Early Childhood Education and Care

Question: Discuss about the Early Childhood Education and Care. Answer: Introduction Food is a basic human need that must be used by everyone because it is essential for growth and development. Human growth is an extensive process that takes a long time. Biologically, human beings transit from infancy, childhood, adulthood, and elderly stages. Each of these stages is important and should be properly handled. The purpose of this paper is to present a critical analysis of role of healthy food to the children and the strategies that can be applied by the parents to effectively maintain a nutritious, healthy and safe environment for the children. Benefits of Healthy Food to the Children The privilege of child-bearing comes with lots of responsibilities that should be properly executed. Apart from providing providing the children with shelter, clothing, and education, the parents should be ready to provide the children with a safe environment to live. A safe environment is a place where the childrens health is guaranteed. To achieve this, the children should be given a healthy diet. Provision of a healthy diet implies that the children are given means that contains a right amount of proteins, carbohydrates, mineral salts, and vitamins (Freeland-Graves Nitzke, 2013). A healthy diet is important because it can benefit the children in many ways. The first benefit of a healthy diet is that it can provide the children with the energy required for their growth and development. A healthy diet can provide the children with the adequate energy that they require because it contains carbohydrates and starch. Children, just like adults should be given energy-rich diet consisting of foods like rice and maize meal. When the children are given right proportions of carbohydrates, they get all the energy that is required to support life. When children have energy, they can be empowered to perform a wide range of activities in their day-to-day lives. It is this energy that can be used by the children to move around and engage in other physical activities that can also improve the quality of their lives. The other benefit of a healthy diet is that it can provide the children with protection. Since a balanced diet contains vitamins, it is right to argue that the children who use it will benefit from all the protections that it offers. There are so many diseases that are related to nutrition. These include marasmus, scabies, kwashiorkor, and many more (Just Price, 2013). These diseases which are of course linked to poor eating habits can be prevented if the children are provided with a food rich in vitamins A, B, C, D, and E. each of these diseases is dangerous because it can negatively impair the life of a child. However, the most effective remedial measure to apply when dealing with these illnesses is to provide the children with a nutritious diet which contains all the required vitamins. The eradication of such illnesses can provide the children with an opportunity to grow up well and healthily. Last, but not least, a healthy diet can enable the children to have a stable cognitive, physical and mental health. Apart from addressing the cases of nutritious diseases, a healthy diet can help the children to keep lifestyle diseases like obesity at bay. Childhood obesity is a condition that is caused by poor eating habits. However, the god news is that the condition can be prevented and managed if proper eating habits are adopted particularly if the parents refrain from feeding the children with sugar-rich fast and junk foods (Freeland-Graves Nitzke, 2013). Better still; a healthy diet can help in enhancing the cognitive development of children. Research has proven that healthy eating can enable the children to improve their intelligence and academic performance. Therefore, the parents should not hesitate to provide the children with healthy diets. It means well for the general well-being of the children. Strategies that will Effectively Maintain a Nutritious, Healthy and Safe Environment for Children Parenting is not a simple task. It is a complex activity that requires a lot of preparations. The parents who are entrusted with the upbringing of children should therefore be provided with adequate education on how to provide their children with a healthy diet. The parents should be provided with training during antenatal and post natal care. At the same time, health promotional campaigns should be launched to sensitize the parents on how to care for the children. During such initiatives, the parents should be educated to adopt certain strategies. Firstly, the parents should be informed that they should introduce and maintain a healthy eating habit in their children by only providing healthy foods to the children. The parents should not feed the children with fast foods because it can lead to lifestyle diseases. Instead, the parents should provide a balanced diet that is made up of the right proportions of fruits, vegetables, and proteins. Secondly, the parents should not only introduce such healthy foods, but strive to encourage the children to use it as they grow up. Children should be taught, at an earlier age, that only fresh foods from the groceries and farmers stores should be used because it is good for their health (Just Price, 2013). At the same time, the parents should actively involve children in the choice, preparation, and usage of healthy foods. When eating, the parents visit the shopping malls; they should introduce healthy foods to the children and teach them that it is the only food to use. If this is done, the children will grow up believing that it is only the fresh and healthy foods that should be eaten. Apart from encouraging a healthy eating habit on the children, the parents should promote the physical fitness of the kids. A leaf should be borrowed from the Munch and Move program which advocates for childrens physical health. In the program, children are motivated to eat healthily and engage in physical activities. Therefore, the parents should do all these and come up with stringent guidelines to prevent their children from spending too much time watching the television (Freeland-Graves Nitzke, 2013). This can enable the children to lead a healthy life. Conclusion Food is a very significant resource for everyone. Children should be introduced to healthy foods because it is good for their health. During childhood, children should be properly cared for. The parents should provide the children with essential needs such as food, shelter, clothing, education, and healthcare services. These are fundamental needs that can enable the children to grow well. For example, when it comes to food, the children should be provided with healthy food to enable them to lead a healthy life. To achieve this, the parents should use appropriate strategies that can enable the children to learn and get used to healthy eating habits. References Freeland-Graves, J.H. Nitzke, S. (2013). Position of the academy of nutrition and dietetics: total diet approach to healthy eating. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 113(2), pp.307-317. Just, D.R., Price, J. (2013). Using incentives to encourage healthy eating in children. Journal of Human resources, 48(4), 855-872. Early Childhood Education and Care Question: Discuss about the Early Childhood Education and Care. Answer: 1. According to me, intellectual wellness is concerned with the enthusiastic participation of the individuals in cultural, scholastic, and societal activities, it is important to expand and sustain the intellectual wellness due to the reason that it assists in living a stimulating as well as a successful life. I feel like I had to step up to do something for the children which is afar my job description and when I was able to brought happiness on a child's face. I discovered it is satisfying to me. The intellectual wellness of the staff can be stimulated by improving their skills for learning and studying (Eliopoulos, (2014). They should be able to learn new things regarding way of their intellect process information which can be an essential tool that can assist them to succeed (Robbins et al., 2009). The staff should take time for writing down their thoughts or diary regularly which can assist them to struggle with their feelings and try to make sense regarding their inside feelings (Van Slyke-Briggs, 2010). When they will learn to recognize their way of thinking and understanding themselves, their actions will augment their intellectual wellness by the exposure of their mind to think deeply. They should also learn a foreign language which can be advantageous to their intellectual health as well as prospects of employment (Johnson, 2007). The place of work should offer opportunities for the staff to attend training such as exercises or meditation or a formal training such as management of stress or counseling for building association". Overall the center management should provide support to ensure that all staff is feeling appreciated and their wellbeing is vital to the team. Opportunities for personal development and leave entitlements should be provided time to time so that the educators are able to rejuvenate their body and soul. When they will learn through different ways, their minds will expand and develop effectively. It will not only help them being amenable to new knowledge but it will also broaden the already learned information (Vize, 2015). 2. The story of stuff is a short documentary regarding the material goods lifecycle. It promotes sustainability and is critical of extreme consumerism. It is utilized in elementary schools, economic classes, arts program and corporate sustainability. It exposes the associations between an enormous number of social and environmental issues. It calls every individual to create a world which is more sustainable (Reynolds, 2009). According to me, it teaches us something and also may alter the way by which we look at the stuffs in our life everlastingly. I personally liked it because it is appropriate and can be shown to the children who would understand the outline as in this documentary there is not any complex and is easy to comprehend by anyone. It has mainly focused on the recycling industry. The presenter talked like if she was speaking to a child. It has revealed a reality which is completely true. The saddest part of it is that it is happening in the existing scenario. I really liked the use of cartoons for depictions. It has changed my life as after watching it, I have reduced my intake of meat and trying to eat organic foods and I always try to keep the lights and electrical devices off when they are not in use (Sorte et al., 2014). 3. For me, spirituality is an extensive perception and comprises a sense of relationship with something superior than ourselves. According to me, it characteristically does not have any involvement with the religion involves an exploration for the meaning of life and it also teaches us to practice kindness and experience love. In this world, the way I experience spirituality need not consist of a definite religion. Whenever I think regarding spirituality it is wide-ranging, without creed, holistic and in particular is grounded in worship, truth, and kindness. It is a beautiful method by which we can elucidate our connectedness, force of life, collective personality and eternal energy (Donatelle, 2014). Within a period of time, I have learned to reflect my own thoughts and I also discovered to approach my thoughts to the other individuals as wee as to the children for whom I am caring. Talking about my personal life, I have observed two diverse customs and cultures at my home and in a extensive society (Hard, 2006). Spirituality can be learned by the children from an early stage by acknowledging their instructors and friends and by gaining the knowledge of the society in which they live. The natural forces for instance rain and sunshine are the very essential elements for the children to know the feelings of spirituality and progressively when they will get matured they will gain additional senses. They will also be able to frame their thoughts. The journey of spirituality in no way ends; it only just gets modified to novel aspects when the experience of human diversity ends. Being an educator, I think I should assist the children to recognize their individual soul and to safeguard their ability by which they are able to perform and which provides them with enormous pleasure (Minniss et al., 2013). References Donatelle, R. (2014). Cultivating your spiritual health. Access to Health. Boston, Pearson: 58-69. Eliopoulos, C. (2014 ). Balancing work and life. Invitation to holistic health: A guide to living a balanced life. Sudbury, Jones and Bartlett Publishers: 161-176 Hard, L. (2References006). "Horizontal violence in Early Childhood Education and Care: Implications for leadership enactment." Australian Journal of Early Childhood 31(3): 40-48. Johnson, J. A. (2007). Finding your smile again : a child care professional's guide to reducing stress and avoiding burnout. St. Paul, Redleaf Press: 151-162. Minniss, F. R., et al. (2013) Promoting Health in Early Childhood Environments: A Health-promotion Approach. Child Care in Practice 19, 104-117 DOI: 10.1080/13575279.2012.754331 Reynolds, M. (2009). The environmental responsibility reader. C. Blackmore and M. J. Smith, London : Zed Books Ltd. Robbins, G., et al. (2009). Understanding wellness. A wellness way of life. New York, McGraw-Hill: pp19-26 and pp29-43 Sorte, J., et al. (2014). Teaching wellness concepts. Nutrition, health and safety for young children. Upper Saddle River, Pearson Education Inc.: 45-62. Van Slyke-Briggs, K. (2010). The nurturing teacher : Managing the stress of caring. Lanham, Rowman Littlefield Publishers: Ch 4 5 Vize, A. (2015). Taking care of you: Reducing stress and burnout for teachers and educators. Blairgowrie, Australia: Teaching Solutions. (Available at https://www.teachingsolutions.com.au/additional-needs-and-teacher-support-4/taking-care-of-you-242)