Child care centers are meant to house children when their parents are at work. It serves as a safe option for babysitting. Aside from providing safety, child care centers also give educational activities to children. Indeed, child care centers come handy to working parents.
When the coronavirus started to spread, child care centers were shut down. This situation led parents to keep their children at home while working at the same time.
During the quarantine, when parents needed to juggle work, household chores, and entertaining their children, they appreciated the help that child care centers have provided. However, even if child care centers are about to reopen, parents are weighing whether they will send their babies or children to one.
Even there is a low rate of children affected by the coronavirus; there still is worry among parents because of the still mysterious inflammatory condition associated with the virus.
Will child care centers be safe for children?
Since child care centers have been an essential part of American life, the reopening of the centers is foreseen as an inevitable event.
Parents are hesitating to send their children because they see that there are possible risks in doing so.
Especially for toddlers who are probably not going to know what social distancing means.
Parents are thinking about how their kids will be safe with the virus still lurking around and no vaccine available yet.
What are the states doing to ensure safety in child care centers?
Each state is implementing its measures in the reopening of child care centers. Licensed providers are given health and safety guidelines that are essential in minimizing the spread of the virus. The steps which were provided are varying from nap time, meal times, and policies in pick-up and drop-off.
What are the suggestions of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on child care centers?
According to the CDC, there are measures that caretakers should follow when welcoming children to their child care centers. Some of these are the following:
1. Wearing masks and personal protective equipment.
Masks are slowly becoming part of every person's necessity. So it is only apparent that caretakers who have direct contact with children need to follow this protocol strictly.
2. Clean and sanitize all surfaces.
Because the coronavirus tends to stay on surfaces, it is essential to keep it clean. According to WebMD, these are the number of days the coronavirus on specific materials:
- Metal: five days
- Wood: four days
- Plastics: 2 to 3 days
- Stainless steel: 2 to 3 days
- Cardboard: 24 hours
- Copper: 4 hours
- Aluminum: 2 to 8 hours
- Glass: 5 days
- Ceramics: 5 days
3. Screen kids and teachers
Another way to ensure everyone's health safety is by taking the temperatures of kids and teachers upon entrance.
In some child care centers, those whose temperatures are at 100 degrees and above will be sent home. Some centers implement a controlled number of kids per room. Nine kids will be allowed in the room for preschoolers, while six kids will be allowed in the room for babies and toddlers.
