The blog.himama.com website is providing a timely Child Care Director’s Guide to Cold & Flu Season during COVID-19, with a series of six downloadable printable signs and forms, along with guidance on creating a detailed child care sick policy during COVID-19.

The Child Care Director’s Guide to Cold & Flu Season provides a series of six downloadable printable posters and forms, including:

·       COVID Symptoms

·       COVID-10 Symptoms Form

·       Handwashing Instructions 1

·       Handwashing Instructions 2

·       Social Distance Bear

·       Social Distance Crocodile

The guidelines include helpful suggestions to assist with enforcing your sick policy, with both parents and staff members.  “It can be uncomfortable being a stickler for the rules, but if you want your chances of an outbreak to be minimized, then you will unfortunately need to have some uncomfortable conversations along the way.”

Parents:  “Your center’s sick policy should be communicated to parents as early as their first visit to your center.  It is important that they are aware of all the steps to take when their child gets sick, which will happen at least once during their time with you!  As much as possible, do not make exemptions to the rules.  For example, if you require a full 24 hours after signs of illness have gone away and it has only been 20 hours, stick to the full 24-hour requirement.  The point is, if you don’t stick to your rules, why would you expect parents to?”

Staff:  “Just like the children, staff should remain home when sick to avoid spreading illnesses to others.  Ensure that employees feel comfortable taking a sick day and will not feel like they will get in trouble or let everyone down if they take one.  Explain why it’s so important for them to stay home and never make them think that you are mad at them for calling in sick; in fact, thank them for doing the responsible thing and putting everyone else’s health first.”

Train Staff on Best Practices:  “You’d be surprised how often illness spreads due to people simply not knowing the proper precautions to take to avoid the spread of germs.  As a director, it is your responsibility to ensure that all of your staff is properly trained on best practices for avoiding the spread of illness.  Never assume that anything is a given.  Train your staff on procedures to follow including:

·       Proper handwashing technique …

·       Wash hands before eating, after eating, going to the bathroom, touching doorknobs, coughing, sneezing…pretty much all the time

·       Use had sanitizer when water and soap is not an option

·       Cover mouth and nose with a tissue or arm when coughing or sneezing, and wash hands after

·       Make sure that teachers disinfect their classrooms on a regular basis to minimize the spread of germs

·       Stay home when sick.”

Promote Staff Well-Being:  “You are much less likely to get sick when you are taking great care of yourself, so make it a point to keep you and your staff as healthy as possible….Some of these can even be turned into fun activities for your staff.  For example, team events like a healthy potluck, exercise club or monthly step challenge will provide you with an opportunity to bond while also promoting a healthy lifestyle.”