How to Find a Daycare Routine During a Pandemic

Being in a household of full time working parents with two little ones and coordinating childcare is always a big deal even without a pandemic. My husband and I were very lucky to have my parents watch our children full time. We were fortunate that they even helped us with sick days. Then Covid-19 happened.

The week my son’s preschool closed, my husband also became a full time work from home parent. I still work outside the home since I am a nurse. Shortly into quarantine, it was decided that my parents were too high risk to continue watching our children. We still don’t know when it will be safe for them to watch the kids full time, so plan B it is. Daycare.

We did not purposely avoid daycare for so long, it was just that pretty much free childcare is hard to pass on. As my energetic four-year-old clearly needed a full schedule for summer, the first week of March I secured him a summer spot at a daycare summer camp. In May, as many other parents, my husband and I anxiously awaited to hear from the daycare about if we could get our previous summer spot due to the pandemic.

We went in with a positive attitude. It is a very scary time with many unknowns. I have worked outside the home during the whole pandemic, with no issues with exposure. At my work, we follow all the recommendations, face masks, frequent hand washing, social distancing, and the biggest factor, no one comes to work sick. These recommendations apply to the daycare setting as well.

What has daycare looked like for my son during the pandemic? Well, it is a bit different from normal, but it is now a routine. Teachers and parents wear a mask. My son and I get a temperature check at the door and hand sanitizer before heading to the classroom. The class size is reduced to comply with social distancing and to minimize exposures. The smaller class size has been a nice change for my son and he is able to focus. Due to their age, the children do not have to wear masks.

As a family, we continue to be strict about the precautions we take, so we can allow our son to keep his routine and the health of our family safe. We continue to make decisions to limit ourselves to unnecessary exposure including no dining inside and we wear masks anytime we are in a public space. We do not go anywhere inside except my work, school, and our home. It has been hard since we have limited interactions with friends and family. My son only goes inside daycare and our home.

We all must remember this is temporary. I do feel that we will learn that we all must take our health seriously. We must stay home if we are sick. It truly prevents the spread of infection and this is a routine we can all get behind so we can put this pandemic behind us as well!