Keeping Diseases from Spreading in Your Daycare

It is very important in a daycare center to have preventive measures against many and all sorts of illnesses. The preschool teachers and daycare provider plays a great role in maintaining optimal health conditions for the child as well as ensuring them of a germ free daycare.

The children's good health should be the main concern of the daycare provider, with the priority of preventing illness in the daycare and preschool settings. A germ free environment is usually a great concern for parents and those caring for young children.

How can we keep the daycare setting germfree?

It is normally the case that a child presents with the first signs and symptoms of illness while at the daycare or preschool. For that reason, it is very important for daycare attendants or child caregivers in the facility to take measures to prevent the spread of illness.

Here are several measures that preschool teachers and daycare providers can undertake in order to prevent or control the spread of illness within the daycare facility:

* Wash all hands with soap while rubbing hands vigorously under running water for at least 30 seconds. Wash thoroughly, including back of hands, wrists, between fingers and under your fingernails.

* Isolate kids having coughs and colds to prevent infection from spreading. Young children are more vulnerable to respiratory and intestinal infections, and being surrounded by other children makes them more prone to contract infection and communicable diseases.

* Besides the hands, bear in mind that the nose is the entry door for many of the germs affecting the ears and respiratory tract, so keep the nasal passages of the children under your care clear. Put into practice my two favorite nose-cleansing techniques: a "nose hose" (squirt saltwater drops into your toddler's nose and suck it out with a nasal aspirator) and a "steam clean" (take your toddler in a steamy shower and encourage him to breathe deeply).

* Always check and monitor each child's immunization records and vaccines to make sure that they are all current. Make it a habit to ask the parents about their child's scheduled checkups too, specially if the child has special immune-system needs that require special medical advice.

* As a child care provider, daycare centers can enforce the policy of not admitting potentially contagious children. This can either be a direct refusal to accept the child in your daycare facility, or just send them home on particular days when they are really sick and still infectious. Registered and licensed daycare centers are required to have infection-control policies, so inform the parents about these early on.

* Make sure that the rooms in your daycare facility are all well-ventilated with fresh air, and that children are encouraged to play outside as much as possible, good weather permitting.

* And finally, a healthy diet would help the kids reach the potential food requirement for growth and development. Here are the foods that would help: fruits, vegetables, omega3 containing foods, spices and olive oil. Refrain from giving kids highly-sweetened food and drink.

For more: How to start a daycare center by OwnADaycare.com