If you have already enrolled a child in daycare, you have at least some experience to go by. If your friends or acquaintances have their kids in daycare, you can ask them. If you don’t have any of those resources to draw upon, then you’ll need to research daycare facilities on your own. Internet chatgroups and websites can be helpful, but the first place to start is with the government agency that regulates childcare.

Chatgroups and other internet information can be biased and inaccurate. A bad review can be caused by a trivial misunderstanding between daycare operator and parent. Perhaps a parent was having a bad day and then became offended because
the parent mistook the tone of a daycare employee. Then the parent posts something negative online. Those are unreliable reports and should be double checked.

The best place to get reliable information about the quality of daycare facilities is the Florida Department of Children and Families.  From its homepage, click on “programs” and then “childcare.” At that page, you can search all the childcare providers in your zip code by clicking on “provider search.” All you have to do is select which county you’re in, input your zip code and select which provider type you’re looking for.

Once the list of daycare providers appears, you can view their inspection records to see if they regularly live up to the quality standards required by Florida law. If a provider has been “reinspected,” it is because it has not meet the inspection requirements and were given a second chance to correct the issues.

Some facilities I investigated had violations ranging from improper record keeping to failing to have a staff person properly trained in first aid and CPR to not having the required protective mats under their swingset. If these violations are corrected, no further action is taken. However, repeat offenders are subject to administrative action. Information about providers that have been subject to administrative action is coming soon.

At the same screen where you click on “Provider Search,” you can click on “Administrative Actions, Publications, Reports” along the left hand column. Once the government starts posting information there, you’ll be able to discover the worst daycare facilities in Florida.

A great tool to utilize when you’re doing a provider search is the checkbox for “Gold Seal Accredited” childcare providers. By checking that box, the search return will only display the very best of daycare facilities in your zip code. Gold Seal Accredited programs provide a level of care that exceeds the minimum child care licensing standards established by Florida law by meeting the higher standards of the approved accrediting agencies.

Children of that age are more susceptible to poisoning and often do not understand the dangers such substances present. Otherwise harmless substances found in the home can cause young children serious injury.

Medications were found to be the most common cause of accidental child poisoning. Almost half of all child injuries from poisoning involved either prescription or non-prescription medication. Those types of childhood poisoning occurred mostly in two situations: those involving parents administering an incorrect dosage and those involving unsupervised children ingesting incorrect medication or too much medication.

Household cleaning products and pesticides were the second leading cause of childhood poisoning injuries. They accounted for 21 percent of all child poisoning injuries. Other child poisoning causes include cosmetics, vitamins, and dietary supplements.

In this country, 71,000 children are injured each year from medication related poisonings alone. That included prescription and over-the-counter drugs. The total number of annual child poisonings is around 140,000.

This is a staggering number when you consider how simple it is to prevent accidental child poisoning. Simply store your medications and household chemicals out of your children’s reach. Take the short amount of time necessary to read and understand medication directions.

Never store your medicine in purses, bags, drawers, on counter-tops or other places kids can get to them. If you can’t store your household chemicals high enough to be out of the reach of children, use child locks on those cabinets.

Keep household chemicals in their original containers, and never near food so they are not confused with food. Also never refer to medications as “candy” to your children or say they taste like candy. This will only encourage them to overdose if they gain unsupervised access to them.

Experts also reassure us that we should not worry – that stealing things as a child does not indicate a future propensity for theft or other crime. Perri Klass recently wrote a wonderful blog in the New York Times about her experience with this phenomenon and reports that a prominent pediatrician says “most children with take something sometime” and that it is just as much a part of growing up as sleep problems, toilet training, the terrible twos, ad infinitum.

Parents must realize that because stealing is just as much a part of maturing as all the other things mentioned, we should not blame ourselves or our child for such behavior. But that does not mean that parents should ignore it. Children of different ages steal for different reasons and should be dealt with differently.

Toddlers who take things cannot even be considered to be thieves because they just can’t understand rules at that point. Klass recommends setting limits is the best way to care for a child that age. They should begin learning that not everything they touch becomes theirs and that they need to share.

How you set those limits is up to you. Renowned author Stephen Covey tells a story of teaching his daughter to share in which he concludes that young children cannot share until they feel like they have owned an object. At the daughter’s birthday party, she received many toys. Covey allowed his daughter to possess her toys for enough time for her to develop a sense of ownership before asking her to share the toy.

Now what about the 5- or 6- or 7-year-old child who steals? They are old enough to know the rules. What if you find them stealing from you, a friend or even a store? Again, do not worry. This type of behavior is extremely common. Though parents don’t always catch them, it is likely unusual for a child to go through childhood without ever stealing anything

Older children steal for different reasons than younger ones though. We, as parents, must understand what is going on there so we can best address the issue. Older children most often steal as part of a testing phase. They’re testing the boundaries of behavior. They’re looking to see what, if anything, happens as a result of different behaviors.

We should use these teachable moments when we catch children stealing to fully explain and demonstrate the ramifications of their actions. That doesn’t mean reading them the riot act or touring them around the county jail in a scared straight attempt.

It means telling your children that stealing is wrong and why it’s wrong. It’s important to make those ideas concrete to them by doing things like eliciting an apology and requiring that they have to either give the item back or pay for it.

Unfortunately, some children do exhibit troubling patterns of theft that should sound alarm bells for parents. So-called symbolic theft should be addressed differently. An example of symbolic theft is stealing someone’s valuables and destroying them. In addition, repeated theft should be dealt with professionally right away.

Other than those two situations, we shouldn’t worry ourselves about childhood stealing. The key in dealing with it is being evenhanded. Demonstrate consequences, discuss ethics and morals, but don’t treat your child like a criminal.

The world of preteen and teen sexual exploration has changed dramatically since today’s parents were that age. Since our culture pushes our kids to be ’sexy’ before puberty begins, it’s more important than ever that we give our children the best “owner’s manual” that we can to their newly developing bodies.

The Talk helps parents explain the power of sexuality in a way that promotes healthy, age-appropriate behavior and draws connections between sexual biology and the portrayal of sex as seen in this techno-erotic culture of ours.

Much earlier than we imagine, our daughters especially begin noticing the new power that comes with developing a tween or teen female body. They are bombarded with marketing messages insisting that being ’sexy’ is critical to social acceptance.

If you as their parents do not step in to shape your children’s beliefs and character and provide some sane and trustworthy guidance, then they will learn it from their friends or worse, the television and other media where sex is a commodity to be traded and bartered in the pursuit of other desirable things like social status, affection or otherwise.

The Talk helps parents explain the social power that comes from looking sexy, and the personal responsibility each of us has to use that power appropriately.

I was impressed by the connections that Maxwell draws between biology and culture. She argues that tweens and teens don’t understand why Victoria’s Secret is such a powerful draw. Maxwell says that tweens and teens can benefit greatly from learning about the sexual drive in a context that describes it as part of the miracle of procreation.

Maxwell argues that if we properly explain the biology of sexuality, intercourse and pregnancy, then our youth will be less confused by our hyper-sexual culture and will be more apt to behave responsibly.

Since then, the blogosphere has erupted in debate about whether drinking while breastfeeding is harmful or whether the police were right. Only one thing is clear – that there are no clear answers. In fact, we can’t really be sure the woman was drunk at the time. While she pleaded guilty to child neglect, police did not administer a blood-alcohol test because they aren’t necessary for child neglect charges. Police said they knew she was drunk from the way she was behaving, but reports say no more than that.

Some bloggers think the police abused their authority even if Anvarinia had been drunk. “Since when is breast-feeding while drunk a crime?” said Dr. Amy Tuteur, a retired obstetrician and gynecologist who writes the Skeptical OB. If Anvarinia had been feeding her baby formula, “no one would have bothered to check what was in the bottle,” Tuteur opined. “You can do a lot more damage by mixing formula wrong.”

The thing is that no one can know what effect drunken breast feeding has on babies. No one has ever studied it directly because of the eithical implications of conducting studies whereby researchers induce intoxication in breast feeding mothers. The only evidence we have on the subject is anecdotal, which does not allow conclusions to be drawn one way or the other.

Most interest groups advise against drinking and breastfeeding but others see no harm in limited alcohol consumption among breast feeding mothers. It has also been said that alcohol assists a woman with making milk. Doctors report that alcohol remains in the body for two to three hours after consumption. Other interesting posts can be found at http://ecochildsplay.com

Commentators who feel the police came down too hard on the mother argue that the child’s best interests were harmed when its mother was put in jail for 5 years. They argue that drunken breast feeding is the lesser of the two evils. Police, however, argue that Anvarinia was arrested for more than just drunken breast feeding. Police say nothing more than that it was the totality of the circumstances and that they would have arrested the woman on child neglect charges even if she had not been nursing her infant drunk.

The Florida Child Injury Lawyer Blog urges you to take simple steps to ensure your safety and the safety of your child in traffic. Driving on Florida’s roads is almost always the most dangerous thing we do each day by a long measure. In the United States alone, car accidents are responsible for one death every 13 minutes.

One simple step can go a long way in reducing traffic fatalities: use proper restraints for you and your child. Using proper child-safety equipment in your car or vehicle can decrease your child’s risk of suffering injury by 80 percent. That bears repeating … 80 percent. Just putting your child into a car seat reduces their risk of injury by 80 percent.

Let’s review the different types of child safety equipment available today for cars, trucks and other vehicles. Different types of safety restraints are appropriate for children of different ages.

For infants younger than one year, their weight determines the appropriate safety seat. If they weigh less than 20 pounds, you should use a rear-facing infant seat. If your child is larger however, in the range of 20-35 pounds, you should use a rear-facing convertible seat instead of a rear-facing infant seat. In either case, be sure to fasten the car seat to your vehicle’s back seat.

If your child is between 35-40 pounds, you can turn them around into a front-facing convertible car seat. Remember though to always fasten this car seat in your back seat, not the front.

Once your child weighs more than 40 pounds, it’s time for a booster seat. Booster seats are typically appropriate from the age of four to eight and should be used until your child is at least 57 inches tall. Once they have grown to that height, they can safely use regular seat belts as adults.

For each of these child safety devices, make sure the seat top is at least one inch above your child’s head. If it is not, head, neck or back injury can result.

Now that you know which type of seat is appropriate for your child, let’s look at proper installation and other common questions:

Proper installation for rear-facing seats

• Strap everything down tightly and securely. Be sure the car seat is strapped to your back seat tightly and that the harness fits your child snugly. If the seat moves more than one inch in any direction, you haven’t installed it securely enough.

• Improperly installed car seats can be just as dangerous as not using one. Never put a rear-facing car seat in your front seat if your front passenger air bag is active. In that position, the air bag will hit the back of the seat where your baby’s head is. Serious injuries and death have resulted from such impacts.

• Check that the car seat does not allow your baby’s head to fall forward. If your car seat did not come with an angle adjustment mechanism, you can change the angle yourself safely by simply inserting a rolled-up towel or something similar under your child’s car seat at the place where your vehicle’s back and bottom meet.

• Still having trouble? There may be a certified Child Passenger Safety (CPS) Technician in your area who can help. Just Google CPS Technician.

Troubleshooting

1) If your baby slides to the side or down in his or her car seat, never pad under your child. Always apply padding around him or her. Don’t use safety inserts unless they are manufacturer approved for that specific car seat.

2) Premature babies should not ride in car seats unless they have been tested to see if they are able.

Proper installation for forward-facing seats

• Again, check that the car seat is strapped into your vehicle tightly and that the harness fits your child snugly. If the car seat can move one inch in any direction, you haven’t secured it well enough.

• Make sure the shoulder straps are at or above your child’s shoulders.

• Check the instructions to be sure you have run the seat belt through the correct path for the seat to face forward. It can be easy to run the seat belt through the path meant for the rear-facing position.

• All vehicles newer than September 2000 have tether straps that run from the top of the car seat to anchor it to your vehicle. Tethers protect you child’s head from moving too far forward in the even of an accident or abrupt stop. If you have an older car, buy a tether kit and install it. Do not use a tether kit meant for a different seat.

Troubleshooting

1) All children younger than 13 should ride in the back seat. If you absolutely must transport more children than can fit (safely) in the back seat, the next best option is to have a child who is in a forward-facing seat ride in the front. If you must do this, move your vehicle seat as far backwards as you can. The goal is to move the seat and the child as far away from the dashboard and air bag as you can.

2) Remember, these safety precautions are simple and should be followed by everyone who drives your child. If your child is driven by someone else (child care or school, etc), they are in the right seat for their age and weight and the seat is installed properly. Ask your day care center to read their written protocol for driving children. Check to see if it includes provisions for driver’s licenses, staff-to-child ratios, and supervision by someone other than the driver.

Proper installation for booster seats

There are only three things you need to do to properly install a booster seat:

• Booster seats require both the lap belt and shoulder belt portions of the seat belt. Never allow a child in a booster seat to wear just the lap belt portion. That exposes him or her to severe head and neck injuries in the event of an accident as there is no restraint to secure the upper body from moving.

• The shoulder belt must cross the center of your child’s chest and shoulder. If the shoulder belt is not in the middle of the chest and shoulder, it can cause internal injuries in a crash.

• The lap belt must be placed across your child’s upper thighs, not his or her belly. Again, if the lap belt is placed across the belly, internal injuries can occur.

Troubleshooting

1) If your car’s back seat has only lap belts and no shoulder belts, you should not use a booster seat. Instead, find a forward-facing car seat that is built for older and larger children. In addition, some travel vests are compatible with lap belts. In some types of vehicles, you can install aftermarket shoulder belts.

2) Manufacturers sell two different types of booster seats: high-back and backless. Use the high-back models if your car does not have a head rest or if your car has low seats. The backless variety are more convenient because they are easier to move from car to car. In addition they are almost always cheaper.

Adult seat belts

Once your children are about 4′ 9″ tall, they can wear adult seat belts. Just be sure the fit as described in the booster seat section above and that children do not put the shoulder belt behind their back. Also, never let children share seat belts.

In Rodriguez v. Favalora, the court ruled that Florida law does not allow victims who remember their childhood abuse later in life to file suit against those who negligently allowed the abuse if the statute of limitation has already run.

Now, Florida Statute section 95.11(7) does allow victims who recall their childhood abuse later in life to sue their abusers even if the statute of limitation has already run.

The intense trauma that results from childhood molestation can cause substantial psychological damage including the loss of all memories associated with the events. Demands of secrecy by an adult authority figure alone may cause a child to suppress his or her abuse.

To combat this effect and bring abusers to justice, Florida’s “delayed discovery doctrine” allows victims of childhood abuse to sue their abusers in civil court within four years from the time the victim discovers an injury that was caused by the past abuse. Normally, a victim must file suit before they turn 26 or within four years after they become independent of the abuser (whichever comes first).

Without the delayed discovery doctrine, victims of childhood abuse who only remembered their abuse after the standard statute of limitation had run would not be able to sue their abusers. Now, Florida’s Third Circuit has ruled that the delayed discovery doctrine is only available to victims who sue abusers who act with intent and not those who act only negligently.

The case involved a man who was molested while in a foster home operated by the Catholic Church. His claim against the church was that it acted negligently in not providing a safe foster home where he would be free of abuse. However, his claim was denied because he alleged the church acted negligently and not intentionally.

The effect of this ruling is that those organizations and institutions that fail to protect our children against molesters and abusers when the organizations and institutions had a legal duty to do so (as in this case) will often go unpunished in civil court in cases of delayed discovery.

The delayed discovery doctrine will not allow people who intentionally abuse children to escape liability in situations of delayed discovery because those abusers acted with intent. However, if the abuser’s employer shares in the fault through their negligence, then the Third Circuit just gave them a free pass in cases of delayed discovery.

This ruling defeates the purpose of tort law. Civil liability for wrongful behaviour is designed to serve two purposes: make the victim whole to the greatest extent that the law can, and to deter the harmful behaviour in the future.

If organizations and institutions are allowed to escape liability for their negligence just because they are lucky enough to have harmed a victim who does not remember his or her abuse until after the statute of limitations has run, then the institutions are not deterred as much as they should be.

Florida law should subject negligent child abusers to the same liability and deterrent effect that we subject intentional abusers to. That way, the businesses, churches and other organizations charged with protecting our children have the greatest number of incentives possible to act responsibly.

Each community recognizes Child Abuse Prevention Month a little differently, but it’s easy to find ways to join and show your support. Different ways to participate in Child Abuse Prevention month include participating in fundraisers to support prevention activities and treatment facilities for victims, and candlelight vigils held as a remembrance. Many child abuse prevention resources exist. Here is a listing of organizations for you to contact to get involved:

Childhelp

Childhelp provides assistance to victims of child abuse and neglect. The organization focuses its efforts on prevention, intervention and treatment of child abuse. The Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline, 1-800-4-A-CHILD is a 24-hour hotline free to callers across the country. Childhelp’s also provides residential treatment services,  advocacy,  foster care,  group homes, and child abuse education and training.

Circle of Parents

Circle of Parents works to prevent child abuse and neglect and to strengthen families through mutual self-help parent support groups and children’s programs. This national network spans 26 statewide organizations including Florida.

National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome

Learn about shaken baby syndrome, shaken baby syndrome prevention programs, and training for professionals and parents nationwide.

National Exchange Club Child Abuse Prevention Services

Boasts a national network of child abuse prevention centers that helps at-risk parents replace patterns of abusive behavior with effective skills for nonviolent parenting.

Zero to Three

Promotes the healthy infant and toddler development by supporting and strengthening families, communities, and those who support them.