Texas House And Senate Pass Bill To Make Daycares Safer For Kids

The Texas House and Senate have sent a new bill to be signed by Governor Rick Perry that will better protect children who go to daycare or use other childcare services. The bill, called Nathan’s Law, makes it illegal for daycare providers to give medication to children without the written permission of the child’s parents or legal guardian.

The bill is named for Nathan King, a Texas infant who died at a daycare in Bryan, Texas, in the fall of 2008 after he was given Benadryl without his parents’ permission and then left tummy down on a foam pad, where he stopped breathing.

According to his parents, Laura and Brad King, their 3.5-month-old infant was given diphenhydramine without either the permission of a doctor or his parents – a drug that should never be given to a baby that young. The official cause of death was ruled to be SIDS – sudden infant death syndrome – and because of a lack of hard evidence, the daycare was never held responsible for the baby’s death.

While the daycare was shut down in connection with the baby’s death, there were no laws on the books in Texas to punish this act or prevent it from happening to other children. After the loss of their baby, the Kings sprung into action and worked toward creating the new daycare abuse prevention law.

Nathan’s Law could go into effect as early as September after it is signed by the Texas Governor. Also this fall, the Kings are planning to try for another baby.