Protecting Your Children from Daycare Injuries
As life gets back to normal for many families in Ontario and workers return to the office, many children are entering daycare for the first time or returning to daycare after time away. But how do you know if you can truly trust a daycare owner and their staff to provide the best care and attention to your children? Even with glowing online reviews and word-of-mouth references, do you ever really know what goes on behind closed doors when you head to work? What would happen if your child was injured at daycare?
Childcare Provider Duties
Childcare providers owe a duty to parents and children to keep children safe from harm while in their care. This includes protecting children from physical altercations from other children, making note of dietary and allergen restrictions amongst classmates, keeping doors and windows locked and secured, and keeping the daycare centre free of hazardous maintenance issues. Toddlers want to explore, but they must be given a space free of potential hazards, including electrical sockets, sharp objects, or choking hazards. Most importantly, daycare centre owners should conduct a thorough background check on prospective employees to ensure they do not have a criminal background or history of physical abuse against adults or children, as this could present a major risk to their facility and to the children in their care.
In major Ontario cities, the median cost of daycare services in 2020 was $1600 per month. For that price, parents expect a childcare provider to foster an environment of creativity and educational enrichment and, at the very least, to keep them safe from harm. Sadly, cases continue to surface revealing physical or emotional child abuse at daycare facilities. Recently, a man working at a Ontario daycare centre was charged with sexual assault and sexual interference with a child under the age of 16.
If children are not properly supervised by the staff at daycare centres, they could potentially wander out of the facility into crowded streets and go missing, all without the knowledge of the staff in charge of the children’s safety.
How can parents detect signs of abuse at their child’s daycare, and what should they do if they suspect something is wrong?
Recognizing Signs of Child Abuse and Neglect at Daycare
Parents should be vigilant about their child’s safety. This includes recognizing the signs of child abuse or neglect at daycare.
If you recently enrolled your child in daycare and have already begun noticing significant changes in their demeanour, this could be a warning sign that something is wrong. Children who seem withdrawn, clingy, excessively fussy, or sad, something untoward could reacting to a problem at their daycare that they cannot express in words.
Be sure to look for signs of neglect. These could include persistent diaper rashes, unexplained weight loss, or other signs of poor hygiene. Similarly, be on the lookout for signs of physical abuse like bruising, cuts, or bite marks. Even if a child was harmed by another child, the daycare provider and their staff have a responsibility to watch for signs of a physical altercations and separate the fighting children.
Childcare providers cannot monitor every child in their care at every moment of the day, especially in more crowded daycare centres. But they do have a responsibility to keep children safe and free from physical harm. If you suspect your child was abused or neglected at daycare, contact the local authorities and consider getting in touch with a personal injury lawyer serving Ontario.
Contact Preszler Injury Lawyers in Ontario
It can be difficult for parents to place their children’s safety and their trust in the hands of childcare providers at local daycare centres. Even after conducting thorough research, asking friends for recommendations, searching through online reviews, and interviewing various childcare providers, parents may find themselves in the horrifying position of having put their own child in harm’s way by choosing an irreputable daycare facility run by negligent staff members.
If your child was neglected or harmed at daycare, you might be entitled to damages. By filing a civil claim on your child’s behalf, you may be able to recover the damages you deserve and help other children from suffering emotional and physical harm at the hands of negligent childcare providers.
At Preszler Injury Lawyers, our Ontario personal injury lawyers appreciate how upsetting it can be to learn your child has been the victim of abuse or neglect. Our personal injury lawyers serving Ontario are committed to helping the parents of child abuse victims get the justice they deserve. Call Preszler Injury Lawyers today and schedule your free initial consultation.
