Daycare Abuse Prevention - How to Keep Your Child From Being Abused

Many parents are fearful of daycare abuse or feel guilty sending their child to daycare. This is understandable given the horror stories about daycare neglect. However, there are steps you can take in order to prevent childcare abuse. We recommend using these steps to help prevent daycare abuse.

• Get your priorities in order - This step is crucial to helping you cope against feeling guilty about sending your child to a daycare center. Grab a notebook and jot down a wish list of what the ideal daycare center should offer and why you want to send your child to one.
• Research daycare centers with a critical eye - This is helpful when conquering fears of daycare abuse. Ask family and friends for suggestions. Call the Childcare Aware hotline (800-424-2246) and ask for your local childcare resource and referral agency. You can also check the National Association of Family Child Care to search their database of accredited daycare centers.
• There are state and federal laws that can help you combat daycare abuse. The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act helps supply states with funds to support the prevention, investigation, prosecution, and treatment for children and their families. They also supply grant money to nonprofit organizations and public agencies for various projects and programs.
• Physically inspect and interview potential daycares - To ease fears of daycare neglect, be sure to ask plenty of questions. Write a few questions down on paper to ensure you don't miss anything. Check for hours, fees, child sickness policies, discipline, feeding and sleeping philosophies. Tour the center and observe the surroundings.
• Follow up on references - Word of mouth plays a major part in daycare endorsements. Be creative yet thorough. Check the Better Business Bureau and ask parents dropping off or picking up their children about the daycare reputation. Ask potential daycares for a list of past and present references.

What should be done if I suspect daycare abuse?

Talk with other parents whose child attends the daycare. If you still detect daycare abuse, contact your local child protection services agency and take the child to a doctor for an expert opinion.
If your child has been emotionally, physically, or sexually abused, There may be behavioral changes that can be detected. Here are some signs of daycare abuse:

• Emotional - Avoiding affection, displays more affection than normal, extreme behavior changes, child appears to talk less.
• Physical - Excessive crying or fighting when entering the daycare center, bruises, abrasions, burn marks, broken or fractured bones, bite marks, and reoccurring injuries.
• Sexual - Pain, bleeding, bruised or itching signs around genital areas, trouble with walking or sitting, unwillingness to remove clothing (especially in warm climates), unusual interest in wearing extra clothing, unusual sexual actions, questions, or comments.

At The Rasansky Law Firm, we are committed to helping those who suspect daycare abuse. If you feel your child is a victim of daycare neglect, do not hesitate to call  us or chat with us online. Our team will gladly review the facts of your situation for no cost.