Multisector Approach to Improve Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Policies and Practices in Early Care and Education Programs: The National Early Care and Education Learning Collaboratives Project, 2013–2017 

Garvin, T.M., Weissenburger-Moser Boyd, L., Chiappone, A., Blaser, C., Story, M., Gertel-Rosenberg, A., Shuell, J., Chang, D., Ward, D., Plumlee, C., Beets, M., and Yaroch, A.L. Preventing Chronic Disease (July 2019). 

Background: Children begin building healthy eating and physical activity habits early in life, making early care and education (ECE) settings a promising place to promote best practices in nutrition and physical activity. The National Early Care and Education Learning Collaborative Project (ECELC) brought an intensive training, technical assistance and peer learning program to child care programs in ten states over five years. This study looks at how effective that program was in improving best practices in child care. 

This Monday, September 16, The New York Times ran an op-ed highlighting the importance of rational inclusion and exclusion policies for sick children in early childhood education settings. We at Child Care Aware® of America are excited that this important issue is getting attention, and thank the Times for underscoring the ramifications of inclusion and exclusion policies that are overly cautious and require children to see a doctor for many minor illnesses that do not warrant a doctor’s office visit.

The problem: Many child care programs serve families whose native language is different than the provider’s. Communication on routine matters can be problematic, so how can providers share information with families on more complicated issues like early brain development or toxic stress?

For many families across the country, their little ones are going to school for the first time. Whether starting a brand new routine after being cared for in a home-based setting or if care was provided in a child care center, going to “big-kid school” is a big deal!

It is a lot of change and some of the changes can have an impact on a child’s health, for instance, the amount of active play time and the kind of meals being served.

When the Flint, MI water crisis hit the news in 2015, people around the world took notice. Hundreds of children across Flint had alarmingly high blood lead levels. Many still do. The problem was quickly traced back to lead contamination in the city’s water supply. The water that Flint’s families and caregivers used to cook, drink and bathe in was poisoning their children. 

Now a new water crisis is making news, this time in Newark, NJ. Once again, families in a major U.S. city are being poisoned by lead in their environment. Newark is in the news now, but children’s blood lead levels in places like Milwaukee, Baltimore and Philadelphia are actually much higher than in Flint.  And the children most in danger of lead poisoning are children from families with low incomes and children of color. 

Parents rely on child care so they can go to work, and many are left scrambling when their child gets sick. Providers have more than one child to care for, so they have to make tough decisions about whether to allow a sick child to come and risk the health of other children. That’s why it is important that child care resource and referral (CCR&R) agencies and child care health consultants work with providers to develop easy to understand Inclusion and Exclusion policies that define when a child is too sick to be in child care, and when they can stay in care.