NOPREN informs policies and practices designed to support the equitable intake of healthy, nutritious foods so that everyone has a fair chance at health. Our collaborative network includes policy researchers and evaluators, practitioners, people representing professional organizations and community organizations, and people working in government agencies. We seek to understand the effectiveness of policies and practices enacted at the federal, state, tribal, and local levels, and their impact on access to healthy food and water, food security, dietary intake, and health.

NOPREN Members Engage with the Network in Two Primary Ways: State-of-the-Science Webinars and Workgroups.

Resource Highlight from the Early Childhood Work Group:

Healthy Eating Research is happy to share that educational resources for parents and providers from our two most recent expert panels are now available in Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese. For the beverage recommendations for children ages 0-5, the educational resources are available in all three languages and includes one-page beverage fact sheets and new plant milk guides for providers and caregivers. For the feeding recommendations for children ages 2-8, the educational resources are available in Spanish and includes tip sheets for creating healthy eating habits, a guide to common feeding and eating challenges, and serving size guides.

For a full list of new resources available in multiple languages, please visit our website.  All of our educational resources for our expert recommendations can be found on our Tips for Families page. 

Community Resources for Gardening

Discover the best practices in the language of health 

    The Language of Health Style Guide by Arizona Health Zone

Check out which fruits and vegetables are in season this month! 

• Arizona Seasonal Produce Calendar by Sun Devil Dining

What should you be planting right now?

• Vegetable Planting Calendar for Maricopa County by Arizona Cooperative Extension

Other Gardening Resources

• Gardening Library by University of Arizona Master Gardener Program

• Poisonous Plants

For more information on professional development, programs and projects, grant funding, and garden and educational resources, please visit the following websites:

Natural Learning Initiative (NLI) 

KidsGardening.org 

Burns

• Replace traditional flame candles with battery-operated candles.

• Use knob covers on stoves. Turn the handles on your pots and pans toward the back of the stove so your child cannot pull a hot pan down on top of his or herself. Place a childproof cover over the switch of your garbage disposal.

• Install childproof faucet and shower spout covers in your bathroom and kitchen to prevent hot water burns. Lower the temperature on your hot water heater.

• Keep matches and lighters out of reach.

• Don’t leave burning cigarettes around children.

• Install and regularly check smoke detectors. 

• Install a fireplace screen around your fireplace. Dispose of hot ashes outside in a fireproof bucket.

Falls

• Place baby gates across stairways or entries to rooms that could pose unsafe exposure, such as the kitchen, bathroom, garage, laundry room, or basement. Choose gates that can be fastened to the wall with durable hardware.

• Add doorknob covers to your outside doors to prevent your child from falling off a deck, balcony, or stairs.

• Secure windows with barrier netting or protective window guards. Window guards should prevent the window from opening more than 4 inches. Window screens are flimsy and can be pushed out. Choose window guards you can easily “undo” in the event of a fire.

• Use barrier netting around decks and balconies.

• Use padded bumpers to cover sharp corners on furniture and your fireplace hearth to soften the injury of a fall.

• Anchor tall, heavy furniture or appliances against the wall or to the floor with brackets and bolts to keep it from tipping over onto your child.

Poisoning

• Lock cabinets, closets, and doors to rooms, drawers, and other storage areas containing common household poisons. These include cleaning supplies, medicine, laundry detergent, and dishwasher pods.

• Install carbon monoxide detectors throughout your home. Change the batteries twice a year when you change your smoke alarm batteries. Replace the detector if it’s not working properly.

Drowning

• Drain water from sinks, tubs, and child pools. Install a childproof lock on your toilet. Drain your larger, outdoor pool at the end of the season.

• Install doorknob covers on doors leading to the bathrooms.

• Secure your pool or hot tub with a sturdy cover designed for the product (not a light tarp).

• Install a four-foot fence around the perimeter of an outdoor pool or hot tub to protect your child and neighborhood children. Lock the gate.

• Add a secure lock to the door or doors leading to an outside pool. Push-up bars on sliding glass doors are not effective and can be lifted by a young child.

• Use a floating pool alarm on an outdoor pool or hot tub. This device sends out a warning sound when something or someone enters the water.

Choking

• Keep choking hazards, such as small toys, coins, clothing, buttons, and other choking hazards away from your baby or young child.

• Cut food into small bites.

• Consider signing up for basic first aid and CPR courses through organizations such as the American Red Cross and other local groups.

Electrocution

• Install outlet covers on all your electrical outlets to prevent your child from sticking his or her finger or an object into the outlet.

Strangulation and suffocation

• Replace traditional window blinds or shades with the cordless version to prevent strangulation. Tie cords and hang them high. Trim what you don’t need, or raise the blinds and tie the extra cord near the top of the window. Free cord repair kits for blinds made before 2000 are available through The Window Covering Safety Council (WCSC).

• Store plastic bags, including grocery, trash, and dry cleaning bags out of the reach of children.

• Remove the lid from a toy box or use one without a lid.

• Lock your extra or unplugged freezer or refrigerator to keep your child from being trapped inside.

• Fasten or avoid using crib mobiles. These can fall down and potentially strangle your child.

• Don’t attach pacifiers to your child’s clothing with ribbons or strings while asleep.

• Trim hanging ribbons and strings from your child’s toys and clothing.

• Remove necklaces or elastic headbands from your child before putting them down to sleep.

Injuries from guns and knives

• Always keep guns and knives locked and stored out of a child’s reach. Kitchen knives are best stored in a high cabinet rather than a drawer.

• If a gun safe or other lockable storage area is not available, make sure to use trigger locks on all firearms.

• Store guns and ammunition in separate locations.

Other Resources

• Health Symptom Checker by American Academy of Pediatrics

• Kids Health Resource Center

• Safe Kids Arizona

• Child Safety Seat Resources 

• Arizona Department of Child Safety