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This month’s email from the Public Health – Seattle & King County (PHSKC) Child Care Health Program (CCHP) includes the following topics:
Health & Safety Information for Child Care Providers
Information to Share with Staff & Families
Continuing Education, Training & Financial Opportunities
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Protecting Children During Extreme Heat Events
Extreme heat events make everyone uncomfortable, but high temperatures aren’t the only concern. The earlier heat waves occur in the summer, the more stress it puts on our bodies because we haven’t had time to adjust to the hotter temperatures. Many hot days in a row, without cooler evenings, make it hard to cool down and recover. In addition, humidity – the measure of water vapor in the air – makes us feel hotter than the actual temperature. Normally, sweat helps us cool down, but when there is high humidity, sweat doesn’t evaporate as quickly.
Anyone can suffer from heat-related illness, but very young children are at higher risk because:
- Their smaller bodies heat up more quickly than adults
- They can’t release as much heat due to having fewer sweat glands than adults
- They are less able to communicate their symptoms, making it harder to catch the early signs of dehydration and heat exhaustion.
Child care providers are required to monitor weather conditions and dress children appropriately for outdoor playtime in the heat or cold. Below are important things to remember keep children safe and comfortable during periods of extreme heat:
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Watch for Signs of Heat Exhaustion
If a child or staff has signs or symptoms of heat exhaustion (such as headache, nausea or vomiting, dizziness, muscle cramps, and irritability) or dehydration (thirst, heavy sweating, fewer wet diapers), move them to a cooler place and give them liquids to drink. You can also remove unnecessary clothing, such as shoes and socks, and try to cool the person with cold compresses. If they do not feel better after trying these things, get medical attention for them immediately.
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Keep Children Hydrated
Offer drinking water throughout the day, and especially after physical activities. Snacks, such as fruit, can also be hydrating. For more information, visit the National Drinking Water Alliance.
Make drinking water fun for kids. Here are some suggested recipes:
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Incorporate Safe Water Play
Keep kids cool with safe water activities, such as misting water from a spray bottle or having children play with toys in a water table (remember, these must be emptied and disinfected at least once per day). Always remember to supervise children during water activities (WAC 110-300-3500).
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Offer Shade both Outside and Indoors
Keep children out of direct sunlight by installing a sun shade sail or structure to cool outdoor spaces. These can be simple low-cost canopies made of polyethylene or natural materials. Lighter color shades reflect more heat and can lower the temperature of outdoor spaces. You can also block the sun inside with window shades or coverings.
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WAC 110-300-0145 requires early learning programs to have shaded areas in outdoor play spaces, provided by trees, buildings, or shade structures.
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Infants under 6 months must be kept out of direct sunlight, per WAC 110-300-0296.
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A note about window safety: When it’s hot outside, many people are tempted to open windows to help cool indoor areas. However, unintentional window falls are a common cause of serious injuries and death, and children ages 2 to 5 are at the greatest risk.
Here are some safety tips:
- Keep furniture and other items kids can climb on away from windows.
- Put a lock/window guard on the window to prevent them from opening more than 4 inches.
- Remember: window screens are designed to pop out for fire safety and are not strong enough to prevent window falls.
The CCHP's Weather & Extreme Heat webpage has a lot of information on how to mitigate extreme heat and excessive sun exposure including:
- Information on using the Heat Index instead of just the temperature outside to decide if outdoor play is safe.
- Tips and tools to help cool the air and block the sun, and keeping children as cool as possible.
- Information on keeping children hydrated.
 For more information on extreme heat, visit these resources:
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The CDC HeatRisk tool uses a 5-level scale to indicate how risky the heat level is to health in your area – just type in your zip code.
Sign Up for Product Recalls
As a reminder, WAC 110-300-0150 requires items to be removed from the early learning space if they are recalled by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Programs can subscribe to receive email updates from CPSC on recalled children’s toys, high chairs, and other commonly used baby and children items by going to CPSC Email Signup.
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Information for Staff & Families |
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Clyclospora Outbreak – Information from Public Health
Do you or families have questions about the national outbreak of Cyclospora? Cyclospora is more commonly known by its main symptom: exploding diarrhea. As of 7/18/26, the CDC and FDA are investigating a multistate outbreak linked to shredded lettuce. Read more about this outbreak and the current local situation on PHSKC’s Public Health Insider blog.
Key points:
- King County is not getting reports of unexpected increases in cyclosporiasis (the disease caused by Cyclospora) to date.
- So far, there’s no evidence that the outbreak affecting other states is impacting King County.
- PHSKC is not currently recommending that people change their normal shopping routines.
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Continuing Education, Training & Financial Opportunities |
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ASQ Workshops Coming this Fall
Early identification of developmental concerns of the physical (fine and gross motor), problem-solving, communication (speech), social-individual, and social-emotional skills are essential for supporting young children’s growth and success. The Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) and the ASQ: Social-Emotional (ASQ-SE) are widely used, family-friendly screening tools designed for children from birth through age 6. These ASQ workshops are for early childhood educators, program directors, family support specialists, and anyone involved in developmental monitoring and early intervention.
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Early Childhood Complex Needs Training: Back-to-School Series
The University of Washington Haring Center is offering training to support child care providers who care for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers with complex needs. All trainings are virtual, offered at no cost to the provider, and provide in-service (STARS) hours.
Topics include: Designing Classroom Routines, Transitions, and Schedules; Creating Supportive Learning Environments; Classroom Management; and Supporting Multilingual Learner. Check out their flyer for topic and dates! For questions, contact pcyeung@uw.edu.
Each training has an afternoon and evening option, and trainings are offered in English, Spanish, and Somali.
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