Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Childhood Obesity Education - What We All Must Lear Now

Childhood obesity education is necessary and should be a major part of parenting. Every parent should be arming themselves about what to do about this disturbing worldwide trend. Obesity in childhood is a very alarming worldwide epidemic which is expected to continue growing. Childhood obesity can be defined as any child with an excessively high amount of body fat. With a little education, children and adults can become knowledgeable about this subject and how to combat the problem.

There are many factors, educational, emotional, physical and environmental which play a role in obesity. These factors can play an important role in diverting children away from obesity. It does not mean that educated children are healthy and unhealthy children are uneducated. It simply implies that the better educated we are about this subject (childhood obesity), the better we will be at making healthy decisions for our children.

Childhood obesity can be addressed in multiple ways. Government action is very essential which promotes equal opportunities for both the children and the family regardless of the demographics. The Governments primary role should be giving everyone equal access to information and resources. Public awareness campaigns funded by government is the first step.The government should also provide physical activities for the obese children as well as information dissemination regarding obesity.

Childhood obesity education begins with the parents. The behavior of the parents affects the behaviors of their children. Education starts from the way their parents discipline their children. Good parenting means taking time to learn about nutrition and the effects of poor nutritional choices It should include how to avoid obesity, what are the causes and its harmful effects. So, the parents must be well informed, since they are the ones in direct contact with the child. There is a correlation between low education and poor nutritional choices. Low education tends toward low income. With low income, food choices are based on getting the most for your money. This usually leads to low quality food choices. This explains the prevalence of childhood obesity in poor communities..

Monday, January 9, 2012

Child Care and Developing Essential Skills

Child care is always a difficult decision for many parents. More often than not, it's probably the first time parents have allowed their little one out of their sight for such an extended period of time with people that they are not intimately familiar with. Their babysitters so far have likely either been other family members or close friends that they trust. Still, "early childhood education," as it has come to be alternatively called, has become an increasingly popular option among parents in the U.S., and is now considered the norm.

Part of this can no doubt be attributed to some of the factors associated with the educational aspects of child care (as its other moniker indicates). With the advances in both childhood and educational psychology in the past half-century, both parents and doctors alike now recognize how essential and formative the first few years of a human's life are to their social skills, morality, discipline, and ability to absorb and utilize new information. For this reason, child care is now thought more of as a pre-school type educational experience than simply a place to leave a kid to be babysat while their parents are away at work.

Whereas leaving your kid at home with just a babysitter or au-pair is perfectly fine, it does not place the boy or girl in a social setting in which he or she comes into contact with people his or her own age; and there have thus been concerns about social development among kids who are left at home rather than encouraged to branch out. They may have trouble finding friends or various social circles later in life because it was not a skill they learned at an early age. Further, we must remember that the caretakers are professionally trained. In addition to being able to perform all first-aid measures and being CPR-certified, many of them are trained in early-age education. In fact, one of the first and most important skills taught to kids while they are at child care is learning elementary reading skills-from learning the alphabet to sounding out their first words on their own.

There is also, of course, plenty of recess time for kids to get out and stretch their legs. This aspect has been especially important as of late when we consider the decline of exercise among young kids in recent years. Encouraging kids to explore the playground and run around will increase the chances of those kids deciding to go outside and play soccer instead of staying inside and playing soccer on a video game as they grow up. Child care is an affordable and dependable service that can help parents' little ones develop crucial skills and learn valuable lessons that they will practice to their benefit as they continue to maturate.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Benefits Of Using Early Childhood Care

There are many reasons why families choose to enrol their preschool children in a childcare centre. Some need to use early childhood care because both parents work and there is no one else to care for their preschool aged children. Others take advantage of the opportunity to get some time out during the day to pursue their own interests, knowing that their children are in safe hands for a few hours. Many parents also see the benefits of using early childhood education for their children as a preparation for school and life.

Studies show that quality childcare services are beneficial to children in cognitive and social ways. Researchers that have followed children from a young age to high school have seen that there are long lasting benefits which last into the high school years. Some of the key factors affecting results in these studies are quality interactions between staff and children, access to plenty of books and other literacy materials in the centre and a wide selection of learning activities.

The best early childhood care is an extension of the child's own home. There should be a relatively seamless transfer between the two venues, with the young person feeling comfortable in the learning centre and happy with the people who work there. Staff training is crucial in the early childhood environment, as are staff ratios. Staff members in these centres need to understand how children learn. They also need to know about the importance of building on the interests of the child.

Parents who are seeking early childhood care for their preschoolers need to make wise decisions about the centres they choose. Fortunately, there are a wide range of options available. It's a good idea to visit a few before deciding. When the quality of education in these centres is high, preschool children will have opportunities to see words, letters and numbers as an enjoyable daily experience. There will be a wide range of quality educational equipment available and there will obviously be plenty of trained staff around. Children will look happy, busy and engaged in their activities. The environment for family members will also be supportive, helping everyone to feel comfortable with an arrangement which can be overwhelming to children and parents at first.

The social and cognitive benefits for children in early childhood care include growing up as competent and confident learners who communicate well and have a secure sense of belonging. The development programmes in good early childhood facilities aim to observe children regularly, evaluate their needs and plan further activities based on these observations. This means the programmes are individualised to each child, which is another great benefit of considering early childhood education for your preschoolers.