Should Day Care Centers Follow Recommended Sleep Guidelines in Washington State and elsewher?

By David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network

In Seattle Washington and other locations, day care centers have the responsiblity to supervise children in a safe and nurturing environment. One may think that sleep or nap time may be the one time of the “child care” day that is the safest for children. However, the truth of the matter that sleep or nap time can be a very dangerous time for a child especially when the day care center provider fails to provide a safe environment and even negligently allows dangerous conditions or items to be in or near the child’s sleep area.

Dan Reblik, a news reporter with Q13 Fox News, covered this topic in the report – Infant deaths, dangers: Some day cares fail to follow safe-sleep guidelines. Reblik reported on several incidents that took place that resulted in the tragic death of a child including the following:

*18 month old child got tangled in a blind cord that was accessible from the crib area;

*5 month old child left in a crib with loose bedding, rolled over, and suffocated;

*3 1/2 month old child died after being put to sleep on her tummy.

Reblik did a good job in bringing light and conversation to this most important issue. Sleep recommendations and precautions are essential to prevent incidents like the ones above from taking place. Day care centers should follow the applicable day care laws and regulations. Furthermore, day care centers and child care providers should follow the recommendations of child care experts, safety advocated, and medical providers. A good summary of these recommendations can be found at What is One Article Every Parent and Day Care Center Should Read? (Safe Infant Sleeping Environment)

The book titled – The ABCs of Child Injury – Legal Rights of the Injured Child – What Every Parent Should Know – has chapters on Day Care Center Injuries, School Injuries, Playground Injuries, Homeowner’s Insurance, Theme Park and Attraction Injuries, and other topics. You can get this book for free at The ABCs of Child Injury.