Health and Safety Nutrition

This article discusses the importance of health and safety nutrition in child care centers and provides information on preventing outbreaks of diseases. It also covers standard operational procedures for implementation and maintaining a safe environment for children.

Running head: HEALTH AND SAFETY NUTRITION
HEALTH AND SAFETY NUTRITION
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1HEALTH AND SAFETY NUTRITION
Introduction
To ensure safety of the children, child care centres must provide a safe and good
environment to protect the children from any kind of hazards that will harm them. There are
several aspects or measures considered by the child care centres to ensure a safe and healthy
environment and to safeguard the health of children. The centres must provide a safe
environment to enhance the physical wellbeing of the children and should be engaged in creating
awareness about health and safety measures to both the children and the staffs. Standard
precautions must be taken in order to prevent any kind of diseases and staffs should be given
adequate knowledge and trainings to ensure safety measures from their side (Ecda.gov.sg, 2019).
Since, precautions are the first line approach to prevent a disease or illness, the staffs should be
engaged in taking every precautions and measures possible that will ensure physical wellbeing of
the children. Nutrition is the most important aspect in upholding the physical wellbeing,
therefore, the child care centres must be focused on giving the appropriate nutrition ensuring
hygiene and good quality foods (Hpb.gov.sg, 2019).
Outbreak of Hand foot mouth disease
Hand-foot-and-mouth disease is a contagious viral infection which is common in the
young children. It is characterized by sores in the mouth and a rash on the hands and feet and is
commonly caused by a coxsackievirus (cdc.gov, 2019). There is no such specific treatment of
this disease. Frequent hand-washing and avoiding contact with people infected with hand-foot-
and-mouth disease will help reducing the risk of developing this infection. It shows mild
symptoms like fever, sore throat, a red rash, without itching but sometimes with blistering, on the

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palms, soles and sometimes the buttocks, felling unwell and uncomfortable, Painful, red, blister-
like lesions on the tongue, gums and inside of the cheeks and loss of appetite. It is spread through
person to person contact with an infected person therefore children must be monitored and
actions should be taken to avoid spreading of the disease (cdc.gov, 2019).
Indoor/outdoor play
The indoor playground must be free from any kind of hazards or risks. The equipment or
toys must be free from germs and should be hygienic. The playgroup must be accessible to the
staffs and they should always monitor the children while playing. Safety measures must be taken
in order to ensure that the safety of the children is preserved (Hpb.gov.sg, 2019). The extension
cords and electric ports used in the play room should be out of reach of the children. If there are
any glass walls or glass door that should be covered by colourful posters or stickers or colour
tape to prevent children running into them. There should be no such objects in the playroom that
can cause harm to the children.
While taking the children for playing outdoor, proper measures must be taken in order to
prevent any kind of hazards involved during the activity. The playground should be free from ay
obstacles or any objects that can be risky for the children paying there. While playing they must
be observed and monitored. If a child falls on the ground and cut his or her legs or hand, they
should be immediately given first aid after washing off the cut area to prevent infection.

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Standard Operational Procedure (SOP) for implementation in the child care
centre
Child healthcare systems should develop its policies by considering certain facts essential
to maintain the health of the children and prevent any kind of infections or diseases. They should
take all the safety measures and precautions in order to prevent the spreading of the infections
and provide a safe and healthy environment for the development of the children. The children
should be always monitored and kept under supervision. The staffs must follow and maintain the
basic hygienic rule to ensure safety of the children. The centre must follow guidelines proposed
by the Infection Control Guidelines for Schools and Child Care Centres. The centres must have
the facility of fire and emergency precautionary process. If there is any kind of emergency
situation within the child centre they must be able to provide emergency services to not worsen
the situation (Ecda.gov.sg, 2019). The children activity areas must be arranged in such a way so
as to keep them under the visual range and access to supervise them. The provision should be
made safe for arrival and departure of the children and also facilitate parent staff interaction. The
playgrounds used for children’s outdoor activity must be free from any kind of hazards and
should be cleaned frequently to ensure hygiene and cleanliness of the environment. The children
must be engaged in activities that will help them develop their knowledge and importance about
maintaining hygiene. Children as well as the staffs must follow the recommended hand wash
techniques and procedures to avoid any kind of infection. Staffs should regularly discuss safety
rules and practices with children and parents. They should maintain the personal belongings of
children like towel, toothbrush, cloth, mattresses, and mug individually. All staffs should be
trained to observe symptoms among children of common childhood illnesses and adopt the
healthcare methods to address the issues according to individual needs (Ecda.gov.sg, 2019).

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Staffs should regularly monitor and discuss health issues and consult their parents. Parents
should be notified and informed immediately if a child is found sick and need serious treatment.
A sick bay should be available in the health care centres for the unwell child to rest in comfort
until their parent’s arrival. Meals provided in the child centres must be nutritious and balanced
(Hpb.gov.sg, 2019). The centres must respect the dietary requirements of different cultures or
religion group and consider the child’s food allergy. The parents should be informed about the
nutrition requirement and to appropriate diet chart needs to be followed for each age groups. The
centres should be open to parent’s suggestions and inputs on menu planning (Hpb.gov.sg, 2019).
SOP for outbreak of Hand foot mouth disease
In order to prevent such outbreaks and protect children from any threats regarding the
contraction of diseases, the child care centres should effectively implement good hygiene habits
among the children as well as the staff members. The children must be kept in a safe and
hygienic environment to avoid any kind of infection (cdc.gov, 2019). There should proper sick
rooms available in the child care centres with medical professionals for the screening of their
health in case any symptoms are observed. If any symptoms are identified, proper measures
should be taken to address them. If any child is observed with any kind of contagious diseases
that can infect other children of the healthcare centre, proper measures should be taken to prevent
the spreading of the disease to other children. Regular cleaning and maintenance of the
environment and equipment are needed to ensure the safety of the children and prevent illness
(cdc.gov, 2019). Staff and the children should be engaged in maintain hygiene by properly
washing their hand to reduce the risk of contamination and spreading of germs and diseases. The
children should be monitored always while playing and doing other things. Frequent hand

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washing and avoiding contact with people who are infected with Hand foot and mouth disease
can help reducing the risk of infection (Hpb.gov.sg, 2019).
SOP for Indoor/outdoor play
To prevent the transmission and spread of infectious diseases within the child care
centres environmental hygiene must be preserved through proper cleaning and maintaining the
environment and the equipment. Environmental hygiene encompasses the proper and effective
cleaning of the equipment and every objects.
The children are more susceptible to the germs that causes mild fever, rashes and other
infections due to playing outdoor games. The children should be strictly monitored to ensure that
they have washed their hands after playing, before eating meal or drinking, before going to bed,
after coming to the centres, after touching pets, after changing diapers, after returning from
playground and before returning home. The children should be taught the correct method of
washing their hands and ensure that they have used liquid soaps while washing their hands
(Hpb.gov.sg, 2019).
The indoor playground must be free from any kind of hazards or risks. The equipment or
toys must be free from germs and should be hygienic. The playgroup must be accessible to the
staffs and they should always monitor the children while playing. Safety measures must be taken
in order to ensure that the safety of the children is preserved. The extension cords and electric
ports used in the play room should be out of reach of the children. If there are any glass walls or
glass door that should be covered by colourful posters or stickers or colour tape to prevent
children running into them. There should be no such objects in the playroom that can cause harm
to the children (Hpb.gov.sg, 2019).

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References:
cdc.gov. (2019). Hand Foot and Mouth Disease | Prevention and Treatment | HFMD | CDC.
Cdc.gov. [online] Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/hand-foot-mouth/about/prevention-
treatment.html [Accessed 27 Jul. 2019].
Ecda.gov.sg. (2019). Welcome to ECDA. Ecda.gov.sg. [online] Ecda.gov.sg. Available at:
https://www.ecda.gov.sg/pages/default.aspx [Accessed 27 Jul. 2019].
Hpb.gov.sg, H. (2019). Health Promoting Programmes for Pre-schools. Health Promotion
Board. [online] Available at: https://www.hpb.gov.sg/schools/school-programmes/health-
promoting-programmes-for-pre-schools [Accessed 27 Jul. 2019].