This Monday, September 16, The New York Times ran an op-ed highlighting the importance of rational inclusion and exclusion policies for sick children in early childhood education settings. We at Child Care Aware® of America are excited that this important issue is getting attention, and thank the Times for underscoring the ramifications of inclusion and exclusion policies that are overly cautious and require children to see a doctor for many minor illnesses that do not warrant a doctor’s office visit.

Parents rely on child care so they can go to work, and many are left scrambling when their child gets sick. Providers have more than one child to care for, so they have to make tough decisions about whether to allow a sick child to come and risk the health of other children. That’s why it is important that child care resource and referral (CCR&R) agencies and child care health consultants work with providers to develop easy to understand Inclusion and Exclusion policies that define when a child is too sick to be in child care, and when they can stay in care.

Taking care of young children is messy business! Between diaper changes, runny noses and regular play time, providers are always thinking about sanitation in order to keep their children and themselves from getting sick.

Sanitation practices are woven throughout a lot of different parts of a child care provider’s day, from making sure the center or home is clean and sanitary, to food handling and diaper changing. Every part of the day requires different steps and procedures for effective cleaning.

As older kids go back to school and as younger children switch child care, August is National Immunization Awareness month. This is a great time for CCR&Rs to get ready to answer questions parents might have about why immunizations are important and inform them of their state or local immunization requirements. There has been a lot of news lately about the measles outbreak, and this has led to a wider conversation about vaccine requirements at child care centers and homes.

It’s August, which means it is National Immunization Awareness month. It’s never been more important to talk about immunizations than now. Already in August, there have already been 1,164 cases of measles across the United States this year. That’s more than any single year since 1994. About one-quarter of this year’s cases have affected children under age five. And nine times out of ten, the person who got sick was either unvaccinated or unsure if they were vaccinated.

With wildfires spreading across the West, many cities and states are being impacted both directly by the fires and by the resulting air pollution from the smoke. This week, Seattle topped the list of worst air pollution in the world, and Washington state and Oregon had 4 of the top 5 worst air pollution days in the country due to the smoke from wildfires, with air that was rated as either unhealthy or very unhealthy.