Keeping a Healthy Playgroup During Cold and Flu Season
You cannot prevent your child from ever catching colds, but you can certainly avoid some of them some of the time. During the wintertime cold and flu season in particular, you just have to be a little more diligent. Viruses, bacteria and germs spread easily and quickly in groups of people, such as in your playgroup, so take precautions before, during and after your playdate.
Surfaces play a major role in transmission of germs among children in a playgroup. Some germs are easily transferred onto hands just by touching a surface and then touching eyes, nose, or mouth. Many germs are able to survive for a few hours up to three days on moist surfaces. To make matters worse, some of those germs can grow to large numbers in a very short time, and very few viruses are needed to cause an infection.
Handwashing, regular cleaning and proper disinfecting are simple ways to reduce the spread of infectious diseases. First, clean surfaces to remove dirt and food particles where microorganisms can grow; then apply a disinfectant and allow to air dry to kill germs.
Here are a few other suggestions you can do before, during and after your playgroup to help reduce the spread of germs.
Before Playgroup:
1. Clean and disinfect your home. Of course, we all clean up before we host playgroup in our homes, but if your family has recently had colds, then you may need to do a little extra. Wipe down and spray with a disinfectant such items as doorknobs and handles, light switches, stair rails, refrigerator and freezer handles, water faucets in kitchen and bathrooms, and toilet handles. Some parents with infants in their group will disinfect toys in a solution in the bathtub as an extra safety precaution.
2. You may want to add this to your rules: Do not attend playgroup if you or your child have an illness or are recovering from an illness. In addition, if you are hosting playgroup, forewarn visitors that you have a sick child at home; the other members may want to consider an alternative location. It’s only common sense and consideration to stay home or warn others if you are ill. Although the other children may eventually catch the cold that’s raging through the neighborhood, you don’t have to help infect them. Besides, this week may not be the most convenient time for a child and her parents to take on one more risk of getting sick.
3. If your playgroup meets in public locations, keep up with the latest health news regarding the flu season in your area. For example, rather than meet in indoor playlands that may not be disinfected regularly, you may choose to meet at the park or in each other’s homes during the peak flu season.
During Playgroup:
1. If your child has a runny nose due to allergies, be diligent about wiping it.
2. Be alert for early signs of illness, especially during cold and flu season. If you notice your child with a sudden runny nose or fever or any change in his usual behavior (fussy or lethargic), he could be coming down with a cold or other virus. Consider leaving playgroup early just in case. It may be too late to prevent the other children from catching the illness, but the other parents will appreciate your consideration.
3. Everyone should wash their hands before preparing and eating snacks. To kill germs thoroughly, hands should be soaped for about 20 seconds; this is about the length of time it takes to sing the ABC song, so sing while you wash your hands!
After Playgroup:
1. As soon as you get home, you and your children should wash your hands. Again, sing while you wash to kill those germs!
2. If you or your child come down with an illness soon after returning home from playgroup, you could have been contagious during playgroup. Notify the other parents so they can watch for early symptoms in their children. Consider adding this rule to your guidelines too.
3. No need to scour the entire house after playgroup leaves, but you may want to wipe common areas, including doorknobs, light switches, stair rails, water faucets and toilet handles, especially if you noticed children with runny noses or coughing. You may also want to consider cleaning the toys they played with.
You cannot prevent colds and flu completely, but at least do what you can to limit the spread of infection and keep your playgroup healthy.
