Recognizing Signs of Swine Flu in Children

Watch for the signs of swine flu or regular flu: fever, coughing, head and body ache, chills, and a sore throat. In young children, symptoms that require urgent medical treatment are: rash on the body accompanied by fever, unconsciousness, unresponsiveness, blue tinge to skin tone, respiratory difficulty or breathing faster than usual. If your child displays any signs of swine flu, keep him or her at home and away from childcare or school, and get a doctor’s opinion.

Tips for Parents to Protect Against Swine Flu

• As a rule, it is a good practice to develop and encourage habits of washing hands often during the day. Teach children to wash their hands and face in the morning, in the evening, before and after meals, and shower after playing or before going to bed.
• Teach children to avoid touching their face or mouth to prevent transmission of any virus or bacteria.
• Arm yourself with information on swine flu to be prepared for any signs or precautions.
• Simple etiquette like using a handkerchief or tissue when sneezing can reduce the swine flu risk.
• Clean household surfaces, especially doors and door handles frequently. Regular household cleaners are effective to protect against swine flu.
• If your child is diagnosed, he or she will remain infectious for 7 days after the signs of swine flu started. Do not let infected children interact with other children or family members during this time. Stay at least one meter away from the infected person to avoid the swine flu risk and prevent contamination by droplets and keep a separate sleeping place if possible.
• Swine flu can be treated but antivirals cannot be taken unless a diagnosis confirms that your child has swine flu or is at serious risk of developing the illness.

Tips and Information on Swine Flu for Childcare Professionals

• Spread information on swine flu. Educate children in creative ways and ensure that they learn and practice methods to protect against swine flu.
• Teach children to wash hands and face regularly, and especially before eating.
• Children should be taught about germs, as well as to avoid touching their faces, to cover their mouths when sneezing and to use handkerchiefs.
• Clean all surfaces every day with a regular disinfectant, especially those that are touched by children to reduce swine flu risk.
• Observe rules of hygiene during eating and snack time. Provide a separate cup, plate, bowl and spoon for each child and label it so that there is no sharing.
• If a child displays signs of swine flu, ensure he or she is kept far away from other children until either a doctor arrives or until the parents can be called to take the child home.
• Children who show signs of swine flu will remain infectious for approximately 5 days after the symptoms begin to show. A child who is ill should not be allowed to come to childcare during this time.
• Use a spray with high alcohol content to disinfect the air around at regular intervals.
• Use social distancing in the areas where children congregate: move desks further apart, have smaller groups of children if possible, do not overcrowd children into one area for activities.
• Provide warm water and soap for children to wash hands, or hand rubs or sanitizers.
• Staff members who are ill should be made to stay at home, whether you are prepared for the extra time you or some other member will have to put in. A few extra hours of work will not hurt, but contracting an infection can have serious consequences.
• Prepare parents by providing information on swine flu and making your rules very clear. Some parents may try to drop children off when they go to work, even if the child is mildly ill. Lay down very strict rules on this or any other behavior that may endanger you, your staff or the other children

References:

1. Swine Flu Q&A – NHS UK
2. Swine Flu and Children: Should Parents Be Worried? – Education
3. Novel H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu) and You – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

There are many excellent child day care centers with well trained staff, then there are ones that are well below standards, so it is important that you look deeper before committing yourself to one.

Day care centers are costly with some being more expensive than others so it is worth calling them and making an appointment to go and take a look around and ask any questions that you have. A good day care centers will have nothing to hide and will let you walk around freely where you will be able to see first hand the activities and talk with staff members.

The cost of day care for your child

Day care centers for your child are costly and prices vary with the bigger and well established centers charging more, day care in big cities will usually cost more than in smaller towns and most day care centers will bill you monthly but some will offer a discount if you pay for a years childcare in advance.

If your child is under the age of one year then you will often be charged more than for an older child and a lot of the centers will give no discount for holidays such as the Christmas break, you will usually still be charged for the month even though your child wasn’t there.

The advantages and disadvantages of a day care center

There are several advantages of your child attending a day care center as opposed to having a nanny, but there are some disadvantages as well to consider.

Mixing with other children in the day care center as opposed to being on their own at home is a plus as this will help them develop among other skills, sharing skills for when they attend school.

A good day care center will be able to provide various activities and a wide range of toys suitable for their age, as well as giving them the opportunity to take part in singing, dancing and story telling activities.

Another benefit a child day care center has over a nanny is that they can be more reliable, that is if your nanny is sick then you would have to make other arraignments where as the day center has plenty of staff at hand.

The disadvantages are while your child is able to mix with other children they are also more prone to catching childhood illnesses from other children. Your child will also not get one on one attention as they would from a nanny but on saying that a good day care center should have enough staff to ensure that proper attention can be given at all times.

Thing to consider when choosing a center

• Choose the location of the center wisely; would it be better for you if it was close to work or home?
• Would you be happier with a smaller or larger child day care center?
• Look into all the possibilities, ask the advice of friends who have children in day care, usually your Doctor’s surgery will have information on day care centers in your area.
• Once you have a few names then call them and make an appointment for a visit to talk with them.
• How do you feel about the center, after having visited it go with your feelings.
• Remember to ask about policies including, do they change activities regularly, what is the child/teacher ratio, what are their policies regarding safety and first aid.
• Once you have a short list narrow it down, the day care will probably give you names of parents of children who are attending and you can use these as reference. Call them and ask them questions.
• Take your child for a visit to the day care center, see how he/she reacts and feels in the place, do you think they would like it.
• If you have special requests can they meet your needs.
• What if any emergency plans do they have, for example if you were running late in picking your child up from day care.

There are various options open for parents needing someone to care for their children while they work, the decision will have to be made wisely as your child will be with your chosen carer for many hours a day every day of the week so it is essential that you have peace of mind they are safe and well looked after as well as receiving the stimulation needed for learning and development in the early years. Listed below is a comprehensive guide to the different types of care that is offered:

A Nanny

Nannies will care for your children in your own home and often form a close bond with your child or children because of this; a nanny has to be registered as a child minder with local authorities.

The nanny will provide your child with activities during the day depending on the age of the child and may also perform some light duties around the home such as cleaning the child’s room; the nanny will also assist in the social development of your child.

There are several nanny agencies that will take your needs and the age of your children into account and pair up suitable candidates which you can then interview in your home; this is often the best way of choosing a nanny.

After school clubs

Many schools now offer an after school club to provide your child with care in between leaving school and you returning home from work, activities will be made available for your child and they will have the option of purchasing snacks and drinks.

Some day care centers offer after school care and some have a separate facility from the main day care center specially providing activities and snacks for your child.

An Au-pair

Au-pairs are usually young and often do not have any qualifications in child care as such, they will live in your home and provide care for your child as well as performing household duties, they will essentially take care of the home for you while you are working often performing shopping, cooking and cleaning duties.

Child day care centers

Day care centers can be an expensive form of child care especially if you live in a big city, staff at the centers will hold certificates in child caring on various levels and will have been trained in dealing with problem children and children with special needs.

Care centers will provide meals and activities for your child based on age and some centers have after school care programs suitable for older children. Children can benefit from attending a day care centers, mixing socially with other children the same age but are more at risk of catching childhood illnesses from mixing.

Child minders

A child minder has to be registered to provide care for children and babies, a child minder will generally look after children in their own home and an inspection will have been made into the suitability of the home beforehand.

All child minders will have had a criminal record check made to rule out any criminal activity and they will have attended a registration course and first aid course. They will be up to date on topics such as child nutrition, health and safety and food hygiene.

Family members or friends

This option is particularly appealing as you know your child will be safe with relatives, also your child won’t have problems when you leave because they know the person they are with. Family members are usually more flexible than nannies and make an excellent choice for after school arraignments for your child.