Instructions

At the simplest level, health and safety practices in an infant and toddler program are the most important and seen as foundational to a high-quality, developmentally appropriate program. Ensuring that you know and can explain how program policies promote exploration and health and safety for infants and toddlers can assure parents that their children are in good hands. For this assignment, assess a program’s policy on health and safety, specifically for infants and toddlers, from a Parent Handbook or Employee Handbook at your current work, a program where your child attends, a previous researched program, or a new online search.

Part One – Explore Infant and Toddler Elements/Policies

You will need to identify the elements/policies of the program that cover the health and safety of infants and toddlers. Policies may or may not only be identified as for infants and toddlers. Some policies will appear to cover all ages, so you may need to think critically about how policies do or do not support infants and toddlers.

• Identify two program elements/policies that support health, safety, and exploration in an infant and toddler setting.
• Describe how these elements/policies specifically support health, safety, and exploration in an infant and toddler setting.
• Explain why these elements/policies are important to the growth and development of infants and toddlers specifically.
• What areas do you see present in the policies that could be adapted to better support infants and toddlers?
• How would you adapt the policies? What language should be included to specifically address infants and toddlers?

Part Two –Create a new policy to be specifically for infants and toddlers

Policy Amendment Topics:

• – Teething
• – Diapering/Toileting Accidents
• – Pacifier/Thumb sucking

Write a new policy amendment/adaptation that focuses on a topic (select one from above) to support exploration, health, and safety for infants and toddlers:

• Describe the criteria, the implementation of criteria, and the guidelines needed in the policy to support the health, safety, and exploration of infants and toddlers with this topic.
• If this policy is already in the policies reviewed in part one, rewrite the policy to be sure it includes appropriate practices for the health, safety, and exploration of infants and toddlers specifically based on what you have learned about infant and toddler development. 
• Incorporate one resource from this course, the library, or credible online resources to support your work. Properly use in-text citations to show where the resource is incorporated.

Submit:

• Title page in APA format
• One document including part one and part two- use clear headings to label each section
• Reference page with incorporated resource AND the website/document used in your policy assessment listed in APA format
• Professional presentation including accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

***RUBRIC***

Elements/Policies

42% of total grade

Mastery: Advanced or exceeds achievement

Exemplary description of the health and safety elements/policies for infants and toddlers with comprehensive supporting details on how these elements/policies are important to infant/toddler growth and development.

Adaptions

21% of total grade

Mastery: Advanced or exceeds achievement

Exemplary identification of the areas in the policies that could be adapted to better support infant/toddlers with thorough alignment of language used in comprehensive suggested adaptations

Policy Amendment

37% of total grade

Mastery: Advanced or exceeds achievement

Exemplary description of the criteria with comprehensive details on the implementation of criteria and the guidelines needed to support the health, safety, and exploration of infants and toddlers.