Hazards for Daycare Staff
A study in the Oxford Journal of Occupational Medicine finds the health hazards for daycare staff include injury, infection, stress due to exposure to saliva and feces, biting, noise, being undervalued, fear of liability, etc.:
Occupational Medicine, Volume 49, Issue 7, September 1999, Pages 427–437 (web): “Child care workers and workplace hazards in the United States: Overview of research and implications for occupational health professionals“
Hazards for the Community: Superbugs, E-Coli, and Other Bacteria
- The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) warns daycare workers about antibiotic-resistant superbugs in daycare (broken link). (Note that CUPE is a leading lobbyist for increasing preferential public funding for daycare centres.) And here is some related CUPE info on superbugs in hospitals:
May 2000. CUPE – info brief (PDF): “Superbugs” - According to the BBC News article “Day Care Centres Breed ‘Superbugs’,” “lead researcher Dr Ron Dagan, of Ben-Gurion University in Beer-Sheva, Israel, said: ‘Day care centres act as microenvironments that facilitate and promote selection, spread and transmission of antibiotic-resistant respiratory tract organisms in the community and should be seen as major targets for intervention.”
Sept 16, 2000. BBC – article (web): “Day Care Centres Breed ‘Superbugs‘” - An extensive study shows that more daycare centres are more contaminated with bacteria than public washrooms according to this New York Times article:
March 6, 2007. The New York Times – article (web): “The Claim: Restrooms Are the Dirtiest Public Areas“ - The Food Safety Authority of Ireland warns of the “hidden dangers of E. coli in childcare facilities (broken link)”.
Other Illnesses and Infections
- The American Academy of Otolaryngology warns parents of illness in daycare centres (broken link): Children in daycare have 4 times as many ear infections as those who stay home.
- Children in daycare are more likely to experience recurring cytomegalovirus infections (broken link).
- Children in daycare are 4.5 times more likely to be hospitalized and 50% more likely to suffer infection. (broken link)
- Children in any form of non-maternal child care experience more illness in the first two years of life (broken link) according to a US NICHD child care study report in Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
- Children age 3 to 4 ½ in group child care with more than 6 other children are more likely to be ill than those in small group or home care (broken link) according to a US NICHD study report in Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
- Here is a list of illnesses associated with daycare, an information web doc from Daycares Don’t Care.
Mold, Dampness
- Mold in daycare centres increased illness according to a Finnish study:
December 1997. Koskinen et. al. Indoor Air – Volume 7, Number 4, pp. 262-268(7): “Two Moldy Day-care Centers: a Follow-up Study of Respiratory Symptoms and Infections“ - Daycare mold increases illness in staff (broken link) according to an article in the International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health.
- Mold leads to the closing of an infant/toddler daycare in North Carolina (broken link).
- A University of Oslo, Norway study finds 51% of daycares studied have dampness problems.(broken link)
Stress, Children’s Elevated Cortisol Levels
Daycare increases children’s stress levels as shown by measuring cortisol. (broken link)
kidsfirstcanada.org 