Contribute to the Support of Positive Environments for Children Essay Example
These must be kept clear, unlocked and made known to all children and adults, including visitors, in the case of an emergency evacuation. Explain how to effectively care for children and young people’s skin, hair and teeth Childrens personal care needs to cover hair, teeth and personal hygiene, so that they can be healthy and develop appropriately. You will play a prt in supporting these needs and ensuring that they are an important aspect of your setting. For younger children, hygiene and care are seems as an important part of the curriculum. You will need to make sure that children’s sin, hair and teeth are appropriately cared for.
Babies have different needs to older children and young people. As children grow up they become more independent in their skin and hair
...care routines. You must work with parents to find out their skin and hair care routines. Every family has different routines, needs and traditions. The parents will also be able to advice on the best products to use if their child has an allergy or irritation. Skincare Skincare helps to stop infection to the rest of the body, if a hild has dirty skin or an infection, he or she will feel uncomfortable. Encourage the habit of washing their hands. Haircare Find out about chldren’s needs by talking to them or the parents.
* African-carribean children often have oil rubbed in hair, wear braids, and need less frequent hair washing * Allergies will require specific products. * Head lice are common, treatment varies and can include special combs and lotions. Toothcare The way teeth are cared for is important t
ensure healthy adult teeth. Teeth facts: * Babies are born with teeth growing inside their gums .* The average age when teeth start to appear is six months * There are 20 teetth in the first set of teeth, called ‘milk teeth’. * All milk teeth appear by the age of 2-3 years.
From the afe of five, milk teeth begin to fall out. * Permanent teeth start to come through when children are about sixyears old * Milk teeth are replaced by teeth that are larger * The 12 extra molars make a set of 32 teeth. * The first permanent teeth come through are molars and incisors.* Sometimes permanent teeth are crooked and teenagers may need braes to correct this. * Chewing is good for the teeth but sweet and sticky foods cause decay. Encouraging children to clean their teeth after every meal is important. You can make this fun, perhaps by putting sequence of actions to music or making an attractive poster.
By the time children are older, thorough teeth cleaning should be an accepted part of their routine. In areas where water supplies do not have enough fluoride, they should be given fluoride drops. 3. 3. Explain how a positive environment and routine meet the emotional needs of children and their families The wishes of the child’s parents must be taken into consideration as must the routine of the setting. You can get to understand the family’s needs, by building up a relationship with them through daily communication and, in case of young children, a setting plan.
A positive environment and routine will be flexible enough to meet
the individuals needs of children. * If parents are working they may want their child to rest in the setting so they can have more time with them in the evening * In some culture children go to bed at the same time as their parents, and this may result in more rest during the day * A child living in accommodation with shared bathroom facilities may have to get up earlier than usual to wash and may need rest during the day to compensate * A child who is unwell may need more rest during the day.
It is good practice to allow children who do not want to sleep to undertake quiet ativities that will not disturb other children, such as reading. Drawing or listening to story tapes or gentle music. 3. 4. Describe the importance for physical and mental well being of balancing periods of physical activity with rest and quiet time. Physical activity encourages children and young people to develop all their physical skills and to practice the skills that they already have. Your role in supporting a child’s physical development will be to ensure that the child has a wide variety of experiences of being in a safe environment.
Any setting should offer a wide range of equipment that can be used both indoors and out. It is considered important that children are given opportunities to develop their gross motor skills indoors as well as outdoors. Such opportunities may be provided by designated areas such as soft play area or by activities such as drama. Some settings may be lucky enough to have designated areas for physical, play
or have the opportunity to use other facilities these could include: * A soft play area. * A swimming pool. * A sensory room.
* A games pitch (for example for football, netball or tennis). * A cycle path or course A climbing area. * An obstacle course Children with additional or special needs may have limited play opportunities. It is your role to ensure that they can do as many activities as possible, for example, by adapting equipment. Define the basic nutritional requirements of children and young people to ensure a balanced diet and meet government guidance A balanced nutritious diet that meets government guidance is now high on the list of priorities for schools. In England the school food trust has been formed to ensure that schools adopt the: * 14 nutrition based standards, and *food base standards
The school food trust 2010 says: ‘our remit is to transform food and food skills, promote the education and health of children and young people and the quality of food in schools. Children need to be given a balance of certain foods to grow and function properly. Figure 5 wil help you understand the functions of food and drink. Food and drink: Growth Give energy and warmth Fight infection Help general behaviour patterns such as alertness/concentration The seven nutritions: All food is made up of one or more of the following seven nutritions. Proteins: build the body, are good for the brain, blood, skin and other tissues.
Carbohydrates: give energy, are present in foods such as pulses, bread and oats. Fats: give energy, stored as body fat if too much is eaten
Minerals: builds bones and teeth, come from the earth, include calcium, iron and fluoride, are present in most foods. Vitamins: help to maintain a healthy body Fibre: maintains a healthy bowel, adds bulk to foods, is known as roughage, cannot be digested, is made of pant material, is present in foods such as bread, pulses and oats. Water: make up two-thirds of the body’s weight, is esstential for children to drink A variety of these foods needs to be eaten to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Water is continuously lost through sweating, breathing and urinating, so it needs to be replaced through food and drink. 4. 2. Explain how to establish the different dietary requirements of children and young People you will encounter children with different diatry needs and it is important that you understand what can affect a child’s dietary requirements. Medical condition: The following medical conditions can affect a child’s diet: Diabeties Mean that the pancreas cannot regulate the body’s sugar levels. Children need to avoid sugar but should have regular meals and snacks.
Each child needs will be different and you will have to work closely with your supervisor and parents to support a diabetic child. Coeliac disease Means that children cannot absorb their food normally. Coeliac children need to avoid gluten, which is found in cereals such as wheat and barley. Coeliac disease is usually detected after a child has been weaned from breast milk. Describe basic food safety when providing food and drink to children and young people All children in your care must be able to eat and drink safely so that food poisoning or related illnesses are
avoided.
Bacteria can grow quickly on food and your rol in handling food and drink appropriately is esstential. You need to understand how to store, prepare and serve food. Storing Food. * Regularly check ‘use by’ and ‘sell by’ dates am throw away anything out of date. * Use a fridge thermometer to make sure that a fridge tempreture is kept between 0 degrees and 5 degrees. * Ensure the freezer is working and the tempreture is below 18 degrees.
* Cool hot food quickly before placing in the fridge Do not leave food out at room tempreture; store food as soon as you can. * Store raw meat and fish seperatly. * Store raw foods at the bottom of the fridge to avoid juices dropping onto other foods. * Never refreeze food that has begun to thaw. * Date food you put in the fridge so that other members of staff can discard it if you are not here