Childcare Safety

Hello again,

Thank you for the comments. After reading them it is easy to see that everyone has a different situation when it comes to childcare. Each family must take into consideration what is best for them and actually practical.

 The fact is I need to get back to work to be able to support my family financially so childcare is a must. Doing my research I kept seeing stories about bad things happening at daycares. It makes me fear that something bad could happen to my children if I send them off. Do I really need to be concerned? Are childcare centers safe? I found the article “How to keep the kids safe, in day care or with a Saturday-night sitter” on CNN.com that was written by Diana Burrell and originally appeared on Parenting.com on September 29, 2006 that made me feel a little better. The article was basically telling parents how to be smart. You need to look at things such as correct licensing, security, what type of background checks have been done on employees. What the author plainly points out is that good judgment, research, and common sense go a long way. Bad things can and may happen but you cannot lock up your kids in anticipation of it. Instead it is better to be thorough and investigative when deciding on childcare so as to try and minimize or eliminate said risks.

The article also left me wondering about the actual security of the kids. Many daycare centers are secure buildings/campuses that have things such as finger print scanners to get in and out and video surveillance. How can home based childcare ensure the security of the children? Do more bad things like child abductions, physical, mental, and sexual abuse happen in homecare or daycare? Is the level of security the cause?

This is another link to a “Child Care: Day Care Safety Checklist” on Parents.com

I was able to find an a study done by The US Consumer Product Safety Commission titled “Safety Hazards in Child Care Settings” That goes into detail about the safety risks associated with childcare. These risks include “cribs, soft bedding, playground surfacing, playground surfacing maintenance, child safety gates, window blind cords, drawstrings in children's clothing, and recalled children's products” The report then gives some frightening statistics, “About 31,000 children, 4 years old and younger, were treated in U.S. hospital emergency rooms for injuries at child care/school settings in 1997. CPSC is aware of at least 56 children who have died in child care settings since 1990.” The study also found that two thirds of the providers they looked had at least one violation. Looking at the results closer though I began to see that many of these situations can be avoided or at least limited just by following the advice from the previous article I wrote about. Some of the other injuries and problems listed may have been preventable but a lot seem like accidents.

Where DaycareDangers Lurk:

• CRIBS: 8% of the child care settings had cribs that did not meet current safety standards.
  Older cribs can present many dangers to children, including strangulation and suffocation.
• SOFT BEDDING: 19% of the child care settings had cribs containing soft bedding.
  Soft bedding may present a suffocation hazard for infants.
• PLAYGROUND SURFACING: 24% of the child care settings did not have safe playground surfacing.
• PLAYGROUND MAINTENANCE: 27% of the child care settings did not keep the playground surfacing well-maintained.
  Young children can be seriously hurt from falls on playgrounds.
• CHILD SAFETY GATES: 13% of the child care settings did not use child safety gates where necessary.
  Child safety gates can protect children from hazards, especially falls down stairs.
• WINDOW BLIND CORDS: 26% of the child care settings had loops on the window blind cords.
  About one child a month strangles in the loops of window blind cords.
• CLOTHING WITH DRAWSTRINGS: 38% of the child care settings had children wearing clothing with drawstrings at the neck.
  Drawstrings on clothing can catch on objects and strangle a child.
• RECALLED PRODUCTS: 5% of the child care settings had products that had been recalled by CPSC.
  Using recalled nursery products and toys can be a hazard to young children.

Chart is from Intellicorp Intouch and shows

the results of the CPSC study from above.

 

Although I agree with both the article about how to keep kids safe and the CPSC study, they do not show any statistics for the safety of stay at home childcare. Are kids safer in a home with a parent or in a daycare? Do stay at home parents know of all of the dangers children face around the home like a trained daycare provider should? How many kids can one parent handle safely? Do more expensive daycares have fewer safety and security problems. I think that the idea of safety needs to be looked at in two ways 1) Safety: will the kids get hurt, and 2) Security: how are they protected.



I am now left wondering is my concern for the wellbeing of my kids or am I just having a hard time dealing with the fact that I need to work and will not be able take care of them as I have been? Why do stay at home parents send their kids to daycare?