When your child starts childcare, it’s natural to think about how often they may get sick.

Equally important—and often less visible—is what your childcare service is doing every day to protect your child’s health.

At Mother Duck Childcare & Kindergarten, this work is intentional, evidence-based and embedded into everything we do.

Guided by national best practice

All Mother Duck services strictly implement the NHMRC Staying Healthy Guidelines (2024)—Australia’s national best-practice framework for preventing infectious diseases in early childhood settings.

These guidelines recognise that while infections are common in young children, strong hygiene and infection control practices significantly reduce how illnesses spread.

This is not an “extra” at Mother Duck —it is a core part of our daily practice and professional responsibility.

Everyday practices that make a difference

In early childhood environments, small, consistent actions have a big impact.

At Mother Duck Childcare and Kindergarten, educators intentionally model and support:

• Hand hygiene throughout the day (before meals, after toileting, after play)
• Respiratory hygiene (covering coughs and sneezes)
• Safe nappy changing and toileting practices
• Regular cleaning and sanitising of environments, toys and shared spaces
• Safe handling of food and bottles

These practices are not occasional—they are part of the rhythms and rituals of each day.

Over time, children begin to adopt these habits themselves, building lifelong skills that support their health and the health of others.

When children are unwell—clear and consistent action

One of the most important ways to reduce the spread of illness is knowing when to stay home.

At Mother Duck Childcare and Kindergarten:

• Children who are unwell are excluded in line with national guidelines
• Families are supported with clear communication about symptoms and return requirements
• Educators actively monitor children’s wellbeing throughout the day

The NHMRC guidelines highlight exclusion as a key strategy in breaking the chain of infection—reducing the risk to other children, educators, and families.

We understand this can be inconvenient for families, but it is essential in protecting the wider community.

Immunisation and prevention

Immunisation is one of the most effective ways to protect children from serious illness.

At Mother Duck:

• We follow strict immunisation requirements aligned with the National Immunisation Program
• We support families to understand their responsibilities
• We embed immunisation as part of a broader approach to health and safety

This ensures that we are not only responding to illness—but actively working to prevent it.

Healthy environments and daily rhythms

Health is not only about managing illness—it is also about supporting children’s overall wellbeing.

At Mother Duck Childcare and Kindergarten, our environments and daily rhythms are designed to support this through:

• Outdoor play is available for most of the day, supporting fresh air, movement, and wellbeing
• Calm, consistent rhythms and rituals that reduce stress and support regulation
• Opportunities for rest, nutrition, and connection
• Educators modelling healthy practices in meaningful, everyday ways

These elements contribute to children’s developing immune systems and overall resilience.

More than compliance—this is who we are

At Mother Duck, our approach goes beyond meeting minimum standards.

Many of our policies and practices exceed regulatory requirements and minimum recommendations, as we believe that:

• Children’s health and safety must come first
• Families deserve confidence and transparency
• Quality practice protects not only individuals, but our entire community

This is part of our commitment to Children First—every child, every day, every time.

Walking alongside families

We understand that even with the best systems in place, having an unwell child can be challenging.

Our role is to:

• Communicate clearly and respectfully
• Support families to understand what is happening
• Partner with you in decisions about your child’s wellbeing

Because at Mother Duck, we are not just caring for children— we are walking alongside families.

Coming next in this series

As we’ve experienced in this series, becoming unwell more frequently after starting childcare is a very normal part of early childhood. But understanding why children get sick is only one part of the story. In our next blog, we’ll share the very human side – the phone calls, the disruption, the emotions and the challenge of navigating these moments together.