How to stay healthy while working in childcare

This is winter here in Sydney, and I just came home after a very busy day at preschool. If our day has a soundtrack, it will be a sneezing, sniffing and coughing. Yep – This is another year when everyone is sick, just sick, or will be sick. So I think I will share some practical tips on how to stay healthy while working in childcare.

Because if you work with children, you know it’s not easy to stay healthy when you are surrounded by a watery nose and a touching small hand everything. But protecting yourself is not just about avoiding germs – this is also about building small habits that keep you strong. So let’s go into it-here are my tips to stay healthy (and most sane) throughout the year.

How to stay healthy while working in childcare

Wash your hands

Tip number one for how to stay healthy while working in childcare is washing hands! I don’t know how many times a day I wash my hands, but that’s a lot. If you don’t work with children, what I will say might be heard above. But if you know, you know.

I washed my hands after I touched anything – toys, equipment, pencils, markers, puzzles, playdough, anything and everything. Because throughout the day, I saw preschool children sneezing, sucking various things, and choosing their nose – then touch everything.

Washing my hands so much makes my skin dry, so I rely on the beautiful fragrant moisturizers that I got from the preschool family at Christmas – SAVERY SAVERY SKIN!
Side Tips: If you have ever been trapped in what your child preschool teacher should buy, a good hand cream is always a winner. A bottle of wine is also always accepted. 😉

Crouch Smart

We educators know it is important to go down to the level of children’s eyes when we talk to them – this helps build connections and trust. Unfortunately, squatting often comes with a decent saliva spray to the face. It’s only part of the job. Hiss. And it happens Lots.

Over time, you somewhat learn which small speakers tend to spray and prepare yourself. Easier to say than to do.

My current strategy is this: If I know I am talking to a spraying box, I still go down low, only No directly on the shooting line. This is skill, and usually successful. If not … then I run directly to the sink to wash my face.

Catch signal sneezing before touching

Children have the talent to sneeze directly into your soul, so yes – tips about avoiding spray must be applied here too.

But this is another thing I learned: If you chat with a pleasant child and then they stop, it usually means sneezing will come towards you. They do not teach this in any diploma or university course, but believe me – it shares silence is your warning.

You need to duck, fall back, cover your head – or all three. Do anything to get out of the road.
Be Ninja – that’s all I can recommend.

Eat healthy

Healthy eating is a way to make sure your body gets all good things like essential fats, vitamins, minerals, fiber and energy to keep you running.

In summer, I package salads with tuna, eggs, or chicken. During winter, I like to make a large number of soups to last a few days. For morning tea, I will have a piece of fruit because we eat our morning snacks with children, and we need to give examples of healthy eating.

I like fruit, but I have to admit that when I am at home during the break, I don’t always reach it as a snack. I might end up with scabies if I don’t work in childcare!

Stay hydrated

I have a beautiful water bottle with a picture of Putri Leia that I take for work – it is my motivation for hydration. But drinking enough water in preschool is always a struggle.

One of the reasons is that we are very flat, most of the time that we only forget. And then there are other problems: when we are Do Successfully drinking more, we only make new problems – need to go to the toilet.

I think this is probably the only job where you should do it announce To other adults, “Hey, I have to go to the toilet,” and then cross your fingers there to cover you. We must maintain ratio Every time – it means that the right number of staff must be with children at any time. If nothing is free to cover you for five minutes, well … you survive and hope for the best.

Invest in comfortable and supportive shoes

I like beautiful shoes, but I keep it for weekends and special events. Years ago, when I chose style rather than comfort at work, I didn’t win. My back hurts, my knee hurts, and it’s not fun – you can read everything about it here.

These days, I remain with closed shoes that I can put in my orthotic, and just like that! Not completely glamorous, but it’s okay.

Pause, breathing, and reset

No matter how patient and calm you may be seen and heard outside, the inside often tells a different story. Tony Soprano’s minute sound began to flow in my head, I knew it was time to start taking a deep breath. I often click on the Mindfulness application on my Apple Watch and do a breathing session that is guided quickly.

I also recently discovered the QTIP method – “Stop taking it personally.” When the children’s hands are not so friendly or they press every possible button, it is not private. Usually frustration or testing their boundaries. I was surprised I would not help anyone.

Reminder check posture

I made a point to check my posture all day-day straight fast when I caught myself bowing.

Working in preschool means a lot of squatting equipment, bending, and moving – outdoor equipment, chairs, mats, let’s say, we move them. When I was stressed, I also clenched my jaw and bowed without realizing it. I tried very hard to make a dot to check my posture all day-day straight fast when I caught myself bowing.

When I lifted, I tried to remember to bend my knees, keep my back straight, and use my feet to lift heavily. I have a scary episode of back pain from bad steps at work, and I have witnessed some of my colleagues have been injured for years. That’s not commensurate.

Laugh

I like good laughter – humor is my favorite! Fortunately, I work with many people who are just happy to find the funny side of things -hal, even when they are not so funny. Laughter is a good medicine to stay healthy while working in childcare. Even if a few days that we really want to do is just curled up and cry!

And that’s where we – only a few simple things that help me stay healthy while working in childcare. Being an educator is not always easy, and a few days it was a battle station from the start. But if you can sneak while laughing, remember to breathe, and maintain a small habit that keeps you walking, you may only survive – and may even enjoy chaos.