COVID Straight Talk for Early Childhood Settings

Q: Will children’s development be harmed because they can’t see adult faces?

Masks cover the lower half of your face, but you have eyes that shine and can smile, arms that wave and can tell stories, voices that sing and can express emotion, and bodies that move and can dance. There are other ways to communicate that encourage more expression than we might use without masks!

Q: How can I get kids to consistently wear their masks?

• Inspire children by making masks into fun accessories that feature fun patterns or designs.

• Teach children how to safely put on a mask.

• Read picture books that feature characters who wear face masks to encourage masking. Click here for a list of free to download books.

• Make a storybook for your unique classroom featuring photos of the children at your center. This story helps to create a “mental script” for kids. Check out  “Now I Wear a Mask” for inspiration.

• Educate children on the importance of wearing masks to keep themselves and others healthy and safe. Gently encourage children to wear their masks over their mouths and noses at all times, offering them reminders as needed.

Q: How can I keep kids enthusiastic and safe about mask wearing?

• Children learn best when they are told and shown what “to do” rather than what “not to do” (ie, “Wear your mask over your mouth and nose.” versus “Don’t wear your mask on your chin.”).

• Give yourself and your clients time to adjust to the new normal.  Persistence, patience, and support are so important. Very young children won’t be experts overnight. They need a lot of help and time learning how to wear masks properly.

• If a child doesn’t want to wear a mask, acknowledge their feelings and give them some time and space to calm down away from others before asking them to wear it again. Don’t exclude them from their friends or the group.

• Teach kids these simple rules:

  • Wear your mask at all times when at school and around others.

  • Ask friends to wear a mask, and say “Thank you for keeping me safe by wearing your mask.” 

  • Don’t move your mask around on your face. It must be over your mouth, nose, and chin to keep you and others safe.

Q: How do I know if the weather is safe to bring children outdoors?  

What is most important is that children are dressed appropriately for the weather. Download the “Child Care Weather Watch” sheet to help you make decisions. Ask families to provide extra changes of clothing and outdoor gear on days weather may be a factor.

How do I maintain a healthy humidity level in the building?

Maintaining a humidity level* between 40%–60% is best. You can adjust your HVAC system settings or bring in portable humidifiers to achieve this level of humidity. Consider buying a small humidity measurement tool (hygrometer)  if your system doesn’t provide this information. Remember, you want to keep nasal passages hydrated, not dry.

A portable humidifier can help maintain the ideal humidity, but make sure it is adequate for the room size or use multiple units.

* All references to humidity are for relative humidity, not absolute humidity. 

Q: What sanitization protocol should I use?

• Clean high-touch surfaces at frequent intervals: between class periods, before and after school is in session, and take toys that cannot be cleaned out of circulation for a limited time period (5–7 days).

• At a minimum, schools should implement once-daily sanitizing of tables, bathroom surfaces, door handles, etc.

• We highly recommend you clean and sanitize surfaces in shared spaces more frequently than that, especially before and after sessions with different pods of kids.

Q: How can I keep track of people for contact tracing? 

• Put a contact tracing form on the outside of every classroom door so that staff can record the date and time when they enter a room for longer than 5 minutes. You can customize the form to include specifics such as if the person participated in direct care (touching children or interacting in close proximity).

Q: What are some strategies to encourage children to maintain physical distance?  

Use hula hoops, carpet squares, or other creative markers to establish boundaries for play and to establish visual guides for appropriate physical distancing. Give children their own bagged supply of crayons, markers, scissors, etc.

Q: What should I do if a child tests positive for or has symptoms of COVID-19? What should their parents do?

The child should be kept home and away from others outside of their household.

Provide resources to family members on how to care for their children when they get sick. Check out our “what to do if you get sick” guide for more info.

Q: When should a child be brought to the ER or hospital?

If a child has difficulty breathing or experiences fatigue, is not eating or drinking normally, is urinating less frequently, or is not behaving as they usually do, seek medical attention or take them to the nearest emergency room (ER) or urgent care facility.

If a child has a high fever, cracked lips, a rash affecting the entire body, inability to stay awake, extreme weakness and fatigue, red eyes, abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea, swollen hands or feet, low blood pressure, or chest pain or pressure—these could be symptoms of a COVID-19–related illness called MIS-C, or multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children. If a child shows any signs of MIS-C, they need to get to the ER immediately.