In this video, you will learn about how one caregiver promotes active and healthy lifestyles for the children in her care and their families. Healthy environments include engaging in activities that promote well-being: Planning balanced and nutritious meals, shopping for ingredients, cooking together, walking and exercising together, playing together, and keeping each other motivated and committed to making healthy choices and keeping an active lifestyle.Ĭlick on the link below to watch this video from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Family members can set a great example for the children and the rest of the adults in their families by promoting healthy environments at home. We all need to establish and maintain healthy habits. Encouraging Family Involvement: A Lifetime of Wellness You should also invite the families to share concerns or ask you questions. As a caregiver, you should learn as much as possible about the child and his or her particular needs, as well as accommodations that the family finds successful.
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When it comes to families of children with special needs, communication with families is essential. As a caring and resourceful professional, be flexible and think of alternative ways to positively engage with each child’s family.Įstablishing and maintaining collaborative relationships between families and caregivers promotes children’s optimum learning and growth. Along the same lines, you should also be sensitive with your choice of materials for sensory activities, as some materials, for example food items (e.g., rice or beans), may hold significant cultural value for some families and should not be used for play. For example, while you may highly value independence in young children and therefore think that it is important to let children eat on their own so they can become independent, families of children in your care may value interdependence and favor adults helping children with eating, which helps establish and promote relationships. While you may have certain opinions about what children should or should not do in your child care home, it is important to be considerate of families and try to understand and honor a point of view that may be different from yours. At the same time, it is also very important to be sensitive to families’ values, backgrounds, beliefs, cultural practices, and traditions as they relate to young children’s skill development and independence. Children usually master several of these self-help skills by the end of the preschool years.Īs a family child care provider, it is important to help families understand the significance of children’s participation in these activities for their physical and overall development and well-being. While some children can accomplish these self-care skills independently, some will require help from adults, especially when it comes to tasks that involve small muscles, such as buttoning small buttons, tying shoes, or using a fork and a knife to cut food. In their homes, many children perform self-care tasks such as dressing themselves, cleaning up their toys and books, brushing their teeth, bathing, using the bathroom, eating with utensils, and making their own beds.
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Participating in these activities enables children to take better care of themselves and to take on simple household responsibilities. Just as preschoolers move around to explore their indoor and outdoor environments, play with toys, manipulate different materials, eat, use the bathroom, or help clean up after themselves in their child care setting, they engage in similar tasks at home with their families. Several preschool motor activities resemble tasks that young children may also perform at home. Supporting Family Involvement: Personal and Family Life Skills Families can assume critical roles when it comes to establishing and fostering healthy habits that will last a lifetime. Physical activity habits are established early in children’s lives. Physical activity and movement are essential parts of the learning, growth and development of young children, and caregivers and families can join forces to promote active lifestyles.
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In the same way that caregivers support families in fostering their children’s physical development and overall wellness, families can support caregivers in planning, implementing and monitoring programs that promote wellness. Know Involving Families in Children’s Physical DevelopmentĬonsidering that families generally have the largest impact upon young children’s development, it is critical that they are actively involved in efforts that promote their children’s wellness, active lifestyles, and overall physical development.