Health and Safety External Resources
6 Active Games You Can Play with a Pair of Socks
Looking for creative indoor active games for your program? Here are a few simple games that kids can play with sock balls with limited space and equipment—including single-player games for the kids to enjoy!
WEBINAR: Creating Social Connections to Address Mental Health
In this Sesame Workshop webinar, participants will explore the benefits of social connections and discuss strategies to foster resilience and kindness to build relationships among young children and families to support their emotional well-being. You'll also find out how kindness can be used as an intervention for loneliness and isolation and get new hands-on tools and resources to support kindness, create connections, and build resilience in your program.
Halloween Safety: Tips for Families
Halloween can be a fun and exciting time for kids. Here are some safety tips to share with parents and children that will help keep everyone safe and happy this Halloween!
Activities for Anxious Kids: How to Help Children Cope with Anxiety Through Play
We all have a range of feelings. We feel happy, sad, silly, disappointed, excited, amazed, surprised, angry, or brave. But we all, including kids, sometimes feel anxious. Anxiety is the feeling of worry, nervousness, fear, or unease. Even if these feelings in kids seem small to adults, they can be very real and important for a child. But they’re also very normal. Parents and caregivers can help by recognizing what anxiety looks like and providing activities and opportunities for play for anxious kids.
Battery Safety: Resources
Lithium-ion battery fires are becoming increasingly common in Canada. These fires are often caused by improper charging or mishandling of batteries and are notoriously difficult to extinguish. To help raise awareness and promote safe battery use, Health Canada in collaboration with Transport Canada, has developed a toolkit of educational materials that include posters, factsheets and postcards. You can find all of their battery safety information and resources here.
Let’s Get Kids Active Every Day!
Canadian kids aged four and under are spending too much time in front of screens. To encourage healthy growth and development, young children need parents and caregivers to encourage an active lifestyle with a healthy balance of rest and physical activity. Children should be participating in a variety of safe, fun, developmentally appropriate, play-based physical activities in different environments every day! Following these Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines through the early years is associated with better growth, health and well-being.
The Best Kids’ Books on Mental Health
Each year, it seems that there are new children’s books that address every emotional or learning challenge. But how appropriate and helpful is the messaging? Experts at the Child Mind Institute reviewed over 60 books to choose this top 20 list of kids' books on mental health.
Active Supervision: Fostering Joy, Safety, and Connection in Early Childhood
As early childhood educators, we often find ourselves juggling multiple tasks and responsibilities throughout the day. In the midst of this busyness, it’s easy to fall into autopilot, going through the motions without truly engaging with the children in our care. One of the core aspects of our role, and one which is often on autopilot is supervision – but what if we could transform our approach to supervision from a mindless task to a mindful practice? What if supervision could become a tool for safety, joy, connection and personal growth?
Summer Safety
Here are some important reminders for keeping children safe during the hot summer months, while promoting the healthy benefits of outdoor play!
Keep Children Cool! How to Protect Children from Extreme Heat
Extreme heat, and heat related illnesses, are especially dangerous for infants and young children. Children most at risk include those with breathing difficulties (asthma), heart conditions, kidney problems, mental and physical disabilities, developmental disorders, diarrhea, and those who take certain medications. Health Canada has these tips to keep kids cool this summer.