Unsafe daycare at playground
I take my kids to the playground near our home multiple mornings a week. Several neighborhood daycares utilize the playground as well. One daycare in particular does not pay appropriate attention to their children. The kids are toddlers (between 1-2 yrs), and the ratio is 1 caregiver: 3 kids, which is appropriate for their age group.
Over the past 6 months or so, I’ve seen kids wander off from the group: once, a child made it to the sidewalk outside the park before a daycare caregiver picked him up; another time another family’s nanny brought a kid back to the group (no one appeared to be aware he was gone). They allow the kids to climb the park structures, and I’ve seen a few near falls; once, another family’s nanny had to take one of the kids down because he looked like he was going to fall. We’ve had to tell the daycare caregivers that one of the kids put a rock / sand in their mouth.
My question is: do I do anything? If so, what? I’d like to remain anonymous since we see this group multiple times a week; I also don’t want to meddle, but I’m worried that sooner or later something serious is going to happen to one of these kids. Thanks.
Parent Replies
Gosh, my kids preschool takes them to the park on Fridays, and this post makes me want to know if this could be his school. So that said, yes, you should do something.
Couple of options- find out the daycare name if you don’t already. You could call and speak to the owner, who may or may not be on site, and let them know your concerns. If you don’t think that will work, you can do an anonymous online complaint with the state licensing board. They are required to investigate. Just provide as much detail as you possibly can.
You can always find out the daycare's community care licensing (CCL) facility number and contact CCL to report an anonymous complaint.
Hi - I think it's important that you share what you've observed by filing a complaint with the state. As a parent with a child in daycare, I would really want to know if something like this was happening. I think you would be doing parents and these kids a huge service.
If you know the name of the daycare, you can look up their license here: https://www.ccld.dss.ca.gov/carefacilitysearch/ and submit an anonymous complaint by emailing letusno [at] dss.ca.gov.
You might also add an anonymous review on the daycare's BPN listing.
If it were your child, you would want someone to speak up and protect, and prevent a child from getting seriously hurt, run over, or kidnapped. Do the responsible thing. Just takes a phone call to licensing. (510) 622-2602.
I don't have any great ideas, but if my kid were in this daycare, I would absolutely want to know that this was happening. Is there a way to figure out which daycare it is and post something on a mom's group asking people to message you? FWIW, my nanny has reported a daycare group like this at a park near us in the northwest Berkeley/Albany area... I wonder if it's the same one. She didn't see any physical danger, though, just negligent teachers.