Early Childhood Education: Child Health-Nutrition-Safety

Childhood and adolescence are critical time periods for growth and development. Given the current physical and psychological health concerns affecting United States youth, an emerging area of interest exists supporting the importance of physical and psychological aspects of strength for health, resilience, and well-being through these life stages. This synopsis highlights the key concepts that were presented within the 2018 Strength Summit conference, entitled The Role of Strength in Optimal Health and Well-being. During the conference, strength was broadly defined as the ability to successfully respond to a challenge. Although much of the current research focuses on strength from a muscle function and performance perspective, mental and emotional strength are also important components of overall health and well-being, especially in children and adolescents. This paper provides a brief overview of the clinical and/or research-based strength outcomes, summarizes the relationship between strength and health, and discusses evidence-based dietary factors that promote strength in children and adolescents. Novelty Building physical, mental, and emotional strength during childhood and adolescence lays the foundation for health and well-being. Emerging evidence indicate positive associations between diet quality and strength in children and adolescents. Promising areas include the promotion of family-based meals, with focus on breakfast, for improved strength in United States youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe a collaborative service learning experience (SLE) which was part of the degree requirements of the Public Health Nutrition Graduate Program at the University of Tennessee. The SLE was collaboratively developed by the University of Tennessee's maternal and child health (MCH) nutrition leadership education and training (NLET) Program Director and the Knox County Health Department's healthy weight program manager. Description The SLE was a semester long project that included instructional time and fieldwork. Coursework focused on development of a community nutrition needs assessment, how to interpret and analyze assessment data, and how to use assessment data for program planning and policy development. Fieldwork consisted of interacting with an interprofessional team, assessing the nutrition environment at two afterschool sites, conducting a plate waste study to determine the amount of food consumed by children at the sites' dinner meals, interpreting and analyzing data, and developing and presenting recommendations for improvement. Assessment Trainees successfully completed all aspects of the SLE. They completed a community needs assessment of the neighborhoods surrounding the two afterschool program sites, conducted nutrition environment audits, including meal observations, and measured and analyzed plate waste from dinner meals served at the sites. Using the data gathered and collected, they prepared suggestions for nutrition environment improvements and policy development for community partners. Conclusion The SLE allowed trainees to develop MCH competencies and professional skills required in public health nutrition, while providing valuable data that subsequently was used to establish nutrition-related policies and interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beginning with conception and continuing through childhood and adolescence, the word “strength” connotes the
totality of optimal early bone and tissue growth; neural wiring of the brain; and acquisition of fine motor, gross motor, language,
and socioemotional skills. The robustness of each of these attributes depend on 3 critical epigenetic (external) factors: the quality
of nutrition; positive adult nurturing; and experiences acquired within a stimulating, safe environment that affords free
exploration. This review highlights the relationship between the epigenetic factors in the period of conception to age 2 years and
a child’s future health, cognitive capacity, and social aptitude, which collectively comprise their “strength”. This paper was
presented as part of the 2018 Strength Summit conference entitled, The Role of Strength in Optimal Health and Well-being.

Bright Futures is a national health promotion initiative dedicated to the principle that every child deserves to be healthy and that
optimal health involves a trusting relationship between the health professional, the child, the family, and the community as partners in health practice.

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Teach children the importance of nutrition and physical activity using interactive websites and games.

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CPSC is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with the use of the thousands of types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $1 trillion annually. CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard. CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals - contributed to a decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 40 years.