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CHCCN302A: Provide care for children

Create opportunities for children to develop their understanding of physical needs

Contents

Explain nutritional needs to children in a suitable language 3

Talking about nutrition 3

Explain hygiene practices and demonstrate through positive staff practices and daily routines 5

Demonstrating hygiene practices to children through positive staff practices and staff routines 5

Personal habits and hygiene 8

Encouraging children to follow hygiene practices 8

Consistent modelling 9

Explain safety issues and demonstrate procedures 10

Explaining hazards and potential hazards in the environment 11

Support children to understand the relationship between physical activity and good health 12

Explaining the need for exercise 12

Offer opportunities for children to participate in food preparation and procurement 16

Diploma of Children’s Services: CHCCN302A: Reader LO 9198 © NSW DET 2010

Explain nutritional needs to children in a suitable language

Food is the universal reinforcer. Most of us are comforted by food and find eating a pleasurable experience. However, childhood obesity is on the rise in Australia. Being overweight or obese puts children at risk for a variety of adverse health conditions as well as poor self-esteem and lifelong social and educational consequences. Overweight children are highly likely to become overweight adults.

Most health commentators suggest that the problem lies with an excessive intake of fat and sugar combined with lower levels of physical activity rather than simply overeating. Many argue that the emphasis on and advertising of fast foods contributes to the problem. Whatever the case, parents and caregivers have a responsibility to encourage children to make healthy choices about the food they eat.

Think about how many times a child is exposed to fast food advertising compared to how often they are likely to hear a healthy food message, and you may begin to realise the importance of talking about nutrition with children. The majority of food advertising aimed at children is for food of low nutritional value. Early experiences with food have a strong impact on a child’s future eating habits—healthy dietary habits and nutritional understanding need to be established early in life.

Talking about nutritionA complex explanation of the food pyramid of nutritional needs is not essential for toddlers or preschoolers. With most of the children in all the age ranges we are discussing in this topic, it is important to keep explanations simple. Discussion can be done most effectively when the object of the topic is literally under your nose, or the nose of the child.

Diploma of Children’s Services: CHCCN302A: Reader LO 9198© NSW DET 2010

A good time to talk about nutrition is during meal times

A good time to talk about nutrition is during meal times.

Dianne is cutting up an apple with Hannah (three years old). She offers a piece to Hannah, saying ‘Nice crunchy apple, helps keep your teeth clean.’

Through this simple statement Dianne has shared her enjoyment of nutritional food and also some information that adds to Hannah’s knowledge of the benefits of eating apples. It is important with all age groups to keep interactions about food simple, positive, and shared in a relaxed manner.

Talking about the flavours and textures as well as the values of foods will encourage the children’s enthusiasm and pleasure. You can encourage children to be selective and make healthy food choices through role modelling and offering a variety of good foods.

Activity 1

Activity 2a


Explain hygiene practices and demonstrate through positive staff practices and daily routines

Communicating effectively with children helps them to develop self-sufficiency in completing self-care and self-help tasks. How we communicate with children can impact on their understanding about the importance of certain practices as well as their confidence in completing tasks themselves. Thinking about the words you use, what you communicate non-verbally, and the behaviours you model are central to ensuring that children understand and develop positive attitudes about self-care.

Demonstrating hygiene practices to children through positive staff practices and staff routinesArguably, hygiene is one of the most critical areas of learning when it comes to self-help skills. Along with ensuring personal safety, maintaining appropriate hygiene is basic to our health and survival. Most of us can’t remember when we were toilet trained, first washed our hands independently or learned about keeping ourselves and our immediate environment clean and ‘germ’ free. However, as adults we perform regular or daily routine hygiene tasks unconsciously. In short, the hygiene habits developed in early childhood continue through the rest of our lives.

There are a range of factors that will influence the child’s ability to maintain their own hygiene. These include:

• Their age/stage of development.• The value the child’s family places on the particular skill.• Opportunities to practise the particular skill.• The type of environment they are practising in. A nurturing, supportive

environment will encourage children to continue to practise and feel good about the progress they make.


Encourage children

Family differencesThere will be individual differences between the hygiene practices used by different families in your children’s service. The hygiene practices that individual families use may be influenced by their culture, religious beliefs, their experiences, their family beliefs and traditions.

All children under about six years of age should be suitably instructed about how to brush their teeth and be supervised while brushing.

Children will be most competent in skills that are reinforced in the home environment.

It’s important to acknowledge that all families will not follow the same procedures that you may follow. The role of the caregiver is to accommodate individual and family related practices in your service’s programme wherever possible.

You need to realise that because childcare is a group care situation, some of our hygiene procedures and practices may be very different from those children experience at home. We tend to be more vigilant about hygiene and use different sorts of hygiene equipment compared to home. For example, with hand washing, best practice in children’s services suggests pump pack liquid soap and paper towels, which are necessary to reduce the risk of cross infection. Although liquid soap is a popular trend in home bathrooms it is unlikely that children have much experience with using and disposing of paper towels.

How children learn and develop good personal hygiene practicesAs mentioned previously the family’s beliefs and practices play a major role in the child’s growing awareness and competence in personal hygiene skills. Children learn these skills by modelling what they see in their environment. Caregivers can also influence the child’s skills in personal hygiene by providing a good role model for the children to observe. Children imitate the actions of significant others in their lives, their families, carers, peers and, as they become older, the media.


Good hygiene practices can be modelled for children in all routine times through out the day.

Activity 3Using positive strategiesDo not to frighten children with overwhelming stories of the consequences of poor hygiene. Remember to always think positively. For example, ‘We brush our teeth to keep them strong and healthy so we can chew our food’, is a more positive explanation than saying ‘If you don’t brush your teeth they will all fall out.’ Children believe what adults tell them and they take what we say literally. Negative comments can cause undue stress in children. Imagine a four year old who forgets to brush her teeth one morning, worrying all day as to whether her teeth are going to fall out.

Visual prompts can also be useful for reminding older children and staff about the appropriate procedures to follow. A written step by step is OK for those who can read. Preschoolers will benefit from a simple set of pictures or posters set in a numbered sequence, which visually remind children of the key parts of the task. There are some commercially available pictures that are suitable or you can make these yourself. Using enlarged photos of the children themselves draws their attention to the display and may increase the likelihood of them remembering the correct procedure.

A visual prompt for hand washing can help to remind children

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Childcare educators have lots of opportunities to directly teach children about good hygiene practices. With older toddlers, preschoolers and school aged children we can achieve this through individual, small and large group experiences.

Activity 4


Personal habits and hygieneChildren learn personal hygiene habits by modelling what they see in their environment. Caregivers influence the child’s skills in personal hygiene by providing a good role model for the children to follow. Good hygiene practices should be modelled for children in all routine times throughout the day as well as by maintaining good personal hygiene.

Activity 5a

Activity 5b

Encouraging children to follow hygiene practicesAs has been discussed the most effective way to teach children about hygiene practices is to use those ‘teachable moments’ that occur throughout the day as we carry out all of the care routines associated with daily living. Caregivers should also observe and watch for times and signs that children are ready to learn more about the reasons for maintaining hygiene practices. Caregivers need to build positive attitudes towards hygiene habits and correct any mistaken ideas children may have. The links between carrying out appropriate hygiene practices and avoiding illness can be explained to children using simple language.

Carers should watch out for 'teachable moments' when children may be receptive to learning

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Activity 6

Consistent modellingBeing a consistent role model is extremely important. Children often learn more from what they see rather than from what we say.


Activity 7


Explain safety issues and demonstrate procedures

Accidents are the leading cause of death and injuries for children aged one to four years of age.

Four main factors contribute to this:

• The children are now mobile—they can walk, climb and reach.• Small muscle development allows children to grasp and open containers

that they previously could not explore.• Toddlers and preschoolers are curious, persistent and eager to gather

information through all of their senses.• Toddlers in particular, lack experience and the ability to identify

dangerous situations and predict dangerous outcomes.

The toddler has a high centre of gravity—this means the point in their body at which there is equally as much mass above and below is very high. Adults can bend over a railing to look to the ground as they have a lower centre of gravity, but toddlers cannot do this without falling. If they can see over the edge, they are unbalanced enough to fall. The toddlers’ short arms also makes it difficult to push the body out once the child has fallen into something (eg, a toilet).

Carers are responsible for the safety of children in their care, and are responsible for encouraging children to be aware of safety issues for them and others from a young age.

According to Kidsafe (1997) the top ten causes of injury for children under five are:

• falls• poisoning• burns and scalding• cuts• crushing or trapping injuries• foreign bodies—objects in the ear, nose and eye • motor car injuries• collisions• dog bites• choking—more choking occurs from non- food rather than food items.


Explaining hazards and potential hazards in the environment With the younger children, carers must take full responsibility for their safety. For example, ensuring food or drink is a safe temperature, feeding implements are safe and manageable, seating is of an appropriate height and highchairs are secure. Toys should not have sharp edges, toxic cleaning or first aid chemicals must be kept securely locked away.

Activity 8

Activity 9


Support children to understand the relationship between physical activity and good health

Explaining the need for exerciseWe are a much more sedentary culture than we have been in the past, as amusements such as TV or video games involve less movement, advertising in children’s TV time emphasises high calorie highly processed foods, and fears about dangers in the environment mean parents are less likely to let their children roam. These and other factors have contributed to a fall in childhood exercise and a resultant rise in childhood obesity.

Activity 10

RecommendationsDaily physical activity gives important physical and social health benefits during childhood and can lead to a physically active lifestyle into adulthood. The recommendation for children is for 60 minutes of physical activity every day.

The Dept of Health and Ageing (2005) recommend:

• All children should be physically active daily, or nearly every day, as part of play, games, sports, work, transportation, recreation, physical education, or planned exercise, in the context of family, school, and community activities.

• All children should engage in physical activity of at least moderate intensity for 60 minutes or more on a daily basis.

• Children should avoid extended periods of inactivity through participation in sedentary activities such television watching, video, computer games and surfing the internet.

• Children who currently do little activity should participate in physical activity of at least moderate intensity for at least 30 minutes daily, building up to undertaking 60 minutes daily.

The Dept of Health and Ageing also endorse the following recommendations made by The National Association for Sport and Physical Education (USA).


Recommendations for infants• Infants should interact with parents and/or caregivers in daily physical

activities that are dedicated to promoting the exploration of their environment.

• Infants should be placed in safe settings that facilitate physical activity and do not restrict movement for prolonged periods of time.

• Infants’ physical activity should promote the development of movement skills.

Recommendations for toddlers• Toddlers should accumulate at least 30 minutes daily of structured

physical activity.• Toddlers should engage in at least 60 minutes and up to several hours of

daily, unstructured physical activity and should not be sedentary for more than 60 minutes at a time except when sleeping.

• Toddlers should develop movement skills that are building blocks for more complex movement tasks.

Recommendations for preschoolers• Preschoolers should accumulate at least 60 minutes daily of structured

physical activity.• Preschoolers should engage in at least 60 minutes and up to several hours

of daily, unstructured physical activity and should not be sedentary for more than 60 minutes at a time except when sleeping.

• Preschoolers should develop competence in movement skills that are building blocks for more complex movement tasks.

Recommendations for all children• Children should have indoor and outdoor areas that meet or exceed

recommended safety standards for performing large muscle activities.• Individuals responsible for the well-being of children should be aware of

the importance of physical activity and facilitate the child’s movement skills.

(Discussion paper for the development of recommendations for children’s and youths’ participation in health promoting physical activity Dept of Health & Ageing 2005)

Explaining the relationship between physical activity and good health.As carers we need to help children understand the dangers of overeating and eating unhealthy foods as well as the benefits of physical activity. The best way to do this is to make positive comments as the children are involved or are talking about healthy physical experiences. For example:


• Wow ,Tyron, you can jump high!• Isn’t this fun dancing together?• I can feel your muscles getting stronger.• Della and Sarah you have climbed right to the top!

Suggested experiences:• Make up posters of healthy activities and healthy foods• Have a brainstorm session of the different physical activities children

would like to experience. Include these, or simpler options, in the centre program

• Have special activity days eg Bike Day where the children bring in their bikes from home, including helmets, and have a riding day

• Involve regular physical activity in all areas of the program eg dance; action songs/rhymes; yoga or stretching; bursting bubbles; and science experiments eg seeing how far paper aeroplanes can fly

• Read stories that expose the children to a variety of physical activity and promote a positive attitude to regular activity

• Encourage the children to talk about the physical activity they do at home• Have the children share ideas about exciting playgrounds in the area or

other physical activity opportunities in the community• Ensure the program has a balance of active and passive experiences• Be a role model and participate in the physical activities with the children• Talk about your physical activity interests with the children eg share your

interest of dance, rock climbing, canoeing etc• Have fun together doing physical activities!

You could also include facts and suggestions on physical activities for children in your centre newsletter.

Activity 11

Ensure your program allows for lots of physical activity


Offer opportunities for children to participate in food preparation and procurement

It is good for children to be involved in the preparation and procurement or obtaining of food so they can learn more about it and understand where it comes from. By involving children in the preparation of food they are building a familiarity with the different foods and as they are working, for example cutting or peeling vegetables, we can be talking about the benefits and characteristics of the vegetables.

I remember doing an activity with city-born four year olds, where we squeezed oranges for juice. This turned out to be way outside their experience, as they had never seen a liquid come from anything except a bottle, carton or tap. This experience inspired much conversation about fruit and juices and how it is healthy for our bodies. We then had a mini-excursion to the shops and looked at all the fruit and vegetables we could buy and discussed what we could make with them to eat. We found the children involved in these experiences were quite willing to try the fruits and vegetables and what we made even if it was just a taste! Even so it is widening their exposure to different foods, flavours and the concept of healthy foods.

Excursion to Tickleberry FarmRead this story of a carer and children who begin with growing vegetables themselves, and then take a trip to a farm, where they could see how farmers do things.

The journey to Tickleberry Farm began when the children and Alison, the carer, were creating a vegetable garden for the outdoor play space. The children decided to plant vegetable seeds including tomatoes, potatoes, onions, broccoli, zucchini, strawberries and carrots. They tended and nurtured the vegetables as they grew. They talked about how much water they need to grow, they removed any weeds, they overturned the soil, and they discussed what they could do with the vegetables once they were ready for picking. As the vegetables grew over the weeks, the excitement surrounding their delicious creations intensified and when the time came for picking, the children were overcome with joy.


The children assisted Alison in picking the vegetables and they proudly took them to the kitchen, to Roma the Cook, who happily made a vegetable soup. The children were so proud of what they had accomplished, what they had grown, that they happily ate all their vegetable soup.

Throughout this wonderful adventure, many ideas and discussions took place about:

other vegetables colour of vegetables—‘why is the tomato red’, ‘why do

vegetables need sun to grow’ why some vegetables are grown in the ground, pots or on a

vine the importance of vegetables to our bodies

where vegetables come from in the shop.

As a result of these discussions and this experience, it was decided to take the children on a field trip to a vegetable farm, specialising in tomatoes, strawberries and raspberries.

The children took along some plastic bags and buckets for carrying the vegetables.

When they arrived at the farm, the children were very excited about the prospects of what they were to experience and their learning journey. They were armed with their storage units and were ready to explore and discover.

Alison and the children were greeted by one of the farm owners and then the fun began.

The children were initially shown the raspberry section and a discussion evolved about the best methods in picking raspberries, how they grow, the safety aspects and what they tasted like.Next the children moved to the strawberries and picked some from the vines. The children were amazed at the sight of some of the large strawberries and how delicious they tasted.

Finally, the children arrived at the tomato area and were eager to explore. Alison discussed with the children what kinds of things they were to look for in picking tomatoes and the difference between ripe and non-ripe tomatoes.

The children gathered in small groups led by a carer and began their tomato picking. Lots of ripe tomatoes were picked, some non-ripe were also picked, some were eaten on the spot, some were squashed. Lots of insects and bugs were found and this prompted further discussions about the role bugs play in the environment.The morning ended on such a high note and the children were excited about the prospect of using the tomatoes, raspberries and strawberries at the centre.


The next several days at the centre were busy with the children and Alison making tomato relish—‘the fruits of their labour’. The finished products, namely the bottles, were then decorated by the children and sent proudly home.

At Tickleberry Farm

Making tomato relish


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