Directions:

Respond to each item. Each response should be concise and between two and three paragraphs in length.

Use MS Word to write your responses, and submit your answers to all three questions in one Word document.

Copy and paste each question within the document, so that your Instructor can see which question you are responding to.

Without proper precautions, early childhood settings can be prone to the spread of infectious diseases. Review the information in your text on the transmission of infectious diseases (pp. 401-408 and 433-442 ).

Briefly explain the four ways infectious diseases can be spread, giving an example of each.

Then identify sanitary practices that can prevent the spread of illness for each of these four methods of transmission.

Review your course text readings on role modeling, especially pages 392-374, and explain why adults should model good health behaviors for children.

Describe three different health behaviors you might model for children and their families. For each, describe at least one step you could take to help children, and possibly their families, adopt these behaviors.

Early childhood professionals are not expected to diagnose serious illnesses; however, they should be able to identify symptoms that may indicate infectious diseases common in young children. Imagine, for example, that a 3-year-old arrives at school in the morning with a runny nose. The mucus is clear, and he has no other obvious symptoms except for a slight cough.

Because his symptoms are mild, his teacher decides to allow him to stay at school, but she continues to observe him closely throughout the day to see if his condition worsens. Review Tables 12-1 through 12-4 (pp. 436-441) in your text and identify possible illnesses this child might have.

Describe the symptoms you would look for if you were his teacher. Under what conditions would you contact a family member and/or emergency medical personnel?