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MY ROLE IN PROMOTING HEALTH AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

DIANA MARTINEZ

UAGC

PROFESSOR SUTTON

ECE214
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My Journal

As far as my knowledge about the matter is concerned, it has definitely increased and

improved in class. It is essential to understand what developmentally appropriate expectations

means, which is, at best explained as whatever the caregivers and guardians of the child want the

best for their children. That “best” is what drives the age and developmentally appropriate

expectations. In the DAE or developmentally appropriate expectations, three areas are the

focused areas i.e., cultural, individual and social appropriateness. This is done by the primary

way that is getting information about the child as a child grows and via assessment of their

growth and learning. This includes utilization of tools such as Ounce Scale, Ages and Stages etc.

To take into consideration a child’s complete and overall DAE, one should take into account

their cultural appropriateness or identity of the child’s own culture, the individual expectations

and aspects in conjunction with the family’s DAE according o what they may be considering

“best” for their child and the social information by observing the child (PennState Extensions,

Retreieved 2022).

Regarding the consequences if the expectations are inappropriate according to the

developmental level, scale or age of the child, there are several issues that can come up.

Whenever children are enrolled in the programs, especially ones that we or I will oversee in my

future role, I thin k it is important to share the goals and attributes as well as skills required to

achieved certain DAE as well as the developmentally appropriate practice or DAP goals,

similarly, the parents should eb welcomed to share their personal expectations about their DAE.

It can cause a case of distrust and incohesive connection with not only the child but the families

as well. That incohesiveness will trickle down to the child’s developmental which ultimately

leads to a problematic and undesired situation no parents want their child in.
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One of the major ideas that I have learned which I think is really helpful to me is

ALWAYS, working in conjunction with the families, guardians and parents of the children. A

child of a working mother or parents may spend a significant amount of time with me but at the

end of the day, they have to return home and a big chunk of their day is also spent there. Having

complete understanding and knowledge of that part of the child’s day can really help you

understand the child much more that what you may observe at school only. Through parent’s

conferences, seminars, meetings and activities or days planned where parent’s and children team

up and come to school, for instance, colors day where the parents and child are expected to wear

the same colors and come to the facility for a fun and active day of engagement, sports as well as

awareness about anything you consider important. These are great opportunities to connect with

the parents on a closer level and inquire, if you want or have to, about the child at home etc. It is

a window in the life of a child that may be left unseen if not given this opportunity.

Furthermore, along with that relaying what you have learned about the child back to

parents as well as having classes about knowing and understanding each other as fellows is

equally as important as was the first point. For instance, take the case of an allergic student who

themselves don’t know if they are. One day they start showing mild symptoms while interacting

with some fruit etc. and you observe the activity. It is essential that this is relayed back to his

parents as well as the children in the classroom in a fun and approachable way to ensure the

children also know how to keep each other safe knowing each other’s weaknesses or condition.

Etc.
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Aforementioned ideas and knowledge that I have gained will ultimately affect my

decisions and communication in my classroom as I continue and start to implements these

ideologies in my classroom or professions knowing the fruits they bare. Next time, any such

scenario is presented where the ball is in my court, I will know what decisions to make solely

because of the increased knowledge and understanding. Furthermore, the topic of nutrient and

food components something I would want to research and understand more. Throughout the class

we have given vague explanations and answers to these problems and I really think going into

even a bit more detail will reveal a lot that the children do not really need to know but their

caretakers should. Be it label reading and understanding or knowledge of BMI and food intake

etc. I really think nutrition goes a long way in this profession and a child’s early development.

Lastly but certainly not the least, a more thorough research as well as note making and

compilation of parents resources is something that I want to cement in mu future profession into

this filed. All of these three steps can be combined into one practice that continues to pay me off

when the parents want answers, the children face difficulties or I am unaware of situation not

faced before. Academic knowledge is great but converting that into your daily-life routine to

understand research a topic related it your profession, take notes and find resources

understandable by experts and parents alike is a new level of professional excellence that I want

to achieve.
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References

PennState Extensions. (Retreieved 2022). Child expectations – What is best? Retrieved from

Pennsylvania State University Extensions:

https://extension.psu.edu/programs/betterkidcare/early-care/tip-pages/all/child-

expectations-2013-what-is-best#:~:text=Developmentally%20appropriate

%20expectations&text=It%20is%20generally%20easier%20to,%2C%20standardized

%20assessment%20tools%20(ex.