Easter Seals is offering a free online version of the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) developmental screening tool. Both parents and child care providers can use the ASQ to track children's development through age five. The tool can identify concerns for which children should receive appropriate services to be ready to enter K-12 school. The ASQ online does not include the component that evaluates behavior. However, it is widely accepted for basic screening. Many Keystone STARS programs are using a version of the ASQ now.

General information for parents and caregivers about asthma, the most frequently occurring chronic illness in children. See Managing Chronic Health Needs in Child Care and Schools, 2nd Edition available from the bookstore of the American Academy of Pediatrics at https://shop.aap.org or search www.healthychildren.org for more information. In PA, please send your health and safety request with your name and phone number to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Asthma is among the most common chronic health conditions of childhood. Untreated asthma can make it difficult to play, learn, and grow. Warning signs include coughing, shortness of breath, wheezing, and tightness in the chest. An asthma trigger is anything that causes an asthma episode. Common triggers include allergies, illness, exercise, chemicals, and smoke. Consistent care of children with asthma at home and in the child care setting is critical to their wellbeing.

General information for parents and caregivers about the adverse effects of indoor pollutants on children with asthma. See Managing Chronic Health Needs in Child Care and Schools, 2nd Edition available from the bookstore of the American Academy of Pediatrics at https://shop.aap.org or search www.healthychildren.org, "Role of Indoor Environmental Exposure in Childhood Asthma", for more information. In PA, please send your health and safety request with your name and phone number to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Click here for asthma information available from this U.S. Government website. You will find information sheets and forms to help child care providers care for children with asthma as well as information about other lung diseases. These include emergency protocols, guidance for handling physical activity for children with asthma, and a checklist of environmental factors that child care providers can remove to decrease illness among children with asthma . Many of the materials are in English and Spanish. 12/2012

This workshop uses interactive discussion, visual aids and hands-on demonstrations to address the causes, symptoms, bodily responses, and current prevention and management for asthma episodes. 

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disability. ASD causes social, communication and behavioral difficulties. Children with ASD can be diagnosed and start to receive services as early as 2 years of age. Children with ASD can receive free services that help minimize their disability. These services can be provided at home, in a child care center, nursery school, play group, Head Start program, early childhood special education classroom or other settings.  

See Managing Infectious Diseases in Child Care and Schools, 5th Edition available at https://shop.aap.org or search www.healthychildren.org for more information. In PA, please send your health and safety request with your name and phone number to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

This workshop teaches early learning practitioners how to recognize and manage occupational health risks, drawing on the content in Caring for Our Children: the National Health and Safety Performance Standards. Addresses management of stress, infectious disease risks and musculo-skeletal (ergonomic) challenges intrinsic to providing child care. Includes assessment of personal and work-site health promotion strategies.

The CDC is a comprehensive source of information on public health issues, including immunization, sanitation, and infectious disease. The CDC provides a large library of information to the public on many topics. Some of the categories include: Diseases and Conditions; Emergency Preparedness & Response; Environmental Health; Life Stages & Populations; Healthy Living, Injury, Violence & Safety; Traveler's Health; Workplace Safety & Health. The CDC website includes a powerful search engine as well as alphabetical listings. Users will find fact sheets, videos, photos, posters, and other useful materials to download.

ECELS Child Abuse and Neglect Workshop meets the Child Protective Services law requirements for mandated reporters.  In this workshop you will learn about prevention efforts, recognizing signs and symptoms of child maltreatment, reporting requirements and the process for reporting.  

This workshop uses a game approach to teach appropriate response to common illnesses. The content includes myths and facts about childhood illnesses and when temporarily ill children need to be excluded from their group. Includes distribution of current reference materials and the opportunity to practice using them. The reference for the discussion is Managing Infectious Diseases in Child Care and Schools, a publication of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Handouts include some of the tables and Quick Reference Sheets from this book.

Masking/FACE COVERINGS Resources for EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION (ECE) Providers

(From Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL),  American Academy of Pediatrics HealthyChildren.org, and more)

Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL)
COVID-19 Best Practices for Early Childhood Education (ECE) https://www.pakeys.org/covid-19/
This page will help keep early childhood education (ECE) professionals informed on best practices for keeping children, staff and families safe and healthy as we continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic.

Face Coverings:
The Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) recognizes helping young children to be comfortable wearing face masks and to keep face masks on may be challenging. It is important to help children feel more secure wearing a face mask when around other children and adults.

The CDC COVID resource pages are recommended as the primary source of up-to-date and accurate information. As recommendations regarding the mitigation of COVID-19 continue to evolve, child care providers are urged to stay up-to-date on the most recent CDC Guidance for Operating Child Care.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/child-care-guidance.html

Best Practices and Resources for Child Care Providers https://www.pakeys.org/covid-19/
Most children are used to wearing and seeing people in masks. Predictable and consistent routines around mask wearing can help young children feel comfortable and know what to expect. Treat mask wearing as an emerging skill. Support children in learning to wear a mask consistently to be healthy and safe by showing children how to wear their mask so it fits securely over their mouth and nose. Give positive feedback to children for their efforts and keep it playful!

• Find more ideas in Helping Children Understand Emotions When Wearing Masks
• Social stories may also be helpful. Children love to read stories that include their pictures and photos of people they know. You can even make your own social story with photos of adults and children in your program. You can also use this Wearing Masks story from the National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations. Available in Spanish.
• CDC’s Your Guide to Masks: The CDC has much more detail to their guidance regarding wearing of masks. They discuss the following about masks: How to select, How to wear, How to clean and dry, How to store.
• Resources for Masks for Children: To help support families, and the Early Intervention and early childhood education community, a list of resources to help support and teach young children about wearing a face mask.
• Face Coverings Required flyer: ​Programs who would like to can print and display this flyer at your ECE program (OCDEL)  ¡ Face Coverings Required Flyer (English)  ¡ Face Coverings Required Flyer (Spanish)
• Action Learning Network: Tips for Helping Kids Wear Masks
• Face Masks in Head Start and Child Care Programs– tip sheet for answers to frequently asked questions about wearing masks in Head Start and child care settings
• Strong Center for Developmental Disabilities: A Toolkit for Helping Your Child Wear a Mask During COVID-19

Resources for Use with Children

• Sesame Street in Communities: All About Masks
• Sesame Street in Communities (videos): A New Kind of Picnic and Hooper’s Store Reopens
• Action Learning Network: How to Wear a Mask Like a Health Hero
• Greetings While Social Distancing: This colorful greeting board uses expressive photos of children to demonstrate ways to greet each other while maintaining social distancing. In English and Spanish.

American Academy of Pediatrics HealthyChildren.org
• Mask Mythbusters: 5 Common Misconceptions about Kids & Cloth Face Coverings
Source: American Academy of Pediatrics HealthyChildren.org
https://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/conditions/COVID-19/Pages/Mask-Mythbusters.aspx

• Face Masks for children during COVID-19
Source: American Academy of Pediatrics HealthyChildren.org
https://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/conditions/COVID-19/Pages/Cloth-Face-Coverings-for-Children-During-COVID-19.aspx

Other
• Coronavirus (COVID-19): How Wearing a Mask Helps Protect Against Infection (video)
Source: Nemours KidsHealth.org https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/coronavirus-mask-video.html

• Wearing a Mask Social Story
Source: Autism Services, Education, Resources and Training Collaborative (ASSERT)
http://paautism.org/resource/wearing-mask-social-story/

• Masks Toolkit
Source: University of Rochester Medical Center
https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/strong-center-developmental-disabilities/resources/masks-toolkit.aspx

Additional Parent Resources
• Tips for quarantined parents in the times of COVID-19
Source: American Psychological Association http://www.apa.org/topics/covid-19/quarantine-parents-tips

 Updated 9/2021

This fact sheet contains general information about diabetes in children for teachers/caregivers of children attending early education and before and after school child care programs.See Managing Chronic Health Needs in Child Care and Schools, 2nd Edition available from the bookstore of the American Academy of Pediatrics at https://shop.aap.org or search www.healthychildren.org for more information. In PA, please send your health and safety request with your name and phone number to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Updated 6/2018.

Infants and toddlers in diapers often get rashes-everything from tiny red bumps to more irritated tender areas.

Why do babies get rashes? One or more conditions can cause a diaper rash. The enzymes that help digest food can be irritating when they come out with feces (poop) into the diaper. Wet diapers can cause irritation where they are in contact with the skin. This is more likely to occur where the diaper rubs the creases of the upper thighs. Yeast growing in the warm, wet diaper areas can be another cause of diaper rash.

Some tips to help prevent diaper rashes are:

Change diapers often. Changing a diaper before it gets very wet and as soon after a child has a bowel movement helps. Prolonged contact of the skin with moisture from pee and/or feces irritates the skin.

Avoid irritating soaps and wipes. Use unscented and alcohol-free diaper wipes or just water rather than other skin cleaning products. Scented soaps and wipes that have alcohol in them can irritate a baby's bottom. The ingredients in many soaps remove the skin's natural oils. Without these normal oils on the skin, skin irritation is more likely.

If the diaper area is red and irritated, clean the skin by patting it with a diaper wipe, with cotton balls soaked in warm water or with freshly laundered, well-rinsed, soft, washcloths wet with water. Avoid rubbing the skin. Always use a fresh wipe, or different wet wash cloth each time you swipe. Once soiled, store reusable cloths in a washable, plastic-lined, tightly covered receptacle until they can be laundered.

Consider use of a barrier product . Ask the family to discuss with the child's health care professional the use of a barrier product if an infant has ongoing difficulty with diaper rash. Barrier diaper creams or ointments can help protect the skin from irritation caused by rubbing on the moist and/or soiled surface of a diaper. They are over-the-counter products that contain petroleum or zinc oxide. If the child has had a problem with diaper rash that requires use of a barrier medication, the program should have instructions from the child's health care provider and permission from the child's parent to use it. The product's container should have the child's name and instructions for use too. Put 2 or 3 tablespoons of the barrier cream on a facial tissue and bring it that way to the diaper changing surface. (Do not bring any of the containers of supplies to the diapering surface. Everything on the diapering surface will need to be disinfected after the diaper change.)

Apply the barrier in a thick layer, spreading it gently and smoothly across the diaper area. Be sure to cover the creases of the upper thighs under the edge of the diaper. When cleaning the child, remove only the soiled barrier product. Rubbing to remove the unsoiled lower layer of barrier product will irritate the skin.

The recommended medication administration and diaper changing procedures are in Caring for Our Children, (CFOC3) Standards 3.6.3.1 and 3.6.3.2 for medication administration and Standard 3.2.1.4 for the diaper changing procedure. Access these standards at www.nrckids.org.

Follow the instructions from the child's health care provider and the CFOC3 recommended procedures when using any diaper cream. Some diaper creams contain active ingredients that are not for prolonged use. Documentation of the product applications can be as simple as having a check mark in a diaper cream column on a diaper change log sheet. Note the date and time of the diaper changes there. This lets families know about the frequency of diaper changes and use of recommended medication.

If a diaper rash is bleeding, seems very sore to the child, or lasts more than a few days, be sure to seek guidance from the child's health care provider and check the procedures being used by anyone who is changing the child's diaper.

Contributed by Sarah Macdonald, MD, FAAP, CHOP Care Network High Point