Increasing Safety and Security in Children Environments Essay

Introduction

The safety and security for children are vital to avoid accidents and injuries associated with child care environments. In that case, particular priorities and factors must be considered when planning for any children program to achieve the utmost safety and security for the kids in different environments. The essay captures the importance of ensuring children safety and security when planning for their programs. It aims at discussing the priorities and factors that should be considered, the strategies that can be used in increasing safety and security in children's' environments as well as provide a list of aspects that must be considered when creating safe and appropriate settings for children.

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Strategic Priorities and Factors when Planning for Children's Programs

The strategic priorities and factors that guide planning for children's program include age and individual appropriateness, family and culture, group or individual programs, and activities. Age and personal suitability is a priority and a factor that is critical for consideration when planning for children programs. According to Thurman and Debord (2018), taking into account the age of the children when preparing for a program is necessary to have ideas on what to incorporate. Each children age groups have different needs from the other. Therefore, when planning for children's programs, the program goals should be set after knowing the needs of the targeted age group of children.

Individual appropriateness is a strategic priority and factor when planning for children's programs as it considers the development level of the children as individuals. Children develop differently and individualizing the programs is essential to take every child based on their development level (National Center on Early Childhood Health and Wellness, 2018). However, the program design should be able to promote similar growth patterns for all targeted children. The background of the children, interests, and abilities should guide the program planner in meeting the needs of each child (Child Care Aware America, 2018). The program goals should coincide with the requirements of every child or group of children. This priority and factor consider whether to plan an ongoing or a brief program for the children. Individual programs call for the involvement of the targeted child to set the pace and path of exploration (Thurman & Debord, 2018). The activities to be included in the program should also be considered as they help in choosing the materials and other resources suitable for the targeted children. Also, the activities will assist in planning for the theme and development goals to be achieved by the program.

Strategies for Increasing Safety and Security in Children's Environments

Various approaches can be used to increase safety and security in children's environment including a proper arrangement of materials, adequate supervision of kids when using facilities in the designated environments, and ensuring the condition of the facilities is not worn out. Whether an indoor or outdoor setting, all materials should be appropriately arranged to allow the children to play with ease and avoid any possible injuries. Children have a high risk of unintentional injury, and any material used in their environments should be arranged in a way that promotes play as well as learning while preventing injuries (Morrongiello & Corbett, 2008). All materials must be organized depending on the developmental needs of the children as it will help in keeping them safe (National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education, 2011). Further, the condition of the materials in the environment should be superb. Broken or damaged materials cause injuries to the children. Therefore, ensuring frequent assessment of the equipment and materials for use by the children within the environment is critical to increasing safety and security in children's environments. Also, practicing safe supervision strategies for the settings is crucial in improving their safety and security for use by children.

Aspects for Consideration when Creating Safe and Appropriate Environments for Children

The elements for consideration when creating safe and appropriate environments for children include age, individual and group needs, as well as family involvement. Each of these aspects contributes to the safety of children in one way of the other. The Victoria State Government (2018) state that age is a vital aspect that informs the type of environment to be developed. In this case, the age of a child or children will define the creation of a situation that best suits them. Individual and group needs are elements that describe the differences for an environment created for a single child and a group of children (National Center on Early Childhood Health and Wellness, 2018). Therefore, knowing individual and group needs of the children will guide the creation of an environment where individual or group needs are met. Also, family involvement is an aspect that supports the values of the children's family when it comes to the safety and security of their children. Considering family involvement will assist in coming up with an environment that addresses the family concerns about safe and secure for the children. Therefore, the importance of family engagement when creating children environment should be given priority.

References

Child Care Aware America. (2018). Making a Difference in Child Care. Providers Making a Difference. Retrieved from http://childcareaware.org/providers/making-a-difference/

Morrongiello, B., & Corbett, M. (2008). Elaborating a Conceptual Model of Young Children's Risk of Unintentional Injury and Implications for Prevention Strategies. Health Psychology Review, 2(2).National Center on Early Childhood Health and Wellness. (2018). Tips for keeping children Safe: A developmental guide. Retrieved from https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/safety-practices/article/tips-keeping-children-safe-developmental-guide

National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education. (2011). Caring for our children: National health and safety performance standards. Guidelines for early care and education programs. 3rd edition.

Thurman, L., & Debord, K. (2018). Planning guide for early child care environments. Program Planning and Resources. The Family Resource Facilitation Program.