Success By 6

Success By 6 is committed to ensuring a foundation of success for young children.  Early childhood education is recognized by social scientists as critical to economic independence. Helping the next generation break the cycle of poverty begins by giving children a better start in life.

GRILL SAFETY TIPS FROM SAFE KIDS USA
This summer, Safe Kids USA has published safety tips for cooking outside.  Almost 60% of all grill fires on residential properties occur in the summer.  Safe Kids’ top grill safety tips are designed to help prevent the property damage, injury and even death that can result from these fires.  Grills should not be used in a garage, carport, porch, or under a surface that can catch fire.  Declare a 3-foot “kid-free zone” around the grill area to keep children and pets away.  With charcoal grills, if you use a starter fluid, only use charcoal starter fluid.  Never add charcoal fluid or any other flammable liquids to the lit fire.  With gas grills, always follow the manufacturer’s instructions and check grill hoses for cracking, brittleness, holes and leaks.  For more grill safety tips go to the Safe Kid USA Web site at http://www.safekids.org/safety-basics/safety-spotlight/grilling-safety/.

TEXT MESSAGES EDUCATE ON BIRTH DEFECTS PREVENTION
Sign up now to receive free text messages from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD) with reminders and tips on how to prevent birth defects.  Text REMINDERS to 87000 to receive three text messages per week with reminders to take folic acid and other health information.  Birth defects of the brain (anencephaly) and spine (spina bifida) happen during the first weeks of pregnancy, often before a woman knows she is pregnant.  Text messages from NCBDDD provide information about things to do before you are pregnant to help prevent birth defects.  For more information go to http://www.cdc.gov/Features/PregnancyHealthTips/.

CHILDHOOD OBESITY PREVENTION CHECKLIST
The Let's Move Child Care Checklist presents recommendations for childhood obesity prevention in early care and education.  Created as part of the Let’s Move Child Care Web site which was launched by the White House in June, the checklist includes topics such as physical activity, screen time, food, beverages and infant feeding.  The checklist is based on the Nutrition and Physical Self-Assessment for Child Care (NAP SACC), a research-tested intervention designed to enhance policies, practices, and environments in child care by improving the nutritional quality of food served, the amount and quality of physical activity, staff-child interactions, and facility nutrition and physical activity policies and practices and related environmental characteristics.  The Let’s Move Child Care Web site is available at http://healthykidshealthyfuture.org.  Access the checklist at http://www.healthykidshealthyfuture.org/filebox/letsmove/childcareclist.pdf.

FROM FDA:  SAFE USE OF ACETAMINOPHEN
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Web site features a consumer update, “Reducing Fever in Children:  Safe Use of Acetaminophen.”  Acetaminophen is sold as a single active ingredient under brand names such as Tylenol and is commonly used to reduce fever and pain.  It is also used in combination with other products to relieve multiple symptoms, such as cough and cold medicines.  Although the drug is generally safe and effective when package directions are followed, when a child has even a small amount more than directed, or has more than one medicine containing acetaminophen it can cause nausea and vomiting.  Acetaminophen poisoning can cause liver failure and death.  Improper dosing is one of the biggest problems when giving acetaminophen to children, with confusion about dosing caused partly by the availability of different formulas, strengths and dosage instructions for different ages of children.  For more information, including recommendations for minimizing medicatio
n errors and making children’s over the counter medicines containing acetaminophen safer to use, go to the FDA Web site at http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm263989.htm

STUDY:  IMPACT OF MOTHER/CHILD BED-SHARING
A study appearing online July 18th in the journal Pediatrics examines cognitive and behavioral outcomes of mother and child bed-sharing in toddlerhood.  The study authors looked at the predictors and consequences of bed-sharing at 1, 2 and 3 years of age in a racially/ethnically and geographically diverse sample of low-income families across the US.  They found that Hispanic and black mothers were more likely to bed-share with children at these ages than other mothers, and concluded that there were no negative associations between bed-sharing in toddlerhood and children’s behavior and cognition at the age of 5.  To review the study online, go to http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2011/07/13/peds.2010-3300.abstract

Early Literacy - Why it Matters

Early language and literacy (reading and writing) development begins in the first three years of life and is closely linked to a child’s earliest experiences with books and stories.  The interactions that young children have with such literacy materials as books, paper and crayons, and the adults in their lives are the building blocks for language, reading and writing development.  This relatively new understanding of early literacy development complements the current research supporting the critical role of early experiences in shaping brain development.
 ( from www.zerotothree.org/BrainWonders)

Early Childhood Stats
Compiled from Early Literacy: Policy and Practice in the Preschool Years NIEER (2006)

• More than half of population surveyed was unaware that family income is the best predictor of whether or not a child will succeed in school.  They were not aware that nearly half of the children from low-income families begin first grade up to two years behind their peers from higher income families. 

• Three fourths of Americans were unaware that about 60% of low income parents do not own age appropriate books for their children.

• Literacy development starts early in life and is highly correlated with school achievement.  

• Children’s experiences with books and print greatly influence their ability to comprehend what they read. 

• Shared book reading experiences have a special role in fostering early literacy development. 

• The amount of different words children hear by age three is directly related to how well children can read at age 9.