Category: Health and Nutrition

Information and inspiration for early care and education professionals.

Cooking and Sharing: Providing high-quality nutrition in your program

Early childhood educators can help influence children’s healthy eating habits. Sharing a variety of new, nutritious foods with children encourages them to try different flavors, textures and food they may not get to experience at home. Many early learning programs[...]
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It’s Time to Eat: Tips for Mealtime Mastery

As an early childhood educator, you know that meal and snack times offer a rich opportunity for learning. At the same time, you want to make sure the best health practices are being followed and a clean environment is maintained.[...]
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Child Care Health Consultants help your program achieve healthier environments for children

It’s not easy maintaining a healthy environment for young children. As a child care director or owner, you may need additional support to achieve best health and safety practices in your program. As a Quality First participant, you have access[...]
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How will you respond? Preparing for a positive case at your program

As an early education professional in today’s environment, you spend significant time and effort on preventing the spread of germs in your environment. As important as it is to take action to prevent the spread of viruses such as COVID-19[...]
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Caring for Infants and Toddlers During COVID and Beyond

As you work to provide safe and healthy early learning environments for young children, including infants and toddlers, you may find yourself wondering how to adapt for the youngest children in your care. Certain COVID safety recommendations may not apply[...]
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How to provide physical distancing in the early education setting

When planning to provide care for young children during COVID-19, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and unsure of where to find reliable advice. On a daily basis, you face critical decisions such as: how should you screen for an illness;[...]
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New Routines to Protect Children’s Health

The foundation of quality early childhood programs is providing a healthy environment. The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged and raised the stakes for programs statewide. Early childhood educators across Arizona are creating enhanced procedures to protect the health of the children[...]
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Take it outside: Learning in the great outdoors

You probably know all about the benefits of outdoor play for young children’s physical health. Outdoor spaces provide a natural setting for active physical play, helping children gain bone and muscle strength and supporting a healthy weight (Physical Activity Advisory[...]
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Building Healthy Handwashing Habits

Proper handwashing is one of the most effective ways to reduce the spread of germs in a group care setting. By taking the time to teach correct handwashing to the children in your care, you help build a habit that[...]
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