Know

Involving Families in Children’s Physical Development

Considering that families generally have the largest impact upon young children’s development, it is critical that they are actively involved in promoting their children’s wellness, active lifestyles, and overall physical development. 

In the same way that caregivers support families in fostering their children’s physical development and overall wellness, families can support caregivers in planning, implementing and monitoring programs that promote wellness. Physical activity and movement are essential parts of the learning, growth and development of young children, and caregivers and families can collaborate to promote an active lifestyle. Physical activity habits are established early in children’s lives and families can play a large role when it comes to establishing and fostering healthy habits that will last a lifetime.

Supporting Family Involvement: Personal and Family Life Skills

Several preschool motor activities resemble tasks that young children may also perform at home within their daily routines. Just as preschoolers move around to explore their indoor and outdoor environments, play with toys, manipulate different materials, eat, use the bathroom, or help clean up after themselves in their child care setting, they engage in similar tasks at home with their families. Participating in these activities enables children to improve their independence, take better care of themselves and assist with simple household responsibilities.

Daily routines help family life run more smoothly and allow families to enjoy more time together. Routines can also help children feel safe, develop life skills, and build healthy habits. These predictable daily routines may include dressing themselves, cleaning up their toys and books, brushing their teeth, bathing, using the bathroom, eating with utensils, making their own bed, cleaning up after mealtime, or even assisting with laundry. While some children can accomplish these self-care skills independently, some will require help from adults, especially when it comes to tasks that involve small muscles, such as buttoning small buttons, tying shoes, or using a fork and a knife to cut food. Children usually master several of these self-help skills by the end of the preschool years. Following these daily routines can also help parents feel more organized and reduce stress levels.

As a family child care provider, it is important to help families understand the significance of children’s participation in these routines and activities for their physical and overall development and well-being. At the same time, it is also very important to be sensitive to families’ values, backgrounds, beliefs, cultural practices, and traditions as they relate to young children’s skill development and independence. While you may have certain views about what children should, or should not do, in your child care home, it is important to be considerate of families and try to understand and honor a point of view that may be different from yours. For example, while you may highly value independence in young children during mealtime, and encourage children to feed themselves, families of children in your care may value interdependence and prefer adults assist children with eating, which helps establish and promote relationships. Along the same lines, you should also be sensitive with your choice of materials for sensory activities, as some materials, for example food items (e.g., rice or beans), may hold significant cultural value for some families and should not be used for play. As a caring and resourceful professional, be flexible and think of alternative ways to positively engage with each child’s family.

Establishing and maintaining collaborative relationships between families and caregivers promotes children’s optimum learning and growth. When it comes to families of children with special learning needs, communication with families and consistent routines are essential. As a caregiver, you should learn as much as possible about the child and his or her particular needs, as well as accommodations that the family finds successful. You should also invite the families to share concerns, ask questions, or even cross-train the child-care providers.

Encouraging Family Involvement: A Lifetime of Wellness

We all need to establish and maintain healthy habits. Family members can set a great example for the children and the rest of the adults in their families by promoting healthy environments and choices at home. Healthy environments include engaging in activities that promote well-being: Planning balanced and nutritious meals, shopping for ingredients, cooking together, walking and exercising together, playing together, and keeping each other motivated and committed to making healthy choices and keeping an active lifestyle.

There are several websites that provide information about helping families set goals for wellness and healthy living. Explore the links below and consider using some of the materials and resources with families of the children in your care.

See

Click on the link below to watch this video from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In this video, you will learn about how one caregiver promotes active and healthy lifestyles for the children in her care and their families. As you watch, think about what you can do to promote active and healthy lifestyles for children and families in your care. https://www.cdc.gov/cdctv/lifestagesandpopulations/child-obesity.html

Do

Consider the following ideas to help families understand children’s physical development. You may notice that some of these suggestions resemble recommendations made in the Family Engagement course about helping families understand their children’s development.

• Invite families to visit your home at the beginning of the year and provide examples of children’s physical development and growth through play.
• Help families understand the significance of play in children’s physical development by sharing related information through your parent handbook, social media site, website, or newsletter.
• Ask families to share favorite play activities at home so you can incorporate some into your daily routines.
• Share resources that families can use at home to promote wellness, active lifestyles, and physical development.
• Ask families to share their goals and priorities for their children in terms of physical development and wellness. 
• When it comes to children with special learning or physical needs, ask families to share input, preferences, and tips about ways to promote physical development and wellness in their children. 
• Display photographs of children and their families engaging in physical activities.
• Include books about wellness and physical activity in your book area.
• Invite families to participate in events related to physical activity and wellness (e.g., have a get-to-know-you event for parents and children at a local playground. Bring active toys for the parents to use with their children (e.g., balls, jump ropes, toy golf clubs, etc.).