Promoting Child Health and Safety Through Education

1. Chapter 12:Health and Wellness Teaching Young Children Fifth Edition Michael L. Henniger Developed by: Kaye A. Marshall Mt. Baker School District and Whatcom Community College

2. Goals: Chapter 12 • Learn about the importance of health and wellness • Study the role of physical education • Investigate health education and its importance • Gain insights into safety education

3. The Importance of Health and Wellness • Physical education and its importance • Physical development and social skills • Motor skills and emotions • Connections to cognitive development • Creating an integrated curriculum • Increased emphasis on physical fitness • Reduce health risks • Increase activity levels

4. Health and Wellness: Health • The values of health education • Rapid rise in childhood obesity • Ages 2-5, doubled since 1976 • Ages 6-11, from 6.5% to 19.6% • Nutrition • Medical and dental health • Healthy body image • Illness prevention

5. Health and Wellness: Safety • Safety education and young children • Safety/security – 2 most basic needs (Maslow, 1968) • Environmental risks • Indoor and outdoor environments • Accidents • Child abuse and neglect

6. Health and Wellness: Families • Working with families • Children spend more time at home • Children absorb values/attitudes at home • To effect long-term change, support is needed from families • Nutrition • Physical activity • Safety

7. Physical Education • Basic considerations • Create time daily for play-oriented and adult-directed movement activities • Plan indoor and outdoor activities • Make sure all children get involved • Evaluate your responses for gender equity • Identify your expectations for motor development

8. Physical Education: Basics, cont. • Establish clear rules • Identify boundaries • Integrate physical activities into all aspects of the curriculum • Carefully observe children • Use developmentally appropriate materials/equipment • Provide repeated opportunities for practice

9. Physical Education: Strategies • Instructional strategies • Direct approach • Describe, model, imitate • Guided discovery • Child-centered, invent/experiment • Exploration • Divergent problem solving

10. Physical Education: Play • Physical development and play • Select play equipment to stimulate skills • Gross motor: climber, large balls, wheeled toys, tumbling mats • Fine motor: small blocks, crayons, legos • Perceptual-motor: rhythm instruments, dance scarves, pattern blocks

11. Physical Education: Activities • Organized physical activities • Introduce during preschool/primary years • Should be fun, include specific skill guidance, and allow many opportunities to practice • Throwing, catching, striking • Kicking, balancing, jumping • Spatial awareness, fitness

12. Physical Education: Indoors • Games and activities • Magical marching • Bunny hop • Quick, freeze! • Hit the bull’s-eye • Finger frolics • Catch me if you can • Balancing circus

13. Physical Education: Outdoors • Games and activities • Rough-and-tumble play • Organized activities • Competition and young children • Noncompetitive/cooperative game options Fish gobbler Non-elimination musical chairs Tug of peace Roadrunner Bumblebee Mountain climbing La piñata Traffic jam Parachute play

14. Health Education • Nutrition • Provide healthy nutritious choices • Plan cooking experiences • Model good nutrition • Communicate often with families • Provide resources

15. Health Education: Body Image • Healthy body image • Teach respect and care for one’s body • Young bodies continue to change and grow • There is no one ideal body type • Be careful with the language you use • Emphasize each child’s abilities and positive personality traits

16. Health Education: Medical/Dental • Medical and dental health • Provide vision, hearing, and speech screening • Carefully observe children • Illnesses • Identify early and prevent spread of childhood illnesses • Promote personal hygiene/handwashing

17. Health Education: Adults • Healthy adults: as a significant role model • Eat healthy foods • Exercise regularly • Discuss your own body type – focus on the positive • Talk about strategies you use to stay healthy

18. Safety Education • Environmental risks • Falls, burns, poisons, small or sharp objects, suffocation, traffic hazards • Be aware of custody issues • Reasonable risks are considered a healthy part of growing up

19. Safety Education: Prevention • Accident prevention • Water safety • Infants/toddlers • Preschool/primary • Fire safety • Talk with children and families • Firearm safety • 24% of all households have firearms (Forbis, et. al, 2007)

20. Safety Education: Abuse/Neglect • Child Abuse and Treatment Act, 1974 • Reauthorized, 2003 • Mandated reporting • Neglect: failure of family to meet basic needs of child – adequate food, shelter, or medical care • 59% of total reports were for neglect

21. Safety Education: Abuse/Neglect, cont. • Physical abuse: purposeful injury – bruises, broken bones, burning (10% of reports) • Sexual abuse: adult uses child for sexual pleasure of any type, or exposes child to others in sexually explicit way (8%) • Emotional or psychological abuse: child’s emotional development or self-worth is impaired by the behavior of adults (4%)

22. Summary • The Importance of Health and Wellness • Physical Education • Health Education • Safety Education