What Should You Do If You Suspect Daycare Abuse?

In December we covered the story of a woman who suspected that her child was being abused at his new daycare center. After days of worrying, she sprung into action and hid an audio recorder in her son’s diaper bag. The results confirmed her motherly instinct: her child was being verbally abused on a daily basis.

What should you do if you suspect that your child is being mistreated, abused, or neglected by a daycare center or childcare provider? Here is what you should do first.

• Take your child to a doctor. A doctor can look for physical signs of physical or sexual abuse and give you vital information about daycare abuse.
• Talk to someone you trust about your concerns. The very first step is to talk to your spouse, close friend, or relative about your worries and questions. They can help determine if your child is simply acting normally and you are over-reacting or if you have a real concern.
• Talk to your child. If your child is old enough to communicate, ask simple questions about daycare and the time they spend there. While young children are not able to give you extremely accurate or detailed information, they can give you a better idea of whether or not something is not right.
• Research your daycare center. You can call Texas authorities to find out whether the daycare has had violations in the past or other complaints. You can also research whether or not the daycare workers who care for your child have criminal pasts or are sex offenders.
• Talk to your daycare provider. While it can be extremely uncomfortable to breech the subject, expressing your concerns with the daycare itself is an important step to learning information. While you can’t be sure they will tell you the truth, you can ensure that they are aware of your issue. Are they concerned or not? Are they hostile or do they act in an unusual manner?
• Talk to other parents with children at the daycare. Share your concerns with others and explore the possibility that others feel the same way. Exchange information and notes.
• Call and report the problem. Call a child abuse hotline and report your concerns officially.

The most important thing to remember is to act quickly if you have a suspicion that your child is being harmed at daycare. If you do not act on your concerns, your child could be seriously injured while at daycare.