Sick now…Healthy Later!

It’s that time of year again, when everyone seems to be getting sick with fevers, coughs, colds, flu and sniffles.

“My child is always getting sick with one thing or another that she picks up from nursery!”

Does this sound familiar? This is a common complaint of parents when their child attends a nursery setting for the first time. Let’s debunk the myths regarding illness and nursery.

Myth 1: “They don’t clean the nursery well enough”

Parents often question a nursery’s cleanliness. However, cleanliness is rarely the issue. That’s because the best nurseries take hygiene and cleanliness very seriously and will have a cleaning policy in place, which includes strict guidelines on daily cleaning, disinfection and sterilization. Therefore, if you felt a nursery was dirty or unclean when you first visited, then maybe it’s the wrong nursery. Here at Oakfield ELC in JLT we place high importance on hygiene with many protocols and policies in place such as,

• Outdoor and indoor shoes for all children and staff
• Robust Cleaning Policies
• Full time registered Nurse
• Hand washing on arrival and departure

Keep in mind that children can and do pick up germs and viruses everywhere and many are airborne. Therefore, before the cough or sneeze of an unwell child reaches the nursery’s clean, disinfected surface, your child could inhale it from outside, or when out and about at the weekends in parks, malls and play areas.

Handwashing is a big part of the day here in our Early Learning Center. Teachers always encourage children to wash hands on entry to the facility, before and after eating, after using the bathroom, after playing outside, after messy activities …you name it …teachers are very aware for the need to wash hands, because they too, do not want to get sick.

At Oakfield ELC in JLT, we also encourage our children to sneeze or cough into their elbows (NEVER on their hands) to ensure that infection is contained and not spread by touch. Nurseries do all they can to prevent the spread of infection through cleaning, but this cannot prevent it entirely.

Myth 2:  “They let sick children go to nursery”

Nurseries are often criticised for letting sick children attend. This is a very tricky issue. Yes, ideally, all children in the nursery should be 100% healthy at all times, otherwise they should stay home. In reality, sometimes children could have been feeling perfectly fine in the morning before coming and symptoms become apparent during the day. Rest-assured, here at Oakfield ELC as soon as teachers observe illness in children, they ask for assessment from the school nurse.

The “Sickness and Illness” policy of nurseries will have guidelines on when a child cannot be in nursery. This usually means if a child has a slight cough or runny nose, they are not excluded as these symptoms are sometimes persistent, yet not contagious. It may just be an allergic reaction to dust or pollen. It is important to bear in mind that many of the common viral illnesses are most contagious before the child shows any symptoms.

Though policies are in place for this, nurseries rely on the honesty and support from parents. Working parents often have a lot of pressure to go to work, and do not have alternative childcare. Parents often feel upset to have their child excluded for illness, but usually want other ill children excluded to avoid spread of illness to their own child.

Myth 3:  “My child gets sick too often”

Another concern is the frequency of illnesses when children are young. Although this can be stressful and exhausting to see your little one sick, there is a lot of research into the positive side of this.

A study in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine has shown that children who attend nursery before the age of 2.5 years do get more respiratory and ear infections than children who stay home. However, they are less likely to fall ill with these things when they start primary school.

Studies have also shown that although your child may pick up viruses often whilst in nursery, they normally recover faster and have less severe symptoms than a child who has not been in any childcare setting.

 

TOP TIPS TO KEEP YOUR CHILD HEALTHY

So now the most important part of this article, how to keep your child healthy when illness seems to be spreading through the nursery and community around. Here are my top tips to staying healthy, from my knowledge and experience as a grandma, mother, teacher and nursery manager:

• Ensure your child is getting lots of rest. Children under 5 years should be sleeping an average of 12 hours every day.
• The whole family should be eating nutritious foods. I know this can be tough with strong willed children…but let’s save that for another article. So I recommend a kiddy multivitamin supplement daily and try to incorporate a lot of fruits and foods loaded with vitamin C and zinc.
• Always wash your toddler’s hands as soon as you pick them up from play areas, school, nursery or when you get home, and before they eat or interact with siblings.

Try to get some fresh air to blow the cobwebs away. A walk on the beach or in the park, even open windows to let the air circulate in your home.