Guidance for Childcare during Covid-19

Sending a child to a childcare facility can be a lifesaver for working parents. These parents want to make sure that their children remain safe. However, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, parents are more concerned, and childcare centers have more regulations. There have been suggestions from the CDC, NAEYC, and local authorities regarding protocols that should be put into place.

CDC Suggestions

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are considered two leading authorities on controlling public health concerns. The CDC has been following and studying this virus since its discovery. They have partnered with facilities worldwide to determine the best courses of action. As more information becomes available, they update and revise their suggestions. Be sure to stay informed of the changes that may occur after the publication of this article.

Handwashing

Handwashing has always been important in childcare facilities. Children and adults are expected to wash their hands several times of the day. The following are just a few of the times centers should require adults and children to wash up.

Arrival

When children and adults arrive from their homes or other facilities, they should wash their hands. Handwashing will help remove germs from hands, and though the adult or child may be asymptomatic, handwashing can wash away the virus before infecting either person. Just because someone has been exposed, it does not mean that the person will become symptomatic, but they are then carriers. Washing hands can stop those germs from spreading.

Restroom Breaks

Children and adults should always wash their hands when exiting the restroom. Many potty-training children do not wipe themselves or pull their pants up or down. However, they touch the toilet and other surfaces in the bathroom. Even if you do not think their hands are dirty, a quick trip to the sink for handwashing is always a good idea.

Before and After Eating

Some germs linger on hands but not food. COVID-19 has been tested over and over to see which surfaces it can survive upon. Food has not been shown to be an issue. However, plates, cups, utensils, tables, and hands are a different story. To minimize the risk of virus transfer, wash hands before taking in food or drink, afterward never hurt anyone either.

After Coughing and Sneezing

Water droplets are the fastest way to transmit COVID-19. Coughing and sneezing should be done into the crook of the elbow or a tissue. However, these are not foolproof. Handwashing is the best defense.

Disinfect Surfaces Regularly

While childcare centers often disinfect surfaces, in light of the ease of transmission, the CDC recommends that centers take more care to disinfect more frequently. Be sure to include toys and equipment.

Cover Your Face

Masks and face coverings are vital tools in preventing the transmission of COVID. There are a variety of options for childcare facilities, including clear masks and shields to aid in children who may need to read lips. Children under two and those with disabilities should not be required to wear masks. Children with disabilities may eventually conform to mask-wearing if you are able to work with them.

Stay Home

While childcare centers have always had rules and regulations for sick children and staff, they are human and have sometimes made small exceptions. If a temperature is a little over the limit, or the bowel movement is a little runnier than usual, centers have made exceptions. However, with COVID-19, these exceptions cannot be made. As a matter of fact, the children and staff should be held to a stricter standard.

Symptoms

Not everyone has the same symptoms, especially at the onset. The following symptoms are red flags according to the CDC: Fever or chills, coughing, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, loss of taste/ smell, sore throat, congestion, runny nose, nausea/ vomiting, diarrhea.

American Academy of Pediatrics

Children tend to have milder symptoms than adults, so the AAP has developed some guidelines as well.

More Specific Guidelines

AAP recommends that fever be noted over 100.4, though the CDC recommendations do not specify “Fever” temperatures. They recommend keeping your child at home if he or she has any of the symptoms that the CDC mentions. Since they are pediatricians, they also recommend a call to the doctor. You do not need to rush your child to the ER or urgent care if he or she has one or more symptoms.

National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)

This group provides guidance for educating young children. They are focused most closely on infant through preschool programs. They urge centers to follow CDC protocols. They also offer a variety of resources for families and early childhood centers.

 Social Stories

For children struggling with the pandemic and changes to rules and protocols, NAEYC offers a social story. It is called “Something Strange Happened in My City,” written by Dr. Shu-Chen Jenny Yen from Cal State, Fullerton. This story is specific to the coronavirus pandemic, so it can help children understand the words and phrases as well as the changes to social norms these days.

Office of Childcare COVID-19

The US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Administration for Children and Families, Office of Child Care also offers resources for childcare centers. They continually update their website with the latest information and research.

Childcare.gov

One of the resources offered by the Office of Childcare COVID-19 site is childcare.gov. This resource cites the CDC resources as well as state resources. Clicking on your state will bring up local information for families and providers. This information is available through state departments of health and human services or child development programs within the state. This website will also provide additional restrictions that some states have suggested or required.

Reduced Size

Many states require reduced size if they allow centers to be open.

Masks

Children over two and employees may be required to wear masks in many locations.

Sanitation

Additional sanitation requirements such as hand washing, cleaning, and isolation may be required by the state.

What Can Centers Do?

As a childcare center, you should evaluate your plans for staff absences, ratios, and the onset of illness after arriving at the center. All centers may not be able to operate at full capacity. If you cannot, you will need to evaluate how you choose families for participation.

Health Screening and Response

Both staff and children need to be screened and evaluated daily. If any child or staff member arrives with symptoms, isolation for up to 14 days might be considered proper protocol. Some states are suggesting fewer days—around 10.

Relaxed Absence Policies

Staff members and students may need to be absent more often than they would typically be away. If a student exposes a staff member, he or she should isolate at home until they pass protocol for returning. Likewise, students should do the same if they are exposed. However, many attendance policies would mean that a student or staff member should be dismissed.

Increased Cleaning Protocols

Most centers clean daily. During naptimes, teachers will often wipe down surfaces that are often touched so that they have time to dry before children awaken. However, given new CDC recommendations, you might consider more frequent cleaning of frequently touched surfaces.

Increased Handwashing

Requiring your children and staff members to wash their hands more often will be one of the best defenses against the spread of COVID-19. If you are concerned about the harshness of the soap and water, using hand sanitizer and lotion can cut down on soaps, but the alcohol in the sanitizer can still be drying.

Limited People in a Classroom

There are often two teachers and up to fifteen children in one classroom. With the risk of transmission of COVID-19, reducing these numbers can decrease the risk. Consider downsizing the number of students in the center at once. This can pose a problem, however. We will talk about some of the potential problems and solutions this may present shortly.

Increased Tissues and Disposable Tableware

Tissues flow like water when small children are involved. The winter can be nasty. However, this is the time you need even more of these. Consider wet wipes for faces if noses are raw. Some wet tissues are available that may be soothing. Also, there is no reason to wash and dry dishes that may be exposed to saliva, which transmits COVID. You can reduce this risk by throwing away these items instead. Plastic cups and plates aren’t the best ideas environmentally, but for temporary COVID relief, it may be the best choice.

Potential Issues and Solutions

Short Staffed

During an outbreak, several staff members may be absent from work. You do not want to leave children without a staff member to care for them. This solution would be both dangerous and ill-advised by licensing agencies.

Hire Temporary Fill-Ins

Many qualified people are out of work right now. Consider hiring out-of-work teachers or former employees as substitute teachers. Many licensing agencies also allow subs to have fewer qualifications as they only work once in a while. Work with several centers to hire a pool of subs if it is difficult to hire several.

Choosing Families

If you choose to limit your children, it can be challenging to choose which children can stay and which cannot. You will want to find the most reasonable solution to this challenge. There are a few ways you may do this.

Essential Workers’ Children Only

Essential workers don’t have the luxury of working from home. They often need reliable care, and working with friends or family is rarely suitable. Consider being open for these families only.

Lottery

If your center is located near a hospital or city center, you might notice that most of your parents are essential workers. If this happens, you might not know how to choose families reasonably. You can set up a lottery system like some charter schools do. Allow families to register for the lottery. You will want to keep families together, so siblings need to be counted individually, but all be granted access at once.

Sign Ups

First come, first served sign-ups can be one way to choose families. You can have electronic registration or paper sign-up sheets, but paper sheets will need to be monitored. While we do not want to think about parents being deceptive, some will erase names to get a spot on the list. Electronic is best if possible as each registration can have a timestamp.

Increase Cost of Supplies

One of the hardest parts of the new protocols for many centers is the increased cost of supplies. Wipes, cleaning solution, tissues, soap, sanitizer, paper products, and disposable tableware are not free. It is challenging, especially for small centers, to cover these increased costs.

Ask for Donations

Ask parents for donations of supplies. They do so much for the center that you might be hesitant to ask for more, but it can take the load off of the center.

Homemade Solutions

Some schools have turned to homemade cleaning solutions. Be sure that you are using approved ingredients for these. However, you can often make larger quantities of the solution with these homemade recipes.

Final Thoughts

Responding to COVID-19 is not easy for any business, but educational facilities have increased challenges. You are not only responsible for staff members’ safety but also for the safety of your children. We know that you have your center’s best interest at heart; from the custodians to the director, each person in your center is important. Follow these protocols to minimize the risk of transmission at your center.

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