Creating and following health-related policies in your program will help keep you and the children in your care healthy and safe. Prevention is your best course of action when it comes to health and safety. This lesson focuses on how you can clean, sanitize, and disinfect to prevent the spread of disease.

The most important part of your job is to keep children safe and healthy. Maintaining hand hygiene is a simple way to prevent the spread of disease. You can encourage and model healthy habits like handwashing for young children. This lesson focuses on proper handwashing techniques for adults, young and older infants, and children. It also addresses healthy habits and general hygiene practices for responding to children with colds, cuts, scrapes and children who are bleeding.

Many germs and bacteria are spread in the restroom. This lesson focuses on ways of using and teaching hygiene practices for diapering and toileting. It includes a description of how to handle toileting accidents. Similar to handwashing, when diapering and toileting are done correctly, the spread of germs and illness is decreased, and as a result everyone is healthier.

Children’s health can change quickly. Daily health checks help you identify sick or injured children. This lesson helps you understand the importance of daily health checks and how to conduct them. It will also help you recognize symptoms of common childhood illnesses. After completing this lesson, you should understand your exclusion and readmission policy.

Good nutrition, proper feeding, and physical activity are important aspects of good health. They can prevent obesity and some chronic illnesses. You can play an important role to encourage and model healthy habits for young children. This lesson will help you understand portion control, meal components, food safety, and ways to promote lifelong physical fitness. We will also address safe and healthy bottle-feeding practices for infants.

Children and families often deal with stressful situations that put their mental health at risk. Deployment is a reality for many military families that can affect well-being and mental health. This lesson helps you support children and families dealing with stressful life events.

It is important for you to be aware of each child’s individual health needs. Some children will enter your care with chronic conditions, such as asthma. Others may have allergies. This lesson will help you understand how to communicate about and care for children with special health needs.