As a parent or guardian of a child, attending an Olney day care center in Montgomery County, MD, you probably expect staff and management at the center to keep your child safe. And that’s an expectation that teachers, supervisors and administrators don’t take lightly. Thankfully, there are many protocols, policies and procedures already in place to do just that. However, did you know that parents and guardians have the power to do a lot themselves to ensure their children have a safe and healthy day care experience?

Just the Basics Go a Long Way

When you read the part about “doing a lot”, you’re probably thinking: Families already have a lot on their plates – it’s hard to do much more! Well, you may be right in many respects. Being parents themselves, most staff working at child care centers empathize with that fact. And that’s why staff at your Olney child care center have spared no effort to design their health and hygiene procedures so as not to add more stress to the family once children go home.

But what happens once the child is in a setting away from their day care environment? There’s not much that day care administrators and supervisors can do to extend that protective shield away from the center. But, as parents and guardians, there’s a lot that you can do! And it starts with the basics.

Knowing What to Do

Most families probably already practice the basics…and here’s all it really takes to extend the safe and healthy experience from the day care environment to the home, and then back again:

• Reinforce all the prevention habits already spelled out by Federal, State and County healthcare officials:
  • Stay away from anyone that’s sick
  • Make sure you cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing. Then, discard the tissue safely in the trash
  • Wash your hands after each visit outdoors, after using the bathroom, before a meal and after a cough, sneeze or blowing your nose. Do so for at least 20-seconds using soap and water
  • As an alternate to soap and water, for children above age 2, use hand sanitizers with a minimum 60% alcohol
• If possible, do not travel out of state on non-essential trips
• Keep children, who display symptoms of illness, home. Above all, do not bring them to the Olney day care center
• Discuss possible home-based activities with your child’s teacher
• Plan for any temporary closure of the center: Arrange to take time off from work, or to work from home, so you can be with your kids and monitor and support them

Above all, reinforce these health and wellness procedures with your children at home, so they continue to practice good hygiene when they’re at the Center. It’s really that simple!

Keep Everyone Safe

Practicing these basic self hygiene measures is all it takes to keep everyone healthy and well – yourselves, your children, the staff at the center and, above all, other children at the center. At the end of the day, no one, least of all members of the faculty at your Olney child care facility, want anyone to feel unwell or uncared for. But accomplishing that requires everyone to pitch in with some basic, simple to implement health and hygiene measures at home.