Key points
- Caring for young children means having close contact, and early care and education (ECE) providers can take many steps to keep infections from spreading.
- Strategies such as hand hygiene, cleaning, sanitizing, disinfection, and ventilation can help ECE providers protect the health of children in their care as well as themselves and their own families.
Overview
By carefully planning and following guidance, ECE programs can prevent the spread of infectious diseases. ECE providers can also teach children skills about staying healthy and keeping safe from germs. Many parents get great support from ECE providers around teaching children toileting, hand washing, and covering coughs and sneezes.
Learn about tools and resources to prevent the spread of infections in your ECE program.
Prevention tools and resources
- Animals in Schools and Childcare
- Coughing and Sneezing
- Diaper Changing Steps for Childcare Settings
- How to Clean, Sanitize, and Store Infant Feeding Hygiene Items – Frequently Asked Questions
- Hand Hygiene in School and Early Care and Education
- Personal Hygiene
- Protecting Your Early Care and Education Program from COVID-19 and Other Infections
- Vaccines for Children
- Ventilation in Schools and Childcare Programs
- How to Clean and Disinfect Early Care and Education Settings
- Partner Vaccination Toolkit for early care and education providers
Content Source
National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities
About This Page
Published: May 15, 2024
Updated: December 30, 2025
This page was last updated on this date. Updates may include minor edits, image changes, or other modifications to page content.
Reviewed: November 18, 2025
The information on this page was last reviewed by subject matter experts to ensure accuracy.