Heading into the winter season (meaning cold season), it’s especially important to protect the little ones from germs. Our child care facility’s priority is to keep everyone as healthy as possible. Even though a cold or a runny nose is a challenge to prevent, we are up to the task. We know that a sick child could mean missed days at work, or the sickness could spread to yourself or other members of the family. That’s why we are here to give you some tips to prevent colds and other illnesses this year.
Keep Kids Home From Child Care
We understand this may be asking a lot, but at the first sign of a sickness, try to keep your child home until they are feeling better again. When germs can be contained at the source, this will prevent them from spreading to other children. If your child has a fever, is vomiting, or suffering from diarrhea, you need to keep them home.
Wash Hands Often
Hand washing is a great way to prevent sickness at a child care and at your home. The CDC recommends washing our hands before eating, when caring for someone who is sick, after using the restroom, and after blowing our noses, coughing, or sneezing. We try to teach our students a habit of washing our hands correctly as well.
- Use warm water to wet your hands.
- Use soap to lather your hands and be sure the soap reaches the back of the hands, between your fingers, and beneath the nails.
- Rinse your hands thoroughly under clean water.
- Dry your hands with a clean towel or air dry them.
Wash Hands Before Coming to Child Care
To protect the surfaces within our facility, we try to make sure that everyone, even infants, wash their hands when they enter the building in the morning. There are millions of germs hiding everywhere, and in an effort to keep the facility germ-free, we ask that parents, siblings, and children wash their hands in the morning too.
Cover Coughs and Sneezes
Kids will, of course, be kids, but our child care center tries to create a habit of using tissues to cover our mouths when we cough and sneeze. Instead of using our hands to cover our mouths, using a tissue will prevent germs from spreading. After a cough or sneeze, throw away the tissue and wash your hands.
No Sharing at Meals
We encourage sharing, but when it comes to food being handled by a child who may be sick, we want them to keep the food to themselves. Sharing food as well as cups, utensils, or plates can cause germs to spread. If possible, have one healthy person serve everyone food so that eaters can be confident the surfaces are germ-free.
Disinfect
Keeping surfaces as germ-free as possible will prevent them from spreading. Even though we can’t avoid touching everything, we can disinfect surfaces and objects when there is an illness at home.
These tips, along with healthy eating and sleeping habits, will go a long way in preventing illnesses this year. We do our best to ensure that each student is as healthy as possible, with healthy handwashing habits and nutritious meals. If you have any questions about our child care facility or want a tour, give us a call today.