Understanding and handling allergies

allergic reactions in children

Did you know that allergic reactions in children range from a mild itch to full anaphylaxis? As an early childhood educator, it is useful to have an understanding of allergies, because prevention, identifying symptoms and responding effectively are all essential to protect children from allergies.

Allergies and what they are

An allergy is what occurs when the immune system reacts to a substance, the allergen, that a child has come in contact with. The allergen is something that is ordinarily harmless, like pollen from flowers, an insect bite or a type of food. The body reacts with allergy antibodies, which react with foreign substances.

The reaction could be minor and mild, or even life-threatening.

What can trigger allergic reactions?

A common trigger for children’s allergic reactions is food. You might find children in your centre who are allergic to foods like:

  • Milk or milk products
  • Eggs
  • Peanuts or other nuts
  • Fish or certain seafood
  • Soy products
  • Wheat

Another trigger you might find is animals, particularly those with more fur. A cat or dog with long hair is an example of an animal a child could be allergic to. There are also allergens like pollen from plants that can even be in the air, bites or strings from a bug or even medications.

What to watch for

Allergic reactions in children could have a range of symptoms. These signs might be:

  • A rash or itchy skin
  • Swelling of the face, lips or eyes
  • Stomach discomfort, nausea or vomiting

In the case of an anaphylactic reaction, the symptoms can be quite severe:

  • Difficulty with breathing
  • Tightness in the throat
  • Swelling of the tongue
  • Wheezing
  • Dizziness
  • Loss of consciousness

Preventing allergic reactions in children

Avoiding children’s allergens is the number one way to prevent allergic reactions in children occurring at your centre. While restrictions can seem frustrating at times, they can be life-saving if a child in your centre suffers from an allergy.

Make sure your centre has an action plan in place for any children who have allergies, and take care to ensure the environment, food and experiences at your centre don’t involve allergens for your children.

More helpful information about allergies, find below:
Developing an allergy policy and allergy action plans
Managing food allergy and anaphylaxis in child care

Revisiting sustainable practices in centres

sustainable practices in centres

Recycling Week is coming up from November 13 – 19, with this year’s theme ‘What goes around: Why buying recycled matters’.

Sustainability is really important to us and we think it should be to everyone. The Bonkers Beat programs have a focus on sustainability and showing children how to take care of the planet, as well as each other. This is also a focus area for the National Quality Standard, with Standard 3.3 of the NQS stating: ‘The service takes an active role in caring for its environment and contributes to a sustainable future.‘  (ACECQA)

Sustainability in action

Bonkers Beat Music Kinder in Aspendale was filmed by VEA for  training purposes on how to incorporate sustainability into early childhood services. Take a look to get some ideas and inspiration for sustainable practices.

The cycle of recycling

The theme of this year’s Recycling Week,What Goes Around: Why Buying Recycled Matters’ inspires us to think carefully about where we source the things we need, and what we do with things we no longer need.

The message is simple: if you no longer want or need something, don’t just dispose of it. If it works, chances are someone else wants or needs it! And the item you’re looking for could be the very item someone else no longer requires.

When it comes to electronics, homewares and clothes, don’t throw them out. Offer to your friends or on Facebook, pop them on a buy/swap/sell website, sell them in a garage sale, donate to an op shop.

Same goes when you’re considering a new purchase. Ask around for the item as someone may have one sitting somewhere unused. Check op shops for items that have been tested and certified as being in good working order. You’ll save money too!

Dispose thoughtfully

Of course, sometimes things have been used to death and really must be let go. But think carefully about how you dispose of it. Recycling can contribute enormously to reducing the impact of pollution on our planet.

At Bonkers Beat Music Kinder we have rubbish and recycle bins arranged in each room and discuss with children the importance of using the correct bin. Needless to say, children are fascinated to learn that their off-cuts of used scrap paper can be turned into tissues, newspapers, kitty litter and moulded cartons for eggs and fruit.

Another tip is that using refillable containers for drinking as well as for handwash, toiletries and more minimises waste. Washed plastic containers from takeaway, egg cartons and milk bottles can all be used in centres and homes to store things and as the basis for art and craft projects. All of these acts of recycling and reusing contribute to sustainable practices in centres.

A valuable free resource for sustainable practices in centres

We all know music helps to convey messages in a memorable and engaging way, so please enjoy an access to the Bonkers Beat song, ‘Bonkers Rap’. This song is a great resource which is about taking care of the environment and sustainable practices in centres.

Planet Ark’s Recycling Week website has some great resources for you too, including lots of tips and posters to show the right ways to recycle. Explore these resources here.

Celebrate Easter with Creativity, Music & Nature

Celebrate Easter

Easter is fast approaching and for many centres that means lots of children getting excited about the Easter bunny visiting! If you celebrate Easter in early childhood, this blog has plenty of ideas for you.

As Easter’s dates are not fixed, it can be a trickier one to keep track of. Here are the dates at a glance for you to remember for Easter 2017:

Easter Dates 2017

Good Friday (public holiday): April 14
Easter Sunday: April 16
Easter Monday (public holiday): April 17

Does your centre celebrate Easter? If so, we have some fun ways to get children involved in Easter while enhancing their wellbeing at the same time.

Celebrate Easter with Creativity

Creativity is essential for children to express themselves – and Easter is a great opportunity to try some new creative ecperiences.

Decorate eggs

Decorate real eggs (Traditional) 

Create Easter hats

Easter colouring printables

Make Easter baskets

Celebrate Easter in Nature

A classic Easter egg hunt is always a favourite for children, so why not take it outside and get children exploring the garden while their hunting for their special treat?!

If you would prefer to avoid giving children chocolate eggs, no problem. Try an Easter treasure hunt by hiding a selection of Easter-related objects around outside, then create a checklist for children to tick off when they find the items. You could even have children create or decorate items for this experience.

Celebrate Easter with Music

No celebration is complete for Bonkers Beat until we’ve incorporated some musical fun!

Click here to access our special Easter song ‘Easter Bunny’! You can watch the video to learn the actions and download and print the words if needed.

Good Habits Start Young – National Recycling Week

From November 7 – 13 it’s National Recycling Week – the week for paying extra attention to the way we take care of the environment by avoiding excess waste. Teaching children about the three ‘R’s and how they can take care of the world around us is essential for a healthy, sustainable future.

The three ‘R’s are Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. It’s a simple and memorable way of thinking about how we can all make a difference by making small changes and by being mindful and aware.

To make your recycling discussion more engaging – and just because we love music – please enjoy this gift from Bonkers the Monkey. Click here for your exclusive access to our song ‘Bonkers Rap’. A fun resource for talking about looking after the planet!

Recycling can be fun, especially if you do it creatively. After all, in many centres the majority of craft activities are born of recycled cartons and containers!

Let’s look at the three ‘R’s in more detail, as well as how adults and children can make positive changes at home and in centres.

Reduce

Look at all the packaging on everything from food to toys and it’s not hard to imagine that a huge amount of waste is created in every household year in, year out. Christmas and birthdays are always an insight into this as the bins are overflowing as packaging fills them to the brim in one day. When just one kilogram of aluminium generates more than 15kgs of greenhouse gas, we can’t ignore the impact of packaging on the environment.

Between us all we can make a huge difference by aiming to minimise the amount of packaging-heavy products we buy. The less we purchase things that are excessively wrapped, the better example we are setting for children and for these companies that reducing waste is important to us and the planet.

Avoiding individually wrapped items is an easy one to stick to. Skip the plastic at the supermarket and put the fruit and veg straight in the trolley or basket. Don’t forget to take a plastic bag alternative when you go shopping.

Reuse

Reusing things is an excellent way of helping to reduce waste. There are so many ways we can do this.

Using refillable containers for drinking as well as for handwash, toiletries and more minimises waste. Washed plastic containers from takeaway, egg cartons and milk bottles can all be used in centres and homes to store things and as the basis for art and craft projects.

When it comes to electronics, homewares and clothes, there’s no doubt another family who needs these things so rather than throw them away in your next clean out, consider donating or offering to people you know.

Food scraps are often suitable for pets or for compost. Maybe a neighbour has a garden that could utilise your organic waste.

Recycle

Recycling goes a long way to reduce the impact of pollution and helps to keep the planet in good shape.

At Bonkers Beat Music Kinder we have rubbish and recycle bins arranged in each room and discuss with children the importance of using the correct bin. Needless to say, children are fascinated to learn that their off-cuts of used scrap paper can be turned into tissues, newspapers, kitty litter and moulded cartons for eggs and fruit.

A good key to recycling effectively is to always aim to buy recyclable items. This means avoiding things that are packaged in materials that need to be separated and make recycling challenging.

Children might enjoy watching this video, How Recycling Workshttp://www.getitrightbinnight.vic.gov.au/how-recycling-works/

Work with children to feel the different textures of plastic and paper and how to separate them for optimal recycling – as always the key is to make it fun. Creating a sustainable future is something that should be engrained in children in a positive way and now is the time to begin!

If you’d like to learn more, these links may be of interest to you:

http://www.1millionwomen.com.au/blog/10-ways-make-recycling-fun-kids/http://www.cleanup.org.au/au/Campaigns/reuse–recycle–reduce.html
http://www.cleanup.org.au/PDF/au/putrubbishaway.pdf
http://www.wwf.org.au/get_involved/change_the_way_you_live/sustainable_shopping_tips/

 

Photo Designed by Freepik

Want to prevent short-sightedness in children? Go outside

short-sightedness in children - go outside

We all know that children aren’t spending as much time outdoors as they used to, but now we are beginning to see the impact on their health – most recently, their eyesight.

Ground-breaking research released this month from a Queensland University of Technology study indicates that more exposure to outdoor light is crucial to reduce the epidemic of short-sightedness in children.

Short-sightedness, or ‘myopia’, has often been blamed on sitting too close to screens, but optometrist and head of research in the study, Associate Professor Scott Read said: “While screens are contributing to children spending more time indoors than in previous years, the research shows they are not the direct cause of the increased incidence of myopia”.

With this new research, tomorrow’s Earth Day is beneficial not only to show children how to take care of the planet but also to benefit their health and renew their love for the outdoors.

Get Outside for Earth Day

That’s right, Friday 22 April is Earth Day – a day dedicated to our home! It’s no secret that the Bonkers Beat programs are passionate about sustainable practices and learning about the world around us, as well as creating amazing outdoor spaces at centres.

The official Earth Day website tells us that one of the easiest and most effective ways of contributing on Earth Day is by planting trees. Lucky for us living and breathing early childhood education, many children love digging in dirt!

If you aren’t able to locate somewhere to plant trees, even herbs and plants are simple ways of communicating the message and reaping the benefits of children getting close to nature. Register your event or find one here.

Trees are all around us, big, small, flowering, homes for birds and other animals – let’s get children talking about them, planting them, admiring them! Preventing short-sightedness in children in just one of the many benefits of spending more time outdoors. The more children love and appreciate the outdoors, the more likely they are to go outside – and we know how important that is.

Read more about the QUT study on outdoor light and short-sightedness here.

Sustainability in 3 Steps to Help Clean Up Australia

We are all striving towards creating the ultimate learning environment for young children. But what about the bigger picture? Making sure we take care of the environment in a broader sense is crucial, as is teaching the next generation about the importance of keeping the planet healthy.

Sustainability isn’t a buzzword – it’s the key to a happy, healthy future for us all. So how do educators and children make a difference? Our environmental sustainability program is a big part of the Bonkers Beat philosophy and practice. We understand the importance of looking after our planet and work together to raise awareness of the environment and a sense of connection to the natural world. Clean Up Australia Day is coming up on 6 March (Schools Clean Up Day, 4 March) and this is a good starting point to open up a discussion with children about the environment.

Encourage Sustainability in Three Steps

We’ve identified a three step pathway to showing children how they can make a different to the planet and the future:

  • Respect

If we can first encourage children to respect the environment and nature, we have made a good start. One of the easiest ways of doing this is through growing, cooking and eating. Once children see firsthand that nature is providing yummy food for them with just a little bit of care, they tend to look at a garden from a new perspective.
Practical Tip: Children should be taught care for plants and nature through activities like planting, watering plants, pruning, harvesting/picking and cooking.

  • Responsibility

Working from a basis of respect for the environment, children and staff can demonstrate their respect for their environment by becoming socially responsible. Promote awareness of wastage when it comes to water, electricity, paper and recyclable materials.
Practical Tip: Time handwashing, use compost bins, grow vegetables, fruit and herbs, maximise the use of natural light, minimise the use of heating and cooling.

  • The three R’s – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle

These three R’s are practical reminders that we can apply to almost anything in life. If children have some paper we want them to think: can it be reused or recycled? They deserve to know that off-cuts of used scrap paper can be turned into tissues, newspapers, kitty litter and moulded cartons for eggs and fruit. We want them to opt for a reusable snack box rather than plastic wrappings, and to understand the impact of littering on animals and the world.
Practical Tip: Read more about how to action the three R’s – Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle – here.

Explaining sustainability to children can be tricky. The simple explanation we always use: it is just ‘Enough for Everyone for Ever’.

At Bonkers Beat we believe it is our responsibility to be role models and teach children to:

-learn about the environment
-develop skills to investigate and solve issues in the environment
-acquire attitudes of care and concern for the environment
-adopt behaviours and practices which protect the environment
-understand the principles of ecologically sustainable development

Remember, the upcoming annual event Clean Up Australia Day is on 6 March (Schools Clean Up Day 4 March)! Centres, you can register your Clean Up Day by clicking here. Alternatively, you might like to register to join an existing site clean up.

Here’s a sneak peak at our environmental sustainability program at the Bonkers Beat Music Kinder in Aspendale:

Inspire us by showing off images from your centre on our Facebook page, or Bonkers Beat members can share in the private My Bonkers Beat group.

P.S. As a loyal Bonkers Beat supporter, please enjoy this gift from Bonkers the Monkey – click here for your exclusive access to our song ‘Bonkers Rap’. A fun resource for talking about looking after the planet!

 

Clean and Green for Earth Day and Beyond

Earth Day is coming up on April 22 and it has inspired us to talk about sustainability and environmental responsibility in early childhood settings; why it’s important and how we can do our bit.

Earth Day itself is intended to raise awareness and appreciation for planet earth and our beautiful natural environment. Behind the movement is the Earth Day Network, working with over 20,000 partners across 192 countries to make positive change. The great thing is, we can all contribute to positive change and it can be fun too.

Sustainability can be a complex concept, however our favourite and simple way of understanding it and explaining it to children is ensuring there’s “Enough for Everyone Forever”.

With this in mind, here are some top tips for early childhood settings to be clean and green and help children to learn respect for the environment and benefit from a connection with the natural world.

Top tips for being Clean and Green

-Grow plants at your centre for children to nurture. Children can plant, water and monitor nature firsthand. These could even be something edible!

-Encourage and facilitate recycling of materials in the centre

-Maximise natural light and minimise use of artificial light, heaters and air conditioners where possible

-Save water with hand-washing timers, collect rainwater and reuse water for gardening and playing

 

Our Bonkers Beat Music Kinder and Childcare in Aspendale is proud of its focus on sustainability – take a look at this video to see how we contribute positively:

You can never have too much advice on being environmentally friendly – what are your tips? Let us know!

National Tree Day for a Greener Future

This week brings us National Tree Day on Sunday 27 July, offering the ultimate opportunity to get the next generation feeling inspired when it comes to nature – after all today’s children need to be educated about the importance of our land as they’ll take over as the custodians of the environment in years to come.

To support National Tree Day we also have Schools Tree Day coming up on this Friday 25 July. This Planet Ark initiative works together with National Tree Day to bring us Australia’s biggest community nature event! With over 4,000 Tree Day events taking place across the country, this wonderful initiative results in the planting of over 1 million native trees, shrubs and grasses!

Don’t be disheartened if you haven’t planned anything in time for this week – you can register with Planet Ark and hold your tree-planting event any time you like. The last weekend of July is the chosen time for the event due to it being an optimal planting time, but of course there are many different plants and many other opportunities to have your very own Tree Day!

It really is so special to watch children as they learn how to plant and care for seedlings, helping them to grow. This nurturing skill isn’t the only benefit though – we have previously discussed just how important it is for children to get out and about in the great outdoors and reconnect with nature, and planting is one of the best ways to do it: https://musicearlychildhoodpresenter.com/blog/get-back-to-nature/

The Tree Day website has some fantastic resources for educators who want to incorporate this national event into their week, whether it’s this week or perhaps down the track – here’s the link through to lesson plans to get you inspired: http://treeday.planetark.org/teachers/lesson-plans.cfm

Addressing climate change, our need to be close to nature, the importance of biodiversity and native plants… National Tree Day and School Tree Day is a valuable event on the Australian calendar.

Sustainability Practices & Beyond…

Earlier this month World Environment Day took place, with its major goal to increase awareness of environmental issues and encourage sustainability across the globe. World Environment Day lands on June 5 every year and is a United Nations initiative that has been embraced by many people in various countries and sees them get inspired to take positive environmental action.

With the environment in mind, we want to highlight how sustainability practices not only help the world become a better place for all, but can assist you in improving your NQS Rating.

ACECQA’s most recent newsletter takes a look at a wonderful, lush service in Toowoomba, Queensland and the incredible work they have done including the introduction of a worm farm at their centre. Of course, many other services have less space and their surrounding area may not be as nature-rich, but there are always ways to improve the space you are working with. To have a read of ACECQA’s newsletter about sustainability, click here.

Standard 3.3 of the National Quality Standard states:

‘The service takes an active role in caring for its environment and contributes to a sustainable future.’ 

According to ACECQA, Quality Area 3 – Physical Environment and Standard 3.3 as mentioned above, are areas that often prove to be challenging for centres, with a Working Towards NQS Rating the most likely result across over 5,500 assessed centres.

Bonkers Beat is very proud to have achieved an Exceeding NQS Rating for this area, which was the highest rating achievable at the time.  This is why we want to share our sustainability practices with you!

Bonkers Beat Aspendale was recently filmed for a training video about incorporating sustainability into services, and you can watch the video to enjoy a brief tour of the space that we have created: ‘Environmental Sustainability Program at Bonkers Beat Music Kinder Aspendsale’

We believe that we can all contribute to a sustainable future, and you may even find some of our ideas could work at your home!

Unfortunately, we can only share a short, edited version of the video as they are specifically being used for training, but we always welcome visitors to our centre, so if you’d like to come along and see more of Bonkers Beat for yourself, get in touch to arrange a visit!

Many thanks to Child Care Centres Association of Victoria for running a very valuable General Members Meeting last night in Melbourne and inviting Mary Jeavons from ‘Jeavons Landscape Architects’.  Mary presented a fantastic session on the planning and design of outdoor spaces in children’s services. To support our previous discussion, she highlighted the importance of outdoor play and influence of the natural environment on children’s overall development.

Not only are our sustainability practices working towards a better world, we are able to offer a hands-on teaching experience for children to learn how to care for the environment – and this is surely the ultimate way of looking out for the future!

Powered by WishList Member - Membership Software