The average daycare provider is not a business person. They simply love kids and normally want to supplement the family income by watching a few kids. The idea of factoring in the risk compared to the upside doesn’t seem to be part of the equation, as most moms just think about if they can handle having that many kids around day after day.

For us, and as far as insurance goes, we were very surprised to learn that our home owner’s insurance company, AAA Michigan, would not continue covering our house due to the daycare. So, we had to get a new, more expensive policy that would allow for daycare liability insurance on top of that. It was a 38% premium which was another $450 per year on top of the previous bill.

Just so you know how serious this is I had two major accidents, after the last I decided to quit. The first was a very innocent situation as a 2 year old girl simply fell while walking and happened to have her nose land directly on top of a toy cell phone. The result was a gash right across the bridge of her little nose. It was probably a one in a million fall if you can say that about such a terrible thing as the chances of her noise landing right on the hard plastic piece of the toy seems almost impossible.

You would have thought she had been stabbed by the amount of blood that was coming out. There was blood on the floor, walls and basically a trail throughout the house as I scrambled looking for a towel to stop the bleeding. Even my shirt was covered in blood. When I saw that in the mirror I was shocked. It was like a movie.

She received six stitches and I was freaked out in a very real sense. It really hit me right between the eyes that I had their little lives in my hands and that responsibility was alarming. It also hit me right between the eyes that if the parents wanted to sue that they probably had a case and I would be in for some more trouble. I felt horrible for the girl, and of course was scared to death about all of it.

The parents were great about it though and understood that it was an accident to my complete relief. At that point I was done with daycare mentally, but out of routine kept going. To this day we are still very close with the parents and the scar is almost completely gone – thank God.

However the last major incident put the “nail in the coffin” for me as a 12 month old simply fainted – for no reason. I sincerely thought she was dying as I panicked and picked up her limp body (I was about to start CPR when she started to breathe again) and rushed all of the kids to the hospital… I was crying uncontrollably and could not believe what was going on. She woke up smiling like nothing happened as I continued to freak out, shaking. I called all the parents that night (still crying) and gave them my 2 week notice.

As I turns out the girl has a rare disease which is not serious. The parent’s doctor assured both me and the mom that she’ll most likely grow out of it and that she will probably continue to faint once a while and that it is not that big of a deal. This gave me no reassurance and I kept to my decision to move on – or more appropriately RUN on.

Tania Rauth. Author of “Start Daycare-Develop Twitch” More info on running a daycare at starting a daycare or how to run a daycare or opening a daycare.

Statistics

Statistics reveal that the fastest growing sector in the child care industry is the many small businesses. These entities mostly operate from homes. According to US Census Bureau, nearly 70 percent of the child care related businesses are home based. A whopping 17 percent of the Moms are using the services of the neighborhood child care centers for their pre-school children. Kinder-Care, La Petite Academy, National Childcare Academy and Gerber products are some of the few big names of the industry.

Laws & Regulations

Recent rulings have deployed stringent rules in order to curb the risk of injuries to babies. Governments and parents have come together to create child safety laws, not only for the establishments but for parents too. These laws strss that the daycare should provide a home like setting. Licensed providers are required to take trainings before dealing with child care. The facilities should be regularly visited by the authorities and a group of parents from the local neighborhoods. The US laws restrict a single provider to take care of more than 6 children. On the other hand, parents are obliged to put their child in the day care center in their own community, except for mothers working full-time.

Child Injuries

Childcare safety statistics reveal the fact that there were 56 casualties in the daycare settings from 1990 to 1997. Almost half of these deaths were caused due to Asphyxia. In 1997 alone, over 31,000 children were hospitalized due to the injuries related to a child care setting. A recent study by the Society of pediatrics and Center for the control of disease focused on facilities that included federal institutions, private institutes and small businesses. The study found that the playgrounds posed the biggest hazard to a child.

. The most hazardous conditions included the use of unsafe cribs, poor maintenance and hard surface of the playground, very soft bedding and absence of the safety gates.

Safety Measures

Professionals recommend avoiding the use of furniture that can entrap the child’s head or other part of the body. Any elevated surface that is not guarded should also be sealed off. Such surface also includes stairs. Similarly, fall-zones such as swimming pools and main holes provide a significant threat to the well being of a child. The design of the intended child care product should match the age and size of the children. Day care centers should ensure that they have the proper inventory for all the ages of the child, they admit.

Tripping hazards such as wires should immediately be removed from the premises. These also include any electrical appliance. Children have the natural tendency to poke their fingers in the wall sockets. It is mandatory for a child care center to seal off such openings. All components are to be avoided that can crush or bruise body tissues. Playground equipment should be inspected and any large swings or slides, to be removed. Stuff toys which can suffocate a small child are also a problem. In short, the best remedy for avoiding a disaster is acute attention and a common sense.

Gary Pearson is an accomplished niche website developer and author.

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