What's in a Nap?

Photo Credit

Child care providers and parents know that naps are an essential part of a young child’s life. However, there isn’t a huge body of research available to back that up. Recently the National Institutes of Health conducted a study that shows naps reboot energy and aid healthy development. In a preschool classrooms study, taking a nap helped with memory and supported learning. These results may help educators make informed decisions about naps.

Research was done on forty preschoolers by Dr. Rebecca Spencer and her team on exploring the relationship between early childhood naps and memory formation. The researchers taught the preschoolers a game called Memory. The objective of the game was for them to learn and remember 9 or 12 cartoons located on a grid. During the research, the children either took a nap or were kept awake. Researchers found that the children who took a nap recalled 10% more of the cartoon images and children who regularly took naps saw the most benefit.

So, not only do naps help young children’s health, but also with their learning. This study affirms that routine and the opportunity for rest is crucial for healthy early childhood development.

For more information on the study, follow this link.

Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month

In 1987, President Reagan declared March "Mental Retardation Awareness Month" to encourage opportunities for people with developmental disabilities. Since renamed "Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month", this month is still set aside to celebrate individuals with developmental disabilities and their families, as well as promote general understanding and awareness.

Join the ARC and other organizations by using #DDAware on social media and joining the "Let's Go Out" movement on March 29! How can you participate?

"Simply make plans to go out somewhere in public on Saturday, March 29. That’s all. Just plan a day out and about with friends and family or by yourself enjoying the things you like to do. And, in the process help raise awareness and generate some conversation about people with I/DD. This one-day movement will serve to harness our collective power to gain allies, foster understanding, dispel myths and encourage people without disabilities to recognize that we’re not so different after all." 

Visit http://www.thearc.org/lets-go-out for more information and ideas to celebrate.

National Poison Prevention Week

March 16th-22nd is National Poison Prevention Week.

Adults should always try to keep poisons out of reach of young children, but accidents do happen. According to the Poison Prevention Week Council, “More than 2 million poisonings are reported each year to the 57 poison control centers across the country. More than 90 percent of these poisonings occur in the home. The majority of non-fatal poisonings occur in children younger than six years old.” Poison Prevention Week is designed to raise awareness of possible sources of poison and to prevent accidental poisonings. The Poison Prevention Week Council provides informational tips (pdf) and steps that can help you prevent poisoning.

It’s important to share this preventive information with anyone who supervises children (grandparents, neighbors, etc.), as we are reminded that adult drug prescriptions are strongly associated with pediatric poisonings. Child resistant bottle caps, latched drawers, and locked cabinets are the best ways to prevent accidental poisoning with prescriptions and chemicals.

What should you do if your child comes in contact with poison? Well, the answer is simple. Don’t wait! Contact the toll-free, 24/7, nationwide Poison Help line at 1-800-222-1222. This number will connect you to your local poison center. If the person is not breathing, immediately call 9-1-1. When talking to the poison expert remember to use the emergency checklist to guide yourself through the process.

Remember:

• Don’t panic! Not all contact with poison is poisoning.
• Call 1-800-222-1222. Don’t wait for signs of poisoning.
• Follow the advice the Poison Help line gives you.

Visit the Poison Help website to learn more about poison prevention and activities you can do during Poison Prevention Week.

10th Annual Joining Hands for Week of the Young Child - Updated

Update: The Alabama Partnership for Children (APC) is cancelling the 10th annual Joining Hands for Week of the Young Child event that was scheduled for April 9th at the State House. APC has learned that this year’s legislative session (which was on the calendar to end April 28th) is on track to end as early as April 7th, so legislators will have left the State House and returned to their home districts by the event date of April 9th. In light of this new information, you are encouraged to engage lawmakers in your local community as they return home from the legislative session. In keeping with previous years, child advocates across the state should coordinate with anyone that works with young children to collect handprints that children have traced and decorated. 

Please keep all handprints and DO NOT mail to the APC. If you have already mailed handprints, these handprints will be returned and should be mailed or personally delivered to your legislators and city officials.

If you are interested in celebrating Week of the Young Child by advocating for young children in your local community, visit www.legislature.state.al.us to determine local contact information for your legislators. State lawmakers are always interested in hearing from constituents on the issues that are important to them. Don’t be afraid to invite legislators to your facility and be sure to engage them in any Week of the Young Child activities you may have planned. Listed below are some easy ways to celebrate Week of the Young Child:

• Visit your local lawmaker and deliver child handprint artwork to remind them of the needs of young children. 
• Host a day at the mall, with activities for children and information for parents from family service organizations. 
• Have a children’s parade through town. 
• Have a proclamation signed by a city government official. 
• Post art done by children in local restaurants and businesses. 
• Decorate community store windows to promote the celebration. 
• Have an art project set up at a child care center for parents and children to do together. 
• Support programs that provide quality early childhood education by volunteering at a local school, community center, Head Start, or child care program. 
• Have local newspapers cover activities during the week. 
• Have an award for parents to nominate someone they think is an exceptional friend of young children. 
• Educate yourself and others about the importance of quality early childhood education in preparing young children for school. 

The Alabama Partnership for Children would love to know of any activities planned in local communities. Contact mpiggott[at]smartstartalabama[dot]org or call toll-free (866) 711-4025.

Reframing the Mental Health Issue

Photo Credit

Dr. Paul Dworkin, of the Help Me Grow National Center, has updated his blog again! This month focuses on mental health...

In a January 2014 New York Times op-ed column, Nicholas Kristof invited readers to suggest topics that deserve more attention this year. He offered up the topic of mental health as a systematically neglected issue.

I am confident that few of us disagree with him. Kristof lamented the “code of silence” around the topic, noting that the media tends to cover only mental health issues that arise in the context of extreme situations, such as mass shootings, despite the weak link between mental illness and violence...

Follow this link to read more about the role Help Me Grow is playing in early childhood mental health.

HMG: An Overview

We're looking forward to expanding Help Me Grow Alabama to more areas of the state in the future. Take 4 minutes and check out this video from the Help Me Grow National Center that briefly explains the model we plan to implement.

Get Vaccinated!

Parents must make thousands of healthcare decisions for their children over the course of their lives. Immunizations are crucial to disease prevention and have multiple benefits. Consider the following statements from the Department of Health and Human Services:

- Immunizations can save a child’s life. Because of advances in medical science, children can be protected against more diseases than ever before. Some diseases that once injured or killed thousands of children, have been eliminated completely and others are close to extinction– primarily due to safe and effective vaccines.

- Vaccination is very safe and effective. Vaccines are only given to children after a long and careful review by scientists, doctors, and healthcare professionals.

- Immunization protects others. Unfortunately, some babies are too young to be completely vaccinated and some people may not be able to receive certain vaccinations. To help keep them safe, it is important that children who are able to get vaccinated are fully immunized. This helps prevent the spread of these diseases to friends and loved ones.

- Vaccinations can save time and money. A child with a vaccine-preventable disease can be denied attendance at schools or child care facilities. In contrast, getting vaccinated against these diseases is a good investment and usually covered by insurance.

- Immunization protects future generations. Vaccines have reduced and, in some cases, eliminated many diseases that killed or severely disabled people just a few generations ago. If we continue vaccinating now, and vaccinating completely, parents in the future may be able to trust that some diseases of today will no longer be around to harm children in the future.

The Vaccines For Children (VFC) program is a federally funded program that provides vaccines at no cost to children from low-income families. To find out more about the VFC program, visit http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/programs/vfc/index.html. To learn more about specific vaccines or other information about immunizations, visit www.vaccines.gov.