Managing Young Children’s Health and Safety during the Early Learning Years

Authors: Nonzukiso Tyilo

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37082/IJIRMPS.ICTIMESH-23.3

Short DOI: https://doi.org/mgdm

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Abstract: Children grow and develop holistically during their early childhood years. Major developmental milestones may be missed when young children grow up in unnurtured homes with inadequate caregiving. Such practices may jeopardize children's development, particularly during the early childhood years while failing to prepare them for formal school. Communicable diseases begin to show during children’s early years of life. As a result, the health and safety of young children must be addressed, as several potential health concerns may harm young children because of unhealthy habits and unsafe learning environments. Health, safety, and nutrition should be prioritized to achieve high-quality early childhood education, along with managing resources and safe settings for young children. However, certain observations revealed that the health and safety of young children are badly maintained; so, this paper evaluated the management of young children's health and safety from the selected centers. The paper used Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory since it focuses on the significance of different ecosystem layers in children's development. A qualitative method was used, with 10 participants purposively selected from the three ECD centers. The findings found that most of the infrastructure in ECD centers did not comply with the norms and standards of learning for children aged 0 to 4 years. The dilapidated infrastructure posed a risk to children's health and safety. Furthermore, the food provided for the children was unhealthy. The paper recommends ECD educators' capacity building so they can design secure indoor and outdoor settings that support holistic development. Additionally, parents and ECD educators should be given more in-depth information about the need to provide young children with a healthy diet.

Keywords: Holistic Development, Infrastructure, Nutritious Food Value, Obesity, Play-based Learning, Safe Outdoor and Indoor Play, Sustainable Development

Paper Id: 3.103

Published On: 2024-01-23

Published In: Special Issue - International Conference on Trends & Innovations in Management, Engineering, Sciences and Humanities (January 2024)

Cite This: Managing Young Children’s Health and Safety during the Early Learning Years - Nonzukiso Tyilo - IJIRMPS Special Issue - International Conference on Trends & Innovations in Management, Engineering, Sciences and Humanities (January 2024). DOI 10.37082/IJIRMPS.ICTIMESH-23.3

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