Sharing Web Resources

The Canadian Association for Young Children has similar issues that we have here in the U.S. I went to the news and resource section and found information on injury prevention, obesity, mental health, and poverty. These topics were found on their CHEO website which is a hospital. In their newsletter I found information on brain research/development during pregnancy and after birth. This all seems very relevant to me professionally since we have been learning a lot about these issues.
One subject that I found on the CHEO link was information on physical punishment, and it appears to be a hot topic right now. The hospital has many education classes and advocacy messages on preventing child abuse and injury in young children. It goes on to talk about the risks of physical punishment and alternatives to physical punishment. I thought it was a little different than in the U.S. because it not only states that it is not an appropriate choice, but gives reasons that are research based and follows through with classes to teach prevention strategies and alternatives.
The website resource titled "building blocks, building brains" gave information about how important brain development is in the early year, showing that neuroscience is playing a part in canadian research. It also stated that many programs and trainings in Canada do not yet incorporate this teaching about brain development, so it was a fairly new concept.
Other new insights that I gained was in the area of the environment. There were many workshops about environmental education like; Healthy Environments, Healthy Kids, and children and nature. There was talk about environmental toxins and reducing exposures to toxic chemicals and other hazards that impact children's health.