Keeping childcare settings open and healthy is essential for children and parents alike. From schools to daycare facilities, childcare settings play a key role in the social, behavioral and mental development of the children who attend. They also provide necessary support to families and give parents the freedom to leave the house and go to work.

As COVID-19 continues to spread and flu season approaches, focusing on infection prevention strategies in childcare settings is a vital part of keeping our communities safe. Children often play in close quarters with each other and often touch their eyes, nose and mouth—this means that illness can spread easily in childcare settings without proper protocols in place. Because this spread of disease impacts not only the children but their families and caretakers, following local and federal guidance to prevent infection in childcare centers is a necessary part of public health.

Throughout the pandemic, the CDC has recommended various strategies to lower transmission, many of which have become familiar in many aspects of our lives. Mask-wearing is recommended for those over two years old, and childcare centers are encouraged to rearrange their spaces to be conducive to social distancing. The CDC also recommends grouping children into smaller “cohorts” that only interact amongst themselves and staggering the times cohorts are using different spaces in the center. Childcare centers are also recommended to ensure proper hand washing among both children and staff^[1].

One key strategy the CDC elaborates on for preventing many types of infection in childcare settings is surface disinfection. Because children touch their eyes, noses and mouths so frequently, it is easy for them to carry or become infected with any pathogens that remain on a surface. The CDC recommends childcare centers focus on disinfecting frequently touched objects like toys, handles, faucets, tables and drinking fountains between cohorts. The CDC also recommends that you regularly disinfect outside benches and railings made of metal or plastic, and that you not allow children near surfaces until disinfectant chemical is completely dry and no longer suspended in the air^[2].

Disinfecting childcare settings is important, but it doesn’t have to be difficult or time-consuming. Electrostatic sprayers from Victory Innovations® are the perfect combination of effective, efficient, and easy to use. Victory sprayers add a positive charge to disinfectant droplets, which causes them to stick to negative and neutrally charged surfaces rather than staying suspended in the air. Not only does this help ensure complete coverage of even hard-to-reach surfaces, but with fewer suspended chemical particles in the air your space is useable again sooner for everyone. Any water-based chemical can be used with Victory sprayers, which means you can select a chemical that targets the pathogens you’re most concerned about while also being safer for kids. Victory sprayers are easy for anyone to use and are far more effective than traditional cleaning tools like spray bottles and rags.

Curious how Victory sprayers can help boost the disinfection routine in your childcare center? Watch our Field Marketing Trainer walk through the key features of our sprayers in our official product demo or connect with your local distributor here.

^[1] “QUICK GUIDE: HELP PROTECT YOUR CHILD CARE CENTER FROM COVID-19”, CDC, March 2021

^[2] “Guidance for Operating Child Care Programs during COVID-19”, CDC, June 2021