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May 7, 2012

Doodle Bugs! Standard of the Week: 05/07/12

This week’s SOTW reminds team members that fresh drinking water must be available to children all day, every day, both indoors and outdoors.

‘Caring for our Children’ (considered the authority on best practices in child care) notes the following as rationale for why water must be always available:

RATIONALE: Encouraging children to learn to drink water in place of fruit drinks, soda, fruit nectars, or other sweetened drinks builds a beneficial habit. Drinking water during the day can reduce the extra caloric intake which is associated with overweight and obesity. Drinking water is good for a child’s hydration and reduces acid in the mouth that contributes to early childhood caries (cavities). Water needs to increase during times in which dehydration is a risk (e.g., hot summer days, during exercise and in dry days in winter).

It is also important to note that children who do not drink enough fluids may suffer problems with health, behavior and learning ability.

The SOTW will be posted for parents to see, in the faculty lounge, and placed in each classroom’s mailslot. As always, thank you for your attention to these important doodle details!

View the current SOTW as a .pdf here: Water