Daycare Kids All Using SAME Hand Towel

I am a mother of two and a teacher of Early Childhood Education for over ten years. I have been through both orientaions for home and center childcares. As far as I know they are supposed to use paper towels in both because of the germ issue. I recently worked in the Kids Club at 24 hr fitness where they had a sink but nothing to dry with. I would take a roll from the bathroom and cut up squares than put them in an old baby wipes box so they only took one at a time. It seemed to work very well and taught the children only to take ONE.

Yes, you are being paranoid but that is what Mommies are for, right? Cleanliness is not something I take lightly. Everytime we are out and about I always spray my kiddo's little hands with sanitizer once they are in their car seats. I always wipe down the table and sides of the table at a restaurant and insist on washig hands after going potty. I'd ask if they could use paper towels and bring in a roll when you do so they could get started right away.

Stay paranoid!!

Jane,

Any childcare/daycare should be using disposable towels. Not hand towels. You are right to be concerned about germs and safety. I would let the provider know of your concern and ask her to provide paper towels for the kids instead. Hand towels are breeding grounds for germs and harbor them for a long time after germ exposure.

Molly

That would freak me out, too. Last thing you need is a weird fungal infection running rampant through your household courtesy of the daycare not using disposable towels. Health code requires public restrooms to have disposable paper towels (and I'm sure that extends to licensed daycares as well) - perhaps remind them of this and bring along a Costco-sized pack of paper towels to get them going!

Licensed family child care homes are NOT required to use disposable paper towels. Have you brought up your concerns to your provider? That would be the first thing to do.

It would be very nice of you to bring in paper towels as a supportive gesture. Or, for a "greener" gift - purchase a supply of small washcloths - they are very inexpensive. Because they are small and so many come in a pack, they make perfect "individual" hand towels for toddlers. Each child would have their own (maybe different colors for each child), and they could be washed daily. Or perhaps ask your childcare provider to have each parent embroider their child's name on a small handtowel and bring that in for their child.

Yes -- too paranoid. I'm a handwashing fanatic, but if the towel gets replaced every day then I wouldn't worry. A few germs are good for kids.

Hi Jane,

While I feel it's a little paranoid, I can certainly respect your concern as funky things can be passed along courtesy of a toddlers lack of a thorough hand cleaning.

I disagree with many of the posts suggesting to use disposable towels. I think using a terry cloth towel teaches the children not to be wasteful and that after you use something you don't throw it away or on the floor, you hang it up and keep it nice. It teaches a general respect for the environment and your things.

I'd mention your germ concerns and also follow the advise of a previous poster suggesting washcloths (perfect size) for each child that is only theirs to use. I'm sure the kids would love the ownership of their own towel too. She may or may not be receptive but it's worth a shot.

Good luck!
T.

Sorry, I love trees as much as the next person... maybe more... but when it comes to many children in one space I am all about paper towels. I have a large home daycare and all the kids here use the same bathroom and sink but we use paper towels. I walk the balance between good personal hygiene and the environmental issue and do my best by buying environmentally friendly paper towels. There are all kinds of bad germs (not just colds) that hang out on terry towels and the more kids the more illness.

As far as the bathroom goes, I'm sure that they keep it clean. I'm not a clean freak, but I wipe mine down throughout the day and clean it thoroughly every day. And with the amount of times the kids wash hands (or should be) and 12 kids... the towel should be replaced more often than once a day.

I would bring your concerns to the attention of the teachers and see what kind of response you get.

Good luck!!