Building Research Competencies: Week 1

My Research Simulation

         This week, I am asked to share one general topic that I want to learn more about. I am interested in learning more about the health of infants and young children as it relates to the early childhood field. I want to know more about this topic because I have not studied it much and I face this issue often at my job. I am currently an infant teacher and I have experienced babies with many different forms of diaper rash and skin allergies. Each of these rashes requires very different types of care and medicine to treat. On one occasion recently, I went to change a babies diaper and I noticed it had a hernia in its lower abdomen. It didn't seem to bother the baby and his mom came right away to take him to the doctor. He will have surgery to fix the problem in a few months when he is older and until then I will need to stay informed about how to help him as best I can as his caregiver. 

               While I am not a doctor, I am someone who is there for an infant until a parent arrives or until we know more about how to fix the problem. One subtopic I want to learn more about is allergies and how to handle them. We all know about nut and milk allergies and I want to learn about all allergies. I have never encountered a child suffering from an allergy but I have taught and worked with infants and children with allergies. Has anyone reading this had to deal with a child suffering from an allergy? What were the signs and how did you help the child? I hope to learn more about how to prevent an allergy breakout and how to help a child suffering from an allergy. Maybe child care centers need to go green and chemical-free and stop using Clorox water as cleaner. Has anyone gone chemical-free in their home and seen a positive change in their allergies?

                 Another subtopic I am curious about is helping young children with undiagnosed ADD and ADHD. I have encountered many children with difficulties focusing and hyperactivity. Most children get diagnosed with these disorders at age 5 yet toddlers and preschool aged children show symptoms and deal with the same issues as diagnosed school-aged children. I think it would benefit teachers to understand how to communicate effectively with parents about the symptoms and unique challenges their children face during these young years. Again natural, chemical-free, and prescription-free remedies can help. I plan to find more information on the different ways to help young children with these challenges. 

                  Lastly, I want to learn more about the regulations and rules teachers and directors have to follow in regards to the care of children with these health issues. For instance, parents have to correctly fill out a medical form for diaper rash ointment. From what I understand, every form expires after 7 days and the parent has to fill out another one if he/she still needs the parent to care for the child. If it is not filled out, then the teacher is not allowed to use it on an infant. A new regulation from the Alabama DHR is to have a form to apply Vaseline. If you are preschool teacher and have dealt with this, what did you do? Do you know if this is a rule in your state? It is good to stay up to date in your state with the newest standards and regulations in dealing with children s health issues.

                 I have enjoyed this class thus far and am eager to learn about these topics, the topics of my colleagues and how to research better. Please share any resources you think might be helpful in helping me learn more about these issues. Thanks!