

Smaller group sizes and lower child-to-adult ratios help you create and maintain an environment that promotes health and safety for all infants and toddlers in your care. Check with your state or territory’s child care licensing agency and quality rating and improvement system to learn more about requirements and recommendations that may be specific to your area.Īn important way to create a safe environment is to meet appropriate group size and child-to-adult ratio limits (Gonzalez-Mena, & Widmeyer Eyer, 2012). Your state or territory may have additional health and safety requirements. If you are an assistant in a family child care home, you can discuss your reflections with the main provider as you work together to ensure that the environment promotes health and safety.

In center-based child care programs, you can discuss what you learn from checklists with your program director as you work together to consider changes to the environment. However, it can be used in any early childhood program. Department of Health and Human Services was developed for Head Start programs. This Health and Safety Screener (n.d.) from the Office of Head Start, Administration for Children and Families, U.S.

Using a checklist to do regular health and safety assessments can help you keep track of these details. Keeping your environment safe and healthy for infants and toddlers involves many details. A healthy environment decreases the possibility of contracting and spreading illness and enhances infants’ and toddlers’ overall well-being (Lally, Stewart, & Greenwald, 2009). Instead of spending most of your time monitoring infants and toddlers to keep them safe, you have more opportunities to interact with and respond to them. Safe settings ensure that infants and toddlers can explore freely, which in turn supports their developing sense of self. One of the most important considerations when designing any space for infants and toddlers is to ensure young children’s health and safety. Creating Spaces for Infants and Toddlers that Ensure Safety and Promote Health
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