Opening Day: Cooties, masks and other ‘joys’ for small day cares

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) — At home day care centers with less than ten kids were able to re-open Monday.

The first time in almost three months.

It was a joyous day for Debra Skaggs who runs Debby’s Day Care in Lexington.

Debby’s Day Care is a certified home-based child care. Skaggs is only allowed to care for six kids at a time.

“It was absolutely wonderful to have all the children back together
again. It was also a little scary,” says Debra Skaggs.

She was worried about keeping the kids safe and how they would
respond to the added safety measures.

“Children are not allowed in the building until their foreheads have
been scanned for temperature and their temperature recorded on the sign-in sheet. No toys from home, no blankets from home, not a favorite stuffed animal,” says Skaggs.

No visitors are allowed inside, only one parent.

The kids don’t like the mask Skaggs has to wear. To them, masks are scary and only for Halloween. It’s one of many things she’s having to get them to understand.

“We’ve laughed and joked about cooties and I’ve explained to the
children that germs are like cooties and they can make you sick. So
we’ve got to wash it off our hands and off of our toys and if we put a
toy in our mouth it has to go on the cootie tray,” says Skaggs.

Times have been tough. Skaggs feared she might not ever be able to
reopen.

“Most of us that are doing in-home childcare are not doing it because
we’re independently wealthy. So there’s not like a backup fund to take
care of our needs when can’t work,” says Skaggs.

But the light at the end of the tunnel finally came for her and she
says she’s just glad to once again be with the kids she loves.

Large daycare centers will be re-opening next week.