Health & Safety Handbook

A bright, colorful, an easy-to-use handbook--that includes the same information pediatricians provide to parents--is available free-of-charge to caregivers. Caring for Connecticut’s Children: A Handbook for Parents and Caregivers of Young Children, volume 1, promoting health and safety, is available from the Child Health and Development Institute of Connecticut (CHDI). The handbook was developed using the latest research from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health, and other reputable sources.

The new handbook--which uses the word “Connecticut” in the title but has information applicable to caregivers across the U.S.--is designed to provide parents, childcare providers, teachers, and other early childhood professionals with quick, succinct and updated reference information on a variety of health and safety issues affecting children from infancy to age five. The spiral-bound handbook takes the latest research and best practices in child health and safety and makes them accessible to parents and childcare providers with a hands-on, easy-to-reach, colorful reference manual.

The new glossy handbook offers guidance on numerous health, wellness, and safety issues, consisting of sleep, nutrition, oral health, car and home safety, general health and contact information for various regional and national resources. Sections are color-coded for quick referencing. CHDI is finalizing a Spanish version of the handbook as well as a second volume on child development.

Caring for Connecticut’s Children was created by the Training Resource Academy, an initiative of CHDI, with funding from the Travelers Foundation and the Children’s Fund of Connecticut.

Resources

For free copies of Caring for Connecticut’s Children, contact the Child Health and Development Institute of Connecticut, 270 Farmington Ave., Ste. 367, Farmington, CT 06032; 860-679-1519; www.chdi.org. The publication also can be downloaded from the website.