As the news has flashed across the TV screens and has been reported in other media, the entire nation has gaped in utter disbelief at the shoddy and amateur manner in which the case has been handled. Each passing day has brought forth further news of the cavalier manner in which the local cops have gone about their work.

On March 9th, 2009 there was an accidental injury at my daycare by no fault of my own.  A child was sitting up in front of our lego play table.  She lost her balance, falling face forward onto the table causing it to slide the opposite way, and bumping into the legs of a toddler standing across.  This domino effect forced her to fall over on top of the first child, who was the only one injured.  I immediately administered first aid and used my best judgment in the care of the child.  I was running late for a previously scheduled doctor’s appointment so I gave my assistant follow-up directions.  The mother worked with another daycare parent of mine so I called her place of employment and informed her of what had occurred.  When the parents came to pick the child up at the end of the day, she was happily sitting up and playing…but I was in tears because I felt absolutely terrible that I couldn’t move fast enough to avoid the accident, which had caused minor injuries on her face.  It was one of those things that happen so fast, right in front of you, that you just can’t get to quick enough.  I understood the parents being upset since I have young children also and I would feel the same way.  They were concerned that maybe her nose could have been broken, which I assured them I had checked for that and cleaned the inside with a q-tip, but having her checked by a medical professional could confirm that.  They took her to urgent care that evening and called me the next morning to let me know that she had not suffered any internal injuries whatsoever (ie: no broken nose) and that she was doing much better.  I was very glad to hear that because I had such incredible feelings of and distress, wishing I could have done something different…just as any mother would feel with no ill intentions.  The father then told me that they had decided to withdraw her from my daycare because they wanted her to be somewhere with less “toddlers”, maybe just 2-3 other infants at the most.  I told him I respect his decision and that they were welcome to come and pick up her belongings that evening.  He said they had a follow-up appointment with the pediatrician that afternoon and they would come over after that.  Apparently, the doctor then had noticed she had child-size bite marks on her arm.  The parents informed me of this when they came to pick up her belongings and I was in shock.  The only thing that came to mind was when I had to move the play table she got hurt on and I went to get my 1st aid kit to use for her.  I was sincerely apologetic and concerned all over again.  They claimed that Child Protective Services had gotten involved, questioning the involvement of the parents.  I told the parents I would willingly share with CPS my incident report & summary of events from the prior day if asked.  I had also contacted my state licensing inspector to let him know what had happened and to ask what steps I needed to take.