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Keep Your Child Pre-Schooler Healthy in Childcare

11 August 2014 by Ralph Dixon

As they play closely with other children and share toys it is a simple fact of life that children in child care are exposed to germs and infections. The good news is that there are a number of simple precautions that will help your child avoid many of the common illnesses and reduce the impact of others.

Follow these defence strategies to keep your child healthier:

Make Immunisation a Priority

Immunisation is by far the safest and most efficient means of protecting your child against a wide range of harmful diseases, some of which can cause severe health problems.

Vaccinations are readily available and free of charge from your doctor, clinics and hospitals through a nationwide scheme, The National Immunisation Program Schedule.

• This schedule specifies the vaccines that your child should receive at particular age milestones. A convenient record of vaccination is registered and stored for every child.
• Your child's immunisation history statement is sent to you automatically at certain stages, or you can make a request for one at any time.

Make Prevention Your Best Policy

You can teach your child some good habits to avoid the spread of germs and encourage sound hygiene practises.

Hand Washing

• Encourage your child to wash hands not just after going to the toilet, but also before and after eating, playing in dirt and touching animals.  
• Ensuring that little ones do a thorough job is important. Careful washing and lathering is needed to kills off germs.
• Make it a fun thing to help your child manage what they will regard as quite a long time; have them wash while completing a nursery rhyme or favourite song.

Smart Sharing

Teach your child a simple rule that anything that goes in the mouth, like drink bottles and food, should not be shared with others.

It is natural for children to want to share snacks they have brought from home, and the things in a pal's lunchbox always seem especially inviting.

They need to understand that once bitten into, food may have germs that can make people sick. Your child will respond to this if you point out that they don't want to make others sick or get ill themselves.

Try packing a separate snack individually wrapped that your little one can share with a friend.

Following these easy to implement strategies will ensure that your child has a head start on the way to staying healthy in a child care environment. You will help them build up their immunity while steering clear of many unnecessary ailments. For more information, contact a childcare facility like Cool Bananas Childcare & Preschool.

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