Articles Tagged with SIDS

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By David A. Wolf, Attorney

Child Injury Lawyer Blog

Baby-Elements-Blue-Icons-copy-300x282In Virginia and other states, many parents rely upon day care centers to watch over their children during the work day.  Many such day care centers are connected to or affiliated with a church or religious institution. Unfortunately in many states, there are limited to no government oversight of religious or church run day care centers because there are loopholes and exemptions in state law that opt a church run or religious day care center out of the applicable day care center regulations.  As such, many day care centers go unregulated and often engage in negligent or dangerous behavior due to the lack of training and government oversight of the facility.  As such, many church run or religious based day care centers may seem safe and well run on the outside are actually riddled with dangers and risks on the inside.
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 By David Wolf, AttorneyPublished by Child Injury Lawyer Blog

Building Block - M - Day Care Center

In day care centers located in South Carolina and throughout the Nation, there is a common danger that many parents and day care center providers do not understand and even ignore.  The common danger to children is present during nap time or sleep time.  There is a risk of suffocation, asphyxiation, and SIDS related injuries and deaths during sleep time or nap time.   Many child care providers and day care center providers swaddle newborns and infants in day care centers. Swaddling is the practice of wrapping an infant in blankets snuggly so that movement is limited.
Pediatric experts have mixed opinions as to the safety of swaddling in the home and day care center.  Many experts warn against the use of swaddling that there is a potential increased risk of suffocation, asphyxiation, and SIDS related injuries that may be associated with swaddling according to some reports and studies.  Some pediatricians and child care providers are proponents of the practice because it tends to calm infants and allows them to sleep for longer periods of time.  Again, others are against the practice of swaddling due to potential health and safety risks. 
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By  Keith Kerfeld, Attorney and David Wolf, Attorney

Day Care Center Sleep and Nap TimeParents rely on the day care centers and child care centers for the supervision of their children.  There are some obvious risks that need to be accounted for in and around the day care center.  For instance, if the day care center is in a busy commercial area, children should be closely monitored to prevent a child from wandering out the door or wandering out of the fenced area and into traffic.  Wandering into traffic is an obvious danger.   A not so obvious danger involves sleep or nap time. One would think that the safest place for a child at day care center would be the crib or the sleeping area.  One would think that a child could not possibly be harmed while engaged in the relaxing slumber of a good sleep or a good nap.  However, this is the very time and place in which many children are harmed especially toddlers and newborns when the sleep area is unsafe for the age or size of the child AND / OR when the sleep or nap time supervision is lacking or dangerously non-existent.   Most states in the day care and child care regulations set forth rules, guidelines, and regulations for sleep time / nap time related responsibilities of the day care center. One such state is Minnesota.
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Kids Number Block As Symbol For Numeracy Or CountingBy David Wolf, Attorney

Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network

Here is a simple but important question:  Should day care centers provide constant care and supervision during sleep time or nap time?  The answer to this question is Absolutely Yes!   That’s right the answer has an exclamation point at the end because it is so important that child care centers and day care centers have trained staff in place that recognize the risk and dangers during nap time and sleep time for infants and toddlers.   Without any child of child care training, one would think that the safest place for a child or a baby is in a crib during sleep time.  The truth is that many children every year suffer personal injuries and even die during sleep or nap time due to inadequate supervision, improper sleep position, and the presence of blankets, stuffed animals and other soft objects left in the crib or sleeping area.

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Red blanketBy Nancy Hirsch, and David Wolf, Attorney

Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network

In Missouri and other States, parents rely on day care centers to provide reasonable and secure supervision so that parents can attend to their jobs and other commitments.  Unfortunately for some infants and children in day care centers, their needs are neglected to the point that serious personal injuries and even death result while in the day care center.  One commonly overlooked time of danger involves nap time or sleep time at the day care center.  Infants are at risk for injury while in nap time or sleep time.  This statement should be repeated and bolded.  Infants are at risk for injury while in nap time or sleep time.  For children under the age of 2 years old and other children needing special assistance, direct supervision is recommended due to the risk of suffocation, asphysiation, and / or SIDS (Suddent Infant Death Syndrome) incidents.   In addition to direct supervision, day care centers should take steps to clear the sleeping area of pillows, soft objects, blankets, and any other items that can be a hazard for sleeping infants.   At the beginning of nap time, the sleeping area may be safe; however, all it would take would be another child to toss a simple stuffed animal into the crib or sleeping area to create a hazardous situation.   This is just one reason among many to have direct supervision in place for infants in a day care center during sleep time or nap time.

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