The last thing any parent wants is a sick child with a bad cold or flu, especially during this COVID-19 pandemic.
The daycare is where kids come together to learn and play together, inviting lots of contacts, through which Coronavirus can be spread.
While you cant stay with your child all day in daycare you can check out our 10 tips on how to protect your child in the daycare.
1. Wash their hands before and after Daycare
One of the most common ways to spread disease is by contact.
Germs, pathogens, or bacteria such as the Coronavirus strain can get onto the hands. Taking a few moments for hand-washing with antibacterial soap and water can greatly reduce the risk of diseases for your little one and yourself.
“The first thing that’s happening is that you’re physically removing things from your hands. At the same time, for certain agents, the soap will actually be busting open that agent, breaking it apart.”
-Elizabeth Scott, PhD
By washing your hands, you protect your child from contracting diseases from you, washing your child’s hands protects other kids at daycare from the cold or other ailments.
2. Teach your child the 3 “no-nos”
Is your child old enough to learn a few lessons from his mum or dad? If so, you should start teaching them the so-called big 3 no-nos for where they put their hands:
- No touching the eyes
- Don’t touch the nose
- Stay away from the mouth.
Disease transmission usually occurs from the hands to the eyes, nose, or mouth. Teaching your child to avoid all three areas is a great way to lower the chance of catching a cold, flu, or other illness. You can even make a game out of teaching the big 3 – and encourage your child to teach others at daycare, too!
3. Teach your child the elbow sneeze
Another common way diseases are spread is when a child sneezes into their hands, getting into the habit of sneezing into your elbow will significantly reduce the risk of spreading the disease.
4. Apply sunscreen for outside days
Many child care centers bring the kids outside on nice days, while kids may not be allowed to go to parks currently, they are still prone to potential sunburns while playing in the playgrounds.
Make sure to apply sunscreen before your little one heads to the center. This will prevent a potentially painful sunburn. Furthermore, it will help them feel great during and after their day in child care.
5. Dress your kids for the weather
Your child needs to wear clothes that reflect the current temperature outside. While catching a cold from getting cold is probably an old wives' tale, you also don’t want your kid to feel too cold.
6. Get your child’s sleep habits in order
Effective sleep can help do the following for your kids:
- Boost your child’s immune system.
- Provide more energy to play
- Increase attention span and concentration
The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) has formulated a recommended hours of sleep for newborns to primary school students.
7. Monitor your family’s diet
Another important tip to overall health and wellness is eating a proper diet. Nutrition is a critical aspect of overall wellness. A robust combination of macro and micronutrients all comes together to help support immune system function.
Remember, the best defense your child can bring into a daycare scenario is a strong and healthy immune system. Both nutrition and sleep are incredibly important aspects of the immune system equation.
8. Keep up with your child's immunisations
Most daycare centers will require an up-to-date immunisation record. However, you still may have a very real risk of diseases if your child is not properly immunised.
Before your child even steps foot in a child care center, speak with your doctor. You can verify that all the proper vaccinations are administered. That way, your kid won’t have to worry about the added risk of diseases like measles, mumps, whooping cough, and others.
To boost your child's immunity, you can eliminate 99.9% of bacteria on their hands, by gifting them a mini 60ml FeverMates hand sanitiser, which uses 70% alcohol!
9. Keep an eye on fever and monitor temperature
Are you worried that your child may be getting sick? If so, you can also monitor their temperature using a thermometer or FeverMates stick-on fever indicators. Stick on fever indicators are easy to use stickers that let you quickly see your child’s temperature with no need for a thermometer.
All you have to do is place the sticker on your child (preferably on the forehead). From there, you can simply read the temperature levels to make sure your child is not developing a fever. With many fun shapes available, your kids will love to wear fun stickers.
10. Maintain a 1-meter distance
Teaching your kids to maintain a 1-meter distance between them and their playmates, can go a long way. It's important to consult this with the teacher and the other children, so the distance doesn't get mistaken for bullying. If somebody was to sneeze or cough, the water droplets are less likely to reach the faces of others.
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