Little hands and fingers will find their way into their owners’ – and maybe their neighbors! – Mouths, noses, literally any surface. To be honest - we’re all exposed in our daily lives to germs. So, keeping hands clean matters.
On arrival, we, or the older children for themselves, wash their hands. We do again before any meal or “messy” activity. And after. Again when we come in from outside in our playground. If they feel a sneeze etc. coming on, the kids are encouraged to blow/cough into the crook of their arm (inner elbow). If they do it into their hands then its hand washing time again. Always with anti-bacterial soap.
Wipe or blow a nose? Well single-use tissue of course. If a teacher is doing it for the child she or he will wear a glove. Or, if unable for some reason, they also will wash their hands afterwards.
Naturally, our staff and adults use the hand sanitizers dotted around the center – however, because of their alcohol content, we cannot administer to the children. (Our English owner swears he only put a glass below a dispenser to catch any drips from going on the floor. We’re watching him.)
That’s just hand washing. This is only one facet of our multi-layered approach to center hygiene and cleanliness covering floors, walls, cots/cribs, bedding, linen, toys, equipment, food and indeed the air itself. And it is also part of teaching children about personal hygiene and being healthy in a clean environment.
You can read more on hygiene and health on previous blogs "Got dirt?" by Sam and "How to tell id your child is too sick to go to childcare?" by Geoff.
