Most injuries to young children in school or child-care environments occur outdoors, so playground safety definitely should be a concern in a child-care setting. Approximately 40 percent of the outdoor injuries to children are due to poor adult supervision," says LSU AgCenter child-care associate Cheri Gioe. "That means supervision is an essential component of playground safety."

Parents who depend on child-care centers need to know the policies of their center and to keep in mind that those policies are designed to keep disease outbreaks from spreading to all children.

Child-care environments play an important role in the healthy growth and development of infant and toddlers. Since infants and toddlers spend a large portion of their day in routines such as saying hello or good-bye, getting dressed, diapering, toileting and mealtime, the child-care environment should reflect these important shared learning times. The environment provided for infants and toddlers should be welcoming and responsive to both children and their families.

A supportive, nurturing, inviting environment for preschool age children is extremely important in encouraging them to explore and learn. Children learn through their own experiences of trial and error, repetition and imitation. Adults may encourage learning by ensuring that the classroom or day-care environment is appropriate and supports an array of experiences and choices.

One of the most important roles parents and caregivers serve is to ensure that the children entrusted to them thrive in healthy and safe environments.

Parents and grandparents often face the challenge of deciding what toys are appropriate for their children or grandchildren. The same thing is true of child-care providers seeking new toys for their child-care centers.