Healthy Child Care Topics
From the Environmental Protection Agency: A Curriculum for Early Care and Education.
You run into the other room while Billy and the other children play on the floor with their toys. You are gone for just a minute. When you return to the room, you find that Billy has gotten into the cabinet under the sink, where you store the cleaning products and pesticides.
Even though Thanksgiving and Christmas are behind us, there are more holidays right around the corner: Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, and Easter, just to name a few. And of course don’t forget children’s birthdays! There are many things to celebrate in 2012 so it’s the perfect time to promote making these celebrations healthy ones.
Holidays are a time for creativity, decorations, and art and craft activities. But did you know not all craft materials are created equal? Some materials may contain toxic ingredients that can trigger allergies, asthma, headaches, and nausea when they are used or stored around children.
I think by now most of us know about the risks and warnings associated with smoking and being exposed to secondhand smoke, and especially the dangers young children face if they are exposed. But did you know there is an odorless, colorless gas called radon that can also cause lung cancer?
Playing on a playground, eating at picnic tables and sitting outside on benches enjoying the sunshine are important parts of summer fun for children. However some of these structures may be hazardous to children’s health depending on what they are made of and when they were built.
Plastic products can be found in almost every part of our life, many times to our benefit. But using plastic products comes at a cost. Many plastics are developed from petroleum, a non-renewable resource, and some chemicals used in plastics are linked to negative health and environmental effects.
Every day decisions impact our health and the environment. Making cleaners at home can be safer, more economical, and just as effective as store bought brands.
Asthma is a long-term condition causing inflammation of the lungs’ airways, which leads to wheezing, coughing, difficulty breathing and other symptoms. Asthma attacks can be fatal.