Wiki virtual child

It’s a BOY: Jahiem

THE VIRTUAL CHILD ASSIGNMENT

Teneasha B ECEP 103 March 2014

The Infant Years (0-4 Months)How does your baby’s physical, social/emotional and intellectual domains compare to the

developmental milestones patterns? Is it typical?

Developmental Domain

Answer(Your original

thoughts)

Prove It(Avoid Plagiarism)

Example(Avoid Plagiarism)

Physical

I think my virtual child’s physical development as an infant is typical. It is normal for babies to lose weight after birth and regain back their healthy baby weight back few weeks after birth. The importance of weight for a new born is high because it may lead to problems in growth and development. Proper nutrition in early days of birth is very essential.

The third factor affecting physical growth is nutrition, intake from the breast milk or formula is important, during infancy, especially when physical growth is so rapid. ( Kali pg. 114) If the infant is gaining weight slowly there are risks for developing physical or psychological problems. The brain is the fastest growing part in the body during the first years and it requires essential nutrients from breast milk or formula feedings to keep up. The body’s energy level is devoted on growth and 40 percent consists on that energy as early as 2 months old from the nutrition provided in meals. (Kali pg. 111

In the first week my virtual child lost weight from lack of eating, he wasn’t as hungry. Eventually he began feeding heartily and gained some weight back. (My Virtual Child)

Social / Emotional

My baby’s social /emotional domain is crying at night and loud intensive out bursts. Comparing my baby to the developmental milestones pattern his development is typical. The importance of crying being a sign of social and emotional in

“Cries (with tears) to communicate” (ages &

stages). The mother begins to lactate when the baby

cries because of the hormonal connection between the baby and

mother. Crying is the new born first attempts to

communicate with others. It is their verbal way of

trying to tell us something

My virtual baby is waking up during the night crying at night communicating that he is hungry, uncomfortable, wet or hurt. This is a way of trying to get parental attention, and have verbal communication with crying. My baby’s cry began to change being rhythmic and moderately


such young age is to identify the need of the infant from different types of cries and then caring for them in the correct way they want to be cared and building that understanding bond together.

if they were able to speak. There are differences in crying, a basic cry starts softly, then turns into a

more intense and usually occurs when the infant is hungry or tired; a mad cry

is more intense version of a basic cry; and a pain cry

begins with sudden, long burst of crying, followed by a long pause, and grasping. It does not matter the type of cry, every type captures the attention of parents.

(Kali pg.101)

loud when he is hungry, wet, or cold. If he is startled, there is a sudden intake of breathe and a loud wail, followed by more deep breathes and louder wails. (My Virtual Child)

Intellectual

I think my virtual child’s intellectual development is typical. He is able to hold both eyes in a fixed position and admires his surrounds, observing people and objects with his eyes. The importance I feel of these physical development is the growth of muscles, fats and bone having ability of being mobile and or develop healthy nutritional habits.

My virtual child visual development is similar to us adults, he can see things, scanning the environment and has ability to focus on nearby objects. Infants can distinguish different sounds and use sounds to judge the distance and location of object. Infants also can tell of perceptual constancies.(Kali pg. 136)

My virtual child shows more interest in his surroundings. He is smiling at familiar people and toys, is able to laugh at surprising or funny things, and is developing lots of cute little habits. He is a lot more curious about the world around him. My virtual child also has the ability to focus his eyes on my face, spending lots of time studying it and anyone else who comes close to him

The Infant Years (5-8 Months)


How does your baby’s physical, social/emotional and intellectual domains compare to the developmental milestones patterns? Is it typical?



thoughts)



Physical

I think in the ages between 5-8 months my virtual child is above typical physical development. He is a lot more active than the average infant growing development milestones for physical development. He is crawling and walking earlier than the average infant therefore he is more advanced in his physical ability.

According to the ages and stages child development handout it says that by 8 months the infant should be able to raise their arm and knees into the crawling position; and rock back and forth, but may not move forward. (Ages & stages) but my virtual child can do more than just roll over at 8 months.

My virtual baby is a very active crawler and is always moving, always on the go. He has been the curious type, wanting to know about the world around him since 3 months old.

Social / Emotional

I think my virtual baby is typical in social and emotional development. My virtual baby cries a lot when he is trying to communicate a sense of fear, sad or angry. In this case of separation he cries because he might have fear of me his mother not returning. But once I am out of the sight he usually calms down. The benefit of this attachment is that it

Showing mild server anxiety towards parent separation is normal for infants. (Ages & Stages). The mother and baby connect through a social and emotional relationship where the baby expresses an attachment called secure attachment; the baby cries when the mother departs but when she returns the baby wants to be with her. (Kali pg. 189)

When I drop my virtual baby off at daycare he is a little reluctant to part from me and starts to cry. After

I leave the premises he quickly gets over it. (My Virtual Child). My virtual

baby shows preference at 8 months old when having

to choose between me and my partner he goes for me (especially when distressed). (My Virtual

Child)


can help the child build a trusting relationship to others and not the mother or caregiver alone.

Intellectual

I think It is normal at this age to show

communication by babbles and expressive

talking through intellectual

development. I think my baby is in the typical stage of

develop when it comes to this area. Speech

begins with cooing at first which leads to babbling and then

turns into intonation.

A child perceiving their speech is the ability to learn a language and distinguish the basic speech sounds. The

building blocks of language are phonemes, use of

unique sounds that are joined together to create words. (Kali pg. 167) “the

appearance of intonation in babbling indicates a strong

link between perception and production of speech:

infants babbling is influenced by the

characteristics of the speech that they hear.(Kali

pg. 169)

My virtual baby at 8 months, started making

different sounds, to develop language skills

and communication skills. Babbling sounds and

strings of sounds that have the same intonations English sentences.(My

Virtual Child)

The Infant Years (9-12 Months)How does your baby’s physical, social/emotional and intellectual domains compare to the

developmental milestones patterns? Is it typical?



thoughts)



I think my virtual baby My virtual child having the The doctor’s report


Physical

is showing typical patterns for physical development. My baby is using his large motor skills to lift his arm and pull himself to standing position and his hands to pick up objects and throw them at far distance. Physical development in this age group is important for a baby transitioning from baby to toddler to have an ability to show use of large muscles in their legs and arms.

ability to hold an object and throw it using his gross motor skill is a maturity development. Within a little more to a year toddlers advance in postures and locomotion, with movement into an upright, standing position as infants who walks through the environment.( Kali pg. 126)To master walking, infants must acquire distinct skills of being able to stand upright, maintaining balance, stepping alternately, and using perceptual information to evaluate surfaces. (Kali pg. 128)

explains the developmental progress of baby. My baby is advanced in his gross and fine motor skill and enjoys crawling, pulling up to stand and

manipulating objects. My virtual baby enjoys

throwing his toys of his crib and watches what

happens after, a part of his physical activity and

mental energy level of the child. My baby is very active, highly active

children may sleep less, be more restless, and engage in more physical activity.

(My Virtual Child)

Social / Emotional

I think my virtual baby is showing typical patterns for social and emotional development. Crying to express his feelings and thoughts, whether it be angry, sad or unloved. Later at 12 months my baby began to show better development in social development, getting along with others. Social and emotional development is important because children can learn to develop negative relationships at a young age instead if he don’t help stir it into a

My virtual child is able to express his self of fear or anxiety towards strangers. (Ages & stages) When strangers come to visit, he starts to cry. If the person gets close he begins to cry as well. However after a while of comfort, manages to smile. “How wary an infant feels around strangers depends on number of factors”. (Kail pg. 182) stranger weariness relates to a very important concept in child development called, “attachment”. A child being weariness of a stranger or new person coming around gives a natural restraint against

In the report explaining the five dimensions of

temperament describes the baby’s behavior in

emotionality showing that my baby is highly emotional. Highly

emotional children may show more of everything (anger, joy, sadness) and

more fluctuation in moods to extend to reason for my virtual child to cry, being afraid of the new comer/

stranger. (My Virtual Child) The child started to show more progress in social development as he got older at the age of 12 months and gained a

closer relationship to the in- home baby sitter,


positive relationship. the child to wander away from the person. Eventually like my virtual child that habit leaves as they learn that stranger is caring and friendly. (Kali pg. 182)

Melody. He had ability to socializing with more than

one person outside the family.(“healthy

development”, Lisa Week 1)

Intellectual

I think my baby’s intellectual development is typical at 9-12 months old. He is pronouncing words and has a clear understanding of what the actual object is. He is using his fine motor skill by pointing to the object in sight. The importance of intellectual development in this stage is having the ability to communicate and use language and physical movement to convey a message to the caregiver.

At 9 months old my virtual baby began to show

understanding of a few words and pointing.

Growing to 12 months he shows a lot more

understanding to a dozen words and I able to point

to the objects asking questions. He even

pronounced his first word at the age of 12 months. (Ages & stages) the baby

expresses language developmental domains

with clear communication skills using his lips, ears, and speaking ability to

understand. Children learn from experiences, learning can come from imitation

as well. Watching the way the parent or caregiver behaves, for example

mommy waves her hand when she says bye-bye and

say the words, and the toddler will repeat in

imitation.(Kali pg. 163)

An intellectual development example from my virtual child is the expansion in words. (My Virtual Child) My virtual baby has learned more words to add to his vocabulary, by 12 months through imitation and actions. He is a lot more interested and paying close attention to conversations. (ages & stages)

The Toddler Years (2 Years old)How is your child progressing based on typical toddler development?

Give specific examples in the areas of Physical, Social / Emotional and Intellectual domains.




thoughts)



Physical

I think my virtual baby is showing typical patterns for physical development. My virtual child’s independence level is growing, physically, he beginning to show signs that he does not need a hand in help any more with certain things.

At the age of 2 years old my virtual child began to show he is ready to do

things on his own. According to the ages and stages booklet my virtual child is showing typical

signs to be independent. (Ages & stages). Toddlers

like to be independent and doing things for

themselves is a part of learning. Toddlers are

surer of themselves and of what they can do as they

grow. (Ages &stages)

An example of physical development for my virtual child at the age of 2 years old he doesn’t seem to need a lot of support and guidance to get basic things done, such as putting on his slippers.(My Virtual Child)

Social / Emotional

My virtual child is continuing to build on his communication. I think my virtual child is typical in social and emotional development for his age, he prefers to play with boys but gets along with girls. Communicating with the parents he likes to imitate me. My virtual child throws up tantrums when he doesn’t get things to go his way.

My virtual child is beginning to develop a change in behavior with frequent tantrums because of his temperament. His temperament allows him to change his mood style. “For example, all babies become upset occasionally and cry”. (Kali pg. 201) temperament is linked to school success, good peer relations, and compliance with parents. (Kali pg. 205). Scientist follow Thomas and chess’s lead in looking for links between children with temperament problems and the results of development and they discovered that temperament is influenced

An example of social and emotional development for my virtual child is that when he is around other children he is somewhat hesitant in large groups of children. He first watches at an angle then joins afterwards enjoying playtime with the group of children, smiling and imitating each other. His communication skills have gotten better, but has difficulty understanding other people’s perspectives. My virtual child is capable of frequent tantrums, when I wanted my child to put on his jacket before heading outside to play since the weather is cold he said,


by development. Temperament also influences children’s behavior towards other people. (Kali pg.205)

NO! And threw a temper tantrum.(My Virtual Child)

Intellectual

My virtual child scored in the above average range test of language comprehension. I think he is atypical above, because he I able to use his cognitive skills and communicating skills. His communication skills are growing by leaps and bounds, he is able to speak 3-4 word sentences and his vocabulary has been expanding great because of his intense desire to learn more.

According to the ages and stages booklet a child at the norm of typical intellectual development should be able to use 2-3 word sentences. But my virtual child uses 3-4 word sentences when communicating. (Ages & stages). “When the ability to produce sound is coupled with the 1-year-old’s advanced ability to perceive speech sounds.” (kali pg.170),

An example of intellectual development for my virtual child is when he uses complete and grammatically mature sentences in a conversation. He is good at solving problems that he actually plans out in his head. For example, How to get a toy or other objects hidden or out of reach. (My Virtual Child)


The Infant years (Birth to 18 Months Old)

Identify specific health and safety considerations that you will have to consider during the infant years.

How will you address these issues? (Use the APE strategy)

Universal Practices

A) Universal practices are health and safety precautions consisting of Hygiene practices, Hand washing, Toileting Routine, Cleaning and sanitizing. It is important in a high quality childcare program to keep the health status of children and the environment protected from germs and diseases. Following these precautions will ensure the health and safety standard are always met.

P) Hygiene practices involve the simple hand wash and diapering an infant. Keeping on top of the effective hand washing reduces illness of children and educators. It also includes having infection control, hand washing reduces the spread of infections in programs. (Pimento pg. 129) the most common way to allow germs to enter in our bodies is through our mouth, from everything we touch. Children touch and share everything in a program from personal objects to toys and food you name it. It is difficult to see these germs even though we know they are there. “But if we pay particular attention to when and how we wash our hands, we accomplish the most significant practice in infection control. Participating in physical contact activities helps build a greater chance of the germs being exposed. To prevent this, it is important that educators and parents wash their hand immediately after each activity and before beginning a new one. Five important components in hand-washing routine are running water, soap, friction, drying hands, and turning off the taps. (Pimento pg.130)

E) My virtual child did not experience any illness based on germs or infections. However an example of proper


Hygiene practice would be after changing the virtual child’s diaper or breast feeding and transition from one environment to another, the proper use of hand washing and keeping the area clean that I am around would be a positive way to prevent germs from spreading and not create an infectious atmosphere for my baby.

Immunization

A) Immunizations records is an important piece information needed to have in a daycare setting and more importantly on record at the doctor’s office. Immunization (or vaccination) protects people from disease by introducing a vaccine into the body that triggers an antibody response as if you had been exposed to a disease naturally. (Immunize Canada) It is an important health practice that educators and children must implement to reduce the spread of infections.

P) Immunization is one of the most important ways of promoting the health of children. (Pimento pg. 123) without these immunizations, children are susceptible to infections. Doctors provide children born in Canada with already made appointments to make sure each child is up-to-date with their vaccines. Having this on record is important for the educator in order to protect each child and prevent those who have not gotten to vaccine to get it quickly.

E). My virtual child is a boy and along with his assessment and the few days after he was born my doctor made appointments for me to bring him in for a check-up to get his vaccine because he is a new born baby and being exposed to the environment outside and allow the germs to cause him to fall ill. “Some parents in Canada, however, choose not to immunize their children for personal reasons”. (Pimento pg. 124)

Serious Occurrence

A) Serious occurrence is an important practice of health and safety for children involving any injuries that happen to children in the program. Serious occurrence can be a child that is missing and found, fire or flood, and death.

P) Serious occurrence reporting is an ongoing process with annual summary and analysis reports. “It is essential that educators recognize the importance of reporting serious occurrence consistency and view the annual review process as a training opportunity to continue learning about high-quality early childhood environments”. (Pimento pg. 377) It beneficial to the children and the educator, to input better performance strategies.

E) An example of serious occurrence is when there is a child missing for couple minutes and was found. There should be a reporting stating everything that happened up to and after the child was


found. Reporting this helps to take notice and close attention to help prevent another child from turning up missing as well. And we want to insure the parents are aware of the situation too.

The five W’s of safety

A) The importance of the five W’s of safety is to develop policies and strategies that are relevant, practical, and effective. It involves children using their small motor skills and their large motor skills. Like, crawling, walking, climbing, riding a bike, using scissors falling or cut themselves. They stand for “Who, What, Why, Where and when the issue happened.

P) The WHO means the children with injuries that can sustain due to physical abuse, violence and attempted suicide is called either intentional or excluded? WHY did it happen falls under children that learn through exploration, motivation, growth? The physical and cognivitie development immaturity of young children increases their risk of injury. Factors to really consider are the gender and temperament. “Gender differences play a role in injuries because boys are often involved in more physically challenging activities.” (Pimento pg. 358) Boys are very active and risk takers while girls are quiet with less chances of getting hurt. WHERE, involves where the injuries occurs, injuries occur more in the home of the child. Injuries happen less in the childcare center because of the requirement from the (CSA) Canadian standards Association. WHEN, injuries can happen any time especially when there is poor supervision, poor ratios, children get hungry and or tired, and misuse of equipment or weather changes in the environment.

E) Although there are no examples found in my reports, I am aware of the importance in safety of the five W’s. An example of the five W’s of safety is to use the five sources and help promote a healthy environment for the children. Making sure all activities and learning environments are developmentally appropriate. Ensuring that the surfaces adequately maintained and playtime the equipment is used properly, along with efficient supervision. It is very important for educators too design and implement injury prevention strategies.

Exclusion policy

A) The exclusion policy means when the child can be accepted or not into the childcare. Whether or not the child should be accepted or not is determined by if the child is too sick, and if it may affect the other children. Educators and the directors using the exclusion policy try to make each child happy, comfortable and healthy in the program. Concerns of the illness being contagious is an important part of observation as well as if a child is really ill and needs one on one attention which then can affect the way they participate with others. This one on one attention also interferes with the supervision of the educators caring for all the other healthier children.

P) The exclusion policy is there to help and prevent the spreading of serious illness around the children in the childcare program. “As educators your role is not to diagnose but to recognize signs of infection and refer children to health professionals” (pimento pg. 171). It is important to communicate with parents, staff and health professionals, and look and listen to identify signs and symptoms of illness, implement the program policies into their role effectively, document down the procedures taken and help each child feel better. There are times when children must be excluded from the program, two serious exclusions where a child must be absent are if the child has pink eye and head lice. An educator


must seek medical attention if the child has change in breathing, pain, difficulty swallowing, stiff neck, rash with fever, rash with change in behavior or any other concerns about the child’s well beings. (Illness management, Lisa 2014)

E) Although there are no examples found in my reports, I am aware of the importance in exclusion policies provided to keep children safe and healthy from the spread of serious and minor illnesses occurring anywhere and at any given time. Though there might be ways to prevent illness spreads children are still likely to get sick, with these procedures educators are aware of steps to take when dealing with children, and their family with an illness matter.

Infant health and wellbeing

A) An infant’s health consists of many components one major component being their immune system as they grow and get older starts to develop a lot stronger. Because it is weak at birth and has to mature in time. Keeping the environment and the mothers and any persons contact clean among the baby can help build the infants immune system strong and healthy. Providing the proper nutrition and keeping up with the infant’s immunizations is the key to successful immunity development. Another component to an infant’s health and wellbeing is the risk of SIDS, handling safety procedures to prevent an infant from falling asleep and not waking back up. SBS (Shaken Baby Syndrome) is important for educators and parent to know this act is child abuse. Never should anyone shake a new born baby in any circumstances. Diaper changing rashes need to follow good hygiene practices to prevent fecal contamination in childcare programs. I think there are benefits for using disposable diapers over the cloth diapers because it is more absorbent, there are cruiser diapers that fit snugly around the thighs and waist to contain the urine and stool, they are for sure water proof and fits more comfortably.

P) “The immunity system provides us with protection from specific infections.” (Pimento pg.115) Because infants get sick very often when they are growing up. This is very common but the good thing is it gets better as they get older. Infants are fed the proper nutrients through the umbilical cord and after birth are fed by breast milk or formula. To prevent allergies introducing one thing at a time is suggested. (Infant health, Lisa 2014). Infants tend to sleep for long hours lasting from 16- 18 hours a day, however, often the sleep is broken up into short intervals. (Infant health, Lisa 2014). SIDS (Sudden Infants Death Syndrome) means a healthy baby fallen asleep and never wakes up. Some infants are at higher risk when they are born because they are premature, had low birth weight, or exposed to cigarette smoke. SIDS can happen to infant, infants put to sleep on their tummy and infants over dressed and become overheated are also at risk. SBS (Shaken Baby Syndrome) comes with serious long term effects to infants, the effects may include brain damage, learning disabilities, physical injuries and even death. You should never shake a baby! To prevent the risk of SBS, if the person caring for the child needs a break or to take a breather from frustration or stress, seeking help or support from someone close in the family will help or placing the baby in a safe environment, like the crib for a while and coming back should be a healthy replacement from shaking the baby. (Infant health, Lisa 2014) hygiene practices involving diaper changing are put out to help prevent fecal contamination. “Researchers continue to compare the amount of fecal contamination in programs from disposable diapers with that from cloth diapers.” (Pimento pg.135)Fecal contamination can occur when using cloth diapers when there are stools leaking


through or dripping down the legs of a child. “Instead, diaper covers that fasten at the waist permit the educator to remove the cover and diaper in one step, reducing the risk of contaminating the program’s environment.” (Pimento pg.135). If the spill happens in the cover up the risk of contamination is prevented and can easily be washed off during the changing process. Hand washing is always included as proper hygiene practice with the diapering routine. Proper diapering is also a way of preventing diaper rashes, changing the child’s diaper often and cleaning the child properly is important. “If the child has a diaper rash, consider: using an ointment with zinc, wipe the child carefully, avoid certain foods and seek medical attention if necessary”. (Infant health, Lisa 2014)

E) When my virtual child was born I had the choice of using cloth diapers or disposables. Even though cloth diapers are more environmentally friendly they do consume so much of your time. I chose to use the disposable diapers because I find it a lot easier. My virtual child immunes system was weak in the beginning but with the practice of hand washing always after he played with other children and toys it got better. His immune system got stronger around the age of 2 but he still caught a couple of minor colds. Although there are no examples found in my reports, I am aware of the importance of SIDS AND SBS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, Shaken Baby Syndrome). I have the knowledge of knowing if my baby is at risk from birth, his birth weight was 7-8 normal birth weight for boys. I will reduce the risk if SIDS by laying my babies to sleep on their backs while asleep. In frustrating moments I will never turn to shaking my babies I will turn to put them in their playpens and walk in to a secluded area where I am at no harm to anyone.

Ratio

A) Ratio is important in childcare centers, comparing the number of staff to the number of children is to count child ratio. The age group the child falls into determines the level of ratio each class requires. Infants, birth to 18 months are ratio at 1:3, toddlers, 18 months to2 ½ years old are ratio at 1:5, preschoolers, 2 ½ to 5 years are ratio 1:10 and school aged is ratio at 1:12. The importance of ratio is to know the number of children and provide the effective supervision towards each child in the childcare. Knowing your ratios prevents serious occurrences from happening, for example missing children, injury, or ill child needing more attention. It is important to have enough staff and extra in case of emergency.

P) “Regular safety checks are an essential component of injury prevention”. (Pimento pg. 391) safety checks help to know the surroundings to know when the staff is out of ratio and in the correct ratio range for the safety of each child. Children love to be curious and experimental in their own way, they tend to get caught into trouble and need help coming out of that situation, never understanding the consequences.

E) Although there are no examples found in my reports, I am aware of the importance of ratio in a childcare program. The knowledge of knowing how many children are present daily helps to set up a sufficient schedule fit for staffs to supervise each child, example if a child is injured from playing and needs direct attention to get well and that requires one educator to come out of the ratio range, there is an opportunity to find an educator who is free or the supervisor of the program to help keep the ratios

Baseline observation


A) Baseline Observation is important in childcare programs for health and safety promotion. Acknowledging the importance of daily health observations, identifying the level of illness of the child entering the program whether they might need to be excluded for the day or to protect any illnesses spreading and provide the best comfort for the child not feeling well. Communication with the parents is a part of baseline observation to help understand the family routine and next steps to continue after the parents have dropped of their child.

P) Baseline observation is done as each child is dropped off in the morning. It includes looking and listening for ill symptoms as they arrive. Discussion with the parents of any concerns regarding the child’s health is important by knowing if the child is safe and healthy. “These conversations with parents, and educator’s familiarity with the children, establish a daily baseline to identify behavioral changes in a particular child for the rest of the day”. Educators use the observing from the beginning of the day to help monitor the child thought out the rest of the day. “Educators who observe the following early signs of allergies in children can assist parent and health care provider in the diagnosis: recurring colds and ear infections, nosebleeds, headaches, stomachaches, and dark circles under the eyes”. (Pimento pg. 165)

E) Although there are no examples found in my reports, I am aware of the importance of baseline observation for educators to cooperate with the children and families in the programs observing and addressing the needs of all the children that are ill and needing support. For example, a child who had a family emergency where the parents spent the night in the hospital for a close family member, the child may of lost sleep during the night. The baseline observations help to communicate with the parents and have that information and understanding when they see dark circles under the child’s eye, he/she is just tired and might require a longer nap during the day.

Allergies

A) Allergies happen when a child’s immune system reacts to a new or unusual substance such as dust, peanuts or cow’s milk. It is important for all childcare programs to be aware of the allergies of all children in the program. Posting allergy awareness of children’s specific allergies tell parents the program is peanut free environment, that they should not bring anything containing nuts in and there is be absolutely none in the program given out to a child. The health and safety matter with allergies is the importance of knowing what to do if encountered an allergic reaction.

P) To prevent an outbreak from an allergic reaction is to eliminate the exposure to all allergies capable of being triggered. Communication to parents should always be met when it comes to allergies, educators should find out the name of the allergy which the child is allergic to, specific symptoms, steps to prevent the child being exposed, the actions to take once a child has any symptoms and what medications the healthcare provider has prescribed or recommended. (Pimento pg.188). Educators should always scan the environment of the children surrounds to recognize any risk leading to a spontaneous outbreak especially when playing outdoors. It is the programs duty to express the policy and prevention practices should include: medical forms completed by child’s health care provider outlining management of allergies, what educators need to be aware and instructions on handling emergencies situations, posting lists of children with photos allergies in the kitchen/ bulletin board. The educators need to document allergic reactions in child’s file, requiring all parents to give children medication 24 hours prior administering it into the program (Pimento pg. 188-189)


E) Although there are no examples found in my reports, I am aware of the importance of Allergy awareness. It is important to know the common allergies of the children in the program to be able to prevent any from occurring and the steps to help in emergencies because some allergies are minor and some are severe. The most severe allergic reaction is called anaphylactic shock, it affects the whole body and quick. For example if a child was outside playing and in the summer a bee stung the child the child should have a epi-pen ready on scene to be administered by the educator to stop the reaction or slow it down giving time for the educator to contact the medical professional and parents of the child.

Developmental Domains

A) Children develop differently in different domains, some are above typical which is above normal or advance and some fall under atypical which is below, at a slower pace. Children development in area like physical development, cognitive development, language development, and social and emotional development. Growing stronger and wiser children learn to use their skills such as fine motor skills, using their fingers to grip and hold on to objects and their gross motor skills to run around, walk or even hold a bottle.

P) Physical development has three factors that conclude it being the growth in the body’s size and ability. The three are heredity, the hormones, and nutrition all play an important roles in children’s physical growth. (Kail pg. 113). Fine gross motor skills involve a child using their small muscle, gross motor skills involve larger muscles. “The cognitive development is focused on how children think and how their thinking changes over time.”(Kali pg. 9). Jean Piaget believed the children are naturally motivated to make sense of the physical and social world. “Crawling is an activity that involves using motor skills, coordinated movement of the muscles and limbs”( kali pg.125) using the fine motor skills a toddler learn to hold their own bottles and feed themselves as well as transitioning from finger foods to spoon feed solid foods. Language development is having the ability to use their communication skills, using ears, lips to speak and understand. Children with an expensive style use language as a social tool to enhance interaction with others. (Kali pg. 174).social development and emotional development connect together where children learn to getting along with others expressing feelings and emotion in free play activities.

E) My virtual child expressed his developing domains in different situations, sometimes he was atypical and most times he was typically developing for his age. My virtual child was able to express his self of fear or anxiety towards strangers. When strangers come to visit, he starts to cry. If the person gets close he begins to cry as well. However after a while of comfort, managed to smile and get along with the person. Another example my virtual child is above typical physical development. He is a lot more active than the average infant growing development milestones for physical development. He is crawling and walking earlier than the average infant therefore he is more advanced in his physical ability.

Poisoning

A) Poisoning is important to be aware of and being cautious of its presence as well. Some poisonings can be fatal and some result in the child or person being really sick. You can get food poisoning from eating or drinking bad, contaminated foods. Even in the safest place of your home you can get poisoning from carbon monoxide which can cause a coma or death. Almost anything can or contain poisonous substances in an early childcare program, the


great outdoors and in our lovely homes. It is important to be aware of the poison and know the steps and strategies to go by preventing any poisonous actions.

P) Many children die from poison some are even hospitalized for serious injuries. “It is a common pediatric emergency that can be traumatic experience. In fact poisoning is the fourth cause of injury hospitalization for preschoolers.” (Pimento pg. 372). Educators must take serious precautions to prevent any children from coming in contact with poison. “Poison proofing”, is to identify and keep the hazardous products out of children’s reach. From time to time this proofing is done often similar to a fire drill in order to keep the children safety on point. Because most poisoning incidents happen in children aged 1-4, for they are developmental stage of putting items in their mouths and to explore is a part of their growth. (Pimento pg. 373)

E) Although there are no examples found in my reports, I am aware of the importance of poison proofing. It is important for educators and parents to provide an environment not only developmentally appropriate but also physically safe for child to be active and play without the harm of hazardous products. Poison proofing is a process used to address the poison and prevent it from ever coming in contact of any persons. Locking away and proper labelling products for the safety protection of each children is important.

Equipment safety

A) The safety of children indoor and outdoor play equipment is important in a childcare program. Children need to use equipment’s to help grow and develop well, but as the children explore, and play in the childcare environment it is highly important to assure that the materials and equipment the children are using are safe and secure always. Equipment and materials don’t necessarily have to be just toys, it could be random appliances inside a childcare program and the home of the child like their crib or a laundry basket.

P) Outdoor equipment safety is important because children who play outdoors on the playground tend to get injured more than children who play indoors. To prevent these incidents from occurring educators have to provide appropriate age developing equipment for each child at their age level and abilities to play with. “The CSA Standards are intended to promote and encourage and encourage the provision and use of outdoor play spaces that are well designed, well maintained, innovative, and challenging to support children’s healthy development.” (Pimento pg. 381). Safety check consist of daily inspecting of the toys for broken parts or pieces that need repairing, sharp or splintered edges, or possible chipped paint rusting metal etc.

E) Although there are no examples found in my reports, I am aware of the importance of equipment safety in a childcare program and my home. Let’s say for example in a home there is a playpen that is used as a bed, change table and the bottom is empty. Safety practices for the playpen would be to ensure the sides are all up and secure, not storage toys or any other sort of materials in the base of the pen or around for children to climb, keep the playpen out of sunlight, and to prevent strangling keep drapery cords in a secure area away of reach of children.

Blood

A) The importance of blood in health and safety for children is serious and important when it comes to protecting a child from a virus and germs. Blood can contain viruses that can be


passed through person to person or object to person. Proper safety practices will help prevent any unwanted spread of the virus or germs available. More importantly I think the number one way to protect yourself is to always wear clean disposable gloves whenever you have to come in contact with any bloody fluid, changing a diaper or cleaning a wound. And don’t forget to wash your hands.

P) “In addition to the occasional use during diapering and the toileting routine for toddlers, disposable gloves (non- latex) are used when educators are at risk of exposure to blood or bloody fluids. (Pimento pg.144). Many childcare programs recommend using glove when taking care of a child with bloody diapers or an open bleeding wound to protect themselves. Wearing glove provide a protective barrier against germs that can cause an infection. Even though you wore a glove during the process after removing the gloves you still should wash your hand to fulfill affective safety practices.

E) Although there are no examples found in my reports, I am aware of the importance of Blood in health and safety for children attending childcare programs. An example would be having an infection control strategy as a policy and routine practice is one of the best ways to prevent infections and reduce the risk of spreading any viruses in the childcare program. As well as breaking the chain of transmission and including that effective hang washing procedure.

Safety Rules

A) Safety rules in childcare programs is a top priority for the educators to enforce. Having safety rules enforces the safety of all children is met. Having safety rules reduces potential injuries for the children because they are young and not sure what is right or wrong. The key is prevent the wrong doings from occurring. Children are young and mindful they tend to forget the rules so repetitiveness is a great way to keep reinforcing the importance of rules and the reasons we have to keep going over them.

P) Rules alone cannot ensure children’s safety. Educators will consider few elements when developing rules, the age of the children, making sure the activity is developmentally appropriate, provide a safe environment, stay in ratios of supervision, knowledge of previous injuries related to the planning activity. (Pimento pg.398). Rules can change as educators help to remind the children of their safety and playing appropriately together. Rules can be simple classroom rule to respect the classroom and others or in game and free play to keep each child safety. Educators who can continually restate the same rules many times a day probably should reevaluate either the rule or activity. (Pimento pg. 399). To ensure the rules are always in the same range developmentally appropriate and age appropriate for the learning and activity play.

E) Although there are no examples found in my reports, I am aware of the importance of safety rules for our children in childcare programs. Children are curious and always experimenting getting into mess and needing our help. With rules we create learning boundaries in any corner there might be danger larking. For example children playing in the gym and freely doing any type of play though an obstacle course set up, rule were No Running, No Screaming, No Pushing, and Freeze at the sound of the whistle, and tie your shoes laces tight. These rules keep the children safe and help them enjoy the activity.


Safe Food Handling

A) Handling food especially for young children is strictly important. The way it is handled affects its safety. The way we wash our foods is important, preventing food contamination. The area in the kitchen, needs to be kept clean when preparing foods for children. Before and after coming in contact with food it is important to use an antibacterial hand washing soap to prevent bacterial from spreading. The temperature of raw and cooked meals is important in health and safety practices.

P) One of the most important factors in handling food is its temperature. The general rule is “keeping hot foods hot and cold foods cold”. (Pimento pg. 276) in order to prevent serious illnesses or death from poor food handling educators need to practice to handle and store food safely to keep the health and wellness of everyone. “If children or adults eat contaminated food, they are may experience discomfort, mild or serious illness, or even death. (Pimento pg. 276)

E) Although there are no examples found in my reports, I am aware of the importance of safety in food handling. Poor food handling can result in many illnesses or even death. In childcare programs all staff should be trained to hand food properly and safely to prevent food borne illnesses. For example the cook in the program kitchen makes snacks, and lunch for the children daily, they are made fresh every day to lessen the risk of it getting spoiled or having to be waste. In preparing the meals he has to wash his hand during different transition from cooked too raw or cold to hot. And most important the utensils used must be clean!

Outdoor Play Equipment

A) Playing outdoors give children the chance to experience and experiment with a new environment but making sure the children’s safety is well checked is highly important. The experience with natures 1st hand, exploring different texture and colors helps with child development. Outdoor play is very ideal for developing their gross motor skills. Children have the opportunity to extend their play, take safe risks in their own outdoor playground, playing outdoors is where the most injuries occur. The children’s space of play is a lot more expanded and their free to move and do everything, through discovery and exploration.

P) The CSA standards are intended to promote and encourage the provision and use of outdoor play spaces that are well designed, well maintained, innovative, and challenging to support children’s healthy development. (Pimento pg. 381). It is important to keep the children safe when playing outdoors, however, with many rule and restriction it seems to block out on essential developmental skills the children learn on their own where educators observe and improvise into their lessons. Two major characteristic of the environment have a major influence on the severity: the quality of the cushioning and the height from which the child falls. Preventing a child from falling is difficult, falls are the most common cause of injury in the outside environment. (Pimento pg. 371)

E) Although there are no examples found in my reports, I am aware of the importance of the safety of children using outdoor play equipment. The playground is a much bigger space from inside the childcare rooms and the ratios always need to be followed to ensure that the supervision of each child is 100%. Children need to be actively supervised on equipment at all times to prevent juries and misusages to certain materials and equipment.


Administering Medication

A) It is important for educators to know how to administer medication to children when they are feeling ill. It is important to know which medication are permitted from being given to children, what kind of doctor notes are need to administer certain medications. As well as the safety in storing medication in the child care program out of reach from children.

P) To prevent serious occurrences from happening, for instance giving the wrong medicine to the wrong child or in correct dosage, “know who is responsible for giving the medication during the day”. (Pimento pg.183). Educators have forms filled out by parents with information of the child’s name and date, name of medication, reason why it is needed the amount given and the time it was given as well as the route. If the same person is giving the medicine to the same child or all of the children, it’s easier for that same person to observe them and tell whether or not the child is getting better and if the child has already gotten their medicine. When the medication needs to be administered to a child in the program, it is the responsibility of the educator to make sure that over the counter medicine and prescribed medication are accompanied with a doctor’s note.( Pimento pg.180). It is important to keep the medicines locked away in a high area out of arms reach from children to prevent them from drinking something they’re not recommended to.

E) Although there are no examples found in my reports, I am aware of the importance of administering medication to children in a childhood program. Educator are alongside with the children mostly majority of the day, they are the ones who are observing and have the ability to address the needs of ill children and consider their best interests.


The Toddler Years (2 Years Old)

Have there been any environmental events that you think might have influenced your child’s development?

Does this create any health or safety concerns for your toddler? (Use the APE strategy)

Quick! Mommy Is Sick!

A) An environmental event that happened in my virtual child assignment was when I got sick, I was hospitalized for a week with bronchitis that developed into pneumonia. My virtual baby was not able to visit and he kept asking when I would be able to come home to him. Even though I explained it was only temporary, it wasn’t enough. I think it influenced my baby’s development with his emotional and social development as well as his intellectual development. He had a huge change in behaviour from experiencing me not being around.

P) A mother having to withdraw herself from her children for any sort of reason can impact child’s life very seriously. The child can feel alone and abandoned without their mother, separation effects a child with emotional, mental and psychological developments later on. The child begins to think hard and question if he/she is the cause of the parent leaving. “The child who has been abandoned by his mother develops low self-esteem”. (“Mother Abandonment”, 2014). It can also ruin the future of the child to trust anyone else walking into their life, because if they trust and love another person that person might leave too.

E) In my virtual child when I was hospitalized my baby felt like he was abandoned and I would not be returning home. His behavior changed drastically he was tense and unhappy and misbehaved in his playgroups. The effects took over emotionally and mentally he started to express hurt and anger being disobedient.

Changing Daycare

A) An environmental event that happened in my virtual child that I think influenced my baby was the transition of daycares. My baby turned two years old and needed to change daycares. At first my baby was excited for change and to move, but within a week he began to cling and cry more often, and had difficulty cooperating with the daycare provider.

P) Being forced to change your child’s childcare setting for any reason can be difficult and impact both you as the parent and the individual child. Having to say good-bye is often difficult especially when the process of building that good relationship and the child being able to trust someone else other than their mother can take time to mend all over again with a new person. Some children handle change


easier than others. “Parents and child care providers working together can prepare a child to meet the demands of changing situations and to understand the importance of old friends as well as new ones.” Their behaviour begin to get nasty because of the change for some they might be pleasant or happy in the new environment and some may cry little more than the often usual because they cannot have their way.(“thoughts on changing”, 2008)

E) An example of how transitions and changing daycares can impact your child is through the comfortable relationship the child developed over time in the program. The child might have had certain friends and is not ready to let go of those friends as yet. The child’s behavioural begin to change some pick up bad habits like start whining, hitting or biting expressing anger or distress.

New Baby on Board!

A) An environmental event that happened in my virtual child was the great news of me being pregnant again! In preparation for this change in the family, I was holding off telling my first child about the second one on the way until it becomes more noticeable so I don’t have to face the evitable questions of my 3 year olds inquiring mind.

P) Going through pregnancy for the second time and already having a first born can impact the first child’s life. The first child may go through a phase of feelings including sibling rivalry. When two or more children growing up together always bud heads despite the equal love you express, there is always going to be jealousy and competition between them. “Though sibling rivalry is natural (and inevitable), being proactive in those early days and years can have a big impact on your children's relationship down the road". (“American Baby”, n.d). The first child tries to sense if he/she is important at all anymore and finds it difficult to share that love with other siblings equally. Eventually it will impact the child for the rest of their life.

E) An example of how a new baby on board can impact the first child is when they are both close in age the older one is 4 and the younger one is 2 years old. Both are boy’s ands and love to play with cars and blocks, one loves to share and the other does not like to share. There is always going to be war between these two because as the parent you no longer can bring home one set of games or a specific toy for both to enjoy. You have to buy two of everything and when the family is out in public both children need to have their own meal, toy, book and everything else or you could be looking for embarrassment and chaos. It will be difficult to compromise between the two because you don’t want to have favourites between the two.


Documents

Wiki virtual child