Child Health and Safety
Know What to Do About the Flu - Influenza Guidance for Early Childhood Programs.
· Child care providers and other early childhood programs: Click here for recommended strategies to protect your employees and the children in your program from the spread of flu.
· The following link is to the federal government website that provides flu-related information for early childhood programs, parents, and the general public:
http://www.flu.gov/
· The following link is to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) publication Preparing for the Flu (Including the 2009 H1N1 Flu): A Communication Toolkit for Child Care and Early Childhood Programs:
http://pandemicflu.gov/professional/school/childtoolkit.html
· The following link is to the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) web page dedicated to the H1N1 flu virus. It provides information about flu-related school closings, hospitalizations, and other issues.
http://dhmh.state.md.us/swineflu/
Other Child Health and Safety Topics
· NEW! Physical Activity Guidelines for Center-Based Programs, developed by the MSDE Division of Instruction for Physical Education. Child care center operators and directors are strongly encouraged to use these guidelines as a program commitment to children’s health. Click here.
· Information on Medical Cribs Used in Homes and Child Care Settings - In light of the Consumer Product Safety Commission's (CPSC) crib standard becoming effective for child care centers, family child care homes, and places of public accommodation (such as hotels) on December 28, 2012, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration posted a statement on medical cribs used in homes and child care settings. The statement can be found at the following link: http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/ProductsandMedicalProcedures/ucm333796.htm.
· Heat Index Charts – Maryland’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene recommends the Iowa Health Department’s Child Care Weather Watch Wind-Chill and Heat Index Factor Charts as a guide to prevent over exposure of children while playing outdoors during extreme temperatures. The chart is available here.
· Air Quality Alerts – You can sign up to receive email alerts for air quality here.
· First Lady Michelle Obama has launched Let’s Move! Child Care, a new effort to work with child care providers to help our youngest children get off to a healthy start and to prevent childhood obesity. Sign up and be part of the initiative by clicking here and taking a checklist quiz on healthy nutrition, physical activity, and screen time in a child care setting.
· The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has adopted new, stricter standards for infant cribs and crib safety. Click here for information about these new standards.
· MSDE has a new online child care licensing inspection results site – www.CheckCCMD.org! The site offers detailed compliance findings from child care licensing inspections conducted since January 2011, as well as links to a wide range of information about early care and education in Maryland. Findings from licensing inspections done before January can still be found at http://msdecompliancereports.org/msdesearch.asp.
· Click here to download Preventing Childhood Obesity in Early Care and Education Programs, the new set of national standards describing evidence-based and expert consensus on best practices in nutrition, physical activity, and screen time for early care and education programs. The standards contain practical intervention strategies to prevent excessive weight gain in young children and apply to all types of early care and education settings.
· The following link is a Child Nutrition and Physical Activity Guide prepared by the MSDE School and Community Nutrition Programs Branch. While intended mainly for use by early care and education programs, the guide is also useful for parents. http://healthymeals.nal.usda.gov/hsmrs/Maryland/MODELHealth.pdf
· The following link is to Eat Smart Maryland, the website of the MSDE School and Community Nutrition Programs Branch, which administers the federal Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) in Maryland. This site provides information about food and nutrition programs that help Maryland residents learn to eat smart. Eating smart helps young children enter school ready to learn, school-age children to focus on their work, and older Marylanders to feel their best.
http://www.eatsmartmaryland.org
· The following link is to Maryland's Epidemiology Disease and Control Program (EDCP) website, which provides information about common infectious diseases, how to manage the conditions, when to seek medical care, and infection control procedures.
http://www.edcp.org/html/cdindex.cfm
· The 2011 Maryland DHMH Communicable Diseases Summary: A Guide for School Health Services Personnel, Child Care Providers, and Youth Camps is available at the following link:
http://ideha.dhmh.maryland.gov/pdf/guidelines/cdsummary%20final_2011_08_19.pdf
· Click here for the 2009-2010 Age-Appropriate Child Immunization Guidelines published by the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH).
· Consumer Product Safety Commission
Get information updates about product recalls and product safety issues. http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prerel.html
· Centers for Disease Control
Access the CDC Online Newsroom, a one-stop
source for up-to-date public health information.
http://www.cdc.gov/media/
· Child Care and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
· Child Nutrition Guidelines
· Crib Safety Tips
· FAQs About Lead Poisoning
· Playground and Water Safety Guidelines
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