Safety Checklist
Link to C.P.S.C. Report
C.P.S.C. News Release
(4/12/99)
How safe is your child's day care center?
The Consumer Product Safety Commission says 66 percent of child care
facilities contain at least one safety hazard.
First Lady Hillary Clinton today helped launch a national campaign to warn
parents and caregivers of the problem.
News Specialist Lisa Conley has more.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission studied 220 daycares across the U.S.
Of those, two-thirds, or two out of three had at least one safety hazard.
The findings prompted them to put together this checklist.
- Cribs
- Soft Bedding
- Playground surfacing
- Playground maintenance
- Safety gates
- Mini blind cords
The C.P.S.C. says these are the things to watch for the next time you visit
your local daycare.
All of these things can pose a risk to your child.
The good news is, almost everything on the list is already regulated by the
State of Utah when they license a daycare. The one thing that's not regulated
by the state are these:
Drawstrings on clothing can be a major hazard for kids.
The C.P.S.C. says 38-percent of the daycares they studied had children wearing
coats with drawstrings at the neck.
A child can easily become strangled by them if they're caught in playground
equipment.
One daycare provider we talked to, Diane Witt-Roper, of ABC Daycare, says
she leaves it up to the parents to remove the strings.
And, all the other warnings are old news to her.
"You just have to be aware of what your equipment looks like, your
surroundings, what's in your classroom, what can be dangerous or potentially
dangerous," she says.
Witt-Roper works around the clock making sure her daycare keeps up with the
rigorous Utah State regulations.
She says a checklist like the one released by the CPSC may be more helpful
for parents who are shopping around for child care.
To some parents, having a checklist of safety guidlines is just one more
tool to help them find the right place.
One parent told us, "It scared the death out of me...when you have babies they
cant tell you what's wrong. It's hard to find a daycare where you know your
baby will be taken care of."
Any good licensed daycare in Utah will have already addressed most of these
safety issues.
But, even the best child care providers may not be aware of all of the
hidden hazards. That's where the parents come in.
Don't be afraid to get a copy of the checklist and take it with you to your
daycare.
