I’ve posted before HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE about how important — and hard — it is to find a safe and perfect place for your child’s care. You only want the best for your child, even when you can’t be there. So, just what do you have to do to figure out where that is?

Yet another tragic story has emerged of a daycare worker accused of child abuse at a daycare center, this one in Tulsa. It’s disturbing to read that the assistant teacher has been accused of two incidents of abuse – at two different centers. What’s more disturbing is that she had passed the pre-employment background reference checks.

No child should ever be injured by a worker at a daycare center. Never. Ever. There are very few reasons for a child injury by a center employee: (1) the center was sloppy in its hiring procedures, (2) the center was sloppy in its supervision of the employee, (3) the center knew of its bad employee and kept her (him) on, or (4) the center was understaffed or undertrained or both. None of these reasons excuses the center’s responsibility.

If a daycare center has something to hide, it will lie to parents when their child is enrolled. So, do you own investigation. Ask questions until you are satisfied with every answer. Rely on your instincts; if something smells fishy, it is. Trust yourself, your own senses. Your child is worth it.

If your child has been injured by a daycare worker, contact an experienced child injury lawyer for help. I will be happy to answer your questions about a child daycare injury in Virginia. Send an email to Sandra@RohrstaffLaw.com, call 703-260-6070, or contact me through our website, www.RohrstaffLaw.com.

If your child’s daycare provider does have a handbook, ask to see it.  If you’re told it’s just for the staff, be very careful. Sure, it’s important for the staff to know the rules and schedule, but it’s also important for YOU to know them. I’d walk away as fast as I could from a daycare provider who said, “Sure, we have a handbook, but you can’t see it.” I wouldn’t even ask another question. I’d just leave. That provider is hiding something. It may be that all they’re hiding is lack of preparation, but that’s a big deal.

Unfortunately, I hear about injuries and deaths at daycare centers nearly every day. Children ought not be injured or die while in daycare. A handbook won’t guarantee that a child won’t be hurt while in daycare, but it will go a long way in giving every child a safe environment — and assurance to the parents that their child is in good hands.

I’ve prepared a great example of a daycare handbook. It’s sort of a skeleton, really, for a handbook. Every daycare provider should have a handbook that fits that  provider’s circumstances — number and ages of children, location, philosophy (religious training or not, structured curriculum or not) — so my example is really a general kind of guide. But I believe its value is that it is a minimum of what to look for in a daycare provider handbook.

If you’d like a copy — it’s free if you mention you read about it on Virginia Child Injury Lawyer — just send me an email at Sandra@RohrstaffLaw.com, call 703-260-6070 or contact me through our website, www.RohrstaffLaw.com.  Let me know where to send it and it’ll be on its way to you.

An adult pushing on a screen may conclude it would keep a child from falling out the window. Don’t count on it. Children have an amazing way of getting past barriers in ways beyond our imagination.

And, don’t think your child is too short to reach the window sill. Even a very young child figures out early on how to move a chair and climb up on it to get where she wants.

Here are some tips from Safe Kids USA about preventing falls from windows:

Top Tips to Prevent Window Falls

* Install window guards to prevent children from falling out of windows. For windows above the first floor, install window guards with an emergency release device in case of fire.

* Install window stops so that windows open no more than four inches.

* Keep windows locked and closed when they are not being used.

* Keep furniture away from windows so kids cannot climb to the ledge.

* If you have double-hung windows — the kind that can open down from the top as well as up from the bottom — it is generally safer to open the top pane, but growing kids may have enough strength, dexterity and curiosity to open the bottom pane.

* Do not rely on window screens to prevent falls.

* Keep windows locked when they are closed.

* Supervise children at all times, especially around open windows.

Sometimes, though, even when a parent does everything right, a young child falls out of a screened window because the screen was in poor repair or installed incorrectly or faulty in its design.  If your child or a child you know was injured from a fall through a window screen, consult a Virginia child injury lawyer who can give you accurate information about whether your child has a claim for her injuries. Not every fall from a window is the fault of someone else, but some are. A Virginia child injury lawyer can evaluate the facts and advise you whether there is an at-fault person who could accountable for your child’s injuries.

I will be happy to answer your questions. Call me at 703-260-6070, send me an email at Sandra@RohrstaffLaw.com, or a fax to 703-260-6305. You can also contact me through our website, www.RohrstaffLaw.com. There is no charge for the consultation.

Sure, we had seatbelts and car seats in our cars when we were kids, but how many times did you double buckle with your friends or siblings or ride backwards in the back of the station wagon?  Attempts to reduce the number of preventable highway deaths have prompted authorities to pass more stringent guidelines on the safety measures required for children riding in automobiles.

These guidelines are based on the height, weight, and age of the child in order to best secure the child in case of a collision. However, all of these new rules can be confusing.

• When do I use the next sized seat?

• How long does my child have to ride in the back seat?

• What is the difference between the different types of seats and belts?

Although you have to work at finding them, there are fairly clear guidelines about which type of seat you should use for your child based on their age, height and weight.  Here are a few tips to get you started.

•• The first step is a rear-facing, 5-point harness child safety seat for newborns and infants.

•• At about one year of age, your child will “age up” to forward-facing child safety seats.  These maintain the 5-point harness, but allow the child to sit in an upright position.  These are the two safest seats and children should stay in them as long as possible.

••  School age children should use booster seats to position them correctly in the seat belt until they reach a height of 4’9”.

We’ll explore each stage in the process of moving your child from one seat to another in more depth, because each one has slight nuances that can be confusing. I’ll publish several more postings with additional information in the next few days. In the meantime, I’d love to hear from anyone who has experiences, good or bad, with buying, installing and using car seats for their children.

Car Safety Seats Information – Detailed guidelines for children based on age and weight with illustrations sponsored by Healthychildren.org

Kids And Cars –This website helps prevent accidental vehicular injuries by offering educational information, technological devices, and a breadth of news stories.

International Society for Burn Injuries – hosts conferences and supports organizations in burn research

Camp Susquehanna – A camp for survivors of burn injuries of all ages in Lancaster, PA

Burn Resource Centre – Provides information and links to resources for burn survivors

American Burn Association – Information about advocacy, prevention and other aspects of burn injuries and survival

Childhelp USA: (800)-4-A-CHILD A hotline provides crisis counseling and literature about child abuse.

National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse: 800-Children This organization provides information and referrals about child abuse.

National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome, 1-888-273-007 The National Center for Shaken Baby Syndrome is a private, nonprofit organization that provides information to professionals and parents about SBS.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services U.S. Department of Health and Human Services provides general information about health and safety issues, including links to child abuse information and topics.

Lead Poisoning Information from the Center for Disease Control – An all encompassing website on lead poisoning in children.  Covers all topics from prevention to advocacy to making your sure your home is safe.

Home and Recreational Safety Information from the Center for Disease Control – Information and Fact Sheets on a variety of dangers in the home including falls, playground safety, poisoning, etc.

National Program for Playground Safety – Playground safety information for all age groups and playground locations including early childhood, home playset safety, and school safety.

Injury Free Coalition for Kids – An information hub on a variety of injury prevention topics

Because she’s read so much about the dangers of strangulation injury and death from the cords on Roman shades and roll up blinds, she’s already thinking about arranging the furniture so the cribs are nowhere near the window.

Most of the shades and blinds have recently been recalled for repair. Here’s the link to the Consumer Product Safety Commission recall article. Check out your child’s caregiver’s house, too. The Window Covering Safety Council is offering a free repair kit to retrofit shades or blinds with clips.You can either go to the website or call 800-506-4636 to get the kit.