Providing a Nurturing and Caring Environment

Providing a Nurturing and Caring Environment Grade 11 Family Studies

Nurturing and Caring for Children Reminder, nurturance is caring for a child’s emotional needs and caring for a child is meeting a child’s physical needs. Nurturing young children effectively involves teaching, comforting and playing with young children in keeping with the child’s levels of development.

Play Play is the work of children. It consists of those activities performed for self-amusement that have behavioral, social, and physical rewards. Play is child-directed, and the rewards come from within the individual child; it is enjoyable and spontaneous.

Play Play is an important part of the childhood development. Through play children learn about shapes, colors, cause and effect, and themselves. Besides cognitive thinking, play helps the child learn social and psychomotor skills. It is a way of communicating joy, fear , sorrow, and anxiety.

Question What are some reasons you think children might spend less time playing outside now than they did 10 or 20 years ago?

Play Nowadays, children of all ages and from every socioeconomic background often prefer television, computers, and battery-operated toys to self-directed, imaginative, and creative play. This tendency leaves children developmentally deprived, because imaginative and fantasy play allows children to explore their world and express their innermost thoughts and feelings, hopes and fears, likes and dislikes. Through play, decisions are made without penalty or fear of failure. Play allows children to gain control of their thoughts, feelings, actions, and helps them achieve self-confidence.

Question 2. Make a list of at least 5 games you liked or still like to play. What type of game is each one? What did you learn from each of your favorite games? What skills are developed?

Games around the world Games are found in every culture of the world. Children play variations of the same games at the same age in many different countries.

Games around the world • Chasing Games • One person chases others • Tag, Capture the flag, hide and seek • Circle Games • One person in the middle of or outside a circle must do something that involves others • Duck-duck goose, marbles • Games played with a ball • Ball kicked, ball hit with stick, ball thrown and caught • Mental Games • Guessing games • Eye spy, heads up seven up • Playing House • Universal activity; boys and girls practicing roles. • Sensing Games • Recognizing something by touch • Pin the tail on the donkey • Strength Games • Match of strength • Arm wrestling, tug-o-war • Jumping Rope Games • Skipping • Square Jumping • Hopscotch • Pretending Games • Pay at adult work roles such as nurse, firefighter, or teacher are versions of pretend play.

Question 3. Play helps children develop physically, intellectually, socially and emotionally. Examine the list of games around the world. Describe the areas of development that each game enhances.

Identifying Patterns of Play Solitary Play Onlooker Play Parallel Play Associative Play Cooperative Play Symbolic play Imaginative Play

Question 4. For each type of play, give an example of a child acting out that type of play. Example: Solitary play: a baby playing with her feet

Playing Safely It wasn’t long ago that all children could play freely outside their homes.

Question 5. In the past where and how did children play? - Children who lived in the country? - Children living near ponds or lakes? - Children living in cities?

Playing Safely Although many dangers lurked in the neighborhoods, playing unsupervised was common. Children were warned to be careful but caregivers expected that cuts and scrapes were all in a day’s play.

Playing Safely Today’s parents are warned of the many dangers of unsupervised play. They are aware that water is polluted, soil may be contaminated, and child molesters lurk where children play. Every year, children are injured or die while at play.

Playing Safely Children have been suffocated by collapsing sand, or smothered in a toy chest or in an abandoned refrigerator. They have been killed when playing with loaded and unlocked guns or killed or injured by a land mine, a relic of an adult war. They have been backed over by vehicles, crushed by farm equipment, or fallen to their deaths from high places. The cords of their coats or snow suits, or even the strings of blinds in their bedrooms can be lethal.

Playing Safely Children are vulnerable to accidents and injury in almost every play setting. Even properly constructed playground equipment can be dangerous.

Playground – Dangers Each year in Canada thousands of children get hurt on playground slides, monkey bars, or swings. Some children have died when they became entangled in ropes or skipping ropes attached to playground equipment. Loose clothing, hoods, scarves, drawstrings, mitten cords, ropes and skipping ropes can all strangle a child.

Playground – Dangers • Safety Tips: • Remove cords and drawstrings from children’s hoods, hats and jackets. • Tuck in all clothing that can get caught on playground equipment. • Have children wear a neck warmer instead of a scarf. • Take off bicycle helmets before children use playground equipment. They can get trapped and strangle a child. • Make sure children do not tie ropes or skipping ropes to slides and other playground equipment. • Supervise children on the playground. • Teach children how to use playground equipment and play safely.

Playing Safely The loss or injury of a child will affect a family forever. After any incident, new safety regulations are developed to prevent the same tragedy from happening again. But children are carefree and often play without thought of danger. It is up to parents, teachers, and other adults to take action to provide children with safe play environments, supervise play, and warn children of danger.

CPR First Aid CPR and First Aid Training is important for all parents and caregivers to learn in case there is an emergency in the home. We will be conducting this course sometime in May with Mr. Wilks and Ms. Denesiuk. We will cover some measures to help children with health and safety in the meantime.

Preventing Accidents and Handling Emergencies Read Pages 548 – 562 in Developing Child (Blue Text) Answer Questions 3-9 on page 562 Then get the worksheet “Taking the Right Steps in an Emergency”. Complete and staple to your textbook answers. Hand in to the green bucket and play sleeping tigers.

Preventing Illness and Caring for a Sick Child It is never easy caring for a child who is ill. Normal routines are upset. The child may cry often, demand attention, and have a short temper. However, the attitude of the caregiver can be as important as the medical treatment in restoring good health.

Regular Health Care • Children should have regular check ups. Early treatment may prevent serious illness or serious damage to the child. • Healthy children need check ups at least once a year. • Call the doctor’s office if a child shows symptoms that concern you. • Examples: Fever, persistent cough, vomiting, severe headaches or dizziness.

Immunization Immunization protects children from communicable diseases that are easily passed from one person to another. The most common way to immunize is with vaccine. A vaccine is a small amount of a disease-carrying germ introduced into the body so that the body can build resistance to the disease.

Immunization After getting a vaccine, a person’s body produces antibodies that fight off the germs for that disease. If later exposed to the disease, the person already has antibodies that fight it. That person will then either not get the disease or only have a very mild case of it.

Immunization: Manitoba 4-6 YEARS (PRESCHOOL)Booster needles to continue protection against diphtheria, whooping cough, lockjaw, polio; also measles, mumps and German measles and, if the child is still at risk for chickenpox, chickenpox vaccine will be offered9-10 YEARS (GRADE 4)Three-dose series of needles to protect against hepatitis B; also a shot for meningitis (C type) and if the child is still at risk, the chickenpox vaccine will be offered11-12 YEARS (GRADE 6)Three-dose series of needles to protect against the human papillomavirus (HPV). The vaccine is offered only to grade 6 female students.14-16 YEARS (GRADE 9)Booster needle to provide protection against diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough

HPV Vaccine http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2010/02/23/12993856.html

Concerns Some parents are afraid that a vaccine could hurt their child. In some extremely rare cases, a child does have a bad reaction to a vaccine. The chances of getting the disease are much, much higher, though.

Allergies An allergy is an oversensitivity to one or more common substances. Individuals may have allergic reactions when they eat, breathe in, or touch specific substances, such as nuts, grass, molds, milk products and pollens. Some allergic reactions can threaten a person’s life. Sometimes the air sacs in the lungs can be constricted, which dangerously cuts the oxygen in the body.

Allergies It is said that nearly half of all the children in the US develop allergies. In Canada it is suspected that food related allergies are on the rise but there are no specific statistics for how many have them.

Allergies in School: Who is responsible? http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/foodsafety/allergies-school.html

Asthma This condition affects the lungs, where air passages tighten, making it difficult to breath. Asthma is one of the most common causes of emergency department visits in Canada and is a leading cause of school and work absenteeism. It is generally estimated that in Canada 12% of children and 8% of adults have asthma, which is approximately 2.5 million Canadians

Asthma Asthma can be brought on by an allergic reaction, cold, or flu. Children with asthma take medication to help open up the airways and breath more easily.

Caring for a Sick Child Children fall prey to illness from time to time. Caregivers need to recognize the signs of different illnesses. Caring for a sick child often involves no more than keeping the child inside and quiet for a while. Often recovery takes only a few days.

Caring for a Sick Child Sometimes children need pain relief or a medicine to reduce fever. For children, doctors recommend using a medicine that contains the ingredient acetaminophen.

Warning Never give asprin to a child with a fever. Although it happens only rarely, some children with a fever who take asprin develop a serious illness called Reye’s syndrome.

Reye’s Syndrome Potentially fatal disease that causes numerous detrimental effects to many organs, especially the brain and liver, as well as causing hypoglycemia. The disease causes fatty liver with minimal inflammation and severe brain disease and swelling. The liver may become slightly enlarged and firm, and there is a change in the appearance of the kidneys.

Comforting a sick child When a child is sick, try to maintain a calm and cheerful attitude. Children who are very ill don’t have much energy for play. They spend most of their time sleeping. If children only have mild illness or if they are recovering, they may be easily bored. Quiet play helps pass the time and having a caregiver play along increases the child’s fun.

Going to the Hospital A hospital stay is a difficult event for almost every child. Hospitalized children may feel their parents have abandoned them. They may be frightened that they will be hurt or that they will die. Children have these fears because they don’t understand what is happening to them.

Going to the Hospital Try to prepare the child as much as possible. Explain what to expect in simple words or get the doctor to explain. If possible, the parents should take the child to visit the hospital. Many hospitals have tours that include a look into patient, operating and recovery rooms. Things that are familiar will be less frightening when the child is admitted.

The Hospital Stay Hospitals realize that children recover better if a parent stays with them. Most hospitals allow the parent to visit at any time and stay overnight if necessary. Children may need treatment and tests that may hurt. Never lie to a child and say it will not hurt. Say something along the lines of “Yes, it will hurt for a while, but then you will feel much better. It is all right for you to cry when it hurts, if you feel like it”.

The Hospital Stay If the child needs to go the hospital for an emergency, it is important for a parent to stay with the child as much as possible. Being nearby can make a difficult situation less frightening for a child.

Childhood Illness Assignment • You will research the condition that has been assigned to you. • Explain: • What the condition is? • How do you get it? • What are the signs and symptoms / how is it diagnosed? • How can you treat it / is there a vaccine / how can you prevent from getting it?

Childhood Illness Assignment Create a PowerPoint presentation to show what you have learned. Use pictures you have found off the net, drawings, or any other visuals you can find to help get across the information you found. Make sure any information you use is in your own words (words everyone will understand) and cite your sources!!!!! (On the last slide of your presentation. Try to use REPUTABLE sources. You may use Wikipedia as a place to start but this should NOT be your only reference. You need at least 3.

Childhood Illness Assignment • Near the end of your presentation you should have at least 2 questions created for the class to answer based on your presentation. May be multiple choice, true/false, fill-in the blank. During the presentation the other groups will have time to copy these questions down and study them for test purposes. Answers should not be provided to the class and only included on your reference page for Miss Dirks. If you don’t know the answer after copying down the question, it is up to you to find out on your own.

Childhood Illness Assignment You have: Tuesday April 12th and Thursday April 14th to work on this in the library. We will present on Monday April 18th. No exceptions. Anyone who does not present will loose 25% of your mark for this project. If you do not get your project to me by Wednesday April 20th you will not receive any credit. You will be evaluated by the other people in the classroom as well as me.

Conditions • Chicken Pox – Kaitlan & Shanny • Tonsillitis – Stephan • Influenza - Alex • Measles – Melissa • Mumps – Kayla • Meningitis – Diana • Whooping Cough - Shanisa • Croup - Nicole • Rubella - Amanda • Diphtheria - Kaitlyn • Tuberculosis – Gabby • Polio – Jocelyn • Fifth’s Disease - Amelia

Providing a Nurturing and Caring Environment