Safety Tips for Children in Early Childhood Education from ChildCare Education Institute
According to the CDC, Unintentional injuries—such as those caused by burns, drowning, falls, poisoning and road traffic—are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among children in the United States. Each year, among those 0 to 19 years of age, more than 12,000 people die from unintentional injuries and more than 9.2 million are treated in emergency departments for nonfatal injuries. Read the CDC report on Childhood Injuries.
Safety Prevention in the Classroom
ChildCare Education Institute (CCEI,) the industry leader for online professional development, offers over 55+ safety courses for ECE teachers. These high-quality and research-based courses provide early childhood educators with operating procedures and best practices for keeping children safe on and off school grounds. I highly recommend all ECE professionals explore CCEI’s vast online course catalog and enroll to take their safety courses today!
- CCEI112A: Child Abuse: Signs of Abuse and Reporting Requirements for Early Childhood Professionals identifies and defines the major categories of child abuse, explains the responsibilities of mandated reporters, lists methods of reporting, and emphasizes the importance of visual checks.
- HLTH110: Protecting Infants: Reducing the Risk of SIDS and Shaken Baby Syndrome introduces the risk reducing and preventative strategies designed to keep infants safe.
- CCEI110A: Indoor Safety in the Early Childhood Setting introduces early childhood professionals to indoor safety standards in an early childhood setting. Topics covered include toy safety, poison control, the development of appropriate play space, controlling high traffic areas in the center, and other safety standards.
- HLTH104: Basic Health and Hygiene Practices for the Early Childhood Setting provides basic information everyone should know about preventing the spread of infectious diseases in the child care setting.
- CCEI119: Food Allergies in the Early Care Setting provides an overview of food allergies and basic food allergy safety principles to employ in the early care setting.
ChildCare Education Institute offers professionals 150+ online child care training courses (in English and Spanish) to meet licensing, recognition program and Head Start requirements. It’s the perfect online training for busy early childhood teachers. Read our review on CCEI here: Continuing Online Study for Early Childhood Education. I highly recommend you try these safety courses today from CCEI, so you can create a safe environment for your students. The courses are easy to digest and easy to apply to your daily schedules.
- Cots/cribs are placed 3 ft apart or have barrier and assigned to a specific child or cleaned and sanitized after each use
- Furniture and equipment is in good repair (check for broken toys, accessories, wrinkled/disrepair rugs/carpet.)
- All chemicals are locked/out of reach of children.
- All entrances/exits are kept clear of clutter, snow, ice, etc.
- Tables and chairs are not stacked while children are present.
Looking for fun ideas and activities for preschoolers? Check out our Preschool Scavenger Hunt Group on Pinterest.