Week Nine Overview
Health, Safety, and Nutrition are such important topics we devote an entire class to these topics. This week we will touch the surface of all three topics. Your text does a great job of outlining some very important points and the California Preschool Program Guidelines also devotes attention to these topics.
In the state of California, the Department of Social Services Links to an external site. oversees basic health and safety guidelines for child care centers.
"The core mission of the Child Care Licensing Program is to ensure the health and safety of children in care. The Child Care Licensing Program strives to provide preventive, protective, and quality services to children in care by ensuring that licensed facilities meet established health and safety standards through monitoring facilities, providing technical assistance, and establishing partnerships with providers, parents, and the child care community. "
We consider licensing regulations to be the floor of care, in that they regulate basic health and safety. High quality programs usually exceed the licensing standards. When families enroll their children in care, they are provided with a notice of parent's rights and children's rights. They recently developed a Parent's Guide to Choosing Child Care Links to an external site.. It is excellent and I suggest that you all read through it. ( There is a bonus extra credit quiz about the Parent's Guide at the end of this module).
Remember, when parents leave their children with you, it is with a deep trust that at the very least, you will keep their children safe and healthy!
Image courtesy of Pixaby.com