Is it safe to send your child to day care during COVID-19 pandemic? Experts weigh in

With parts of the U.S. reopening, parents are grappling with what to do when they inevitably go back to work. Is it safe for them to send their children to day care as the coronavirus continues to spread?

It’s an important consideration, experts say — and a complicated one.

“Many reopening choices are about personal versus societal responsibility,” Dr. Logan Spector, Division Director of Pediatric Epidemiology and Clinical Research at the University of Minnesota, told Fatherly. “This is really encapsulated in little kids. They’re not bearing the brunt of the virus, but they can spread it.”

After all, getting young children to maintain proper social distance isn’t exactly easy.

“The problem with young children is that they’re not as into hygiene as they could be,” Spector told the outlet. “The kids crawl, salivate and excrete all over the place.”

What to consider when deciding whether to send your child to day care

While children are considered low risk for serious illness related to COVID-19, some experts say there’s no evidence to support that children transmit the virus less than adults, meaning a child could bring it home from day care and infect their family, Fatherly reported.

In turn, this means that sending your child to day care could potentially infect others.

Does your child have an underlying health condition such as diabetes or asthma? Then it’s probably best to keep them home, Dimitri Christakis, the director of the Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development at Seattle Children’s, told Fatherly.

Same for those who live in parts of the country with many confirmed cases of the coronavirus, according to the outlet.

In fact, if work requirements don’t necessitate you sending your child to day care, Tina Tan, a professor of pediatrics at the Northwestern University, says you shouldn’t do it, according to Fatherly.

How day cares are adapting

Imagination Station, a day care in Daytona Beach, Florida, was closed during April but has since reopened with amended operating procedures, USA Today reported.

Children only play with toys that can be cleaned and they are consistently washing their hands, according to the outlet. They also only play in the same small groups of children.

Kim Vukelja, who owns Imagination Station, said she reopened because her employees were chomping at the bit to get back to work, USA Today reported.

“You’re on a precipice,” she told the outlet. “You don’t know which way to go.”

Parents say they’re appreciative.

“Basically, we felt the virus is not going to go anywhere,” Melissa Owens, whose 4-year-old daughter attends the day care, told USA Today. “We just need to be vigilant to make sure our school is going to keep students and parents safe with all the protocols.”

Imagination Station assigns staggered pickup times and only one parent is allowed to collect their child, according to the outlet. Children are checked for fevers before they’re allowed in the facility and put their lunches in special bins to help prevent cross contamination.

At Ellie’s Academy in Sommerville, New Jersey, owner Tirusha Dave requires students to change their shoes when they arrive, USA Today reported. She’s also required to send temperature and attendance logs to the state.

How to choose a day care

If you choose to send your child to day care, experts recommend talking with day care providers about what procedures and protocols they’ve implemented to promote social distancing, USA Today reported.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a number of guidelines for how day cares ought to operate during the coronavirus pandemic.

Play time

The agency recommends that children play in the same groups each day with the same child care provider overseeing each group. If possible, day cares are encouraged to group the children of front line workers together in their own group or in a different classroom.

The CDC also recommends staggered trips to the playground and promoting social distancing during nap time with mats or cots placed at least six feet apart.

Pickup and drop-off

For pickup and drop-off, the agency advises limiting contact with parents as much as possible, with providers meeting children outside as they arrive before escorting them into class.

The CDC also says the same parent should pick up and drop off their child each day. Older relatives, such as grandparents, should not pick up or drop off children.

Health screening

Children should also be checked for fevers when they arrive, the CDC says. Those with temperatures of 100.4 degrees or higher shouldn’t be allowed to enter, according to the agency.

Day care providers are also advised to screen children for flushed cheeks, fussiness, difficulty breathing and other visible signs of illness.

Cleanliness

Day cares should regularly disinfect surfaces including toys, games, light switches, door handles, desks, chairs and cubbies, the CDC says.

Toys should not be shared between groups of children unless they’ve first been sanitized, according to the agency.

This story was originally published May 18, 2020 at 7:30 AM with the headline "Is it safe to send your child to day care during COVID-19 pandemic? Experts weigh in."