In childcare, cleanliness and good hygiene practices aren’t just goals; they’re necessities. Good hygiene methods and cleaning and hygiene procedures are the invisible shield that protects our little ones from illnesses and provides peace of mind to caregivers and parents alike.
But it’s not about appearances; a hygienic environment lays the foundation for a healthier, safer, and more conducive learning environment.
From hand-washing routines to managing waste, to personal hygiene skills, food preparation safety and beyond, we take a look at the essential healthy hygiene practices in childcare, and how to encourage this within your centre.
First though, let’s cover off on why it’s oh so important to ensure that your centre’s hygiene methods are up to scratch.
Why proper hygiene procedures are so important in childcare settings
Child wellbeing
Proper hygiene plays a crucial role in ensuring that children remain healthy and safe. Child care centres can host a variety of germs, and providing a safe and hygienic environment is crucial to preventing the spread of infectious diseases, colds, flu and other illnesses. A clean and sanitised environment means fewer germs, which translates to healthier children and fewer sick days.
Lifelong positive hygiene habits
Good hygiene habits introduced at a young age can last a lifetime, so by practising good hygiene procedures within your childcare centre, you can help the children in your care develop lifelong positive hygiene habits. When children learn good hygiene habits early, they’re more likely to continue these practices as adults.
Childcare centre reputation
Good hygiene practices are essential for the ongoing success of any child care centre. Put quite simply, an unhealthy space without the proper personal hygiene and hygienic cleaning procedures is going to result in a higher spread of harmful germs, making more children sick more often. Parents talk, and it doesn’t take long for a childcare centre to get a poor reputation when it comes to hygiene, health and safety.
Good hygiene practices can prevent this issue.
This guide will delve deep into the core hygiene practices in childcare to prevent these issues, and include ways to encourage positive hygiene practices within your centre.
Essential hygiene practices in childcare and how to encourage them
These are some of the most important hygiene practices in childcare, along with some recommendations on how to encourage each within your centre, from your staff, to your parents, to the children in your care themselves.
Good hand hygiene
Why it’s important
Hands are the primary carriers of germs. Regular hand washing and sanitising can drastically reduce the spread of illness.
How to implement good hand hygiene habits
Ensure that kids wash their hands with soap and water after restroom breaks, before meals, and after outdoor play.
Teach the children good hygiene habits, with repetition and colourful posters reminding them to wash their hands.
Verbally remind children before and after they touch their mouths, eat, go to the bathroom and cough or sneeze.
Teach your children about hand sanitiser, and its importance.
How to set up your centre for success and encourage hygienic practises
Ensure that easy to use and easy to reach hand sanitising stations, and hand washing stations are set up, complete with hand towels or hand dryers, and soap dispensers.
Installing a high-quality solution such as Excel Hygiene’s range of hygiene solutions can make your life so much easier in this area. Excel Hygiene supply, install, stock, replenish and service soap dispensers and hand sanitisers. We take care of all of the restocking and maintenance, so you don’t have to. As we do this via a recurring four weekly service schedule, you don’t even need to organise the logistics of booking this in regularly. Just get it set up with us initially, and then tick the job off your list.
This makes good personal hygiene practices within your childcare centre a breeze.
Learn more about Excel Hygiene’s soap dispensers, automatic hand sanitisers, and other hygiene solutions today.
Breathing clean
Why it’s important
Clean air contributes to a healthier environment, reducing allergens and keeping things fresh. Ensuring that the air in your centre is clean and clear helps improve the overall hygiene, and reduces the spread of germs and airborne diseases.
How to implement
Ensure that you are able to open windows regularly, to let fresh, clean air through the centre.
Ensure that air conditioning unit filters are cleaned regularly and filters are serviced and replaced when needed.
Setting up your childcare facility for success and encouraging good hygiene standards
Ensure that staff members and centre managers are educated on the importance of circulating fresh, clean air through the centre regularly.
Schedule regular maintenance on your air conditioning, and ask your air conditioning maintenance team to follow up if they have not heard from you when your filters are due for a service.
Consider installing automatic air fresheners to reduce unpleasant odours from bathrooms and food preparation areas. Clean-smelling spaces encourage team members to practise better hygiene methods, and can make a world of difference to how your child care centre staff members feel, and therefore act, within your centre.
Excel Hygiene offer automatic air freshener dispensers, and can take care of their installation and regular servicing and replenishment. We can program your air fresheners to dispel fragrance at intervals that match your centre’s needs. All of our air freshener fragrances are CFC free and safe for humans and animals.
Managing waste
Why it’s important
Proper disposal of waste prevents the spread of germs and keeps the environment tidy. Healthy habits with waste go a long way to preventing pests, and providing a healthy and sanitary environment which is conducive to encouraging children to practise good hygiene themselves.
How to implement
Have designated bins for different types of waste, like tissues, nappies, and sharps, and women’s sanitary products (for staff members and parents).
How to set up your child care centre for success and encourage appropriate procedures
Excel Hygiene offers a number of sanitary services for businesses and childcare facilities that make waste management easy.
Our sanitary bin supply and servicing, nappy disposal bin supply and servicing, and sharps disposal bin supply and servicing means that you can effectively manage your waste for these products with minimal effort. We can supply, install, and then regularly service your sanitary, nappy and sharps bins, on a regular four weekly schedule.Learn more about these services today.
Staying stocked
Why it’s important
Running out of essentials like hand towels or toilet paper can disrupt the daily routine and place an unnecessary barrier to good hygiene habits. Keeping stocked in supplies is the solution.
How to implement
Regularly check stock levels and replenish as needed, or enlist the help of a professional service to look after your replenishment of washroom consumables.
Setting up your child care centre for success
With Excel Hygiene’s supply of washroom consumables, you’ll never be caught off guard. We can monitor stock levels of toilet paper and hand towels during our regular four weekly servicing, and ensure you’re always equipped with these necessities. We can bring these with us on our next visit. We also check your stock levels of our hand sanitisers and hand soaps during our servicing schedule.
Keeping Pests at Bay
Why it’s important
Pests can introduce diseases and create an unsanitary environment. Keeping your centre pest free can improve its hygiene, and boost staff morale and motivation to keep a clean environment.
How to implement
Regularly use insecticides, especially during peak insect seasons, and prevent rubbish and foodstuff from being left out.
Setting up your child care centre for success
Excel Hygiene’s pest insecticide dispensers are top-notch. We provide the dispensers, replenish them, and ensure they’re serviced to keep those bugs away. All of our pest insecticides are safe for humans – little and big ones alike.
Good food safety practices
Why it’s important
Food safety is crucial because it directly impacts our health and well-being, preventing the spread of foodborne illnesses and ensuring the consumption of uncontaminated meals. Having good safety processes, and good hygiene practices surrounding food and eating areas can prevent the spread of germs as well as foodborne diseases.
How to implement
Ensure that eating utensils and crockery, food preparation equipment, food preparation surfaces, and eating areas are cleaned properly, thoroughly and regularly.
Ensure that staff are trained in food safety practices and procedures.
How to ensure your childcare setting is set up for success
Professional cleaners are a good idea, as is formal staff training to ensure your staff are up to date with food safety procedures. Written hygiene policies, along with general food safety procedures, is a good idea.
Teaching children personal hygiene practices
Why it’s important
Since the COVID19 pandemic first struck globally, personal hygiene practices have been more important than ever. Personal hygiene practices such as wiping children’s noses, teaching children how to properly wash and dry their hands, cover their mouths when coughing and sneezing and teaching them the importance of sanitising their hands after doing so, will go a long way to improving the overall hygiene, health and safety of your childcare.
How to implement
Introduce personal hygiene practices (like hand washing, hand sanitising and covering mouths and noses when sneezing or coughing) into your learning regime. There are many resources available to child care centres around this, from books and songs to informational picture posters. Repetition is key, and leading by example, paired with gentle reminders and demonstrations will help help the children in your care develop good hygiene habits.
How to ensure your childcare setting is set up for success
Adding personal hygiene practices and how to do them correctly into your centre’s teaching plans will help ensure that your child care service teaches children these essential hygiene methods.
Final thoughts
Achieving good hygiene in a childcare setting might seem like a big task, but with proper steps and strategies, it’s completely doable. With the right processes and policies in place, you can ensure your healthcare centre is a safe one.
With a little effort and the right tools at your disposal, you can ensure that the children under your care are in a clean, safe, and healthy environment.
By using high-quality hygiene products and services from Excel Hygiene, the process becomes even more straightforward and user-friendly, making it easier to get your staff, and the children in your care on-board with great hygiene practices. Talk to our friendly team today to learn more about how our hygiene solutions can help you keep your centre clean, hygienic and healthy.