Some of the most despicably abusive daycare situations start with the nice man or woman down the road that watches kids for the neighborhood parents at their own home. It’s important to remember that, unless the person running the facility is licensed and their facility itself is also inspected and approved by state authorities, there is absolutely no reason why anybody should be running a daycare out of their home. An unlicensed daycare is sure to bring trouble. Here are a few reasons that you may want to stay away from these facilities.
1: Lack of Accountability
If you find something egregiously wrong at a licensed daycare facility, you can contact the appropriate state agencies and report it immediately. It will be investigated and handled by professionals who understand how to go about finding the signs of abuse, what to look for in terms of a negligent staff and how to make sure that none of this ends up traumatizing the children any more than necessary. You don’t have this sort of accountability at an unlicensed home daycare facility.
2: Facilities
Facilities in this sense refers to the actual capacity of the building itself to deal with the needs of more than the number of children that would likely be in one single family. A daycare center, in many regards, has to be quite a bit like a preschool. Bathrooms have to be able to be washed down to institutional standards, cooking facilities have to be stocked with suitably durable appliances and dining and recreation facilities for the children have to be able to accommodate their entire number. You’re generally not going to find these types of accommodations in the average single-family home.
3: Training
Some of the people who run daycare facilities out of their own homes tout their experience rearing their own children. This is something of an advantage for daycare workers but, in reality, saying that taking care of your own children qualifies you to take care of many children is about as accurate as saying that providing first aid for your own children qualifies you as a pediatrician. Daycare workers have specific training and experience – and they are required to maintain that training – that make them capable of dealing with a lot of children with great skill and in a safe and compassionate way.
Daycare negligence is generally the precursor to daycare child abuse. If your child has been the victim of either, contact an attorney.