Saturday, January 29, 2011

“My Connections to Play”
“Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning....”
--Fred Rogers of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood
“It’s not so much what children learn through play, but what they won’t learn if we don’t give them the chance to play
Susan J. Oliver, Playing for Keeps
“If you want creative workers, give them enough time to play.”
--John Cleese
  

The things I remember most about playing when I was little are fishing with my dad, gardening with my grandparents, and be outside climbing trees .  There is a tree in my parent’s backyard that I loved to climb.  It is a wild cherry tree and it was my oversized jungle gym when I was little.  I can remember spending hours in the tree. It was the perfect climbing tree.  There was a section of the tree that I named “hang gliders ridge”.  I could stand on one branch and hang from one that hung down over.  As I let my feet dangle I pretended that I was hang-gliding through the open skies.
“Children have always learned and created places for themselves through play.”
~Donna R. Barnes
My parent’s encouraged my brother’s and me to be outside using our imaginations.  Unfortunately today I don’t think that most children have that creative time for play.  Their free time is filled with video games and TV.    My childhood memories motivate me to provide the same opportunities for my children.  I want them to have time to play and explore and become their own individuals.   I believe those times that I spent playing helped me to be the person I am today.  I want to provide that same foundation for children as well.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Child Development and Public Health

The topic I chose to speak on this week is dental health.  Proper dental hygiene can be just as equally important as nutrition for healthy development in children.  I used to work for the local Boys and Girls Club.  Part of my job was to educate families on the importance of oral hygiene.  I feel all too often good oral hygiene is put to the side either because of  simply not knowing the importance of the effects that it can have an a child or lack of coverage in that a family is underinsured or uninsured.

 “Tooth decay is the most common chronic childhood disease in the U.S., five times more common than asthma. Untreated, tooth decay causes pain and can lead to infections. Untreated tooth decay and other oral diseases interfere with a child’s ability to eat, sleep and speak and can make it hard to learn or even play.”


With the help of programs such as Colgate's Bright Smiles, Bright Futures Education and Mobile Van Reaches Millions of Children Every Year
The word is spreading quickly and dental hygiene is increasing around the world as service providers increase.

http://www.colgate.com/app/Colgate/US/Corp/CommunityPrograms/Bsbf.cvsp

February is National Children’s Dental Health Month