Caring for Our Children : National Health and Safety Performance Standards: Guidelines for Early Care and Early Education Programs

The new 3rd edition contains updated guidelines on the development and evaluation of the health and safety of children in all types of early care and education settings - centers and family child care homes.

Features 10 chapters of 686 standards and 39 appendices

• Total of 58 new standards and 15 new appendices
• New and revised standards in all areas
• Easy-to-read 2-column format

Key areas of change include

• Use of early childhood mental health consultants and early education consultants
• Monitoring children's development and obtaining consent for screening
• Positive behavior management
• Limiting screen time
• Promoting physical activity
• Swaddling
• Healthy eating
• Encouraging breastfeeding
• Hand sanitizers
• Sun safety and sunscreen
• Integrated pest management
• Influenza control
• Environmentally friendly settings and use of least toxic products

Updated and new appendices including

• Creating plan for children with special health care needs
• Helmet safety
• Helping children in foster care make successful transitions
• Medication administration forms
• A poster on encouraging breastfeeding in early care and education programs
• Authorization for emergency medical/dental care
• Healthier eating as shown in the USDA MyPlate, which replaces MyPyramid to support healthier food choices

The American Public Health Association (APHA) champions the health of all people and all communities. They strengthen the public health profession and speak out for public health issues and policies backed by science. APHA is the only organization that influences federal policy, has a nearly 150-year perspective, and brings together members from all fields of public health.
APHA publishes the American Journal of Public Health and The Nation's Health newspaper. At their Annual Meeting & Exposition, thousands of people share the latest public health research. APHA leads public awareness campaigns such as Get Ready and National Public Health Week.

The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 67,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults. The AAP is the largest pediatric publisher in the world, with a diverse list of resources that includes essential clinical and practice management titles and award-winning books for parents.