Exploring and teaching Protective Behaviours should not be treated as a ‘one off’ conversation. These conversations should be part of the ongoing education of your child so that they understand what feeling and being safe means and how they can seek help if needed. Keeping Kids Safe Resources The Daniel Morcombe Foundation provide a number of great video resources to help you to facilitate this important child safety education: https://danielmorcombe.com.au/keeping-kids-safe-resources/ Sources: Freda Briggs – Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freda_BriggsGelenter, C., Riley, B., & Prescott, N. (2017). Teaching Protective Behaviours to Young Children: First Steps to Safety Programme. Routledge.Rose, J. (2004). Protective Behaviours: safety, confidence, and self‐esteem. Journal of Public Mental Health. Don’t forget to share this via Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Buffer, Digg, Tumblr, Reddit, StumbleUpon, Delicious, WhatsApp, Line and Naver.
Sept 1st is MCH Educators Day! It is a day when we recognise and thank our amazing educators for their tireless dedication to the care and education of the children in our care! Thank you for all that you do! Here is a little video to show our appreciation! Don’t forget to share this via Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Buffer, Digg, Tumblr, Reddit, StumbleUpon, Delicious, WhatsApp, Line and Naver.
We found this great resource from Red Nose Australia about the best bedding to ensure your baby is safe while sleeping. Overheating is one of the major risk factors for SIDS and SUDI, but how do you know how much or what sort of bedding to use to keep baby both warm and safer while sleeping? This information can help. Key points on how much bedding should be placed on baby in a sleeping environment Dress baby and use layers as you would dress or use layers yourself: to be comfortable, neither too hot nor too cold. Research has shown that baby’s risk of dying suddenly and unexpectedly is increased if baby is sleeping on the tummy and that risk is even further increased if baby is sleeping on the tummy under heavy bedding or if baby’s head becomes covered by bedding in any position. Babies manage heat loss very efficiently when placed on the back to sleep with the head uncovered. Sleep baby on the back and keep baby’s head uncovered during sleep to reduce baby’s risk of sudden unexpected death. Make up baby’s bed so baby sleeps at the bottom of the cot and the blankets can only reach as far as baby’s chest, ensuring baby cannot move down during sleep and get his/her head covered by bedding. Consider using a safe baby sleeping bag (one with fitted neck, armholes or sleeves and no hood). Dress baby for sleep and add/remove lightweight blankets to ensure baby’s back or tummy feels comfortably warm to the touch. Remove hats, bonnets, beanies and hooded clothing from baby’s head as soon as baby is indoors. Overheating Since the introduction of public health programs promoting ‘back-to-sleep’ to reduce the risk of SUDI, there has been a significant reduction in the number of babies dying suddenly and unexpectedly.1 However, tragically, around 113 babies die suddenly and unexpectedly every year in Australia2 and it is important to keep following evidence-based recommendations on ways to avoid risk factors related to baby’s sleep environment.3-4 The association between overheating and SUDI has been known for several years particularly if baby’s head is covered.5-8 Current research confirms that if your baby becomes too hot, the risk of SUDI is increased.9 Overheating can be caused by room heating, high body temperature, excessive clothing or bedding and head covering.10 To reduce the risk of this, Red Nose recommends that you, as baby’s parent or carer, use your own judgement, taking into account factors such as where you live (climate, whether it is summer or winter), whether you have heating in the house, and whether baby has a cold or minor illness (which may cause their temperature to rise). A useful guide is to dress baby as you would dress yourself: to be comfortable, neither too hot nor too cold. If baby has a minor illness and has a temperature it is common for parents or carers to overdress baby for sleep11 but in fact, fewer bedclothes should be used or, at times, none at all. If parents or carers are worried that baby is ill they should talk to their baby’s doctor and have the baby assessed. Both hyperthermia (unusually high body temperature) and hypothermia (unusually low body temperature) are important to avoid during infancy.8 Baby’s face and head should always remain uncovered. Baby’s head (particularly the face) is the main route for heat loss.12 Overheating has been found to be related to SUDI and the risk of overheating is increased if baby is sleeping on the tummy.5 This is especially dangerous if baby is under heavy bedding as, if baby should roll over onto the tummy, then the risk of overheating is even further increased. In fact, research has shown that babies sleeping on the tummy are at ten-fold the risk of SUDI while sleeping in a heated room.6 Increased temperature has been shown to alter infant physiology by increasing respiratory and heart rate and in some studies the frequency of central apnoeas. Increased temperature, whether due to head covering or by increasing room temperature depresses arousal responses and reduces autonomic control of heart rate.13-16 Both impaired respiratory control, arousal from sleep and autonomic cardiovascular control have been implicated in the final mechanism of SIDS.9,17 Bedding for babies who have a cold Research has shown that babies with symptoms of a common cold are often given more bedding than they need due to care giver concerns that babies showing signs of a cold need to be kept very warm.11 In fact, providing assistance to babies with a common cold to effectively regulate their temperature is very important. This can be best achieved by placing them on the back to sleep with the head uncovered and removing some bedding or clothing. If baby is overly warm to touch, or showing signs of heat stress (irritability, looking unwell, floppy, drier skin, refusing to drink or having fewer wet nappies than usual) then see your doctor or health professional immediately. Can we say exactly how many blankets to use when baby is placed to bed? The simple answer is – No. Red Nose recommend that rather than state how many bedclothes can be safely placed on a baby, parents can work out the amount of bedding to be used after considering these factors: The room temperature where baby is sleeping. How hot does the baby feel? A good way to check baby’s temperature is to feel baby’s back or tummy (don’t worry if baby’s hands and feet feel cool – this is normal). Whether the baby has a cold or infection or another special need. Consider how many layers that you as the baby’s carer are wearing comfortably. Sleeping baby in a safe baby sleeping bag: one designed especially for baby with fitted neck and armholes and no hood, has a number of features that help baby sleep safely. Research has shown that sleeping bag use will reduce the risk of bedclothes covering the baby’s face, will delay baby rolling onto the tummy during sleep until baby is past the age of peak risk of
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