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1.1 The practitioners should be aware of the importance of the physical care routines, it’s important also to allow children to be part of some of these routines to teach them how to be independent later on their lives.
• Nappy changing
In order to prevent any skin infections that may occur during nappy changing, practitioners should wear disposable aprons and gloves and they should wash their hands before and after changing the nappy. The nappy should be thrown in a specific bin and it should never left near to the child, as well as the child should never be alone. If he\she was on a raised surface during changing the diaper. During the nappy changing the adult have to talk to the child or giving him\her something to play with to make the experience much more pleasant for the child.
• Toilet training
To start training the child to use the pottey or the toilet the bladder has to be enough matured. There are signs indicate that the child is ready to be toilet trained. These signs are:
1. The child knows how to ask for his\her needs.
2. If the diaper is dry for 1-2 hours.
3. Child can wear\ take off their clothes
4. Child knows that they have passed urine or stools.
By these signs the carers can indicate that the child is ready to be toilet trained where if the training starts when the child is not ready to use pottey or toilet the process will take a long time as well as the child will feel upset and disappointed.
The parents\practitioners shouldn’t keep reminding the child to go to the pottey\toilet because they will not understand the feeling of the full bladder.
The parents\practitioners should show the toilet\pottey to the children and let them use it by themselves.
The parents\practitioners should work together to decide wither the child is ready to be toilet\pottey trained or not and after the first day of training they should give feedback to each other about the response of the child for the whole process.
• Washing and bath time
It’s very important as practitioners to keep the hands and faces of the children clean to prevent any infections that may occur. Practitioners have to let the children wash their hands before eating, after using the toilet, after finishing playing outside, after playing with animals, after blowing their nose and after finishing sensory activities. In addition to wipe their faces gently with soft cloth after telling them what you will do and if possible let them wipe their faces by themselves. The practitioners have to make sure the water is warm and it’s important to use soap and rinse it well then dry their hands completely.
• Shower and bath time
The practitioners should ask the parents about the bath time for their kids and what time they prefer to give them bath and what products they use after bath. The practitioners must be careful with the children during bath time because it may has many risks such as:
1- Danger of scalding: before putting the child in the bath the practitioners should make sure that the water is not too much hot
2- Danger of drowning: practitioners must not leave the children alone in the bath because they maybe drown.
3- Falls: practitioners must keep the floor dry otherwise the child maybe slip and fall.
• Care of skin
Children should not play under the sunlight for a long time because it can cause damage to the skin. When playing outside under the sunlight the practitioners should apply sun cream after the parents’ agreement
• Care of teeth
Teeth decay can be caused by foods and drinks that contain sugar, the practitioners should provide healthy food for the children in order to prevent teeth decay. Children must brush their teeth twice a day. If the practitioners were responsible for brushing children’s teeth they have to ask the parents about the type of the toothpaste that they have to use. If the child is under 3 years old the practitioners should put a very small amount of toothpaste on the brush and help the child with brushing their teeth thoroughly then teaching them to spit out the rest of the toothpaste.
• Care of hair
Head lice are a very common problem that could be spread easily between children because they are most of the time playing closely to each other. Practitioners should always check the children’s hair, so if they think that any child may has head lice they must tell the parents to start treating it. The practitioners also have to ask the other parents to check their children hair in order to find out if there are head lice or not.
• Meal time
The practitioners should make sure that the children are eating healthy food. During eating time practitioners have to teach the children how to eat by themselves and providing them with the suitable cutlery to eat. Practitioners should keep their eyes on the children while they are eating to make sure that no one is having reactions to the food or choking.
1.2 In some situation children may need non-routine physical care like the children who are bigger than 3 years old but still in nappies, if they have accident (wet or soiled themselves ), children who can’t eat by themselves, children who have eczema need help to apply moisturizer cream on their skin and if they are sick or having cold they will need help to wash their hands after blowing their noses.
1.3 Working with parents is about creating a good relationship between the practitioners and the carers to make sure that the child care needs are met. For example, in case of a child has allergic reactions to some type of food or personal care products the parents should tell the practitioners, or they can give them some products that they prefer to be used for their children, also some parents want their children to be treated in certain ways depending on their own believes and cultures.
3.1 it’s very important for the children to take rest and sleep during the
day and night because it affect their overall health, each child needs certain hours of sleeping depending on his\her age.
• 6 weeks babies need around 14-15 hours of sleep daily.
• 7 months babies need around 14 hours of sleeping and they often have two naps during the day
• 15 months babies need around 13 hours of sleep during the night and usually they have one nap during the day.
• 2 and half years need around 13 hours of sleep with one nap during the day
• 4-5 years need around 10-12 hours of sleep through the night without daytime naps
• 6-7 years need around 8-10 hours of sleep through the night without daytime naps also.
It’s very important for the children to have a bedtime routine to help them to be settled.
