Letter: Germs at Morah

My three-year-old daughter came home yesterday saying that her class and her Morah called five girls who were absent to wish them a refuah sheleima.

This is not the first time so many girls were absent in one day. Give or take, every day they’re making phone calls, and about four times in the last two months, my daughter was home waiting for her phone call…

I know every winter children get sick. I know every year, at any given time, children are absent. But speaking with family members and friends, this year seems to top it all. I hear from my older children as well, that at least a handful of kids are absent almost daily. We are aware that the flu hit hard this season, but there seems to be a constant flow of viruses and bacteria permeating our classrooms (and homes).

I am just requesting, and perhaps reminding, the Morahs of our playgroups to please keep your classrooms as clean and germ free as possible. This may mean hiring extra cleaning help to sanitize the bathrooms every day, and to wash all the tables, chairs, and toys.

The same should go for all the schools – additional routine cleaning and sanitizing should be mandatory, and any and all measures should be taken to keep their surroundings as germ free as possible. The kids spend a big part of their day in your care – you owe it to them to keep them healthy and safe.

Thanks.

T.P.,
Lakewood.

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15 COMMENTS

  1. Hey, TP
    Feel free to sponsor the extra cleaning help. Kids are kids. Babysitters are babysitters. Keep your kids home and hire a private babysitter.

  2. Morahs can also be on top for the the kids to soap their hands each time they use the bathroom or blow their noses. How many kids will really do that without reminders?

  3. TP and everyone else who sends to daycare:
    Our Morahs by and large do an incredible job. They keep our kids happy & safe & reasonably clean every school day. You should be able to request before registering your kid some references to find out about the hygiene standard your Morah considers acceptable. But as Jimmy said, there are many parents who feel like if a kid is not out cold in bed they should go to school. It is almost impossible for a Morah to stop spreading those germs!!! (even if her tables toys & bathroom were sanitized at 3:00 the day before) Parents be responsible!!! If you are unsure please do ask your pediatrician if your kids belong in school!!

  4. Parents, it’s your responsibility to make sure your child washes his/her hands very thoroughly with soap when he/she comes home from school or from being outdoors anywhere and before he/she eats. T.P., I’m sure you do that, right?
    Also, as a grandmother, whose children are grown, I notice that parents have to send their children to school before they are completely well or when they only have a slight cold because both parents work outside the home. In the past when many mothers were home we kept the children home for at least 24 hours after a fever was gone and if they had a cold. I even remember keeping my children home when they had ear infections, which occurred quite often. Who can afford to do that nowadays? No amount of sanitizing will keep germs from children who are sick from spreading. The ball is in the parent’s court too, not only the teachers’.

  5. The morah I send to is incredible! She has the kids wash their hands with soap before snack and lunch and after the bathroom. She cleans the table, bathroom, sink and door handles daily with disinfectant. And about once a month she makes a fun activity to clean the toys with Lysol wipes. The kids are so excited to help. I found out abt this before school as hygiene and cleanliness is imp to me. This is not to say the kids never get sick, they do. But I feel more comfortable knowing i send to a morah who does her best.

  6. Always someone else’s fault. All my kids had the flu this season and I kept them home for days and believe it or not, I didn’t need to find someone to blame it on to stay happy. I’m not sure if you have ever seen little children interact, and I doubt you have ever put yourself in a morahs shoes. Either way if you have crazy expectations of your childrens child care I’m sure you can find a surgical aid to Don scrubs and treat each child in the OR style of cleanliness!

  7. I agree that in the flu season extra help should be hired to increase the cleanliness and sanitary conditions in areas where children frequent as we cannot rely on small children, or big ones for that matter, to always be sanitary.
    Therefore each family should b e charged an additional 10-20 dollars/child / week(depending on the size of the group) to cover the additional seasonal expense. And it should be the responsibility of the parents to find said help or volunteer on a rotating basis to supply it.

  8. Feel free to call all parents in your playgroup and remind them to s no in a $10.00 winter surcharge from December-march. The Norah will give you a nice receipt.

  9. Keeping the classroom clean is a minmimum requierment that should be expected of any teacher/school and should not require extra payments.

  10. Agreed. Any responsible Morah makes sure her place is adequately cleaned to keep germs from spreading as much as possible. So what are you implying? You sent to a Morah that isnt responsible? This letter seems so out of place. Really.

  11. Why, may I ask, is the morahs cleanliness coming into question, when it’s the parents who are sending the children to playgroup when they are sick??????? As a playgroup morah, I can’t tell u how many times parents have sent children in the morning, knowing good and well that the child belonged at home that day. We’re not only talking about the flu, there’s been she gella chicken pox, strep…….. besides for the fact that the germs are spreading to all the other children, the parents are putting the morahs into such an uncomfortable situation where we have to tell the parent please take your child home. Numerous times, I’ve had situations where the parents brought their children, and before leaving they’ll tell me ” I’m not sure what’s wrong with him/her he’s/she’s not acting himself/herself but there was no fever this morning….” I’ll then ask if there was fever the night b4, and they’ll tell me yes. A lot of times when a child has any disease they won’t have fever in the morning but will very well once again have in the evening. So once again I’m asking why is it the morahs cleanliness at fault????? The only way to keep the germs at bay in a morahs house is by the parents keeping their children carrying the germs at home!!!!!!

  12. I completely agree with this post.

    The erroneous comments that parents should have to send in money to clean THEIR school- is preposterous!

    We send our kids – the minimum they can do is maintain a clean facility.

  13. Th Morahs needs to be more assertive in calling the parents if a child is not acting fine and conveying the message that as of _______ policy the child is considered contagious and can’t be in school. If the child is sent home during the day with fever gently remind the parent that the child needs to be fever free for 24 hours prior to coming back to school.

Comments are closed.