Is Your Child's Daycare Really Clean?

Most parents will agree that day care centers and preschools are breeding grounds for germs, and kids are notorious for spreading them around. While it is virtually impossible to make a daycare germ-free, parents should be concerned with the overall cleaning and sanitizing practices at their child's care center.

When you look around your child's daycare, do you see:
Hand sanitizing stations?
Clean floors and walls?
Non-porous materials on surfaces and toys?

These are all things that help keep a daycare sanitized. If you are concerned about a daycare's policy on cleaning and sanitizing, be sure to discuss your concerns with the daycare director. It should be perfectly acceptable for you to question what they require of their employees, and what their cleaning routines are. Most licensed daycares are mandated to meet specific cleaning guidelines as set forth by the state or county where they operate their business. The health codes and/or other specific requirements are most often listed on the state's official website. Because most kids attend daycare for the better portion of each day while their parents are at work, knowing what a particular daycare's standards of care are is a good idea for any parent.

Here is a rundown of things to consider:

• Child areas & food areas should be cleaned frequently and sanitized daily.

  - Food preparation areas or countertops (especially when dealing with raw foods) should be sanitized before and after use .

  - Toys that end up in kids' mouths should be sanitized after use. Plastic spoons and forks should never be reused.

  - Carpets should be thoroughly cleaned according to Health Department requirements when children are not present, and should be vacuumed often.

• Sheets, shared clothing (painting smocks, etc.), towels and other cloths should be washed weekly, or immediately when visibly soiled.

  - Clothing that is pulled over the head should be laundered more frequently.

• Mops and cleaning rags should be washed, sanitized, and dried. They should never be left in buckets of used or dirty water.
• Diaper pails and trash cans should be sanitized daily.

  - Any trash or wet soiled items (like used diapers) should be thrown into an outside trash bin at the end of each day.

• Toilet and diaper areas should be cleaned multiple times throughout the day, and should be sanitized every day after all the children have gone home.

  -This includes toilets, door knobs, sinks, plumbing fixtures, toilet stall handles, and diapering areas.

It's in the best interest of any daycare to maintain a clean and healthy environment for all of its' kids!

Source: National Resource Center For Health and Safety In Childcare http://www.healthykids.us/chapters/cleaning_pf.htm