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Harmful or Abusive Childcare Situations

Because you have done your homework before leaving your child with a caregiver for the first time, the chances of your child being placed in a dangerous childcare setting are minimal. At the same time, you do need to be continually aware of your child's day care environment in case circumstances change. Harmful situations are not limited to outright cases of child abuse. Neglect by a caregiver can prove to be just as dangerous to children as can allowing a hazardous condition to occur in the child's environment.

The best way to keep your child safe is to prevent a dangerous situation before it happens. This requires you to be vigilant by watching for signs of potential problems, communicating with the caregiver as well as your child, and being prepared to address immediately any issues about which you may be worried. This seems obvious, but often times parents are hesitant to voice concerns over things they observe at the facility or new behaviors in their child they find disturbing. They do not want to be perceived as troublemakers, and they may fear their questioning of the caregiver will cause her to resent the entire family, with a negative effect being felt by their child. It is of the utmost importance, however, that you do not ignore signs of trouble in the childcare setting, even if the indications are little more than your own gut instincts. When you have a little voice in your head telling you that there is a problem, you need to investigate further.

If you are reluctant to speak with the caregiver about a problem situation, try first to phrase your concern in the form of a question. Present the situation using facts, not opinions (if possible), then ask the childcare provider why she thinks this problem exists. For example, you could say, "My child seems to be agitated in the mornings when we are in the car coming to day care. He never acted this way in the past. I am stumped—do you have any idea why he might be acting like this?" Gauge the caregiver's reaction. If she becomes defensive or is dismissive of your concerns, that does not by itself mean that there is a problem. It might, however, give you a reason to reconsider whether this is the best care arrangement for your child.

Preventing the Harmful Environment
Preventing a harmful environment can be summed up with one word—attention. Pay attention to your child; pay attention to the childcare provider; and, pay attention to the facility. You took a close look at the childcare environment before you decided to enroll your child, but your responsibility does not end there. Continued mindfulness of the conditions at your child's day care is crucial to keeping him or her safe.

Observing the facility on a daily basis at drop-off and pickup times is one way to monitor conditions there. If you and your spouse do not normally bring your child to day care yourselves, try to come in from time to time during the course of the day. Making periodic unscheduled visits can give you an idea of how the facility is run when the day care providers are not expecting company. If this is not possible because of the distance from the facility to your workplace, you can talk to other families with children at the facility to see that safety and care standards remain consistently high.

When your childcare provider is a nanny or au pair, asking a neighbor or relative to drop by on occasion can help you keep tabs on the situation. Installing a video surveillance system (nanny cam) in your home is another option. (The pros and cons of nanny cams are discussed in greater detail in Monitoring the Childcare Situation.)

If childcare is provided in your home, you clearly have more control over the environment than if your child is cared for outside of the home. There are a number of resources to help you ensure that your home is safe even when you are not there to supervise. The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), for example, provides information about household products that have been recalled due to safety hazards they may present. The CPSC may be reached at 301-504-7923 or online at www.cpsc.gov. The National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care is another information source for parents and caregivers alike, with tips on subjects such as various child illnesses and conditions, administering medications, and health and dental check-ups. You can contact the National Resource Center at 800-598-5437, or view its website at http://nrc.uchsc.edu.

Avoiding Child Abuse in Childcare
It goes without saying that if you suspected that a potential childcare provider was a child abuser, you would not ever have allowed that person to care for your child. So how would you know if your child was a victim of abuse or neglect at the hands of a caregiver? It is important to recognize warning signs of neglect or abuse, in case any of them are manifesting themselves in your child. Of course, if your child is willing and able to tell you about any incidents that have occurred in the childcare setting, that will be the best evidence of an abusive or neglectful situation. Sometimes, however, children either are too young to comprehend or explain what has happened to them, or may actually have been intimidated by an abuser into silence. In these cases, it is up to the parents to investigate the possibility of mistreatment by the childcare provider.

Although any child abuse indicators may have another, perfectly innocuous explanation, be alert if any of the following occur or appear.

• The caregiver attempts to deter you from visiting whenever you wish.
• Your child, even after having time for adjustment to the childcare setting, is nervous, unhappy, or frightened when it comes time to leave for day care (or, if you use in-home care, when the caregiver arrives at your home).
• The caregiver does not greet your child in a warm or friendly manner (on a regular basis, that is—anyone can have an off day).
• The caregiver becomes defensive if you question her or raise issues to her about your child's care.
• The caregiver is hesitant to give you a recap of your child's activities during the day.
• Unexplained injuries appear on your child, especially if they occur more than once or if they appear near the buttocks or genital area.
• Your child is suddenly exhibiting changes in behavior or mood swings.
• Your child is acting out in inappropriate ways, such as exhibiting aggression where he or she never did before.
• Your child makes inappropriate statements, such as expressing a desire to kill people or talking about sexual topics or genitalia in an age-inappropriate manner.
• Your child is suddenly complaining of physical ailments.
• Your child has begun wetting the bed or having accidents during the day.
• Your child has begun showing fear during routine activities, such as taking a bath or undressing at bedtime.
• Your child is dirty or has a full diaper when you come to pick him up (again, this is bound to happen once in a while—it becomes a problem when it happens on a regular basis).

Not only should you be familiar with signs of abuse, you should be sure that your childcare provider recognizes them as well. If you did not do so before enrolling your child in day care, ask what child abuse prevention training the childcare provider has received and request a copy of the provider's written policies—particularly those relating to discipline. If your child is in a day care center, all staff should be alert to the possibility that other staff members may commit abusive acts. The staff should be visible to other staff members at all times while caring for the children for whom they are responsible.

If your child has suffered an injury in day care that is not readily explainable, or if repeat injuries have occurred, you should take your child to his pediatrician for a thorough examination. The physician is trained to recognize old injuries, and she may pick up on signs of additional injury that you have not noticed.

Addressing Abuse or Neglect
If you believe you have an abuse or neglect situation on your hands, whether it involves your own child or another child in the facility, you should report the incident immediately to the proper authorities. There are child abuse hotline numbers for each state. If the abuse concerns someone else's child, you will want to speak with those parents as soon as you possibly can, so they can take whatever action they see fit, including finding another childcare provider.

As soon as possible after compiling the evidence of abuse, document the incident to the best of your ability. Do not add commentary or fill in facts that you have not seen or heard yourself. Write down what is within your own personal knowledge. If you are basing your conclusion of abuse on something that somebody else told you, whether it was your child or another parent, have them make notes, if possible. Obviously, you will have to do the writing for a very young child, and sometimes another parent will decline to get involved. In those cases, note that you are reporting information that you have received on a second­hand basis.

Once you have made a report to the appropriate state agency, make a follow-up call to the agency after several days to be sure that someone is working on the case. Document each contact you have with the agency, including dates of calls and names of agency staff to whom you have spoken. Keep this information in your records, because you may need to refer to it at a later date, particularly if you decide to seek legal recourse against the childcare provider.