Another Daycare Safety Question

Frankly, none of it sounds safe. The slide, the concrete, nothing. I don't think you're a helicopter mom at all. I wouldn't allow my child to play in such an area.

I think you already see that you are being a helicopter mom and over protective. If there is sand below the slide, and he is able to get up it himself, than it should be fine. There are tons of things in life that kids love that they can hurt doing. Are you never going to let him ride a bike? Play at a park? Even riding in the car comes with risk. Let him be a kid.

I have to agree with Scarlett. I'm guessing this is your first & only child, isn't it?

Kids will & can get hurt anywhere, and with proper supervision, while following the proper safety measures. My daughter took a header into a wooden coffee table corner & split the around her eyebrow open to where you could see inside the wound & it required stitches - and I was standing RIGHT THERE. She has walked into walls, tripped on her own feet, not watched she's going, fallen off a swing, a bike, etc. Guess what? She's fine.

Are you not happy with the daycare, in general? Because it sounds like you are grasping for things to be "wrong" with place, and looking for things to worry about.

Either you need to find a daycare that satisfies you, or you need to take a step back & look at your level of worry. The thing is, I have a feeling you will find something wrong no matter where you take him. While some worry is normal, from a stranger's point of view, yours seems escalated.

A 1 inch side on the 7 foot slide? Are you sure you're not exaggerating a bit? I find that hard to believe. He's 2.5, not 1 year old. You said yourself that he corrected himself. He's not going to fall of the ladder or slide. You want him to gain coordination & learn how climb & maintain his balance, right? You want him to develop, right? They you need to relax. He's going to fall & get hurt - he's a kid. You will hinder your kid more than help him you subconsciously project your fears onto him.

Daycare centers get inspected quite often by the state, and if this was slide was not up to the requirements, the center would've been made to correct the issue. You can look up the daycare centers inspection reports through your local health department's website, most likely.

I don't believe you are being a helicopter mom. I believe that sounds extremely unsafe. Children get hurt and die in daycare way too often because the playgrounds simply are unsafe and unmanned. I work hard to find ways to entertain my daycare children without risking their safety. Everyone should.

I have what is probably a similar slide? About 6 feet and wavy..but the sides are more like 3-4 inches really..just a curved plastic (mine is a backyard set...standard issue slide sorta deal). But when we built it (from a kit from Menards...you buy the kit with hardware and swings, etc, but go pick your own lumber from the list of required items.)
I did not want the standard ladder-rung type deal to get up top to the little platform/fort part to access the slide (and there are steering wheels and a telecope up there as well). My FIL had just built his deck, so I asked him if it was possible to build a mini-version of the steps he had just done for the back of my swingset. I knew toddlers and young preschoolers (2 is a preschooler here) would need to climb it easily and safely (including his own granddaughter!). So thats what we did and I am SOOO glad we did! The steps are a low step-up each, it has mostly enclosed sides with handrails. Its not all enclosed however and occasionally a shoe gets caught, etc...but for me its much safer than a ladder for 2 year olds. They are actually steps.

My guess is this place has previously passed licensing inpections when this equipment was installed (centers will not invest tens of thousands of dollars on such equipment without knowing its going to pass licensing requirements). Home care could be different and have to make changes after the fact if they already had the stuff (for their own kids likely) then began daycare.

If you really are unhappy with so many of these things, you may want to look for a new situation. Now you have a better idea of some of these things to look for that would ease your mind. When he was a newborn and you were seeking care, I am sure NONE of this sort of stuff was really on your priority list. You were probably looking for cost, location, hours, ratio of kids to teachers, feeding and sleeping situations, etc...and now that your son is older...more things have come to your attention as he explores his world and he grows and changes.

Yes, he needs to explore his world, and yes, I am sure they are within licensing guidelines, and yes, he is likely to get some bumps and bruises...that is the nature of toddlers and any young child. But really, you need to feel at ease while you work and have your own productive day away from him. No matter if anyone tells you you are being a helicopter mom or whatever, you still need to feel OK about his day.

Best luck to you.

No and if the edges on the slide cannot be fixed call your child care lic. agency and ask questions about safety. In a big county like LA not so many visits are made to the day care facilities.

Oh my, SS - what are you going to do when your kids start riding bikes and worse, driving a car?!

I understand being concerned, but kids will get hurt. You cannot worry yourself over things like this - you will never be at peace.

If you are this concerned with the daycare center that you have posted two questions about safety, maybe you should consider another center. Or, look internally at whether this is really about you and your worry personality. Either way, find a solution so you can have some peace!

You said DH was with you and witnessed this. What does he have to say?

Maybe mention it to the providers and see how they react. Ask that your son be watched a little more closely on this piece of equipment until he is a little older. But be aware - they will start to take you less and less seriously if you bring something like this up each week!

Good luck!

Think about how many hundreds or even thousands of children have climbed up that slide and slid down that slide without falling off and getting injured because they learned balance, coordination, and how to self-correct when playing. His leg going over the side isn't an indicator of anything bad or dangerous. You just have to trust that your child is learning good balance, obeys safety rules, and that the staff supervises appropriately at all times.

The truth is, nothing is ever perfectly safe. Best thing you can do is teach him how to climb safely, and to use the equipment. Confident, but careful is the mantra. I've never seen a slide with just a 1-inch tall side though...that does seem rather short.

I know you have had many responses and have already updated your original question - but I just wanted to add that rather than seeing you as overprotective, I see you having issues with this daycare period. A similar situation happened to me and I changed daycares. Right away, things felt better. You will know when you are at the right place because you won't question things such as safety and you won't feel anxious in the least. I would encourage you to check out other childcare centers and see if it is just a wrong fit where you are at.
Trust me, it makes all the difference!

Trust your intuition!

If this daycare is licensed, the slide would have been inspected and passed, otherwise they would have to have it removed. If you have issues, talk to the daycare about your concerns and see what they have to say and ask about injuries, licensing, etc.

If you're concerned that is all that matters, is it to the point you want to change your daycare location? Do you have another location as a backup? If you continue to feel this way you should probably change places. Good luck I know it's a hard to change.

hahahahaa! You would have hated the playground next to where I grew up.
Yes, playground injuries to happy, Yes you can prevent them. But no you can't stop everything. RELAX!!!!!

Toddlers should be using slides much shorter than that. They should still be using much more the 2 step slide size. I would say this new director seems to be on top of things.