Returning to Child Care: Guidance on Preparing for Child Care Transition During COVID-19
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The Bipartisan Policy Center recognizes the importance of child care and early learning in the lives of children and families. Yet, with the COVID-19 pandemic, the world we knew two months ago has drastically changed, upending our daily routines and what we had once known as “normal.” This blog series is an effort to support parents of young children, many of whom are asking for guidance on how to best nurture, educate, and support their children during this time.
As states move to reopen their economies, access to safe and healthy child care programs is a necessity for working parents. During COVID-19 stay-at-home orders, young children have likely experienced significant changes in their expected routines and relationships if their typical child care program temporarily closed or only served essential workers’ families. Parents working from home during COVID-19 are juggling multiple responsibilities, and often lack the support to singly focus on caregiving. BPC is offering parents resources to support positive family mental health and at-home learning opportunities for families under stay-at-home orders.
Returning to child care is another significant change for children in an already disruptive social environment, so it is critical that child care programs and parents are supportive partners in a child’s return to congregate care settings. The following guidance is intended to help parents transition their children back into a child care routine as states begin to open and parents return to work.
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Communicate early and often.
As states begin to reopen, child care programs may be reaching out to parents about their expectations for returning to child care. Parents should be encouraged to share their child care needs in addition to their child’s experience at home during COVID-19. This information is critical to support child care classrooms in the coming months as children may exhibit signs of stress or separation anxiety.
Help children learn new health and safety requirements.
Guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for child care include stationing drop-off and pick-up outside of child care programs, adults wearing masks throughout the day, and limited interaction between classrooms. As states rely on these guidelines or implement their own child care guidance, child care may look and feel different for children. Parents can establish what child care will be like for children when return. Walk children through new child care entry protocol, including temperature and symptom checks. Normalize wearing a mask for older children, and ensure younger children are used to seeing trusted adults with face coverings by practicing at home. Practice handwashing frequently, including before and after meals.
Make building trust a top goal for all.
Parents should feel able to speak directly with program administrators and child care teachers to establish or reestablish trust as they transition their child back into child care settings. In a BPC survey of working parents with young children, parents frequently cited trust as a central issue in their child care choice. To build and sustain trust between parents and child care programs during a time of uncertainty, clear and frequent communication in preferred channels is an absolute. This is especially important for young children who may have spent several months at home with their parents; returning to child care settings can challenge feelings of parental security. Whether parents choose to use a new in-home caregiver, move to a new child care program, or are returning to an existing program, approaching this transition as a new and positive relationship in advance will boost feelings of security in children. Arrange a time to have children talk with a caregiver prior to restarting child care via phone or an online meeting app to hear their voice and ask questions. Talk to children positively about the new caregiver or hang pictures of them where children can see.
Prepare to be flexible.
While the daily routines of many working families and children have been disrupted, it is important that parents remain flexible during the nation’s recovery. Sudden changes in child care may happen in the coming months even after a program has reopened, disrupting a new routine. Child care is responsive to the health and safety of children and parents, which means anticipated closures may occur during the year due to COVID-19 and related policies. Further disruption will undoubtedly be challenging, and parents should prepare to be flexible for both themselves and their children.
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