Daily Health Checks Made Easier

Pre Covid Illnesses in Child Care

Do we even remember what it was like trying to keep sick kids out of care prior to Covid-19? Warning, this may be a little graphic- The little ones that came in everyday with green gunk coming out of their noses, and coughing so hard that is sounded like they were losing a lung. Oh and let's not forget the older ones that would very proudly tell us that they had pink medicine before coming to school. Boy those were the good ole days weren't they?? (Insert major sarcasm here). It felt like a miracle if a parent actually kept a child home when ill, or even disclosed to us that their child had been sick with a communicable disease.

Post Covid Child Care

The guidelines and rules that centers around the world had to adhere to were a blessing in disguise. Daily Health Observations became a force to be reckoned with. Child Care centers needed a way to manage all of these checks. State agencies such as licensing and the health department wanted everything documented. A sneeze, cough, tickle in the throat, needed to be documented. Parent's were forced to follow these rules as it was not just the center making these rules up. Everyone I knew in Child Care was struggling to keep up with the documentation. And the ever changing rules.

Oh No We Got Covid In The Building

The dreaded phone call from a mother in tears that her son had Covid-19. My heart sank. We literally had done EVERYTHING BY THE BOOKS to keep it at bay. Even going as far as running children to playgrounds at drop off to keep everyone healthy. Using a binder to track temperatures and illnesses because at the time, the center I was working for did not have a better way of tracking temperatures. Now to answer the questions and start the contact tracing. What a mess!

Time for a change

When I started my new adventure for a center much much closer to home, I was very intrigued to discover that they were working with a software to make a digital way to log temperatures and symptoms. This idea at the time was amazing to hear. The parent engagement app they were using had a way to log temperatures but that was it. The software that they were using had the ability to track the rooms that the children were in on any given day. Contact tracing at the tip of our fingers!

Above The Standard

When the software that we were using- Child Care Seer, came out with Family Connection, and the teacher's were able to log not only temperatures, but symptoms as well, it was a game changer. Everything electronically logged and kept in the children's Daily Journals. I remember the first time we had a Covid case in a center, the uneasy sense of calm knowing that half of the pain I had at my previous school, I would not have this time around. With a couple of clicks on my computer I could easily tell the Health Department, and our Licensing agency all of the information they needed about the child, and the children that child had been in contact with and for how long. It was such a breeze that our licensing inspector complimented Child Care Seer on the fact that all the information was readily available and detailed.

Keeping us Healthy

A bit of a broad statement, but with the ability to track, log and notify families of illnesses very easily, Child Care Seer has set a standard in Child Care software that is hard to beat. Parent's are able to see if their child has started coughing, sneezing, stomach issues and if a fever arises. Teachers can provide additional details to parents through the app about when a child started acting unwell or when symptoms started. Families are much more responsive, and communicate with the centers more than before, and I strongly feel it is because we use a parent friendly tool that they want to use. The amount of yuck germs being spread is less and less. Teachers are out less because we are able to keep the germs at bay. Child Care Seer has really aided in keeping the centers on top of the seasons of illness, without the stress of figuring out who has been exposed and making notifying families faster and easier through their software.