Stop the Spread of Disease in Your Child Care Center

Diseases spread at an accelerated rate in the childcare setting because of the nature of the environment. Toys are constantly being shared, fingers are going into mouths and children are in close contact with one another. It’s our job to supervise children as they play and teach handwashing, hygiene, and ways to minimize the spreading of germs.

In order to gain insight into the importance of learning about the spread of illness, let’s look at a few statistics.

• Each year, an average of 20,000 children younger than 5 years are hospitalized because of flu-related complications.
• Influenza causes more hospitalizations among young children than any other vaccine-preventable disease.
• Chickenpox focuses on kids, most commonly attacking those younger than 15.
• Strep throat is most common in school-age children.
• Children contract an average of 6-10 colds each year.  

Download the PDF: 4 Ways to Teach Hand-Washing to Your Students!

The good news is that with a little effort and imagination you can not only keep your childcare center healthier but you can turn it into a teaching moment for your students! Preventing the spread of illness starts with the following steps:

Hand-washing: Hand-washing is the single most effective way to prevent the spread of disease. It sounds so simple, but washing hands with soap and clean running water prevents the spread of many diseases and conditions. It is also important to remember that you are a role model for the children in your classroom. Children will be more apt to remember to wash their hands if they see you doing it! Below is a video example of how to encourage your students to properly wash their hands.

Establish a Cleaning Routine: Establishing a cleaning routine is very important. We need to clean frequently and diligently because of high hand-to-mouth contact that can easily become a breeding ground for germs if we are not careful. Sometimes just cleaning with soap and water isn’t enough to play areas need a good scrubbing with a strong disinfectant like bleach water.

Toileting and Diapering: The bathroom is a breeding ground for germs!

• It’s important to post one teacher nearby to monitor and help when children are using the toilets.
• Before and after diapering a child, wash your hands!  
• Wash the child’s hands too after you change their diaper.
• After each diaper change, clean the area with disinfecting spray.

Keeping our students healthy is one way to be kind to kids.

For detailed information on common communicable diseases in child care centers, take our course!

* If you take the course before March 1st you can get a 20% discount by using the coupon code: stayinghealthy