Toys Safety

Young children are often described as "accidents waiting to happen." Too often, accidents do occur and may result in eye injuries. Hospital emergency rooms treat an estimated 290,000 product-related eye injuries each year. Children under five years of age make up 10 percent of that number, with most product-related injuries occurring in or around the home and at play.

Toy selection guidelines

• Read all warnings and instructions.
• Consider a child's ability rather than age when purchasing toys; age warnings on toys are not guarantees of safety.
• Avoid toys with sharp or rigid points, spikes, rods and dangerous edges.
• Inspect toys for safe, sturdy construction.
• Repair or replace damaged or defective toys.
• Store toys properly after play to avoid trips and falls.
• Supervise children's craft projects; scissors and glue are among the products most dangerous to a youngster's eyesight.
• Check the lenses and frames of children's sunglasses before buying them; many (particularly the inexpensive, novelty type) can break and cause injuries.
• Stay away from flying toys and projectile-firing toys.
• BB guns are not toys and should not be given to children too young to handle them safely.
• Keep older children's toys away from younger children.
• Children should wear appropriate eye protection for sports (face shields, helmets).

Children and Lying

Honesty and dishonesty are learned in the home. Parents are often concerned when their child or adolescent lies.

Lying that is probably not a serious problem:

Young children (ages 4-5) often make up stories and tell tall tales. This is normal activity because they enjoy hearing stories and making up stories for fun. These young children may blur the distinction between reality and fantasy.

An older child or adolescent may tell a lie to be self-serving (e.g. avoid doing something or deny responsibility for their actions). Parents should respond to isolated instances of lying by talking with the youngster about the importance of truthfulness, honesty and trust.

Some adolescents discover that lying may be considered acceptable in certain situations such as not telling a boyfriend or girlfriend the real reasons for breaking up because they don't want to hurt their feelings. Other adolescents may lie to protect their privacy or to help them feel psychologically separate and independent from their parents (e.g. denying they sneaked out late at night with friends).

Lying that may indicate emotional problems:

Some children, who know the difference between truthfulness and lying, tell elaborate stories which appear believable. Children or adolescents usually relate these stories with enthusiasm because they receive a lot of attention as they tell the lie.

Other children or adolescents, who otherwise seem responsible, fall into a pattern of repetitive lying. They often feel that lying is the easiest way to deal with the demands of parents, teachers and friends. These children are usually not trying to be bad or malicious but the repetitive pattern of lying becomes a bad habit.

There are also some children and adolescents who are not bothered by lying or taking advantage of others. Other adolescents may frequently use lying to cover up another serious problem. For example, an adolescent with a serious drug or alcohol problem will lie repeatedly to hide the truth about where they have been, who they were with, what they were doing, and where the money went.

What to do if a Child or Adolescent lies:

Parents are the most important role models for their children. When a child or adolescent lies, parents should take some time to have a serious talk and discuss:

• the difference between make believe and reality, lying and telling the truth,
• the importance of honesty at home and in the community, and
• alternatives to lying.

If a child or adolescent develops a pattern of lying which is serious and repetitive, then professional help may be indicated. Evaluation by a child and adolescent psychiatrist would help the child and parents understand the lying behavior and would also provide recommendations for the future.

Childhood illnesses

Although the responsibility for a child's oral health rests with the parents, child care providers play an important role in maintaining the oral health of children in child care settings. Knowing a few basic oral health guidelines can greatly help a child care provider's ability to do so.

Although tooth decay is not as common as it used to be, it is still one of the most common diseases in children. Many children still get cavities. While fluoridated drinking water and fluoride-containing toothpaste have helped to improve the oral health of both children and adults, regular toothbrushing and a well-balanced diet are still very important to maintaining good oral health.

Primary, or baby, teeth commonly begin to come in or erupt in a baby's mouth at about 4 to 6 months of age and continue until all 20 have come in at about the age of 2-1/2 years. This eruption of primary teeth, or teething, can cause sore and tender gums that appear red and puffy. To relieve the soreness, give the baby a cold teething ring or washcloth to chew on. Teething medicine is not recommended.

Many primary teeth will not be replaced by permanent teeth for 10 to 12 years. Until that time, they need to be kept healthy to enable a child to chew food, speak, and have an attractive smile. Primary teeth are at risk for decay soon after they erupt. Tooth decay is caused by germs (bacteria) and sugars from food or liquids building up on a tooth. Over time, these bacteria dissolve the enamel, or outer layer, of the tooth. This damaged area is called a cavity. Regular brushing prevents the build-up of bacteria and sugars and the damage they cause.

Baby bottle tooth decay (or nursing bottle mouth) is a leading dental problem for children under 3 years of age. Baby bottle tooth decay occurs when a child's teeth are exposed to sugary liquids, such as formula, fruit juices, and other sweetened liquids for a continuous, extended period of time. The practice of putting a baby to bed with a bottle, which the baby can suck on for hours, is the major cause of this dental condition. The sugary liquid flows over the baby's upper front teeth and dissolves the enamel, causing decay that can lead to infection. The longer the practice continues, the greater the damage to the baby's teeth and mouth. Treatment is very expensive.

The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry has developed the following guidelines for preventing baby bottle tooth decay:

• Don't allow a child to fall asleep with a bottle containing milk, formula, fruit juices, or other sweet liquids. Never let a child walk with a bottle in her mouth.
• Comfort a child who wants a bottle between regular feedings or during naps with a bottle filled with cool water.
• Always make sure a child's pacifier is clean and never dip a pacifier in a sweet liquid.
• Introduce children to a cup as they approach 1 year of age. Children should stop drinking from a bottle soon after their first birthday.
• Notify the parent of any unusual red or swollen areas in a child's mouth or any dark spot on a child's tooth so that the parent can consult the child's dentist.

To prevent infections from spreading through germs found in saliva and blood on toothbrushes, see “Using and Handling Toothbrushes” in the chapter, “Following

Languages: Communication and representationThis area of ​​knowledge and experience also aims to improve relations between the child and the environment. The different forms of communication and representation serve as a link between external and internal world as instruments that enable the representation of reality, the expression of thoughts, feelings and experiences and interactions with others. It includes the following sections:

    * Verbal language.
    * Language audiovisual and information technologies and communication.
    * Language arts.
    * Body language.

Knowledge of the environment

This area of ​​knowledge and experience is to foster in children the process of discovering and representing the contexts that make children's environment and facilitate their entry into them, so reflective and participatory. The contents of this area make sense from the complementarity with other areas, and should be interpreted in the didactic proposals from the totality of the action and learning. For example, the environment can not be understood without the use of different languages, in the same way, the performance of movements must be oriented from the body awareness and spatial location. It includes the following sections:

    * Physical environment: elements, relationships and actions.
    * Closer to nature.
    * Cultural and social life.

Knowledge of self and personal autonomyThis area of ​​knowledge and experience referred to, collectively, the gradual construction of identity and emotional maturity, to establish close relationships with others and personal autonomy as necessarily inseparable processescomplementary. The content in this area are grouped together, make sense from the complementarity with other areas, and should be interpreted in the didactic proposals from the entirety of the action and learning. It includes the following sections:

    * The body and self image.
    * Game and movement.
    * The activity and daily life.
    * Personal care and health.

Children's stories

The Three Little Pigs

Along with his parents, three little pigs had grown happily in a forest cottage. And how were grown, her parents decided it was time to do, each, his own home. The three piglets were fired from their parents, and went to see what the world was.
The first little pig, sloth family, decided to make a straw house. In a minute the cabin was made. And then he went to sleep.
The second pig, a glutton, he chose to make a wooden hut. It was not long built. And then she began to eat apples.
The third pig, a hard worker, decided to build a house of bricks and cement. Take longer to build but would feel more protected. After a busy day, the house was beautiful. But already beginning to hear the howls of the wolf in the forest.
It did not take long before the wolf came to the houses of the Three Little Pigs. Hungry, the wolf went to the first house and said:- Open the door! Open the door or I'll blow your house and shoot!.How the pig did not open, the wolf blew hard, and brought down the house of straw. The pig, trembling with fear, she ran and went into the wooden house of his brother.
The wolf followed him. And before the second house, knocked on the door and said:- Open the door! Open the door or I'll blow your house and shoot!But the second little pig did not open and the wolf blew and blew, and the cabin was in the air. Frightened, the two pigs ran and entered the brick house of his brother.
But as the wolf was determined to eat them, knocked on the door and shouted:- Open the door! Open the door or I'll blow your house and shoot!And the pig worker said:- Blow you want, but not open!
So the wolf blew and blew. He blew with all his might, but the house did not budge. The house was very strong and resilient. The wolf was almost no air.But while the wolf was very tired, did not desist.He brought a ladder, climbed onto the roof of the house and slid down the chimney passage. He was determined to enter the house and eat the three little pigs and out. But he did not know is that the pigs placed at the bottom of the chimney, a cauldron of boiling water. And the wolf, when he fell down the chimney finished burning with hot water. He gave a huge cry and ran out never to return.
And so the pigs could live in peace. And both the lazy and the greedy learned only to get things work.