California
Department of Education (CDE), Early Education and Support Division
(EESD).
The EESD is
pleased to announce the online publication All About
Young Children:
Information for Families on Children¡¯s Early Development.
This
publication provides resources for families based on the California
Infant/Toddler Learning & Development Foundations and
the California
Preschool Learning Foundations.
Parents and family members can find
out what skills help
children from birth to five learn, how they learn language, how they
learn
about feelings and relationships, how they learn about numbers, and how
they
become skillful at moving their bodies. The name of the Web site is All
About Young Children, and
includes video clips of children's
activities followed by parents' discussion, print materials of five
domains in
five age groups, audio files, and downloadable materials.
Let¡¯s
Move! Child Care
Celebrates 3rd
Anniversary
In
a few weeks, Let¡¯s Move! Child Care (LMCC) (http://www.healthykidshealthyfuture.org/)
will celebrate its 3rd anniversary. Part of
First Lady Michelle
Obama¡¯s Let¡¯s Move! Initiative to raise a
generation of healthier kids,
LMCC is a voluntary effort to empower early care and education
providers to
instill healthy choices from the start. One in five children is
overweight or
obese by age 6. With about 12 million babies and young children in
child care
and 1 million in Head Start nationwide, child care and Head Start
providers
have an important opportunity to prevent childhood obesity by
supporting the
following LMCC goals:
1)
Increase
Physical Activity
Provide 1¨C2 hours of physical activity throughout the day, including
outside
play when possible. The summer months are an especially fun time to get
active
outside. To stay safe, remember to keep babies younger than 6 months
out of
direct sunlight. For children older than 6 months, try to limit sun
exposure
when UV rays are strongest, dress children in protective sun hats and
shatter-resistant sunglasses with UV protection, and apply sunscreen.
2)
Reduce Screen Time
No screen time for children under 2 years. For children age 2 and
older, strive
to limit screen time to no more than 30 minutes per week during child
care and
work with parents and caregivers to ensure children have no more than
1¨C2 hours
of quality screen time per day (as recommended by the American Academy
of
Pediatrics).
3)
Improve Food Choices
Serve fruits or vegetables at every meal, eat meals family style
whenever
possible, and don't serve fried foods.
4)
Provide
Healthy Beverages
Provide access to water during meals and throughout the day, and don't
serve
sugar-sweetened drinks. For children age 2 and older, serve low-fat
(1%) or
nonfat milk and no more than one 4- to 6-ounce serving of 100% juice
per day.
5)
Support
Breastfeeding
For mothers who want to continue breastfeeding, provide their milk to
their
infants and welcome them to breastfeed during the child care day.
Support all
new parents' decisions about infant feeding.