A Canon City daycare operator has been charged in the death of a four-year-old boy. She’s charged with felony child abuse resulting in death over an August 15 incident in which a boy drowned in a pool. According to The Chieftain, the woman is also facing six counts of misdemeanor child abuse over six children who were not tall enough to touch the bottom of the pool at her residential daycare center being in that swimming pool.
The four-year-old child could not be resuscitated after authorities were called and the woman reported that he had been “in the water too long”, according to the report. Additionally, her daycare was licensed to take care of 8 children at a time, but she was found to have 13 children in her care at the time of the death. She did admit that she was in the house at the time the child drowned.
Spotting Abuse Before It’s too Late
Unfortunately, there have been many cases where children have died at daycare centers. There are some warning signs that parents can look for that may indicate abuse. It is important to keep in mind, however, that not one of these signs is an absolute 100 percent indicator that abuse is going on. Taken in context, however, they may indicate that there is a serious problem at a daycare center.
Look for changes in your child’s behavior after daycare. These can be signs that the child is distressed and that they’re not telling you something about what’s going on at the daycare facility. Quite often, children will be coerced in one way or another to keep quiet about abuse and this allows it to go on. If something about your child’s psychology seems to have changed unexpectedly, it’s not normal and you need to talk to them to see if there’s a problem.
Make sure you keep an eye on any injuries that your child sustains while they are at daycare. Bumps and bruises that are suffered during play are quite normal but, if it is a persistent problem, it may be indicative of a child not being properly supervised by the daycare facility.
If your child has been injured – or worse – at a daycare facility, you may want to contact an attorney about the matter. They may be able to help you file a lawsuit against the daycare provider that could end up winning your family compensation for your pain and suffering, injuries and other losses.