TKW Consulting

• Avoiding sun exposure and dressing infants in lightweight long pants, long-sleeved shirts, and brimmed hats that shade the neck are still the top recommendations from the AAP to prevent sunburn. However when adequate clothing and shade are not available, parents can apply a minimal amount of suncreen with at least 15 SPF (sun protection factor) to small areas, such as the infant's face and the back of the hands. If an infant gets sunburn, apply cold compresses to the affected area.

For Young Children:

• Apply sunscreen at least 30 minutes before going outside, and use sunscreen even on cloudy days. The SPF should be at least 15 and protect against UVA and UVB rays.

For Older Children:

• The first, and best, line of defense against the sun is covering up. Wear a hat with a three-inch brim or a bill facing forward, sunglasses (look for sunglasses that block 99-100% of ultraviolet rays), and cotton clothing with a tight weave.
• Stay in the shade whenever possible, and limit sun exposure during the peak intensity hours - between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
• Use a sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or greater. Be sure to apply enough sunscreen - about one ounce per sitting for a young adult.
• Reapply sunscreen every two hours, or after swimming or sweating.
• Use extra caution near water, snow, and sand as they reflect UV rays and may result in sunburn more quickly.

• The intensity of activities that last 15 minutes or more should be reduced whenever high heat and humidity reach critical levels.
• At the beginning of a strenuous exercise program or after traveling to a warmer climate, the intensity and duration of exercise should be limited initially and then gradually increased during a period of 10 to 14 days to accomplish acclimatization to the heat.
• Before prolonged physical activity, the child should be well-hydrated. During the activity, periodic drinking should be enforced, for example, each 20 minutes, 5 oz of cold tap water or a flavored sports drink for a child weighing 90 lbs, and 9 oz for an adolescent weighing 130 lbs, even if the child does not feel thirsty.
• Clothing should be light-colored and lightweight and limited to one layer of absorbent material to facilitate evaporation of sweat. Sweat-saturated garments should be replaced by dry garments.
• Practices and games played in the heat should be shortened and more frequent water/hydration breaks should be instituted.

• Install a fence at least four-feet high around all four sides of the pool. The fence should not have openings or protrusions that a young child could use to get over, under, or through.
• Make sure pool gates open out from the pool, and self-close and self-latch at a height children can't reach.
• Never leave children alone in or near the pool, even for a moment.
• Keep rescue equipment (a shepherd's hook - a long pole with a hook on the end - and life preserver) and a portable telephone near the pool. Choose a shepherd's hook and other rescue equipment made of fiberglass or other materials that do not conduct electricity.
  Avoid inflatable swimming aids such as "floaties." They are not a substitute for approved life vests and can give children a false sense of security.
• Children may not be developmentally ready for swim lessons until after their fourth birthday. Swim programs for children under 4 should not be seen as a way to decrease the risk of drowning.
• Whenever infants or toddlers are in or around water, an adult should be within arm's length, providing "touch supervision."

• Don't use scented soaps, perfumes or hair sprays on your child.
• Avoid areas where insects nest or congregate, such as stagnant pools of water, uncovered foods and gardens where flowers are in bloom.
• Avoid dressing your child in clothing with bright colors or flowery prints.
• To remove a visible stinger from skin, gently scrape it off horizontally with a credit card or your fingernail.
• Combination sunscreen/insect repellent products should be avoided because sunscreen needs to be reapplied every two hours, but the insect repellent should not be reapplied.
• Insect repellents containing DEET are most effective against ticks, which can transmit Lyme Disease, and mosquitoes, which can transmit West Nile Virus and other viruses.
• The concentration of DEET in products may range from less than 10 percent to over 30 percent. The benefits of DEET reach a peak at a concentration of 30 percent, the maximum concentration currently recommended for infants and children. DEET should not be used on children under 2 months of age.
• The concentration of DEET varies significantly from product to product, so read the label of any product you purchase.
• For more information on DEET: http://www.aapnews.org/cgi/content/full/e200399v1

• The playground should have safety-tested mats or loose-fill materials (shredded rubber, sand, wood chips, or bark) maintained to a depth of at least 9 inches. The protective surface should be installed at least 6 feet (more for swings and slides) in all directions from the equipment.
• Equipment should be carefully maintained. Open "s" hooks or protruding bolt ends can be hazardous.
• Swing seats should be made of soft materials such as rubber, plastic or canvas.
• Make sure children cannot reach any moving parts that might pinch or trap any body part.
• Never attach-or allow children to attach-ropes, jump ropes, leashes, or similar items to play equipment; children can strangle on these.
• Make sure metal slides are cool to prevent children's legs from getting burned.
• Parents should never purchase a home trampoline or allow children to use home trampolines.
• Parents should supervise children on play equipment to make sure they are safe.

// posted by Tammy Wachter @ 5:05 PM 0 comments

• The consistent presence of at least one caring, supportive, adult
• Positive interaction on a consistent basis with that caring adult
• Effective, consistent and positive discipline
• Opportunity to learn through exploration
• Support in mastering skills at their own pace and in their own style
• Exposure to developmentally appropriate toys, books and games
• Opportunities to interact with other children socially

Children who have had these early learning experiences demonstrate improved problem solving skills, motivation and academic achievement once they reach school. Here is some information that can help you ensure your child will be successful.

School Readiness Links:
School Readiness: Starting your child off right (en Espanol)
Kindergarten Transition Calendar (pdf)
Family Support and School Readiness: The Connection (pdf)
School Readiness: Getting Children Ready to Learn
Is your child ready? Look for these developmental milestones

How can you tell if your child is ready to be successful as he/she takes this big step?
Kindergarten teachers in one North Carolina town ranked the skills and behaviors they believe five-year-olds need to begin school ready to succeed.

• 92% of teachers ranked healthy, rested and well-nourished children as the number one quality of successful kindergartners.
• Children should be able to verbally communicate their needs, wants and thoughts.
• They need to demonstrate self help skills, such as dressing themselves.

More than half of the teachers rated the following as essential to school readiness:

• Vision, hearing and dental problems are detected and addressed.
• A child knows his name and has a basic awareness of self, family and community.
• A child can follow basic rules and routines.

Most early childhood experts agree that children continue to have wide variations in their development until about the age of seven. Children develop intellectual, social, emotional and physical skills at different times and at their own pace. Because children develop skills at varying times, it is difficult to list specific tasks and behaviors to ensure school readiness.

So, while letter recognition, knowledge of animals and sounds, big and little, up and down, are important to know, it is more important that your child is socially, emotionally, and physically ready to tackle the pressures of school. How are you doing a getting the children in your care ready for school?

// posted by Tammy Wachter @ 4:58 PM 0 comments

Here are 7 steps that we can take to help...

Step 1: Establish an unconditional loving relationship between child and parents. Children thrive on consistent love and attention, which helps to reassure them and make them feel safe and secure. This is their first real lesson in forming a positive relationship based on trust. A child that receives conditional love and inconsistent attention has more voids to fill and more anger to build, which can lead to aggressive and violent behavior in an attempt to fill those voids.

// posted by Tammy Wachter @ 5:14 PM 0 comments

Stress in Young Children...

How oversheduled are the the children in your care? I know some parents that have their children in every possible activitiy through the summer and need an elaborate calendar system just to keep track of who is supposed to be where, when, and how they are supposed to get there... You know how stressful it is to be overscheduled, over-pressured, and overwhelmed. You know how tough it is on adults -- why do we expect anything different from a child.

Still, you wonder if it's enough for a child simply to engage in ordinary play and recreational activities. To spend time doing "nothing." Everyone agrees that play is important for children. But even people with the strongest conviction can waver when faced with pressure from neighbors and friends who are convinced that their child will do better in school and in life if they just keep their child busy, busy, busy. We certainly don't want to be poor parents and let our children down... What if he never "finds himself" because you didn't push him to try a multitude of activities? What if letting him simply play turns him into a lazy person?

Did you know?

• Preschoolers are being diagnosed as having post-traumatic stress, bipolar disorder, and anxiety disorders, among other psychiatric ailments.
• Many young children's brains now look remarkably like the brains of overstressed adults, with excess levels of cortisol and adrenaline.
• In 1995 the New England Journal of Medicine reported that 150,000 preschoolers (10% of them 2-year-olds) were taking antidepressant drugs.
• A 2006 study conducted by KidsHealth revealed that more than four in 10 children feel stressed most, if not all, of th etime. More than 75% of the children expressed a longing for more free time.

These are the likely results of a child's time being scheduled and programmed -- directed by someone else -- from morning till night, day after day and not being allowed "downtime"... time to just relax and be a child.

• Being Balloons. Breath control plays an important role in relaxation. When we inhale slowly and then exhale twice as slowly, we decrease the supply of carbon dioxide in the blood, thus slowing down the activity of the nerves and brain. To promote deep breathing with children, ask them to pretend to be a balloon, slowly inflating (by inhaling through the nose) and deflating (by exhaling through the mouth). You'll likely need to demonstrate this yourself first.
• Statues & Rag Dolls. The ability to intentionally control muscular tension is also critical to relaxation. Adults do this by alternately contracting and releasing their muscles. However, because young children won't understand the terms contract and release, you can play a game called Statues & Rag Dolls. Before you being, talk with the children about the differences between statues and rag dolls. Then alternately invite them to pretend to be a statue and then a rag doll. This, as you can imagine, requires them to alternately contract and release the muscles. (Always end with the rag doll!)
• Melting. Melting is a wonderful -- and fun -- slow-motion activity. Talk about the melting of ice cream cones, snow sculptures, or ice cubes. Then ask the children to pretend to be one of these things and to show you just how slowly they can melt.
• Finding Creatures in the Clouds. This can only be a relaxation exercise if it doesn't become an assignment! If you send little ones outside to find creatures in the clouds, simply make it a suggestion and, perhaps, provide a blanket for them to lie on. If you join them in the activity, resist the temptation to turn it into a contest to see who can find the most creatures. Instead, lie beside them and quietly describe what you're seeing. And if nobody discovers any creatures, it's okay to just lie there looking.

// posted by Tammy Wachter @ 4:13 PM 0 comments

• Children’s vocabulary scores increased by about 6 raw score points due to their participation in the program, representing a statistically significant improvement. This outcome is particularly important because the measure is indicative of general cognitive abilities and predictive of becoming a successful reader.
• Children’s early math scores increased by more than 2 raw score points due to their participation in New Mexico PreK. This is also statistically significant. Early math skills assessed included simple addition and subtraction, basic number concepts, telling time and counting money.
• Children’s scores on early literacy rose by about 14 percentage points for children attending over those who did not attend. Children who attended New Mexico PreK knew more letters, more letter-sound associations and were more familiar with words and book concepts.

// posted by Tammy Wachter @ 5:39 PM 0 comments

The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) recently released a statement, endorsed by some 60 education scholars, foundation officials, and “big names” from other fields, calling for a “broader, bolder” approach to education that extends beyond schools to address early childhood education, health care, and out-of-school time.

// posted by Tammy Wachter @ 3:53 PM 0 comments

• Potty chair or no potty chair. Some children potty train using a kid-sized toilet.
  Others prefer to sit on the regular toilet with a potty seat on top. Parents should be sensitive to the needs of a child care provider, who is most likely watching other kids as well and who must keep hygiene, cleanliness and practicality as considerations to the training process as well. While it is not insurmountable to have different systems, having the same rules and same equipment certainly can be helpful for a child’s mastery of this process. Parents may even consider purchasing a potty chair (if the provider agrees this is a good idea) for their child’s use while in care that is identical to the one being used at home.


• Diapers vs. pull-ups vs. underwear. Opinions are varied about when and how long to use each of the above. Some parents swear by pull-ups, especially the ones that can be opened on the sides. Others prefer to bypass pull-ups altogether, and make the sole incentive as graduating from diapers into underwear. The argument is not which way is better; it is getting agreement on which route to take.


• What should a child in potty training wear at naptime? Even a mostly-trained child may have accidents at naptime. Opinions vary as to whether a child should have a diaper or pull-up on at naptime, or whether accidents should be allowed to happen to encourage a child to “feel” the outcome. Of course, providers may not be as patient for having to sanitize mats and send home blankets and pillows on a routine basis due to accidents occurring.


• Dressing in practical clothing is a must. Providers have lamented that parents sometimes do not take into consideration that a child in a bodysuit and overalls—no matter how adorable they make look—is incorrectly clothed for potty training. And, many a parent has been alarmed to see their child running around in a long shirt and underwear during these toilet training days while in daycare. The compromise, of course, is practical clothing that can be quickly and easily—and the key word here is QUICKLY—pulled down by a child independently in time to avoid an accident. Having hassle-free clothing is a key to a child’s self-confidence and independence during this process. And, parents, don’t forget! During this training time, please provide the caregiver with at least two sets of extra clothing and preferably a full package of underwear. Initially, a child may start to wet underwear on many occasions, and need to be changed.


• Rewards and consequences. This is a conversation that absolutely should occur so as to not confuse a child and cause in regression in the toilet training process. How is a child rewarded for going potty? Is a reward applied if a child tries? Is a diaper put back on if a child refuses? How are accidents handled? One provider praised a considerate mom for buying a huge supply of stickers, and for rewarding all the kids with one every time her child used the potty. Talk about positive peer reinforcement! The provider was more than happy to dole out the stickers, and was thankful that the parent understood that was an expense a provider could not do for every child.
  
• Do not expect a provider to add housekeeping chores in the schedule. In-home providers lament that parents sometimes believe that a caregiver should launder a child’s clothing when accidents occur or other not-so-desirable tasks during a child's potty training transition. Providers have a full day planned, and while they are more than happy to assist with potty training, reasonable expectations about extra effort should be made and clear on both sides.
  
• Consider the timing. In general, don't begin toilet training a child right after a big change such moving, divorce or remarriage, birth of a new sibling, a change in caregivers or daycare arrangements, or before a big holiday or event. Also, be sure you're comfortable with sticking with a schedule and routine once training begins.
  
• Celebrate together! A child who becomes toilet training is a major achievement both for the child as well as the caregiver team! A great partnership and unified goals, consistency and open communication will help to achieve the desired results.

So lets spend some time this month to celebrate this major developmental acheivement in a child's life...

// posted by Tammy Wachter @ 5:37 PM 0 comments

• Days the location is closed – What days are considered holidays, and are there other days the center is closed? Do you still have to pay for these days?
• Vacations (theirs) – This mostly applies to home based providers. How many days do they allow for their own vacations and what is their policy on payment for these days. Many providers require that parents pay for days the provider is on vacation, even though your child will not be in their care.
• Vacations (yours) – What is their policy if your family goes on vacation and does not need care for several days? Do you pay full tuition, a portion, or nothing for those days? How many days are allowed and what type of notice does the provider request?
• Termination – What is the process if either party wants to terminate the relationship. Often, the contract specifies a length of notice that both the provider and the parent need to give. You should also understand the process for ending the relationship if either you are unhappy with the care, or your child is not a good match for the caregiver.

// posted by Tammy Wachter @ 4:02 PM 0 comments