Healthy Kansas Kids
A Program of Child Care Aware® of Kansas
Volume 1I Issue 12
Want more?
Selecting Safe Toys for Children
Find us on During the holidays, many
Facebook! parents find themselves
walking toy aisles at
For more ideas, stores, looking for the
information, perfect gift for the chil-
recipes and dren on their list. Select-
resources to ing fun but safe toys can
keep your be a challenge, but fol-
children happy, lowing some simple
healthy and guidelines will ensure that
safe, join the the gifts you give are en-
Healthy Kansas joyed for years to come.
Kids Group Before shopping, take
page on time to look at the Con-
Facebook. sumer Product Safety
Commission website
(www.cspc.gov). This site
lists all recalled toys and
products.
You may think that a child
who's advanced in com-
parison to peers can han-
This Issue:
dle toys meant for older
children. But the age lev-
Selecting 1 supervising play. Playing
els for toys are deter-
Safe Toys
mined by safety factors,
Helping 2 not intelligence or matur-
children ity. Here are some age-
learn specific guidelines to keep
proper in mind:
hand
Infants and Toddlers
washing
 Look for toys that are
Easy Holi- 2 sturdy enough to with-
day Bean stand pulling and
Dip twisting. Make sure
that eyes and other
parts that could break
December 2010
off are securely Preschool & School
attached. age
 Make sure squeeze  Bicycles, scooters,
toys and teething skateboards, and
toys are large enough inline skates should
that they won't be- never be used with-
come lodged in a out helmets that
child's mouth or meet current safety
throat, even if standards and other
squeezed into a recommended safety
smaller compressed gear, like hand, wrist
shape. and shin guards.
Look for CPSC certifi-
 Avoid toys with cords
cation on the labels.
or long strings, which
could present stran-  Toy darts or arrows
gulation hazards to should have soft tips
young children. or suction cups at the
end, not hard points.
 Avoid thin plastic toys
that might break into After you've bought safe
small pieces and toys, it's also important
leave jagged edges to make sure kids know
that could cut. how to use them. The
best way to do this is by
 Avoid marbles, coins,
balls, and games with
with your kids teaches
balls less than 5 cm
them how to play safely
in diameter because
while having fun.
they present choking
hazards. Check toys regularly to
make sure that they
Choking is a big risk in
aren't broken or unus-
the early years. Consider
able. If you have any
buying a choke tube, a
doubt about the safety
tube designed to be
of a toy, err on the side
about the same diameter
of caution and do not al-
as a child's windpipe. If
low your child to play
an object fits inside the
with it.
tube, it's too small for a
young child.
Page 2
Help with Hand Washing
When parents and child used to encourage the Wash your Hands
care providers help chil- proper amount of time Sung to: “Row, Row Row
dren learn proper hand when brushing teeth. Your
washing techniques, they Using a hand washing Boat"
are promoting a lifelong song or singing the ABCs
healthy habit. Good twice while scrubbing
hand washing prevents also encourages children Wash, wash, wash your
the spread of germs, and to wash for the proper hands
great hand washing oc- length of time. Play our handy game.
curs Rub and scrub, and scrub
when Here are a few songs and and rub.
we rhymes that you can try Germs go down the
make it out with
drain. HEY!
fun for your
children. children. Wash, wash, wash your
Happy hands
The first Hand washing! Play our handy game.
step is Rub and scrub, and scrub
to make and rub.
the sink Hand Washing Song Dirt goes down the
a kid- Sung to “Twinkle Twinkle
drain. HEY!
friendly Little Star”
and fun area. Place a
low stool near the sink so I can wash my hands you
children can reach the see, wash them clean as
tap and soap with ease. clean can be.
Add some fun soaps and
Washing Rhyme
scrubbers (fingernail
scrubbers can spread Inside, outside, my fin- This little hand is a good
germs if they are not gers, too, around my little hand (wave)
properly maintained and thumbs and then I'm This little hand is its
are best used in the through, brother (wave other)
home rather than in child Together they wash and
care settings). A sand Now rinse away the dirt wash and wash (pretend)
timer nearby helps chil-
and stains, One hand washes the
dren learn to wash for
the correct period of Send those germs down other.
time, and can also be the drain!

Easy Holiday Bean Dip

Kids will love helping  1 1/2 cup shredded Ziploc bag and smash
you make this tasty, Cheddar cheese with your hands. Kids
healthy dip. can toss the beans back
 Pita chips, whole
and forth like a “bean
You will need: grain crackers, or
bag toss” (Be careful not
tortilla chips
 2 14 oz. cans pinto to break the bag!) In a
beans drained &  1 T. chopped cilantro large bowl combine
rinsed (optional) smashed beans with re-
 1 cup corn Directions: maining ingredients.
Chill & serve with whole
 1 medium jar salsa Place beans in a large grain chips or crackers.