Protection from Illness

Two important ways to help protect children from illness are vaccines and handwashing.

Vaccines

While vaccines begin in infancy, it is important for children to receive additional doses of vaccines to keep them protected. These boosters, given between ages 4 and 6, are doses of the vaccines they received earlier in life to help them maintain the best protection against vaccine-preventable diseases.

Vaccines. [Image by Ramstein Air Base is in the public domain]

Many states require children to be fully vaccinated (unless they have a reason to be exempt) before they can enroll in licensed child care or public school. If vaccinations were missed, a health care provider can help the child’s caregivers to create a catch up schedule to ensure the child correctly “catches up” with the recommended childhood vaccination schedule.

Handwashing

Handwashing is one of the best ways to prevent the spread of illness. It’s important for children (and adults) to wash their hands often, especially when they are likely to get and spread germs, including:

• Before, during, and after preparing food.
• Before eating food.
• After blowing nose, coughing, or sneezing.
• After using the toilet.
• After touching an animal, animal feed, or animal waste.
• After touching garbage.

It’s important for children to learn how to properly wash their hands. When washing hands children (and adults) should follow these five steps every time.

• Wet your hands with clean, running water (warm or cold), turn off the tap, and apply soap.
• Lather your hands by rubbing them together with the soap. Lather the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails.
• Scrub your hands for at least 30 seconds. Need a timer? Hum or sing the Happy Birthday song or ABCs from beginning to end twice.
• Rinse your hands well under clean, running water.
• Dry your hands using a clean towel or air dry them.

A mother helping her son wash his hands. [Image is in the Public Domain]

Caregivers can help keep children healthy by:

• Teaching them good handwashing techniques.
• Reminding their kids to wash their hands.
• Washing their own hands with the children.

Safety

Specific Risks for Injury

Child injuries are preventable, yet 8,110 children (from 0-19 years) died from injuries in the US in 2017. Car crashes, suffocation, drowning, poisoning, fires, and falls are some of the most common ways children are hurt or killed. The number of children dying from injury dropped nearly 30% over the last decade. However, injury is still the number 1 cause of death among children.

Children during early childhood are more at risk for certain injuries. Using data from 2000-2006, the CDC determined that:

• For children less than 1 year of age, two–thirds of injury deaths were due to suffocation.
• Drowning was the leading cause of injury death between 1 and 4 years of age.
• Falls were the leading cause of nonfatal injury for all age groups of less than 15 years of age.
• For children ages 0 to 9, the next two leading causes were being struck by or against an object and animal bites or insect stings.
• Rates for fires or burns and drowning were highest for children 4 years and younger.

Here is a table summarizing some tips from the CDC to protect children from these injuries:

Preventing Injuries

Children playing on a jungle gym at a park. [Image is in the public domain]

Teaching Children about Safety

While it is the adult’s responsibility to keep children safe and children should not be expected to actively protect themselves, caregivers and teachers should help children develop safety awareness and the realization that they can control some aspects of their safety through certain actions. The earlier children learn about safety, the more naturally they will develop the attitudes and respect that lead to lifelong patterns of safe behavior.

Safety education involves teaching safe actions while helping children understand the possible consequences of unsafe behavior. Preschoolers learn through routines and daily practice and by engaging in language scripts and following simple rules. These scripts and rules may be communicated through voice, pictures, or signs. Children learn concepts and develop skills through repetition, then build upon these as concepts and skills become more complex.

Preschoolers need help to recognize that safe play may prevent injury. Teachers can promote independence and decision-making skills as children learn safe behaviors. Teachers can explain that children can make choices to stay safe, just as they wash their hands to prevent disease, brush their teeth to prevent cavities, and eat a variety of foods to help them grow strong and healthy.

Preschoolers can learn to apply a few simple and consistent rules, such as riding in a car seat and wearing seat belts, even though they are too young to understand the reasons for such rules. For example, four-year-old Morgan says, “Buckle up!” as she gets into a vehicle. Although Morgan lacks the skill needed to buckle the car seat buckle and does not understand the consequences of not being safely buckled into her car seat, she is developing a positive habit. Safety education in preschool focuses on behaviors the children can do to stay safe. It involves simple, concrete practices that children can understand.

The purpose of safety rules and guidance is to promote awareness and encourage developmentally appropriate behavior to prevent injury. Teachers may include separate rules for the classroom, playground, hallways, buses, or emergency drills. Limit the number of rules or guidelines, but foster consistency (e.g., three indoor rules, three playground rules) and base them upon the greatest hazards, threats, and needs in your preschool program and community.

Safety guidance is most effective when teachers have appropriate expectations and safety rules are stated in a positive manner. For example, an appropriate indoor safety rule might be stated, “We walk indoors,” rather than the negative, “Do not run indoors.” On the playground, a rule might state, “Go down the slide on your bottom, feet first.” As children follow these rules, acknowledge them for specific actions with descriptive praise (e.g., “Kevin, you sat on the slide and went down really fast! That looked like fun!”).

State rules clearly, in simple terms, and in children’s home languages; include pictures or icons with posted rules to assist all children’s understanding. Children often are more willing to accept a rule when they are given a brief explanation of why it is necessary. Gently remind children during real situations; with positive reinforcement, they will begin to follow safety rules more consistently. As children develop a greater understanding of safety rules, they begin to develop self-control and feel more secure.

Adults are fully responsible for children’s safety and compliance with safety rules and emergency procedures. Safety education for children, which include rules and reinforcement of verbal and picture scripts in children’s home languages (including sign language), is essential for handling emergency situations. Through practice and routines, children are better able to follow the teacher’s instruction and guidance. It is essential that teachers evaluate each child’s knowledge and skill in this area, and provide additional learning activities as needed to ensure that all children can follow emergency routines.

Here are some strategies that teachers can use to help children learn about safety:

• Incorporate safety into the daily routine.
• Involve children in creating rules
• Provide coaching and gentle reminders to help children follow safety rules.
• Acknowledge children’s self-initiated actions to keep themselves and others safe (such as pushing chairs in and wiping up spills)
• Provide time for children to practice safety skills (such as buckling seat belts)
• Introduce safety concepts and behaviors in simple steps.
• Role-play safety-helpers.
• Define emergency and practice what children should do in emergency situations.
• Introduce safety signs.
• Incorporate musical activities and safety songs.

Because of their level of cognitive development, many young children cannot consistently identify dangerous situations. They may understand some safety consequences and can learn some scripts. But adults must be responsible for their safety. Children often act impulsively, without stopping to consider the danger. By learning and following simple safety rules (e.g., take turns, wear a helmet) and practicing verbal, visual, or sign-language scripts, children establish a foundation of lifelong safety habits.

Attributions

“Chapter Two: Preventing Injury & Protecting Children’s Safety” by Jennifer Paris and Kelly McKown, Safety, Health and Nutrition in Early Childhood Education is licensed under CC BY 4.0

“Child Growth and Development” by Jean Zaar is licensed under CC BY 4.0 / A derivative from the original work