Importance of Child Care Safety

Many people believe that child care is one of the most demanding yet rewarding professions of all time. It has now become a multi-million industry that spans a network of day care centers, kinder garden, franchise and large corporations. All of the institutions are working together to provide children with their parental and educational needs. With such a delicate duty, it is vital for the industry professionals to improve on the existing safety standards in the child care industry.

Statistics show that the fastest growing sectors in the child care industry are the multitude of small businesses. These entities mostly operate from homes. According to US Census Bureau, nearly 70 percent of child care related businesses are home based. A whopping 17 percent of Moms are using the services of the neighborhood child care centers for their preschool children.

Child Safety is Always First
Recent rulings have deployed stringent rules in order to curb the risk of injuries that can be incurred by babies. Governments and parents have come together to create child safety laws, not only for the establishments but for parents as well. These laws stresses that the daycare should provide a comfortable, very much like home setting.

Licensed providers are required to take trainings before dealing with child care. The facilities should be regularly visited by the authorities and a group of parents from the local neighborhoods. The US laws restrict a single provider to take care of more than 6 children. On the other hand, parents are obliged to put their child in the day care center in their own community, except for mothers working full-time.

Hazards to Watch Out For
Childcare safety statistics reveal the fact that there were 56 casualties in the daycare settings between the years 1990 and 1997. Almost half of these deaths were due to Asphyxia. In 1997 alone, over 31,000 children were hospitalized due to the injuries related to a child care setting. A recent study by the Society of pediatrics and Center for the control of disease focused on facilities that included federal institutions, private institutes and small businesses. The study found that the playgrounds posed the biggest hazard to a child.

The most hazardous conditions included the use of unsafe cribs, poor maintenance and hard surface of the playground, very soft bedding and absence of the safety gates.

Professionals recommend avoiding the use of furniture that can entrap the child's head or other parts of the body. Any elevated surface that is not guarded should also be closed or locked. Such surface also includes stairs. Similarly, fall-zones such as swimming pools and main holes provide a significant threat to the well being of a child. The design of the intended child care product should match the age and size of the children. Day care centers should ensure that they have the proper inventory for the different child ages they admit.

Tripping hazards are also another consideration therefore such faulty wirings should immediately be removed from the premises. These also include electrical appliances. Children have the natural tendency to poke their fingers in the sockets usually found on walls. It is mandatory for a child care center to seal off such openings.

For more see: How to start a childcare service