Transcript Creating Safe Environments

Creating Safe
Environments
Things to Consider:
The
Type of Environment
The Age of the Children
The Surrounding Community
Family Environment
The Type of Environment
 Child
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Care Centers
Single-Use facilities
Sole purpose: to provide a safe environment
May be shared spaces (i.e. corporate child
care, university preschool rooms)
 Family
Child Care Homes
 In-Home Child Care
The Age of Children in Care
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Infants
- At first, not mobile. Greatest risk is SIDS
- As motor development increases, so do risks
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Toddlers
- Most at risk for dangerous situations
- Exploring environments, but don’t have cognitive abilities to
understand cause and effect
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Preschoolers
- May not perceive risk when it is present
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School-Aged
- Most injuries relate to sports activities
Multi-Age Groups
- Modify to fit the youngest child’s developmental abilities
The Community Surrounding Child Care
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A holistic approach considers the community as well
Be aware of liabilities surrounding the premises
- violence
- traffic
- animals
The Child’s Family Environment
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If the child is safe to explore at home, will also explore at
the child care environment
In some families, safety is not addressed. Those
children will need help understanding why it is important.
Child custody is often an issue from home that must be
addressed by the child care provider
Injury Prevention Management
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. ABC’s of Childhood Injuries
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Accessory – Helps explain how the injury happened
(ex- physical and environmental hazards)
Behavior – Helps to explain why an injury occurred.
• This section is MOST responsible for the injury!
• Teachers MUST be knowledgeable of children’s
developmental levels (Piaget’s stages) to help prevent
injuries
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Condition – Indicates the circumstances surrounding
the injury (ex-types of injuries, time, etc.)
View Table 1-4 on page 45 for a further look!
Constructing a Safety Plan for
Child Care
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Anticipation
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Children’s behavior
Conditions that contribute to injury
Suggestions: checklists, room-by-room inspection
Modifications
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Teach & exhibit protective and preventative practices
Teaching tools to promote behavior change
• Feedback
• Modeling
• Role Playing
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Monitoring – This is an ongoing process!
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Observe whether negative practices have changed
Keep track of injury statistics (should decrease!)
Implications for Caregivers
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Role Modeling
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Children imitate adults
View Table 1-6 on page 53
Education
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Safety education for children, parents, and staff
Observations
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Regular, scheduled observations
Checklists
Supervision
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Constant
Plenty- Your safest ratios may be less than state’s guidelines!
Consider individual behaviors here
VIDEO
This might be one way to educate your
parents and staff. You also may be able to
find child-friendly videos on safe behaviors
at your local public library.
Indoor Safety Policies
Indoor Risks Include:
*highlighted text are the most common accidents in
children
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Choking
 Interpersonal violence
 Poisoning
 Burns
 Lead Poisoning
 Falls
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Child’s behavior based on
developmental levels
Physical Levels
Emotional Health
Drowning
Indoor Risk Management Process
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Indoor Child Care Environments
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Indoor Equipment Safety
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Indoor safety practices and applications as they apply
to a specific child care environment.
Practices for preventing and managing indoor
equipment.
Toy Safety
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Selecting toys, removing unsafe toys and preventing
injuries as a result of toys.
Indoor Risk Management Process
Cont.
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Interpersonal Safety
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Interpersonal safety and conflict management for
children
Poison Control
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Prevention and protection for children.
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Fire and Burn Prevention
 Implications for Caregivers
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Methods for conducting education, supervision,
observation and outside resources for caregivers.
Environmental Hazards
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Ventilation
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Pet or Animals
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Should be friendly and healthy.
Children should always wash their hands afterwards.
No turtles, parrots, or lizards that are handled by children
because of diseases.
Cleaning and Other Supplies
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Children inhale 2-3 times more air than adults
Kept where children cannot reach them.
Marked with poison sign (if able, children should be taught this
sign).
Safety Devices
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Wall sockets should be covered.
Reachable drawers and cabinets should be latched shut.
Safety gates on stairways.
Developmental Levels
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Infants
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Toddlers
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Particularly at risk for choking on small objects.
They can come up with new ways of solving
problems, but can’t understand cause and effect.
*Always watch them and anticipate hazards!
Preschoolers
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At risk for indoor falls.
Can help you monitor for indoor hazards.
Space
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Should be able to
 Should have space to
move equipment
separate play areas.
around without
 Barriers that separate
competing for space
space should also
with other children.
allow adults to see
 50 sq. ft. of space for
children at all times.
child when furnishings  Space should be
are included.
arranged according to
 Adequate floor space
interest areas.
is a must.
Indoor Equipment Safety
“Equipment used in child care shall be sturdy and free of
sharp points or corners, splinters, protruding nails or bolts,
loose rusty parts, hazardous small parts, or paint that
contains lead.” (APHA and AAP, 2002)
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Preventing Falls
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Falls are one of the most common injuries related to indoor equipment.
A child’s changing abilities to move about and manipulate the
environment are major contributors to causing safety risks for children.
Infants: changing tables can be the cause of an infant’s fall if they’re left
unattended, even with a safety strap. Walkers are tested but cause
more injuries than any other infant equipment. The American Academy
of Pediatrics recommends against their use.
Toddlers: discouraging climbing on furniture and other equipment helps
prevent risk. Also using safety devices like window guards can help.
Preschoolers: are coordinated enough and fast enough to do almost
any physical activity. Use only safe, sturdy equipment that is in good
repair.
Indoor Water Safety
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Water safety is a consideration in the use of indoor
equipment. Drowning can occur in a relatively small
amount of water (i.e. a bucket of water left out)
 Toilets, tubs, and sinks pose a risk. Keep the toilet lid
down or the area should have a door that shuts.
 Hot water faucets also pose a risk. They can cause
burns by scalding. Never leave the child unattended
around hot water faucets.
 Toilets and water tables may also carry germs that put
children at risk. Children should be taught to wash their
hands after using the toilet or playing at the water table.
Toy Safety
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Choking and suffocation are major hazards to young
children who still mouth things like toys, food, and small
objects.
 Ensuring that small toys and other objects are too large
for mouthing is important ( see table 2-5)
 Age appropriateness is one of the most important tools
for removing hazardous toys.
 Some art supplies can be hazardous like if the child
inhales lead or another dangerous substance and
mouthing the various materials used for art.
 Children should be instructed in how to use these items
properly.
Interpersonal Safety
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Injuries to children by other children like biting, kicking,
scratching, and fighting are common.
Caregivers need to know strategies for eliminating that
behavior and utilizing conflict resolution.
Of all the common injuries by other children, biting is the
most upsetting. Why might children bite? (see table 2-9
for more info)
When children are angry, tired, or upset they may resort
to behaviors that reflect their exposure to the violence in
our society.
Research has shown that children who have witnessed
or been direct victims of violence can suffer from
Posttraumatic Stress disorder. This can be displayed by
reliving violence in play. Children who do this may need
special help.
Strategies to Promote Positive
Interaction
 Caregiver
awareness of unsafe behaviors
is the primary tool for safety promotion and
prevention of injury in interpersonal
relations among the children.
 Children learn best when appropriate
behavior is modeled for them.
 For strategies to promote positive
interpersonal safety see table 2-10
2.6 Poison Control
 The
majority poisoning accidents
happen in the home, but childcare
providers still need to be especially
careful of hazardous products.
 The primary means of controlling
poisoning accidents is through
prevention.
Ways to Prevent Poisoning
Accidents:
 Removal
of hazardous products.
 Proper storage of necessary hazardous
products.
 Proper supervision of students at ALL
times.
 Minimum use of poisonous materials.
Poisoning Can Occur in 5 Ways:
 Ingestion
 Contact
 Inhalation
 Animal,
insect, reptile bite
 Injection
2.7 Fire and Burn Prevention
 Fire
is dangerous for children b/c they are
naturally curious & not aware of the
danger
 Strategies for prevention:
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Educate children about accidents caused by fire
(include fire safety, discuss matches & lighters, and
stop, drop and roll).
Store all fire materials out of children’s reach.
Model appropriate behaviors if using fire.
Implications
 Be
observant and supervise children at
ALL times.
 Educate yourself, staff, students AND
parents to ensure safety.
 Inspect each environment kids are
exposed to and consider the
developmental level of each child and the
effect that has on the precautions taken.
Safety Policies:
Why do we need them?
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“Children are natural risk takers who attempt
actions for which they may lack the skills” (p.29)
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Developmental factors limit children’s cognitive,
physical and emotional abilities, thus making
them more vulnerable to injury.
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Policies help caregivers manage risk, provide
protection and promote safety.
Designing a Safety Policy
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Policies should be developed and directed toward the
children and staff.
Questions to Ask
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What needs to be done?
- Get ideas from local and state regulations and
mandates
- i.e. child abuse policies
What process will be followed?
- When and where and action should be performed
- View environment through eyes of a child to find safety
hazards and create checklists that will offer maximum
protection
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Who is responsible for making sure the process of
followed?
- Depends on the setting
- You must clearly define who is responsible so that the
policy does not go un-enforced.
Are there any time perimeters or limitations?
- Should be clearly written and include guidelines,
limitations and suggested methods of communication
to be used.
Safety Policies should incorporate the four major
goals of high-quality child care:
Maximizing Health Status
Minimizing Risk
Using Education as a tool
Recognizing the importance of guidelines (pg. 31)