Provide Love and Understanding It is crucial that a responsible caregiver understands and loves children. In turn, he/she is usually liked by children. At the start, some people have a greater aptitude for these qualities, but one can learn to understand children by observation and study.

Provide a safe environment Good caregivers are safety-conscious and make every effort to protect the children they are responsible for from accidents. The safety-minded individual is alert to unusual as well as obvious dangers. He/she can quickly decide how to respond to potential dangerous situations

Ten Tips for Safety Never leave a small child alone at any time. Keep the child away from electrical equipment or hot objects. Keep gates closed or have a barrier across the top of stairs. Keep dangerous objects out of children’s reach.

Ten Tips for Safety Teach children how to use their toys safely. Teach children to pick up their toys when they are finished playing with them. Teach children to stay out of the street.

Ten Tips for Safety Do not let children run around with sharp objects in their mouths. Do not let them play with plastic bags they could suffocate Keep children away from water unless supervised constantly.

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Know Emergency Procedures

Emergency Guide Choking: Children less than a year old – Place the child face down over your arm and tap the child four times between the shoulder blades with the heel of your hand. Children older than a year old – Do the Heimlich Maneuver. Small children should not be allowed to play with toys smaller than would fit in a toilet paper roll. If it fits in it they could choke. Fractures/Sprains: For a fracture - Check for pain or swelling. Do not move! Call for help. For a sprain, apply cold compresses, and elevate the injured part.

Convulsions: Protect the child from injury. Place the child on his/her side with the head lower than the hips. Do not put anything in the child’s mouth. Call the doctor or 911. Animal Bites: Wash the wound with soap and water and call the doctor. Locate and identify the animal for possible rabies. Nosebleeds: Sit the child down. Have them lean their head forward. Squeeze his/her nostrils between your thumb and index finger for at least 5 minutes. Do not tip the head backwards as the child may choke on blood. If the bleeding lasts for more than 20 minutes, the nosebleed follows an accident, a fall or an injury to your head see a doctor

Skin Wounds: For bruises, apply cold compresses for 30 minutes. For cuts, apply direct pressure with a clean cloth until the bleeding stops. Wash with soap and water and put on a bandage. If the cut is large or deep, keep up the pressure and call 911. For puncture wounds, wash with soap and water and call the doctor. Do not try to remove large objects Poisoning: Decide exactly what was taken and how much. Know the child’s age and weight. Take the bottle of poison with you to the phone, if possible. Call Poison Control Center or 911.

Insect Stings: Remove the stinger by scraping it with your fingernail. Do not pull it out. Once it is removed, apply a cold compress. Check for allergic reactions and if so, call 911 Burns: Place the burn under cool running water or cover with a towel soaked in cold water Head Injuries: Check for unconsciousness, drowsiness, convulsions, inability to move any body part, severe headache and oozing of blood or water from the ears or nose. Call the doctor

Provide Opportunities For Creative Play Play is a child’s natural way of learning. Children test and practice new physical, mental and social skills through play. Play gives the child an opportunity to act out feelings and builds a foundation for future learning. It is the way a child learns to concentrate, to imagine things, to try new ideas, and to practice grown-up behavior.

Provide Positive Guidance The mental and emotional needs of children are often more difficult to think of and remember than are the physical needs. To get along in the world, children need basic guidelines for behavior. We have the responsibility to teach children how to behave. The word discipline comes from the word disciple, which means “student” or “follower”. To teach guidelines successfully, begin with encouragement, love and praise. Children repeat actions they are praised for and give up actions that are ignored by others.

Meet Children’s Needs

Physical Needs: Give opportunities to develop muscles and develop coordination. Try drawing this cow in your packet with your left hand or right hand if you are left handed. If you want a real challenge try using your toes. Then try writing your name the same way…..How does it look? If you practiced would you get better? Preschoolers need a lot of practice and opportunities to develop their muscles…..they do improve with practice.

Small Motor Skills Dressing Drawing and Coloring Toys puzzles

Large Motor Skills Jumping Running Climbing Throwing

Mental Needs Pronouns are difficult-Pronouns are very difficult for the young child. Words like I, me, you, him, and she are confusing. Incorrect grammar: Young child may use incorrect grammar. Do not tell her she is wrong. Simply repeat the sentence back correctly to her so that she understands the correct usage of the words “Why?” Why becomes the preschooler’s favorite word. Every sentence you utter is questioned with a “Why?” by the child. Try to help him keep his curiosity by giving brief explanations. Turn the question back to him: “Why do you think?”, or if you do not know the answer, you could both look for the answer in a book. Books Books are very important to the preschooler. Have lots of picture books around for the child to look at by himself, or for you to look at together. Talking about the pictures helps him to get ready for reading

Emotional Needs Touching: Touching is a natural, easy way to show children they are loved and needed. Touching, is a communication between parents and children, its more than hugging and kissing. It can be a pat on the shoulder or a gentle poke in the ribs. High fives. We never outgrow our need to be touched. Children need love: Children need love in order to grow into healthy, self-confident adults. The love parents and other family members give should be unconditional. That means loving them all the time, no matter what they may say, do, or look like. It also means separating what they do from who they are. You can be angry at a child's behavior without making the child feel unloved. Say, “I am angry that you threw the flour all over the floor” instead of “You are a bad boy”. Of all the child’s needs, physical, mental and emotional, love may be the most important of all.