Group care can pose the risk of illness spreading among children, youth, families, and staff. There are precautions you and your staff need to take to ensure that everyone can play and work in an environment that is healthy and safe.

Proper hygiene is the best way to prevent the spread of disease. Habits formed early in life are often developed by watching others around you. You and your staff play an important role in helping children and youth develop healthy habits that reduce the spread of infectious diseases, keep our bodies healthy, and support emotional well-being.

A significant amount of time in your program will involve diapering, potty training, and toileting. It is critical to keep restrooms clean in child development and school-age programs. Unsanitary practices can put staff and children at risk for illness and infection. Staff members must make children’s needs a priority while teaching children how to move towards greater independence. If your program’s diapering, potty training, and toileting practices are aligned to your policies and philosophy, you will be better equipped to partner with families during this important part of children’s development.

Group care can pose a risk of illness spreading among children, youth, families, and staff. You and your staff should take precautions to ensure that everyone is able to play and work in a healthy and safe environment. This includes making sure staff members know the importance of daily health checks, how to identify common signs of illness, and how to respond when children or staff are ill.

Physical activity and nutrition are important contributors to children’s overall health. Proper exercise and diet can prevent obesity and chronic illnesses. You play an important role by encouraging and modeling healthy habits for children in child development and school-age programs. This lesson helps you learn how to support adequate nutrition and physical fitness in your program, including planning and implementing healthy meals using national standards. This includes supporting practices like family style dining and correct bottle-feeding practices.

It is important that you and staff members take a holistic approach to health. Mental health is an important component of overall well-being. This lesson will help you teach, model, and observe practices that support the mental health of children and families during times of stress, such as deployment.

Children and youth come to your program with a variety of temperaments, experiences and needs. Many of these individual needs are in the health area, including dietary restrictions, allergies, and medication requirements. Your staff may be called upon to provide medication to the children and youth in your program. To protect children and youth, as well as the program, staff need to adhere to all of your program’s policies and procedures for the administration of medication. It is up to you and your staff to work with families to develop care plans to ensure that children’s individual health care needs are met.