Controlling the Spread of Illnesses in Daycares

Is it up to caretakers to provide safe and clean environments for our children? Should sick children be in school? How can daycares control the spread of diseases?

One of the precautions daycares need to take to control the spread of illness is to keep the contagious children out of school. Most daycares have a policy for fever. If a child has a temperature they are sent home. My concern after the fifth disease scare, what if they do not have a temperature?

Daycares need to be disinfected on a daily basis. There is no reason Lysol or Clorox disinfectant spray should not be used after the children go home, at the very least. Toys and books should be wiped down or soaked and tables and chairs need to cleaned as well. Using any type of disinfectant as a cleaner is a great start to killing germs.

Teachers and children alike should wash their hands often. Even using hand sanitizer that you do not need to rinse off will kill the germs and help stop the spread of disease. Most daycare workers wash their hands before and after changing diapers, as well as after wiping noses.

Disinfectant wipes should be kept on hand for when children sneeze or cough in an area that can be wiped. Hand sanitizer is also good for disinfecting the child after wiping any spray off when a child coughs or sneezes.

Most daycares do not let the children have their drinks unless it is snack time or meal time. The children are usually sitting at a table. This is the only time a child would have a chance to take another's cup. This is also when the teachers and the helpers need to watch closely so the children do not share germs. If another child takes a cup the adult should be able to grab it and clean it before giving it back to the rightful owner.

It is also in the best interest of the child and the other children in the daycare, that if the child is acting sluggish and does not feel well the child should be sent home or separated from the other children. The child is not going to be productive when he or she is not feeling well and he or she may make the other children sick. If illness in the daycare is running rampant then, there may be something that can be done differently at the daycare to eliminate or at least hinder the spread of germs and diseases.

Recently, I picked up my son from school. His teacher excitedly asked if I knew what fifth disease was. I said all I know about it is that it is highly contagious. Then, the teacher explained that someone drank out of his sippy cup that had fifth disease and he drank after them. All I could think was great, here we go to the doctor again.

I pulled fifth disease up on the internet. It's so handy to have information at the touch of your fingertips. My research led me to believe as long as a pregnant woman did not come into contact with my son, the disease was relatively harmless. I called the pediatrician just to be sure. As luck would have it, I did not need to take him to the doctor, I just needed to watch him to see if he acted sick.

Daycares have the means to control the spread of germs and illnesses. It is up to the employees as well as the parents to use common sense to keep everyone safe and healthy.