Daycare Worker Allegedly Drugged Children to Make Them Sleep
http://www.care2.com/causes/daycare-worker-allegedly-drugged-children-to-make-them-sleep.html
Kimberly Lane, owner of Luv n Learning Child Development Center, in Van Alstyne, Texas has been charged with putting antihistamines into the childrens’ milk to make them sleep. According to Fox News, employees at the daycare center reported the owner’s actions to the authorities. When investigators showed up at the daycare center, they were able to smell the flavored antihistamines in the children’s milk.
Lane was charged with 16 felony counts of endangerment to a child for putting drugs into the milk of children aged from 20 months to four years. The maximum sentence for this charge is two years in jail and a fine of up to $10,000 for each count. According to whiotv.com, another daycare worker was charged and convicted in a similar offense last year at the Covenant Apostolic Church Day Care Center in Hamilton County, Ohio.
Parents sometimes fear putting their children into a home daycare setting because there is only one person watching over the children and no one to watch over them and their actions. Unfortunately, opting for a child care facility with multiple staff members is no guarantee either and there have been numerous cases of daycare owners and workers being charged with drugging or otherwise endangering or mishandling the children in their care.
There are no guarantees and parents need to be diligent in selecting and monitoring their daycare provider. The American Academy of Pediatrics has a checklist for parents to consider when choosing a daycare provider, however it appears to focus more on the technical criteria than “am I sure my child will be loved and treated with respect” criteria.
In our family, we were fortunate enough to be able to keep our children at home until they were three years old and we found it easier to be able to trust and monitor a child care provider when our child was able to communicate well with us and tell us what was happening during the day. Friends who have had to select a daycare provider for younger children have told me that they looked primarily at the way the daycare provider bonded with their child in making their decision and placed that above all other criteria. Some experts recommend dropping in at your child’s daycare unannounced every once in a while to monitor what is happening when they think no one is looking.
What criteria do you use to choose a daycare provider for your children? Do you feel confident that they are safe?
