[Note: The information provided in this blog is for informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as medical advice. All parents should perform their own due diligence, research and consult with their personal medical advisors in making their family’s personal and childcare decisions.]
In the wake of state and federal announcements of social distancing rules, business closures and stay-at-home orders many people are confused by childcare centers that remain open. While many centers have closed voluntarily many people are confused by the fact that Our Village Children’s Academy (OVCA) and many other centers remain open. While Colorado closed its public schools it specifically requested childcare providers to remain open and Colorado is not alone. Texas, Ohio and even California and Washington – two of the hardest hit states by coronavirus – have kept their childcare centers open despite closing public schools.
The Reason – Children are at Low Risk
In issuing school closures and stay-at-home orders governments are very sensitive to both the public health implications as well as the implications for the larger economy. This it is fair to say that governments do not make these decisions lightly. Similarly, governmental decisions to allow and even plea with childcare providers to continue operations are perhaps the most carefully made of all public health decisions. We must keep in mind that the governmental officials making these decisions include parents and grandparents of children that will be impacted and we should all be comforted in the knowledge that the attendance for children at childcare centers does not pose a significant health risk for the children or their parents and teachers.
There is no question that coronavirus is serious, it has caused deaths and we do not take it lightly, however, the seriousness of the virus must be placed in the context of whether allowing your child to attend a childcare center places the child or others at risk. In this regard parents and providers must consider the specific demographic and structural differences between childcare centers and public schools.
Demographics. Childcare centers typically care for children between 6 weeks and 6 years of age (OVCA is licensed for children up to age 7). These children will typically have siblings in the same age range and will have parents that are typically 23-45 years of age with teacher ages mirroring that of parents. While children certainly are not immune to COVID-19 healthy children are at significantly lower risk with relatively mild childhood symptoms and implications. Certainly, children, as with adults, that have other underlying health conditions are at greater risk. In general, however, otherwise healthy children are not significantly impacted by COVID-19. For further information here are some resources on this issue.
Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) and Children – Centers from Disease Control (CDC)
Parents’ Top Questions About COVID-19 (Coronavirus) – Children’s Hospital Colorado
Coronavirus in Babies and Children – Johns Hopkins University Medical Center
Structure.
Smaller Classes. The structure of childcare centers when compared to K-12 demonstrate significant differences in helping to understand why childcare centers remain open while schools are closed. In general, childcare centers must comply with very strict child-to-staff ratios which do not generally apply to schools. Depending upon the age of a child the ratios in Colorado range from 5:1 for infants up to 12:1 for ages 4 and 5. Some schools, including OVCA, actually have lower ratios to ensure quality attention for children. Thus, the social distancing and other general restrictions on large numbers of people congregating are easily met in a childcare environment. This is very different from K-12 schools where it is not unusual to have 20-35 children in a room with a single teacher.
Social Distancing. Childcare center licensing standards in Colorado also require that classrooms provide a minimum of 30 square feet of space for each child in the room which makes it each for teachers to structure individual or group activities while complying with the 6-foot distancing recommendations of healthcare professionals. This compliance is simply impossible in a K-12 classroom where children sit at desks in rows (as we all remember).
Self-Contained Classrooms. Another important structure difference is that childcare center rooms are self-contained rooms. Except for time spent outdoors each day, children and teachers remain in the same room and are not in contact with teachers and children from other classrooms. This is in stark contrast with the situation in public schools where there may be resource teachers that travel from room to room and in the upper grades where children move from room to room with an ever changing group of kids for a each class course.
