Developmentally Appropriate Practices and The Preschool Child

Parents who eat well and are physically active provide great examples for growing children, offering them a nutritious diet rich in vitamins and minerals provides them with the necessary nutrients to support healthy growth and development. Additionally encouraging active play and incorporating physical activities into daily life will help children build muscular mass and increase coordination and develop self confidence. While young children

In order to develop a wellness program there are several things that should be taken into consideration. First, you must develop your own personal perception of what you feel wellness is and how to stay well. Secondly, you must know what the pros and cons are for being fit. Then finally you must set immediate goals to obtain your level of wellness. The main thing you need to keep in mind is that developing a healthy life style early in life is a key factor in preventing diseases and improving one quality of life.

My goal in the area of health is to prevent the spread of illness, keep the environment as clean as possible, and follow sound nutrition and fitness policies to help children and families live a healthy lifestyle. In group care, it can sometimes be hard to control the spread of germs and disease, so I follow proper hand washing, sanitation, diapering, and food preparation guidelines at all times. I also follow my center’s sick policy by informing families about communicable diseases, observing children closely, and sending sick children home right away. I also prepare my snack menu carefully by following the food pyramid, ensuring at least two food groups, and strictly limiting processed and sugary foods. I am also proactive about health in fitness in my classroom, as I teach children about making good choices and how to lead a fun and active lifestyle. We have sports, creative movement or outdoor play several times each day to stay active. We also inform families of our health and fitness goals so they can support the goal of a healthy active lifestyle.

* Curriculum – to make children aware of being healthy and safe in all aspects of life

I believe that as an early childhood educator my goal will be to promote the physical, social, emotional, and cognitive development of each child. I also believe that play should be the base of learning since children learn best by doing. I believe that a balance between teacher-directed and child-initiated activities is essential balance can be developed by using the developmentally appropriate practice approach, which means that activities should be “appropriate for each child and relevant to the child’s ability, needs and interests, also including the child’s family and being respectful to the child’s culture.

Additionally, supporting children’s holistic health and well-being will not only enhance their growth and development, but also increase their self-esteem and promotes motivation for example, ‘willingness’ to explore with peers, which will contribute to positive enforcement as they grow and develop. They will also feel value by others and will feel confident to take risks and challenges and to be able to problem solve effectively without fear or judgement .

“The physical and emotional health of an entire generation and the economic health and security of our nation is at stake” a quote made by the First Lady, Michelle Obama, as she launches her comprehensive initiative to change the way children think about nutrition and physical fitness (“Learn the Facts,” 2010). Three decades ago, children lived active lives that kept them healthier. They walked to and from school, ate home cooked, reasonable portion meals with vegetables and played outdoors most of the time. Today, children ride the bus instead of walk, eat more fast food and snacks throughout the day because parents are busier, and watch more television or play video games rather than be active outside with peers (“Learn the Facts,” 2010). Young children are becoming overweight and obese along with being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes more frequently. They are making poor dietary choices, inadequate physical activity, and spending too much screen time all contributing to the obesity crisis. One of the effective solutions to reversing the trend of childhood obesity is to provide safe, affordable and accessible after-school health and physical fitness educational programs for all school ages across the nation.

Promoting quality of life, healthy development and healthy behavior across life stages is another goal directed towards individuals in making healthy choices, have healthy development without any

In order to respond this question, we must first review the history of Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) and Early Childhood Education (ECE). Although ECE has been around since the creation of kindergarten in the 1800’s, the decade of the 1980’s was an important period for ECE. “By the 1980’s, meta-analysis of the well-designed US projects offered compelling evidence on the positive outcomes of [early childhood education and intervention]” (Woodhead, 2007). Therefore, there was much pressure to improve the state of education, including ECE. “The decade of the 1980’s saw numerous calls for widespread school reform, with changes recommended in teacher education, graduation requirements, school structure, and accountability measures” (S. Bredekamp, R.A. Knuth, L.G. Kunesh, and D.D. Shulman, 1992). At this time, there was an increasing concern about the quality of early childhood education for the influx number of families that needed it. This led the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) to “begin planning a national voluntary accreditation system for early childhood programs”(NAEYC, 2014). With this planning came a need for a more specific description with regards to accreditation guidelines. Therefore, NAEYC issued a formal statement defining DAP.

The NAEYC statement on developmental practice indicates change and continuity and change in the early childhood education field is vital due to the fact that their main commitment is excellence and equity. Nevertheless, all new knowledge gained over time has been advanced and increased. This means that with understanding, it has allowed us to revise and refine ideas for promoting children's development and learning. With developmentally appropriate practice, meeting and enabling the children are required. This means that teachers should get to know them well and push them to reach goals that may be a challenge but are achievable for them.

Dorn, L. R., & Ryerson, D. (1984). Elements of a healthy childhood (2nd ed.). New York: Macmillan.

It's starts at home. We, as parents and other family members need to encourage healthy eating habits. We need to make time to play with our children and/or provide physical activities for them to take place in. This could be going out for a family bike ride or allowing a child to participate in after school sports and recreation.

Of all of the problems that dishearten children today, the one that bothers them the most is being unhealthy. Five out of six students from the Manalapan Englishtown Middle School agree that there should be a change in the schools' cafeteria foods; they came up with a solution to help kids be healthy. Unhealthy foods should be eliminated in schools for many reasons. First of all, kids concentrate better when they are healthy. Being healthy helps children to concentrate better because if they are healthy in the inside and the outside, they will not have to worry about their health or how they look. Secondly, having only healthy foods in school help parents to take good care of their kids. For instance, imagine a mom that is a seventh

In the above paragraph I have gained the knowledge on how to balance me and my family's lifestyle. I already knew we needed to be eating health and staying active. It is hard to do so in a busy world. But, this course has definitely reinforced on how to stay healthy and fit and implement new things in my life. This course has also reinforced just as you should get a physical annually, your child needs regular well check-ups. Something further that I have been able to balance and reinforce is getting in a good habit is eating a variety of fruits and vegetables daily. Choosing whole grains as much as possible over refined ones will give your child more nutrients and fiber. Make an effort to avoid foods that are processed, high in sugar or high in saturated fat, all of which can increase risks for health problems such as diabetes. Especially helped reinforce with my diabetes.

What are the key principles of developmentally-appropriate practices? Explain the importance of NAEYC and share some of its goals.