Cold weather doesn't cause colds or flu, but the viruses that do tend to be more common in the winter. Help keep your children healthy by teaching them to wash their hands frequently and sneeze or cough into the bend of an elbow.
Here's some valuable tips to help you know when to keep your kids home from day care.
Cold and flu viruses are the most common cause of illness in day care facilities. Even if your child has had his/her immunizations, viruses can still effect their immune system and cause colds, sore throats, coughs, vomiting and diarrhea.
It's not uncommon for children at any age in their first year of group care to experience more infections - possibly 8-12 colds more than if the child was cared for at home (without exposure to siblings or other kids).
With consecutive years in day care, the frequency of cold and flu illness decreases because children develop immunity from virus exposure. Diarrhea typically occurs once or twice a year in a typical child.
Child care recommendations for staying at home when a child comes down with a respiratory illness is as follows:
Prevents the child from participating comfortably in activities
Results in a need for care that is greater than staff members can provide without compromising the health and safety of other children
Poses a risk of spread of harmful disease to others
If a child is suffering with a respiratory illness (cough, runny nose, or sore throat) and fever, he/she should be excluded from their day care program. It's fine for the child to return after the fever associated with the respiratory symptoms has resolved (assuming no fever-reducing medicine is used to control the fever).
Day care staff are E.C.E certified and since Gingerbread House Day Care is a licensed facility, we make certain that all our teachers receive the recommended immunizations, including the flu vaccine. We require all our children that we care for to also receive the recommended immunizations set forth by their pediatrician or medical practitioner.
The single best way to protect against the flu is to get vaccinated each year and to practice good hygiene...wash your hands and rub them dry. This is a fundamental and it puts the health and safety of everyone in the day care facility first.
To your child's health!