Healthy Routines and Habits
Number of unique resources found: 114
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American Academy of Pediatrics
Description: This Web site is dedicated to the health of all children. Visit the site for the latest in child health information.
American Public Health Association
Description: This website provides information for professionals and the public on health issues.
Description: Bright Futures is a national health promotion initiative dedicated to the principle that every child deserves to be healthy and that?optimal health involves a trusting relationship between the health professional, the child, the family, and the community as partners in health practice. This website promotes the health and well-being of children and adolescents from birth to age 21 and provides many links to resources.
Carbon Footprint Calculator: What's My Carbon Footprint?
Description: This carbon footprint calculator helps you discover your impact on the environment. As you complete a brief survey of the choices you make in your life, it will give you an approximate carbon footprint. This website is produced by the Nature Conservancy whose mission is to preserve the plants, animals, and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive.
Fitness for Kids: Getting your Children off the Couch
Description: This Mayo Clinic health article focuses on children's health and fitness. It includes information on what parents can do to support their children in good health, physically fitness, and how to promote physical activity.
For Kids: The Environment (references & links)
Description: This website provides a list of references and links to other websites that are for kids and relate to the environment, animals, plants, habitats, clean water, oceans, air pollution, energy, global warming, recycling, parks, forests, activism.
Green Hour: Help Kids Discover the Wonder of Nature
Description: This is a website presented by the National Wildlife Federation to help support parents in connecting their children to nature. By giving our children a "Green Hour" a day -- a bit of time for unstructured play and interaction with the natural world -- we can set them on the path toward physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Site includes activity suggestions, blogs, information, and a parent's guide.
Health Resources and Services Administration Information Center
Description: Use this web site to find information on a variety of health related topics, including maternal and child health, rural health policy, oral health and women's health.
Description: This Web site is designed to help you find resources on wellness, disease prevention, drug interactions, health news, kids health, etc. on the Internet. Information in Spanish is available through a link on the home page.
Description: This Web site provides health information to parents about a variety of childhood illnesses and issues. Use this site to learn about general health, the symptoms of over 80 infections, parenting and more. Some articles are available in Spanish from a link on the home page. Special areas for kids and teens are included.
Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health
Description: This is the Web site for the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health which is devoted to promoting, protecting, and sustaining the health of children, with a focus on San Mateo and Santa Clara counties in Northern California. The foundation pursues its mission through fund raising, grant making, and public information and education.
Description: This is the Web site of the March of Dimes, an agency dedicated to promoting healthy babies and healthy pregnancies. A link to the Spanish version of their Web site is available from the home page.
Maternal and Child Health Bureau
Description: The is the web site of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, a bureau of the Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This site has information on programs, funding opportunities, data, resources and publications. It also has links to other sites.
National Health Information Center (NHIC)
Description: This is the Web site for NHIC, a health information referral service. NHIC puts health professionals and consumers who have health questions in touch with those organizations that are best able to provide answers. Their publications include National Health Observations and Toll-free Numbers for Health Information.
National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center
Description: This Web site was developed to support the purpose of the National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center, which is to respond to the needs of states and communities in addressing current and emerging public oral health issues. The site contains materials for health professionals, program administrators, educators, policymakers, and others with the goal of improving oral health services for infants, children, adolescents, and their families.
Think Safe Be Safe: Poison Prevention Tips
Description: This website provides information on how to make your home safe from accidental poisoning. It includes a list of what to do in each area of the house.
– Evaluation –
National Center for Health Statistics: Fast Stats
Description: This part of the NCES website has statistics by state and topic on health issues.
– General Information –
2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans
Description: This website developed by the Federal Government has issued its first-ever Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. They describe the types and amounts of physical activity that offer substantial health benefits to Americans. The site offers a blog, quiz, guidelines, and other resources.
7 Ways to Keep Your Family Fit Indoors
Description: This web article discusses the need to keep the family fit over the winter months. Try these strategies to get your family moving — this winter and all year-round.
A Child Care Provider’s Guide to Safe Sleep
Description: This brochure discusses how to prevent sudden infant death syndrome in child care settings. Safe sleep practices are recommended and included.
Author: Martin, Sally (5 more by this author); Crystal E. Swank
Description: This study compared 209 National Standards from Stepping Stones to Caring For Our Children with 288 regulations for child care in Nevada. The National Standards represent current best practice in reducing injury, illness, and death of children in child care. State child care regulations represent minimum requirements for licensed child care programs in Nevada. A team of experts reviewed the National Standards and Nevada regulations to determine the extent to which Nevada’s requirements for licensed child care homes and facilities match the National Standards. Each National Standard was reviewed and a Comparison Rating score was calculated.
A Comprehensive Approach to Addressing Childhood Obesity in Early Childhood Programs
Author: Anderson, Joyce
Description: This aricle describes the need for early childhood professionals to take action in the battle against childhood obesity. It lists reasons why it is important to address childhood obesity in early childhood programs. Strategies for improving menus and physical activities are included.
A Consumer's Guide to Bicycle Helmets
Description: Learn about why bike helmets are important, what to look for in a helmet, and safety precautions in this fact sheet. Also available in Word document and as a PDF.
A Parents' Guide to Safe Sleep
Description: This brochure discusses how to prevent sudden infant death syndrome at home. Safe sleep practices are recommended and included.
A Spanish version is under revision.
Active Start – Physical Activity Guidelines for Children Birth to Five Years
Description: This brief summarizes the information from the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) on how much physical activity children under age 5 should be getting on a daily basis.
Author: Byington, Teresa (9 more by this author); Anne Lindsay, Madeleine Sigman-Grant, Tara Spann
Description: This brochure is intended for use with parents and caregivers. It provides general information on physical activities for children. Children need to be active every day, some suggestions for inside and outside.
Author: Byington, Teresa (9 more by this author); Anne Lindsay, Madeleine Sigman-Grant, Tara Spann
Description: This brochure is intended for use with parents and caregivers. It provides general information on self-esteem in young children. Children need to be given the opportunity to experience failure and success. Show a positive attitude and appreciation for each child as a unique and special self!
Author: Mendehnall, Anna
Description: Keep your family safe this summer by following these tips from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Info includes bike, skateboard, scooter, in-line skating, and heelys (wheeled shoes). Also includes gun safety, lawn mower safety, fireworks safety, and boating safety.
Background Checks: It is Time to Protect Children in Child Care
Description: This White Paper looks at the elements of background checks needed to ensure that children are safe in child care as well as current state fingerprint-based criminal record check policies. Information is included on all states.
Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute
Description: This website provides information on bicycle helmets from national standards, what to look for, how to size, best kind for your sport, and how to get kids to wear them. Links to other resources provided.
Bright Futures at Georgetown University
Description: Bright Futures is a national health promotion initiative dedicated to the principle that every child deserves to be healthy and that optimal health involves a trusting relationship between the health professional, the child, the family, and the community as partners in health practice.
Includes links to distance learning and online tools and materials on such topics as; Mental Health, Nutrition, Oral Health, and Physical Activity.
Description: The web site of the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology contains up-to-date information about about allergies, asthma, and immunology health issues. It provides resources on diagnosis, symptoms, treatment, triggers, and where to find specialists in your area.
Children's Health Topics: Sports Participation
Description: This webpage is a part of the American Academy of Pediatrics and features articles and resources that relate to children's participation in sports. Included are accident and injury responses and preventative issues.
Children's Literature about Health, Nutrition, and Safety
Description: This NAEYC publication includes literacy ideas with health, nutrition, and safety focus. It includes children's books; fiction, nonfiction, themmatic bookpacks, and audiobooks.
Children's Sleep Problems (Ninos con Problemas al Dormir)
Description: In this fact sheet you will learn about common causes and symptoms of sleep problems in children. It also offers tips on reducing sleep problems. This publication is also available in Spanish as "Ninos con Problemas al Dormir" at http://aacap.org/cs/root/facts_for_families/informacion_para_la_familia/ninos_con_problemas_al_dormir_no_34.
Choosing, Introducing, and Caring for Pets in Child Care 
Description: This web article provides information to consider when thinking of adding pets to your child care program. Check with your local health department or childcare licensing agency before bringing any pets to your childcare setting or school because there may be state and/or local regulations that must be followed.
Clothing Ideas for Special Needs Children
Author: Stone, Janis (6 more by this author)
Description: This newsbrief contains information clothing ideas for children who have special needs. Information includes fabrics, designs, functions, fasteners, shopping, and dressing independently. Also included are websites that offer clothing to fit children with special needs.
Communicable Disease Curriculum for Child Care Providers
Description: This fact sheet from the Dept. of Health Services in Wisconsin details the importance of hand washing. It explains how to do it properly and why it's important.
Description: This Consumer Protection website provides information on crib safety, crib recalls, crib standards, how to place your baby to sleep in a crib, and other crib safety information.
Description: This guide gives parents information on when to expect teeth, when teeth will fall out, how to clean them, when to see a dentist, and other helpful tips about healthy teeth.
Designing Nurturing Outdoor Environments that Connect Children to Nature
Author: Wike, Jim
Description: This webinar provides information about the causes and consequences of children’s disconnection to nature and why children need this connection. Discover how well designed outdoor spaces facilitate healthy physical, emotional, intellectual and social development in a variety of settings (from child care to schools to homes to public spaces). View examples of Nature Explore Outdoor Classrooms and learn more about research-based principles that provide a foundation for creating nurturing outdoor environments.
Description: This newsbrief provides facts on how to ensure access to healthy and safe child care. It describes changes that need to be made in order to improve the health and safety of child care programs in the U.S.
Diapering Procedure/Procedimiento para cambiar panales
Description: This downloadable poster, written in English on one side and Spanish on the other, gives detailed instructions to the proper diapering of infants. The poster gives both pictures and written words to guide caregivers to the currently accepted method of diapering.
Author: Roberts, Joanne; Susan Zeisel
Description: This excerpt form "Ear Infections and Language Development" discusses how ear infections might affect hearing and language development. The excerpt also notes ways to encourage language learning and promote early learning literacy.
Description: The Eco-Smart Parent Guide is meant to
highlight some of the environmental and
health issues surrounding your choices as a
parent. It provides great resources to get
you started learning more about the issues
and how you can make choices that you
feel good about for you and your family.
Emergency Preparedness Planning Guide for Child Care Centers
Description: The guidelines were developed for Child Care Centers in the State of Illinois to help
them develop plans for emergency situations. These guidelines and template were developed using examples from other organizations and input from Child Care Nurse Consultants. Every attempt was made to provide accurate, up-to-date information. However, new information and procedures continue to be developed and the reader is advised to seek out other resources as appropriate. Programs can tailor these guidelines to meet the needs of their facility/agency.
Engaging Families in the Quest to Connect Young Children with Nature
Author: Wirth, Susan
Description: This webinar presentation focuses on strategies that build strong child care center and family home-school connections with nature. The presentation showcases activities and the Nature Explore Families Club.foundation for creating nurturing outdoor environments.
Description: This Web site is a source for information and research. Their priority is to eliminate Stillbirth, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and other Sudden Unexpected Infant Deaths (SUID) with programs of research, education and advocacy. It has a section for child care providers and parents.
Author: Rogers, Fred (20 more by this author)
Description: This article is excerpted from “The Mister Rogers Parenting Book” the last book Fred Rogers worked on before his death in 2003. In this book he wanted to support parents in their most important work of parenting and to help them better understand their young children.
The information focuses on preparing your child to visit the doctor. It includes information on preparation, what will happen, and helpful hints.
Description: This 12 article publication includes research-based information on various topics across College of Family and Consumer Sciences Cooperative Extension program areas, including: infant development, parenting, co-parenting and couple relations, child care, nutrition and health, food safety, housing and environmental safety, and financial management and planning. Each article reinforces the available resources and expertise available at the county level and on our website, www.gafamilies.com.
Description: This fact sheet from the Dept. of Health Services in Wisconsin details the importance of hand washing. It explains how to do it properly and why it's important.
Health Benefits to Children from Contact with the Outdoors & Nature
Author: Charles, Cheryl
Description: This annotated bibliography includes information from articles on how the outdoors and nature impacts children. Included are articles on children's health and well-being, mental and physical health benefits.
HealthHints: Keeping Children Healthy
Author: Rice, Carol; Janet M. Pollard, MPH
Description: This newsletter issue contains articles on various health topics for children to prevent illness and encourage health habits.
Description: Healthy Birth Day is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, dedicated to the prevention of stillbirth and infant death through education, advocacy, and support.
This group was instrumental in initiating the Iowa Stillbirth Surveillance Project which is currently collecting data on stillbirths and infant deaths in Iowa.
They also support the Parent-to-Parent Network for parents who have lost infants to stillbirth or infant deaths.
Healthy Child Care America (HCCA)
Description: HCCA is a collaborative effort to improve the health and safety of children in child care. Visit this Web site to learn more about the campaign. Educational materials such as newsletters, fact sheets and presentations are available online.
Healthy Children (American Academy of Pediatrics)
Description: This Website provides a list of resources, publications, and links for families on a variety of safety and child development topics.
Healthy Eating for Children 2 Through 5 Years Old: A Guide for Parents and Childcare Providers
Author: Serrano, Elena (4 more by this author); Danielle Parra, Shelly Nickols-Richardson
Description: This publication covers different topics that are of interest to parents and caregivers of young children and gives an overview of healthy eating and feeding practices. Proper nutrition and opportunities to play and be physically active are critical to ensure that your child grows properly and adopts healthy behaviors for lifelong health.
Healthy Weights for Healthy Kids: What Should I Do if My Child Is Overweight?
Author: Serrano, Elena (4 more by this author); Kathryn Branstad
Description: This publication provides information to parents on children who are overweight. It explains how to know if a child is overweight, concerns for overweight children, and what parents can do to help. It includes suggestions on how often to eat, what types of food to eat, and how to includes physical activities into their day.
Healthy Weights for Healthy Kids: What is a Healthy Weight?
Author: Serrano, Elena (4 more by this author); Kathryn Branstad
Description: This publication provides information to parents on weight and children. It provides information on guidelines for a healthy weight, how to know if a child is overweight, and what parents can do to help. It includes brief information on what foods to eat and how to include physical activities in their day.
Healthy Weights for Healthy Kids: What Should I Do if My Child Has a Poor Body Image?
Author: Serrano, Elena (4 more by this author); Kathryn Branstad
Description: This publication provides information to parents on children who may have a poor body image. Body image is how a person views him- or herself in the mirror and in his or her mind. It can change over time. A body image-positive or negative—can affect a person’s sense of worth or self-esteem.
It discusses the importance of body image, symptoms of eating disorders, and what parents can do to help.
Helping Children Cope With Loss, Death, and Grief: Tips for Teachers and Parents
Description: This fact sheet from the National Association of School Psychologists provides tips for understanding and supporting children who have experienced the trauma of death and loss. How school personnel and families handle the resulting distress can help shape the immediate and longer-term grieving process for students, staff, and families.
It includes information on common expressions of grief, how to help children to cope, developmental phases in understanding death, and tips for children and teens with grieving friends and classmates. Additional resources are also provided.
Description: This article discusses nature and children provides an overview on how children have become disconnected from nature. It includes information on how adults can provide opportunities for children to learn to love being outdoors interacting with nature.
Helping Children Overcome Fears
Author: Goetze, Giselle; Judith Myers-Walls
Description: This publication created by Purdue Extension explores children's fears. The goal of this publication is to help you understand the fears of children. It may also provide ideas you can use to help your children deal with their fears. Children will outgrow many of their fears, but you can help make the process quicker and more pleasant.
The publication includes typical types of fears by age and how to cope with those fears. It also includes parent resources.
Household Food Insecurity: Serious Concerns for Child Development
Author: Fiese, Barbara (1 more by this author); Craig Gundersen,; Brenda Koester; LaTesha Washington
Description: This Social Policy Report provides an overview of the measurement of
food security during childhood, consequences to child development, public and private food assistance programs and their effectiveness, and recommendations to researchers and policy makers. Policy recommendations focus on addressing gaps in private and public food assistance programs, addressing persistent poverty, and the role of developmental scientists in advancing research-to-policy on the consequences of food insecurity for child development.
Description: This brochure from National Asthma Education and Prevention Program provides a checklist for parents and guardians to use when checking out child care programs. The checklist helps you determine if the child care setting is supportive of children with asthma. Resource information is also provided.
It is also available in Spanish also at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/lung/asthma/chc_ck-s.htm.
How Asthma-Friendly Is Your School?
Description: This brochure from National Asthma Education and Prevention Program provides a checklist for parents and guardians to use when checking out the schools their children attend. The checklist helps you determine if the school setting is supportive of children with asthma. Resource information is also provided.
InBrief: The Foundations of Lifelong Health Are Built in Early Childhood
Description: This edition of the InBrief series provides a concise summary of findings from the report.
The knowledge base summarized in this document presents a compelling rationale for fundamentally rethinking the health dimension of early childhood policy. A vital and productive society with a prosperous and sustainable future is built on a foundation of healthy child development. Health in the earliest years—beginning with the future mother’s well-being before she becomes pregnant—lays the groundwork for a lifetime of vitality.
Just for Kids: Asthma & Allergy
Description: The section for children on the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) website has games, puzzles, videos and more to help children learn about managing their allergies and asthma.
If you are a parent, you will appreciate this section as well.
Description: The International Food Information Council, along with 5 partner
organizations, has launched an educational, interactive web site designed
to teach kids and their families how to stay active and lose weight in
order to live healthier lives.
Author: Louv, Richard
Description: This article discusses nature and children and includes information on how businesses and the community can help provide opportunities for children to learn to love being outdoors interacting with nature.
Let's Get Moving! - Cold-weather activities to keep kids moving
Description: This web article focuses on activities that can be done with children during the cold winter months. Ideas to get started and tips are included. Activity suggestions are included for different age groups.
Author: Levine, Karen
Description: This brochure discusses how children may react to the deployment of family members or other crisis that may come up. Lists behaviors you might see and strategies you can use to support your children.
Also available in html at http://main.zerotothree.org/site/DocServer/handout.pdf/700245522?docID=2381&verID=1.
Managing Communicable Diseases in Child Care Settings
Description: There are a number of steps providers and staff of child care homes and centers can take to prevent or reduce the incidents of illness among children and adults in the child care setting. This handbook from the Dept. of Human Services in Michigan outlines what child care programs can do to prevent illness.
Maternal Depression Can Undermine the Development of Young Children
Description: This brief summarizes evidence on the potentially far-reaching harmful effects of chronic and severe maternal depression on families and children. When children grow up in an environment of mental illness, the development of their brains may be seriously weakened, with implications for their ability to learn as well as for their own later physical and mental health. This report examines why the continuing failure to address the consequences of depression for large numbers of vulnerable, young children presents a missed opportunity to help families and children in a way that could support the future prosperity and well-being of society as a whole.
Description: The MEDLINEplus Web site provides information about a variety of health and medical information. Visit this site to find drug information, look up a medical term, or find a doctor or hospital. A "Health Topics" area is also included. View the Spanish version from a link on the home page.
Pets in Childcare Settings and Schools
Description: If you choose to have an animal in the childcare or school setting, follow the listed guidelines to decrease the risk of spreading disease. Check with your local health department or childcare licensing agency before bringing any pets to your childcare setting or school because there may be state and/or local regulations that must be followed.
Physical Activities and Healthy Snacks for Young Children
Description: Physical Activities and Healthy Snacks for Young Children is a set of cards developed for caregivers that give specific ideas for nearly 50 physical activities and healthy snacks. Each snack card has a coordinated snack menu with serving sizes listed for a CACFP preschool snack. The snack cards include a suggested literacy connection for each recipe. There are corresponding physical activity ideas with directions that include a formation diagram, description to help set up the activity, instructions on how to play, a plan for use and age expectations for the activity.
Preventing Sports Injuries In Kids And Teens
Description: This fact sheet discusses how to prevent sports injuries in children. With children’s sports-related injuries continuing to rise nationwide to more than 3.5 million annually, keeping kids healthy is a top priority for parents, schools and sports leagues. Despite the plethora of protective gear kids now wear for practices or games, their developing bodies are still vulnerable to injury.
Promote Health and Safety in Infant/Toddler Child Care
Author: Schumacher, Rachel (10 more by this author)
Description: This publication discusses the need to promote health and safety in infant and toddler child care. Research shows that provider and caregiver training specific to the health and safety needs of young children can be effective, particularly when paired with follow-up, supports, and monitoring.
Promoting Peace and Tolerance in Children: Tips for Parents and Schools
Description: This article from the National Association of School Psychologists provides tips for supporting children after acts of violence have occurred, either to them or to others. How school personnel and families handle the resulting distress can help shape the immediate and longer-term grieving process for students, staff, and families.
A natural reaction to horrific acts of violence like school shootings and terrorist attacks is the desire to lash out and punish the perpetrators. People who are angry or frightened often feel that the ability to “fight back” puts them more in control or will alleviate their sense of pain. While anger is a normal response felt by many, we must ensure that we do not compound an already tragic situation and react against innocent individuals with vengeance and intolerance. There is a tremendous risk of unfairly stigmatizing people—in this country and around the world— who may look like “our perceived enemies,” because of their apparent race, language, religion, the way they dress, etc.
It includes tips for families and schools.
Regaining Family Time for Overscheduled Kids
Author: Wiley, Angela (2 more by this author)
Description: Children on the go at a frantic pace is common for many families. This article suggests ways to keep the family unit active without causing that undue stress of going in different directions.
Safe Sleep Practices and SIDS/Suffocation Risk Reduction
Description: The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Public Health Association, and the National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education have released Safe Sleep Practices and SIDS/Suffocation Risk Reduction (2012). The document describes 27 nationally recognized standards on safe sleep and reducing the risk of sudden infant death syndrome and suffocation in child care and early education settings. The standards are taken from Caring for Our Children: National Health and Safety Performance Standards; Guidelines for Early Care and Education Programs (3rd Ed., 2011).
Also available in html at http://nrckids.org/SPINOFF/SAFESLEEP/SafeSleep.html.
Sanitation and Health: Making the Connection
Description: The North Carolina Child Care Health and Safety Bulletin focuses on sanitation issues in child care; cleaning, sanitizing, disinfecting, use of water play, buckling up, and air quality.
Sanitize Safely and Effectively: Bleach and Alternatives in Child Care Programs
Description: The fact sheet from California Childcare Health Program describes the importance of cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting toys, utensils, and surfaces in child care program. It includes directions for making bleach water and the uses of alternatives for sanitation.
Shirts and Stuff for Sun Safety
Author: Stone, Janis (6 more by this author)
Description: This brochure describes the effect of being out in the sun and ways to protect yourself from the sun. It also provides some general information UV exposure.
Soft Bedding May Be Hazardous To Babies (La Ropa de Cama Puede Ser Peligrosa Para los Bebés)
Description: This safety alert from the Consumer Product Safety Commission explains safe bedding practices for infants under 12 months. The CPSC recommends that infants be put to sleep with no soft bedding of any kind because the bedding can become molded around the infant's face and cause suffocation. Also available in Spanish as "La Ropa de Cama Puede Ser Peligrosa Para los Bebés" at http://www.cpsc.gov//PageFiles/125155/softbeds.pdf.
Stepping Stones to Caring for Our Children, 3rd Edition
Description: This resource presents 138 essential standards intended to reduce the rate of morbidity and mortality in child care and early education settings. It was developed with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American Public Health Association (APHA). It includes new and updated standards including safe sleep, handling and feeding of human milk, introduction of solid foods to infants, monitoring children’s development, unimmunized children, preventing expulsions, and availability of drinking water.
Summer Safety Tips for Kids and Families
Description: This website contains information on these safety topics, sun protection, heat stress in exercising children, water safety, playground safety, bicycle and other wheeled vehicles safety.
Available in Spanish at http://www.state.nj.us/dcf/documents/news/publications/SummerSpan.pdf.
Sweet Dreams: Thinking about Sleep
Author: Belinda, Christine
Description: This family newsletter provides information on sleep and sleep problems in kids. Ahh…sleep…something many of us would like more of. We know sleep is important, but what does sleep mean to healthy child development? Sleep experts have built a strong case for including sleep as an integral part of understanding healthy child development. Additional resources provided with article.
Author: Pica, Rae
Description: This web article provides an overview of why it's important that children spend time outside. It discusses how outdoor play contributes to learning, teaches children to appreciate nature, and includes some suggestions for activities outdoors.
Talking with Kids About Health
Description: PBS has posted this Web site with dozens of links regarding issues of Health and Safety. This Web site provides informative pieces that will aid in parent's knowledge of health and saftey practices for their children.
Teaching a Child to Become Independent with Daily Routines
Description: The Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL) has published a new Family Tool to help family members and caregivers understand what self-help skills can be expected from young children and to provide tips for helping children learn how to become more independent with daily routines.
Teaching Your Child To: Identify and Express Emotions
Description: The Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL) has published a new Family Tool to help family members and caregivers help their children understand and express their emotions.
Understanding emotions is a critical part of children’s overall development. It is up to adults to teach children to understand and deal with their emotions in appropriate ways.
The Loss of Children’s Play: A Public Health Issue
Description: This policy brief describes the loss of children's play as a public health issue. It outlines the health issues at stake and provides facts about what the impact is in providing opportunities for children to "play".
Description: The TAPP is a self-reflective inventory for staff in early childhood settings. Use the reflection to think about supporting active physical play for children, ages 24 months through five years old.
The inventory can be found at http://www.childcaremapp.org/02activeplay/downloads/tapp/short_form.pdf.
Author: Bohling, Vicki; Cindy Saarela; Dana L. Miller
Description: This study explored the skills young children developed in an intentionally designed outdoor classroom as they engaged with a variety of natural materials. The results of this study will be helpful to policy makers and funding entities as decisions and dollars are applied to children's programming and the design of children‟s environments.
Description: This nursery equipment safety checklist is based on information from the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Safety checklists for back carriers, bassinets and cradles, bath rings, changing tables, carrier seats, cribs, crib and other toys, gates, high chairs, hook on chairs, pacifiers, playpens, strollers, toy chests, and walkers are included in this comprehensive fact sheet.
Using a Portable Crib or Play Yard? Do You Know How Safe It Is?
Description: According to an estimate by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), there are 20,000,000 unsafe cribs/play yards either in use or in storage. It's important that parents and other care givers check for safety before putting a baby into a portable crib or play yard. Use this checklist to determine the safety of portable cribs and play yards (mesh cribs).
Author: Rogers, Fred (20 more by this author)
Description: This article is excerpted from “The Mister Rogers Parenting Book” the last book Fred Rogers worked on before his death in 2003. In this book he wanted to support parents in their most important work of parenting and to help them better understand their young children.
The information focuses on toilet or potty training. It includes information on signs of readiness, accidents, having patience, and helpful hints.
Water Play Safety: Under the Microscope
Author: Bush, Gayle
Description: Understanding how water illnesses can spread during water play and other activities is a first step to keeping young children and caregivers healthy. Water can be used for a number of fun activities with more than one child using the same water.
What to Expect and When to Seek Help: A Bright Futures Developmental Tool for Families and Providers
Description: Based on Bright Futures in Practice: Mental Health, the four developmental tools offer a framework for providers and families to begin a conversation together about how best to support healthy social and emotional development of children and teens. The tools gently encourage families who have any questions or concerns about their child's development to "check it out" and offer a number of tips for when, where, and how to seek help through local, state, or national resources.
Tools are available in download in PDF for Infancy, Early Childhood, Middle Childhood, and Adolescence.
When the Bough Breaks: The Effects of Homelessness on Young Children
Author: McCoy-Roth, Marci; David Murphey; Bonnie B. Mackintosh
Description: This brief highlights the effects of homelessness on children, with a particular emphasis on young children, and notes several policies and practices that could help mitigate negative outcomes.
Author: Veselack, Ellen; Dana L. Miller; Lisa Cain-Chang
Description: This research focuses specifically on preschool-age children’s skill development in outdoor environments, such as intentionally designed Nature Explore Classrooms.
Author: Miller, Dana; Joyce White; Kathy Tichota
Description: This white paper describes research documenting key learning that is occurring for young children when they are engaged in authentic play in a Nature Explore Classroom. It also describes the commitment teachers and administrators have made to provide an intentionally designed outdoor space with a variety of rich, natural materials that children can explore daily with their whole bodies and multiple senses.
– Professional Development –
Description: This newsbrief provides facts on how to ensure access to healthy and safe child care. It describes changes that need to be made in order to improve the health and safety of child care programs in the U.S.
– Programming Resource –
Achieving a State of Healthy Weight: 2011 NRC Update
Description: This update reports the status of the states’ child care licensing regulations as of December 31, 2011 to National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education. The complete data set consists of core 2010 ratings (plus the adjusted 2010 ratings for Virginia), modified to reflect additional or revised regulations enacted January 1 -December 31, 2011 for Arizona, Arkansas, and North Dakota. For each of the 47 study variables, each state is assigned up to three final ratings (one per child care type the state regulates), for a total of 6,920 ratings in 2011.
Findings of the NRC’s national assessment may inform policy makers in identifying content areas within childhood obesity prevention that merit targeted strategies. Detailed findings for individual states may facilitate review of regulations and inform priorities for planning desired improvements of related regulations
Description: In the brochure "Back to Sleep, Tummy to Play," you will learn about the importance of tummy time, how much tummy time infants should have, and answers to sleep practices and tummy time questions. The brochure also provides contacts to National SIDS resources. Remember…Back to Sleep, Tummy to Play.
Description: This Web site was created to answer kids' questions about health, safety and physical fitness. Kids can make a fitness plan and calendar, learn about fitness activities and explore a variety of health topics. There is also an area for teachers with health and science activities.
Description: This website provides health and safety performance standards for all types of programs that provide child care for children outside of their own home. Topics covered include staffing, ratios, activities for healthy development, health promotion, nutrition and food service, facilities, infectious disease, children with special needs, administration recommendations, and licensing.
Can view manual online by chapter or download a copy or order a copy through mail.
Description: This is the Web site for Healthy Child Care magazine. Visit to review articles from the magazine or learn more about subscribing. You do not need to be a subscriber to access many of the articles on this site.
Description: This is the Web site for the Centers for Disease Control Kids Walk-to School program. Kids Walk-to-School is intended to increase children's physical activity by encouraging them to walk or ride their bikes to school accompanied by adults. It also encourages community safety partnerships. The site has information on a variety of health topics such as obesity and nutrition and also contains materials to start the program in a community.
National Center for Health Statistics: Fast Stats
Description: This part of the NCES website has statistics by state and topic on health issues.
Preventing Childhood Obesity in Early Care and Education Programs
Description: These selected standards from new comprehensive Caring for Our Children: National Health and Safety Performance Standards; Guidelines for Early Care and Education Programs, highlight the new set of national standards describing evidence-based best practices in nutrition, physical activity, and screen time for early care and education programs. The standards are for ALL types of early care and education settings ? centers and family child care homes. The standards are part of a comprehensive movement to decrease childhood obesity.
Also available in Spanish at http://nrckids.org/CFOC3/PDFVersion/preventing_obesity.pdf.
Washing Your Hands/Lavado de Manos
Description: This printable poster gives the step-by-step instructions to proper handwashing. The poster shows pictures, as well as describes, the currently recommended handwashing technique. This poster is written in English on one side and Spanish on the other side.
– Research –
The Foundations of Lifelong Health Are Built in Early Childhood
Description: The knowledge base summarized in this document presents a compelling rationale for fundamentally rethinking the health dimension of early childhood policy. A vital and productive society with a prosperous and sustainable future is built on a foundation of healthy child development. Health in the earliest years—beginning with the future mother’s well-being before she becomes pregnant—lays the groundwork for a lifetime of vitality. When developing biological systems are strengthened by positive early experiences, children are more likely to thrive and grow up to be healthy adults. Sound health also provides a foundation for the construction of sturdy brain architecture and the achievement of a broad range of skills and learning capacities.
The National Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health
Description: This is the Web site of the National Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health (NCEMCH). NCEMCH is focused on providing education, program development and research knowledge to improve the health and well-being of the nation's children and families.