1. As a professional in the field of early childhood, you must consider all possible strategies for preventing injuries to children. The “ABCs of Childhood Injuries” is a conceptual tool described in your text (pp. 64–68) that can help you assess causal factors of injuries and assist you in taking steps to prevent them. Use this tool to analyze an example of a real-life injury that has occurred to a child in an early childhood setting. (If you do not know of a real-life example, imagine a hypothetical one.) Describe the accident in terms of its “accessories,” “behaviors,” and “conditions.” What modifications in the conditions or behaviors could you apply to the situation in order to prevent this kind of injury from happening again? 

2. Locate and read through your state’s licensing regulations on this page of the National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education’s Web site: http://nrckids.org/STATES/states.htm. Summarize your state’s regulations on three important safety issues, such as medical records of children, records required for caregivers, or sanitation guidelines. (If you have a choice of regulations for different kinds of facilities, focus on the facility in which you would like to work.) In your view, are these regulations strict enough? Are they too strict? Explain your answer, citing specific examples to support your position. 

3. “Falls from playground equipment,” writes Robertson, “are the leading cause of injury in early childhood education environments” (2013, p. 134). Review the SAFE concepts as described on pages 150–155 of your text, and summarize the components of a SAFE playground or outdoor play space. Think of playgrounds in any early childhood environment with which you are familiar. Identify at least two features of the playground area or equipment that are hazardous. How would you use the SAFE concepts to improve these conditions?