Daycare Abuse: Recognizing Common Signs of Daycare Abuse

How do you think you would react if someone was pressuring you to keep a secret that you knew was wrong? You might be able to do it, particularly if you were threatened if you told, but you might find yourself breaking a bit under the pressure, too. You might become depressed, irritable and withdrawn because of shame. You might also give yourself away a bit without knowing it when you were in the presence of the person forcing you to keep the secret. This is how children oftentimes react when they're being abused and being threatened to keep quiet.

The Abusive Mentality

Abusers will want to keep on abusing their victims and to keep their victims from talking. To achieve the latter goal, they'll sometimes threaten children that they are abusing at daycares to prevent them from saying anything. They sometimes threaten to hurt other children, animals or even the child's own family. This puts pressure on the child to stay quiet but, quite frequently, the parents start to notice something's wrong. Simply put, children aren't normally as stressed as this will make them, and it will quickly become apparent that something isn't right.

Look for signs that your child feels guilty or stressed. They may become very clingy, wanting protection but being afraid to ask for it. They may also become worried about their pets, their brothers or sisters or their friends. In many cases, you'll notice that they change when they're going to daycare. If you were being abused in a certain circumstance, you'd react much the same. Children may not be fully developed mentally, but they are people and they do react in the ways that other people would be expected to react.

Remember that your children may want to tell you something but just might be too afraid to do so. If you really suspect something is going on at a daycare, you should speak to other parents about the matter and see about getting counseling for your child. Of course, removing them from the daycare is highly advisable. This is the first step in making it stop. A trip to the doctor for a physical exam may also be a good idea.

If your child has been the victim of daycare child abuse, contact a daycare abuse attorney to see about filing a lawsuit for negligence on the part of the provider.