As a Calgary parent with a child in the Alberta Dayhome system this story makes me want to vomit. A baby girl aged 18 months, has died as the direct result of alleged abuse suffered in the home of a ‘caregiver’ in a provincial licensed and approved dayhome.
From the Calgary Herald:
The toddler was airlifted to Alberta Children’s Hospital with critical head injuries on Tuesday and her 23-year-old caregiver was charged with aggravated assault and failure to provide necessities of life.
The child died in hospital later that day, prompting police to say those charges may be upgraded to manslaughter.
Having left little H in the care of a dayhome provider for about 2 years now, I can say that while I’ve had all the confidence in the world in them (I wouldn’t leave her there if I hadn’t) still, I always wonder about her. Is she ok? Is there anything going on that I don’t know about? Is she being watched like I would watch her. Is she happy? Is she safe?
I can’t image the guilt and the pain the family of this baby is going through right now. It goes to show that all the background checks in the world can’t save you from something happening in the future and we really cannot rely on any agency or provincial body to really know what’s going on.
Dayhomes are booked up quickly and, in my opinion, daycare centers have way too many kids and not enough staff. Costs for care are through the roof – at this time, we are paying close to $700 per month for one child. I know I feel like I’m up against a rock and a hard place and parents are doing their best but really, our options are severely limited.
So how do we protect our kids?
You may have read my last post on the state of Calgary Childcare and our struggles to find suitable care for our little H. I am still mistified by what happened with that situation, however I have never felt better about our decision to forego that particular home and continue our search for a suitable caregiver. Sometimes our gut feelings are all we can rely on.
Oh no! I can’t stand to hear such things. How horrible.
That’s awful. I agree that trusting your gut (and having high standards) are important. Hubby and I decided this summer that we needed one day per week without the kids (since we both work from home). We were fortunate enough to find an amazing university student who was looking for work as a nanny 1-2 days per week. Even though I trust her completely with my boys, when she was first starting with us it was nice to be downstairs and still able to hear what was going on.
That’s so sad. I’ve had children in home daycare even when my oldest was small and it’s a constant worry even after all of these years. I don’t think parents ever stop worrying; it’s tough. God help the family who lost the little girl.
My heart goes out to that little child and her suffering family. No one should ever have to experience that. I hope that girl who was watching over that infant gets the maximum sentence.
I agree in going with your gut. We had our name on a list for a child and family centre here for two years. There was no other daycare provider I was even going to consider and almost had to take an extra year off because they couldn’t take her. At the last moment, a spot opened.
They are wonderful, there are 3 – 4 adults in the infant room to 6-7 kids and they are accountable. People say we pay a lot for our daycare but it is worth every penny.