Child Care Aware® of America is joining the Healthy Schools Network and dozens of partners around the country to celebrate National Healthy Schools Day on April 3rd, 2018. For the past 16 years, National Healthy Schools Day has brought attention to the ways that school and child care environments can affect children's health. This year the focus is on lead exposure.

Children grow rapidly, and their developmental milestones include significant emotional, social, intellectual and physical changes. Naturally, kids are inquisitive and learn by exploring—placing items in their mouths, opening containers and cabinets, and imitating other actions they see in the home or in child care. It is no surprise, then, that children ages six and under are vulnerable to possible exposures to unsafe chemicals and/or poison.

At Child Care Aware® of America (CCAoA), we are thrilled that the FY2018 appropriations bill has passed in the Senate, which includes an increase of $2.37 billion in the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG). This funding is critical in supporting systems professionals, providers, children and families across the nation.

A recent report from Healthy Babies Bright Futures found that infant rice cereal has six times more arsenic than other types of infant cereal. That finding builds on the evidence from previous studies, including one from Consumer Reports.

The Problem: 

One of the many responsibilities child care providers juggle is helping children develop their social-emotional skills. But providers need tools to guide their efforts. 

One Solution:

Both parents and early care and education professionals can use the Tell Me a Story series to support children’s healthy social-emotional development. It includes guides to six children’s books with social-emotional themes. 

Explore 40 recipes inspired by the cuisines of Central and South America, Africa, North America, Europe, and Asia and the Pacific Islands. Easy-to-prepare and kid-tested, the recipes introduce a few new spices or ingredients without being overwhelming. Each includes information on how the ingredients in the recipe would be credited in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) meal pattern.

Find those recipes here.