Top ten tips for staying healthy in the preschool classroom

We do most of the things suggested here, but I have a somewhat different attitude about classroom illnesses.

We once had to fill out a “matching funds” form from a corporation and their first question was, “What is your organization’s mission?” Now, we don’t have a formal written mission statement and I found it a funny question for a school, but after thinking about it, I answered: “To expose young children to as many childhood illnesses as possible before the start of kindergarten.”

My sister and her husband are both naturopathic doctors and one of the underpinnings of this approach to medicine is that healthy bodies are the ones that acquire “experience” in fighting disease. Speaking for myself, I was pretty much sick for 9 months during my first year teaching. Now, most of the colds and flues going around manifest as little more than a runny nose, if at all. My immune system is much stronger than it was (augmented by a huge intake of vitamins through eating fresh fruit and veggies). I see a similar thing with the children, most of whom I teach for 3 years. It’s very common for our single child 2-year-olds to miss 1/3 of their classroom days due to illness, but by the time they’re 5, taking a sick day is rare. In families with multiple children, it is almost always the oldest child who misses the most days, but each subsequent student from that family seems to arrive with a heartier immune system than the last.

Increasingly, I’m reading studies that find that classrooms with a heavy use of things like hand sanitizer or anti-bacterial cleaning products show an increase in illness, the theory being that the children in these environments are not being given the opportunity to develop their immune systems, so when bugs do hit, they hit everyone and they hit hard. In fact, our preschool system has banned the use of alcohol-based products like sanitizers and wipes, as well as anti-bacterial products, emphasizing instead regular soap and bleach solutions.

Of course, I’m not saying that we should not take common sense precautions, and I certainly would never intentionally expose a child to illness, but I wasn’t joking when I filled out that matching funds form — I do believe that one of the highest functions of preschool is to help children develop strong natural immune responses in their little bodies so that when “real” school starts they don’t get knocked out by every little thing going around.

(Sorry for the essay in your comments! =)

I didn’t include hand sanitizer on the list because doctors are now saying they do more harm than good. I personally don’t use hand sanitizer because I am allergic to it- bleach too. We used to have hand sanitizer dispensers in some of our classrooms because there was an outbreak of flesh eating bacteria, but other than that we aren’t allowed to use it in our public school system due to all the controversy and safety issues. Not all teachers can build up super immunities, I have severe asthma and any little cold or sniffle can quickly develop into bronchitis or pneumonia.
I think it’s great that your program changed their policy for new teachers Deborah, that was very considerate of them, I wish our public school would do the same- they took some sick days away from us last year due to budget cuts 🙁

This is an interesting posting for me because there is a big issue going on here in Scotland with outdoor nurseries and hand hygiene. Are there any guidelines that you have to follow in your State or Board of Education?