I. General Information

1. Course Title:
Child Health, Wellness, Safety, and Nutrition

2. Course Prefix & Number:
CDEV 1106

3. Course Credits and Contact Hours:

Credits: 3

Lecture Hours: 3

4. Course Description:

This course will guide students in understanding teacher strategies and skills needed to establish and maintain a physically and psychologically safe, healthy learning environment for young children birth through age eight. Topics include preventing illness and accidents, handling emergencies, providing health, safety, and nutrition educational experiences within the daily routine, meeting children’s basic nutritional needs, child abuse and neglect, childhood stress, trauma and current health, safety, and nutrition related issues.

5. Placement Tests Required:

Accuplacer (specify test):

No placement tests required

Score:

6. Prerequisite Courses:

There are no prerequisites for this course.

9. Co-requisite Courses:

There are no corequisites for this course.

II. Transfer and Articulation

1. Course Equivalency - similar course from other regional institutions:

ELECT member two year colleges

2. Transfer - regional institutions with which this course has a written articulation agreement:

Early Childhood Education Transfer Pathway A.S.

 

III. Course Purpose

1. Program-Applicable Courses – This course is required for the following program(s):

Early Childhood Education A.S.
Early Childhood Education A.A.S.
Early Childhood Education Diploma

IV. Learning Outcomes

1. College-Wide Outcomes

College-Wide Outcomes/Competencies	Students will be able to:
Analyze and follow a sequence of operations	Describe procedures and responsibilities for reporting suspected or known abuse or neglect to proper authorities.
Apply ethical principles in decision-making	Research and describe signs of emotional distress, child abuse, and neglect in children along with mandated reporting responsibilities.
Discuss/compare characteristics of diverse cultures and environments	Discuss and analyze what characteristics make an environment psychologically and physically safe and healthy for children.

2. Course Specific Outcomes - Students will be able to achieve the following measurable goals upon completion of the course:

• Identify teacher strategies that promote a developmentally appropriate, healthy, safe, learning environment by meeting infants’ and toddlers’ physical needs within but not limited to the daily routine of: rest, nutrition/feeding, muscle play, diapering, hand washing, and sanitation (TECE 3.B.5.);
• Review and identify basic health, safety, nutrition management practices and procedures to limit the spread of infectious diseases including environmental hazards, sanitation, universal precautions, and symptoms of common illnesses, communicable diseases, and environmental hazards for pre-primary aged children;
• Examine how to evaluate environmental factors and conditions that affect the physical/emotional safety, health, and development of infants and toddlers to ensure their physical and emotional safety (TECE 3.B.5.A.iii) (TECE 3.B.5.A.iv);
• Explain how to establish and maintain psychologically safe and healthy learning environments for preprimary-age children by describing the influence of the physical setting, schedule, routine, and transitions and how to use those experiences to promote children’s development and learning (TECE 3.C.a);
• Examine the developmental consequences of stress and trauma on pre-primary and primary aged children through researching protective factors, resilience, development of mental health, and the importance of supportive relationships (3.C.b) (TECE 3.D.2.b);
• Examine appropriate health appraisals and identify how to recommend referrals to appropriate community services (3.C.d);
• Research and describe signs of emotional distress, child abuse, and neglect in children along with mandated reporting responsibilities and procedures for reporting suspected or known abuse or neglect to proper authorities (3.C.e) (3.D.2.d);
• Explore how to assess children pre-primary age emerging level of physical development then plan learning experiences that facilitate children’s understanding of maintaining a desirable amount of nutrition, health, fitness, and physical safety (TECE 3.C.7.e); and
• Examine professional responsibilities such as State requirements for obtaining and maintaining licensure in Minnesota, the role of the teacher as public employee, and the purpose and contributions of educational organizations as they relate to high quality learning environments (SEP 10.L).

V. Topical Outline

Listed below are major areas of content typically covered in this course.

1. Lecture Sessions

1. 1. Promoting Children's Health: Healthy Lifestyles and Health Concerns
• The Preventive Health Concept
• Health, Safety, and Nutrition: An Interdependent Relationship
• Children's Growth and Development
• Promoting a Healthy Lifestyle
2. Daily Health Observations
• Observation as a Screening Tool
• Daily Health Checks
• Family Involvement
• Health Education
3. Assessing Children's Health
• Health Records
• Screening Procedures
• Referrals
4. Caring for Children with Special Medical Conditions
• Inclusive Education: Supporting Children's Success
• Common Chronic Diseases and Medical Conditions
5. The Infectious Process and Environmental Control
• Risk Factors
• Communicable Illness
• Stages of Illness
• Control Measures, Universal Precautions
6. Childhood Illnesses: Identification and Management
• Common Communicable Childhood Illnesses
• Common Acute Childhood Illnesses
7. Creating High-Quality Environments
• Identifying High-Quality Programs
• Early Childhood Program Licensure
• Features of High-Quality Programs
• Guidelines for Safe Environments
8. Safety Management
• What is Unintentional Injury?
• Risk Management: Principles and Preventive Measures
• Implementing Safety Practices
• Emergency and Disaster Preparedness
9. Management of Injuries and Acute Illness
• Responding to Medical Emergencies
• Emergency Care vs. First Aid
• Life-Threatening Conditions
• Non-Life-Threatening Conditions
10. Maltreatment of Children: Abuse and Neglect
• Historical Developments
• Discipline vs. Punishment
• Abuse and Neglect
• Understanding the Risk Factors for Maltreatment
• Protective Measures for Programs and Teachers
• Reporting Laws
• The Teacher's Role
• Resiliency, Stress, and Trauma 
11. Planning for Children's Health and Safety Education
• Family Involvement in Health and Safety Education
• Teacher In-service in Health and Safety Education
• Effective Instructional Design
• Activity Plans
12. Nutrition Guidelines
• Dietary Reference Intakes
• Dietary Guidelines for Americans
• MyPlate
• Food Labels
13. Feeding Infants
• Profile of an Infant
• Meeting the Infant's Nutritional Needs for Growth and Brain Development
• Feeding Time for the Infant
• Introducing Semi-Solid (Pureed) Foods
• Common Feeding Concerns
14. Feeding Toddlers and Young Children
• Developmental Profiles: Toddlers, Preschoolers, and School-Aged Children
• The Challenges of Feeding Toddlers
• The Challenges of Feeding Preschoolers and School-Age Children
• Healthy Eating Habits
• Health Problems Related to Eating Patterns
15. Planning and Serving Nutritious and Economical Meals
• Developing the Menu
• Writing Menus
• Nutritious Snacks
• Meal Service
• Planning the Menu within Budget
16. Food Safety
• Food-Related Illness
• Measures to Keep Food Safe
• Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point
• Food-Borne Illnesses
• National and International Food Supply Safeguards
17. Nutrition Education: Rationale, Concepts, and Lessons
• Rationale for Teaching Children about Nutrition
• Planning a Nutrition Education Program for Children
• Developing Lesson Plans for Nutrition Activities
• Where Else Do Children Learn about Nutrition?