Taking Your Child Back To Daycare? How To Keep Them Safe During Covid-19

If you're heading back to work after the recent shutdown, you may be worried about daycare. Most daycare centers were required to shutdown when states started sending people home. But, they're opening back up now. If you need to send your child back to daycare, you want to take steps to keep them safe. Here are some safety measures to follow during the current health crisis. 

Ask About Safety Measures

If you're going to be using daycare right now, you want to ask about safety measures. Most daycare providers have implemented plans for keeping children safe. Before you send your child back to daycare, make sure you know the safety measures. Some measures should include spacing between children and the removal of shared toys. If safety measures aren't added yet, try to postpone your child's return. 

Schedule Your Drop-Off/Pick-Ups

If your child is returning to daycare, stick to a schedule. You want to take extra precautions during the drop-off/pick-up times. There are a couple issues you want to guard against during these times. First, there are usually crowds in the mornings and evenings. . Second, children are often dropped off to one worker. Unfortunately, both these situations can put you your child at risk for covid-19 exposure. To avoid that, try to pick a time when there are fewer parents present. That way, you don't need to deal with the crowds. Also, arrange to have one designated daycare worker conduct the child hand off with you. That way, you limit exposure risks. 

Update Your Contact Information

If you plan to start your child back at daycare, make sure you update your contact information. This is especially important with current health risks. In the event of exposure, your daycare provider will need to contact you as soon as possible. If your information has changed, contact may get delayed. It's also important that you provide at least one extra emergency contact. That way, you have someone to pick up your child if you can't leave work. 

Have a Backup Plan for Childcare

Finally, if you need to head back to work, have a backup plan for your childcare. If your provider needs to close down due to exposure, you'll need to have another provider lined up. Contact other daycare centers in your area to arrange on-call care. That way, you have a trusted provider to drop your child off with. This is especially important if your primary provider needs to close their doors.

Make sure you find a daycare center you can trust, like Lighthouse  Academy, in your area during this time.