If some maternal assistants continued their activity during the confinement period, in particular by looking after the children of caregivers, most of them resumed on May 11, the date of deconfinement.
And since then, they have had to put in place new health rules, sometimes quite restrictive.
What protocol?
“The PMI [la protection maternelle et infantile, un service dépendant du conseil départemental, NDLR] sent us a whole protocol ”, specifies Stéphanie Verneuil, maternal assistant at the house of maternal assistants (MAM) Les petits toques in Huriel.
What does this protocol require of them? In particular to disinfect children’s toys, the floor, worktops, windows, and more generally all of their premises every day. For certain objects or surfaces (such as changing tables for example) disinfection must be done after each use.
“We also wear masks every day,” says Béatrice Peillaud, at MAM RiBBambelle & Compagnie in Chamblet.
We have made hydroalcoholic gel available to parents, who must also wear a mask. And there is a delimitation at ground level that parents should not cross.
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Barrier gestures must also apply. This sometimes represents a real challenge with young children.
“We try to respect them as much as possible, but there is always a cuddly moment. We’re just putting on a mask. But when you are a childminder, you cannot leave the children alone in a corner. So it’s a bit difficult, ”notes Stéphanie Verneuil.
A week after the recovery, where are we in the schools of Allier?
More difficulties at home?
But this protocol, if it seems easier to implement in the homes of maternal assistants, is extremely complicated for maternal assistants working at home.
“Cleaning everything takes a long time in a day. But we, in MAM, the place is really dedicated to the children we care for. In the evening, we disinfect everything, and we go home. If I had been at home, I think I would have found it really very restrictive and that I would have had more difficulties. “
Stéphanie Verneuil (childminder in Huriel)
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And Sonia [le prénom a été changé], home childminder in a town in the agglomeration of Montluçon, confirms: “In my own house, it would be necessary to clean almost industrially. Each child should have their own little toy, and disinfect everything … I try to do as many things as possible, but it’s very complicated. After an hour’s nap, we would have to change the sheets, the sleeping bag … We can’t. Especially since this major cleaning represents an additional cost.
But it is social distancing that remains the most difficult to apply with children. “Children, especially when they are small, do not understand why they are being separated. We can’t tell them: no, you don’t hug friends. It’s impossible! Reading a story, for example, is a general hug. There, I would have to be three feet from them and they should be three feet from each other. Where is the sharing? This protocol removes the essence of our work. “
My day, rather than being focused on sharing, conviviality, understanding and exchange between the children, turned into a lot of cleaning and supervision.
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Assessment of deconfinement in Allier: 317 schools reopened out of 343 since May 12
Laura Morel
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