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Welcome to the April
2006 issue of the Health and Safety E-News from
the American Academy of Pediatrics.
If you are not yet signed up to
receive this newsletter, click here.
This issue includes information and action steps for
you on the following topics:
Keeping Children Healthy by Preventing Infectious Diseases
Children who play in groups have an increased risk of
infectious diseases. A child with a contagious illness
has an infection that can be passed to another person.
Below are things you can do today to keep the children
in your care as healthy as possible.
- Use good handwashing practices. This is easier when
there are sinks with warm water, soap, disposable
towels, hand lotion, and easy-to-understand instructions
in each room or near where the activities take place.
Show children how you wash your own hands, and encourage
them to wash their hands at the times listed below.
- Clean and disinfect surfaces available to the children
including floors, equipment, toys, and objects that
children might put in their mouths (thermometers,
pacifiers, and teething toys).
- Children must have up-to-date immunizations for
participation in the program. The health form that
you keep on file should include immunizations given.
Remind parents to ask the health care provider to
update the form each time their child receives a "check-up".
All staff members must have up-to-date immunizations
because they can get sick too, or give these diseases
to the kids.
- Tell mothers why breastfeeding is good for babies.
Breastmilk both nourishes babies and protects them
from getting sick. Encourage mothers to visit and
nurse their baby during the day.
- Encourage healthy eating and nutrition, good handwashing
skills and a safe, healthy place for children to play
and learn. Talk to a health professional about things
that you can do to prevent diseases. A child care
health consultant can help you develop and carry out
written policies for prevention and control of infectious
diseases.
For additional information
and resources on keeping children healthy by preventing
infectious diseases, click here.
Deciding Whether Mildly Ill Children Can Attend Child
Care
Knowing when a child is ill and deciding whether the
child should attend child care can be difficult. Parents
and child care providers may not agree about whether
a child should attend child care or stay at home. Below
are things you can do today to work with parents and
make the right decision.
- Talk to parents when they enroll their children
in your program, and encourage them to plan ahead
for when their child is ill and unable to attend.
Explain why you might have to make a decision about
whether their mildly ill child can attend child care.
- Know where to find information that can help you
make a decision. Have a reference manual available,
use a health hotline, and/or find a health consultant
or other health professional who can offer advice
when you have questions. Contact the local health
department when you need help in managing a suspected
outbreak and when a child, member of the child's family,
or staff member has a reportable
disease.
- When children are sick, think about how the illness
will affect their day. If the illness prevents a child
from participating comfortably in activities or if
the child needs more care than you can provide, then
the child should not attend child care. Children,
caregivers, and program situations are all different.
Sometimes mildly ill children can stay in child care
if there's a place for them to relax or lie down where
they can be watched carefully by someone they know.
If this child requires a lot of additional attention,
and you cannot properly care for the other children,
it's best to send the child who is sick home.
- Consider whether the illness might spread an infection
to other children. Most common infections are not
dangerous. People can have diseases and be contagious
without having symptoms. So, sending a child home
may not significantly reduce the spread of an infection.
- Notify parents when their child becomes ill, and
let them decide whether to take their child to the
doctor.
For additional information
and resources on deciding whether mildly ill children
can attend child care, click here.
Handwashing And Use of Hand Sanitizers
Good handwashing is the best way to reduce germs and
infections in child care settings. Below are things
you can do today to prevent and reduce the spread of
infections.
- Wash your hands:
- When you arrive for the day or when you move
from one group of children to another;
- Before and after you eat or prepare or handle
food;
- Before and after you feed an infant or give
medicine;
- After you touch pets/animals, garbage, or sand
in sand boxes;
- After you have been cleaning;
- After you change a diaper or help a child with
toileting;
- After you wipe a nose or touch a mouth, sore,
or any bodily fluids;
- When you leave for the day.
- Help children to wash their hands:
- Before and after they eat;
- After they touch pets/animals;
- After they play in the sand box, or a water
table;
- After they have had their diaper changed or
go to the bathroom;
- After they wipe their nose, or touch their mouths
or any bodily fluids.
- Use liquid soap, disposable towels, and warm water
that is comfortable. Lather hands for 10 seconds and
rinse hands until they are free of soap and dirt.
Washing for a full 10 seconds is the hardest part;
count "Bubble one, bubble two, etc", sing
a song that lasts 10 seconds, or use a timer to make
sure this happens. The warm water doesn't necessarily
remove more germs, but it helps you to wash your hands
longer. Dry hands with the clean, disposable paper
or single use cloth towel.
- Know that gloves and/or hand sanitizers are not
as effective as handwashing under running water. If
you use gloves, you still need to wash your hands.
Some germs get through tiny holes in the gloves. If
you don't have running water, you can use wipes or
hand sanitizers, but always follow-up with proper
handwashing as soon as you can.
- Once your hands are clean, remember not to touch
something that is not clean. Throw out diapers, put
soiled clothing in bags, and toss the garbage before
washing your hands. If the water does not shut off
automatically, let it run while you dry your hands
and then turn the taps off with a towel.
At first, it might seem like handwashing may take time
away from activities. You can wash hands while singing
songs, saying short poems or rhymes, or talking about
the next activity. Handwashing keeps everyone healthy
and able to attend child care, and it is well worth
the time and effort it might take to work it into your
program activities!
For additional information
and resources on handwashing and use of hand sanitizers,
click here.
Questions?
If you have questions about the information shared in
this newsletter, send an e-mail to childcare@aap.org
In about a month or so, the AAP staff will send you
an e-mail with a link to answers to frequently asked
questions.
Health and Safety E-News is provided by the
American Academy of Pediatrics with support from the
federal Child Care Bureau and Maternal and Child Health
Bureau (Grant #U46MCO4436) to provide information on
evidence-based practices that promote the health and
safety of children in child care. If you are not yet
signed up to receive this newsletter, click here.
If you don't want to receive this newsletter, send an
e-mail to childcare@aap.org.
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