When working with children it is very important to keep your hands washed at all times. If you do not keep good hygiene while in the child care industry you are risking many things. Dirty hands spread germs, which could make children sick, you may encourage bad behavior, and you’ll appear as an unfit caregiver to parents. If you do not wash your hands, especially after using the bathroom, you become filled with nasty bacteria. If you prepare food for them you are spreading these germs onto the food. If anyone, especially a child eats enough, they could come down with the flu or maybe even something worse. There are measures, such as making a game out of the task or using a portable sink, to make hand washing seem like less of a chore.
There are other ways of spreading germs, such as anytime you TOUCH any of them. Most of us know that children; especially babies love to suck on their thumb. If you grab hold of their hands at any point while yours are unclean, you may spread bacteria this way. Not only can you spread germs, but you are also encouraging bad behavior. You are a role model to these children. If you do not wash your hands, they will not want to wash their hands. If a child does not wash his or her hands they will spread germs on everything the touch. Every toy, coloring book, table, etc. in the day care center will eventually contain more germs than normal, and risk the health of everyone there. If you expect children to wash their hands, you must encourage the behavior by example. The worst possible thing you could achieve while working with children is gaining the distrust of their parents.
If you are in a public bathroom with a parent, or in the kitchen preparing a meal while the parents watch, and they do not see you wash your hands first, they are going to be disgusted. Parents put all their trust in you when they leave their children in your care. There are other ways to be a bad role model aside from yelling and being rude. Not washing your hands before you prepare a child’s meal, or play with a child is very disgusting and most parents will not stand for it. Just by simply forgetting to wash your hands, you could lose your job and the trust of parents. A way to prevent this from happening is to make sure your facility has a decent amount of portable sinks. By having a portable sink in every room, this makes washing your hands seem like less of a chore for both you and the children.
In conclusion, when working with children it is always important to promote cleanliness. If you do not wash your hands, you are risking a child’s health, risking bad behavior, and risk your job. Children are mimics, and will do as you do. It is important to always show them good behavior. You do not want to lose your job, or lose the trust of parents due to unwashed hands.
Cleanliness in a Child’s Environment.
March 13th, 2009Child Care Equipment
March 13th, 2009It can be a real challenge to find the right equipment for a child care setting. One of the first considerations in selecting equipment for a child care situation is the age of the children being cared for. If the children are around the same age, it will go a long way toward simplifying the search for the proper equipment. Safety is always one of the most crucial considerations. Of course when selecting child care equipment you want to steer clear of sharp edges, and always choose the sturdiest equipment you can afford. This is one area where you don’t want to skimp, since quality, well built equipment will repay for your investment in the long run. Ordinary residential furniture, for instance, won’t hold up long when it is being used continuously by active toddlers. You will also want to look into soft play, for the toddlers.You can purchase special daycare or school furnishings that are sized just for kids, safe and durable. Be sure to keep your child care equipment clean, washing all washable surfaces on a regular basis to keep things bright and clean and also to kill mold and germs. It is also a good idead to have some portable sinks around the facility. Having portable sinks will let kids easily wash their hands no matter what part of the building they are in. It is preferable to keep a good and diverse stock of playthings for the children in your care as well. Depending on the number of children in care, you can even rotate the toys from one season to the next, stowing them away for a month or so and then bringing them back out so the toys seem new again to the kids. Be sure to have enough storage space for your child care equipment and you can even have the kids participate in keeping things organized, which will be easier if you have brightly colored containers to keep toys separate.
The importance of sanitization in day care/preschool.
February 24th, 2009Sanitization refers to being absolutely free from all the germs, bacteria, and viruses. We live in a world filled with harmful germs and viruses. It is important to see to it that we eradicate and eliminate these things at the earliest if we have to give a good and healthy atmosphere to the future world.
Preschool and Day care are the places where the future of the country comes to learn and grow. The future I am referring here are the tiny tots or kids who come to spend their valuable time learning and growing to face the future and also to continue the achievements done by earlier generations. It is our responsibility to look into the aspects of sanitization so that these tiny tots are free from all infections caused because of bad sanitization.
Kids are vulnerable to even the smallest of infections. We have to keep the floors clean by washing it regularly with a disinfectant. The tables and chairs have to be cleaned a couple of times before a kid comes and sits on it. Very clean wash basins is a prime important factor as the kids might play in the sand, eat chocolates, or even use their fingers to dig their noses.
They have to be taught to wash their hands immediately after it has been used so the wash areas are to be very very clean. The bathrooms are the most important place in a school where sanitation is of top most importance. This place has to be washed on an hourly basis because the kids are just getting toilet trained and many might not have perfected or mastered the trade of toileting.
After every kid goes in to the toilet, it is very important that it be checked and if found dirty to be cleaned immediately because there will be others who have to visit this place to relieve themselves. Sanitizing the canteen or the facility dedicated for eating and cooking is also s very prime place to follow the rules of sanitization.
Each and every food like a chicken or a vegetable has to be cleaned under a tap water for better results. The cooking area is to be well sanitized so that there are no germs or infection in these areas as it can very easily be transmitted via the food medium. The boiling of food is also very necessary because once eaten and the leftovers thrown off if there are some germs in the left over then it could pass on and infect the entire place. The dust bins are to be thoroughly checked every morning and evening and their inspection to be done and sanitized before the next use.
New Health Standards Requiring Portable Sinks in Daycare Facilities Should Be Adopted
February 19th, 2009Because small children are more susceptible to illnesses related to the spreading of germs and bacteria, frequent hand-washing is probably one of the single most effective things you can to do promote a healthy environment. This is why new health standards should be adopted to encourage the use of portable sinks in daycare and preschools. Germs and bacteria are transferred from hand to hand contact and from coming into contact with contaminated surfaces, such as tables, benches, and even toys. However, current standards only require hand washing after handling raw meats, using the bathroom or the handling of pets. Most of these standards are adhered to today, but if we are truly going to create more healthy environments for our children, portable sinks should be used to encourage more frequent hand washing not only after play, but also after eating, This can be accomplished with the strategic placement of portable sinks in rooms more frequently used, such as playrooms or even in a private playground. Since these sinks are portable, they require less expense to set up than traditional sinks and can be up and running in a matter of minutes. Overall, portable sinks are a cost effective and sensible way to ensure the health of our children. Therefore, by adopting new health standards for licensed daycare and preschool facilities, everyone wins.