With all the recent news about influenza, schools have been giving unprecedented attention to keeping classrooms clean and germ free. While much of the attention is directed at schools and daycares; churches should also be thinking about how to maintain a clean and safe environment through what could be a notable season of sneezing, coughing and runny noses.
Keeping a healthy environment in your children’s ministry is obviously important for children and their families, but there are other not so obvious benefits to minimizing germs in your children’s ministry area.
Here’s just a few of the not so obvious reasons:
Sick children make sick volunteers.
Want to minimize sick calls from volunteers on Sunday morning? Hold the line and say no to those parents who want to check-in their sniffling toddler.
Protect a great guest experience.
You’ve worked hard to create it. Protect that experience by making sure children don’t go home carrying a disease. As a parent, I remember the times I visited another church and three days later had sick kids at home. And if my kids got sick, I usually told a friend or two.
Minimize distractions and maximize learning.
Let’s face it, sick children need tissues, extra hand washings and generally need extra attention simply because they don’t feel well. All these factors impact the dynamic of a classroom and in turn will have a subtle influence on the ability of healthy children to learn.
Eight ways to help keep your Children’s Ministry healthy this season:
Follow healthy basic hygiene practices, and then some …
Have children wash their hands or use hand sanitizer when coming into the classroom. Encourage them to avoid touching the eyes, nose and mouth, where germs can easily enter the body. Remind children to cough or sneeze into a tissue, throw it away and then wash their hands. Teach them that they can cough into their sleeve or elbow if a tissue is not available.
Keep surfaces clean
Supply your teachers and volunteers with a disinfectant to clean commonly shared surfaces regularly even if it’s not visibly soiled. Have them clean common points of contact like counters, tables and toys between church services, and don’t forget the small stuff … light switches, door knobs, phones, keyboards and computer mice are all frequent virus hang outs. Some viruses like influenza can survive on objects such as books, desks and doorknobs and can infect others for two to eight hours after settling on these surfaces.
