Child Safety

Jul 30, 2006

Young Jacob Fox's death on a field trip has underscored one of my deepest fears as a daycare provider, and the need to be vigilant on the topic of child safety.

As a childcare provider, I have very few real dangers associated with my job, aside from being bit or hit by the occasional child, rather what I fear is the dangers associated with my children.

The death of four-year-old Jacob Fox of heat exhaustion on a daycare trip to a park has underscored one of those deepest beliefs. There is a park just down the street from our center, and we regularly walk there in nice weather. The times that we spend in the park are wonderful, from the playground that is different from our regular one, to the nature trail that runs on one side of the park, to the sledding hill that is tremendous fun to run down at top speed in nice weather.

However, it is one of the more stressful times of my job. I worry about the other people that are in the park that I don't know, I worry about the fact that though the playground is far from the road, it is not directly surrounded by a fence. I worry about one of my children falling down and hurting themselves in such a way that they can't walk back and we would have to call for radio back for a car to come and get us.

I never worry though, that one of our children will be a victim of abuse or neglect. It is a scary thought that four year old Jacob could have been left in a hot van in Texas, and no one noticed that he was missing. We utilize colored bandanas or t-shirts, and divide up our children into groups that each teacher is responsible for knowing where they are at all times. The tragedy of the loss of such a young child is something that reinforces the need for quality child care, and for parents to be vigilant in watching over their own children.

If you want to read more about abuse and neglect in the daycare setting, visit my most recent article:--Abuse in The Daycare