Daycare - How on earth can this be legal?!

[little bean]

How on earth can this be legal?!

I had my daughter in a lovely daycare centre for the last year or so. She was enjoying it and I was able to get some paid work while she was away for those couple of days. When she moved into the kindy room (at two and a half), she came home one day and pooped out a glass bead - two cm across, the kind people use in vases. She had eaten it at daycare - they were using the beads for play money. Not only was there the risk of choking, there was also the risk that it could have become lodged in her intestines.

After speaking to the director, who assured me they would run the room like a toddler room for a while (ie putting away small objects), there have continuously been small items in the room - pegs for peg boards, small toys etc. I was trying to let it slide until I picked up my DD on Friday and she had a toy completely in her mouth - of all things, a plastic strawberry, so I'm sure lots of kids would have been doing the same thing. To make it worse, the toys were outside with the kids so she would likely have been running around with it in her mouth for half the day.

I've pulled her out of daycare because the director said she's unable to get rid of the small items. She said the toys meet the daycare regulations. That's astonishing to me - at two and a half, lots of kids still put things in their mouths. To make matters worse, we have to pay for the next two weeks as well (because we have to give two weeks notice) - difficult for a single mum on a tight budget... and it's very frustrating to pay for days she won't be attending.

So if your toddler is in daycare, please have a very careful look at what's in your child's room, particularly if your child still puts objects in their mouth.

What a crazy system. The general public is told not to give toddlers under three or four anything that can fit into a film canister, some even say a toilet roll... and then we send our kids to daycare where they are supposed to be safe and they are surrounded by small objects.

[InSaneOne]

towards the end of the day my ds who is 2 is quite often in the preprep room with his sister and all of the leftover children who haven't been picked up yet. this i don't understand. how can they watch kids of mixed ages properly when the room has things like scissors and felt pens on shelves that are eye level to a 2 year old. i think it would be smarter to move the left over kids to one of the toddler rooms which are safer for the younger ones. the older kids from prep would still be able to play with the toys designed for younger children quite happily if my dd is anything to go by.

i would be objecting to those 2 weeks too - as they are supposed to be watching your child and keeping them as safe as possible. if she is swallowing things that can be choking hazards how is that caring for your child.

[little bean]

I asked the director if, during the two weeks my daughter would remain there (which is actually only four days because she only attends two days a week), she could just use the bigger toys and keep the small items away from her. She said no.

It's awful to think that they just don't care about the safety of our children. and I'm disgusted that I'm being made to pay for those two weeks.

Surely they should look at the children in their care and if the child has an issue such as eating items (not that this is terribly unusual at two and a half!!), a food allergy, a disability, or whatever.. they should do their best to keep the child safe.

[halloweenmum]

OMG I cant beleive that happens. What gets me the most about your post is the director says the toys meet regulations, but as director doesnt she have enough common sense to just not have those toys introduced in the first place??? Unbeleiveable.

THanks for posting, my DD will be in the 2 yr old room later this year, I will be looking out

[little bean]

I've told her many, many times not to put things in her mouth but she still does.

I just think that it's awful to put kids at risk that way and wanted to warn others who might be in a similar situation. I assumed that the daycare regulations would at least meet the same standards as the wider community... no small parts for children under three. But apparently not.

[little bean]

halloweenmum, the toddler room was fine. It was the kindy room (for two and a half to three).. so keep an eye out.

It's awful. I guess some poor toddler is going to have to choke on a toy before the government adopts some commonsense and changes that rule.

[Bellini]

Wow, that's atrocious! Is there someone you can report them to? It just doesn't seem right

[little bean]

missie mack, I'll ask the director. Not sure if they will be able to do that because there are probably rules about which age group goes in which room, but I'll try.

I don't think there's anything to report (other than making a complaint to whatever body makes the regulations). They're following the daycare regulations but IMO the regulations are very unsafe. I just wanted to warn others with toddlers of the same age.