Health, Safety, Nutrition, and Physical Development
Health and safety
Know supervision, ratios, and environmental safety (safe sleep, choking hazards, safe toys, playground inspection). Understand handwashing, toileting, diapering, and sanitation procedures. Recognize signs of child abuse and neglect and know mandated reporting: report to designated authorities, not investigate yourself. Know emergency procedures (fire drills, evacuation, first aid, CPR, medication administration with authorization).
Nutrition
Understand balanced meals, MyPlate concepts, portion sizes for young children, and the importance of family-style meals and modeling healthy eating. Know common food allergies and the need for allergy action plans. Avoid choking hazards (whole grapes, nuts, popcorn for the youngest).
Physical development
Distinguish gross motor (running, jumping, climbing) from fine motor (grasping, drawing, cutting) skills. Understand the importance of daily physical activity, outdoor play, and fundamental movement skills. Know that physical development follows a cephalocaudal (head-to-toe) and proximodistal (center-to-outward) pattern. Screen time should be limited and active play prioritized.
Traps to watch
Items may suggest a teacher should investigate suspected abuse (wrong-report it) or that a child with an allergy can simply avoid the food without a written plan. Another trap: confusing gross and fine motor, or cephalocaudal with proximodistal.
Rule of thumb
When in doubt about a safety or health concern, report and refer-do not handle it alone.
Worked example
A child has a known peanut allergy. The correct response includes a written allergy action plan, staff training, safe snack procedures, and emergency medication access-not just telling the child to avoid peanuts.