Day care owner charged with child abuse
In print: Saturday, August 23, 2008
A woman who runs a day care center out of her home was arrested Friday on one count of aggravated child abuse. Police say a happy, alert 1-year-old girl was dropped off at Stephanie Spurgeon's Palm Harbor house Thursday. When family members picked her up, she was sluggish, sleepy and then became unresponsive. She was taken to a hospital where she is being treated for serious injuries consistent with shaken baby syndrome or similar trauma. Spurgeon, 37, was booked into the Pinellas County Jail. No bail had been set late Friday.
I realize that I have been very privileged to have always had my parents and my husbands parents to babysit my kids when they were little. Some families have no other choice but to look for a babysitter outside of their own family. If I would have been in that position, I'm not sure how I would have handled it. You hear so often of children being abused while in the care of a babysitter. It is so important that you research all the information you can on any prospective care giver. I believe that more children than any of us realize are abused in one way or another while at their baby sitter's homes, or even if the babysitter comes to the child's home. For a variety of reasons a child will not always speak up to tell you what is happening to them.
Don't be so quick to give your children over to complete strangers just because at first glance the prospective babysitter seems nice. Find out all that you can about them first. Ask for the names and phone numbers of the other children's parents that this person takes care of. Call them & ask questions. Find out how the other children respond to this person. Try your best to find out how this person reacts when irritated with the children. Be a pest if necessary, but keep asking until you feel you know this person who is going to have your children in her care for the better part of each work day.
Nobody deserves to go through the agony of finding out that their most precious child was mistreated, perhaps injured, while you were away from them. It happens quickly and by people you would never suspect could behave in such a horrible way. Do your research thoroughly. When you are confident you have found out all that you can and are satisfied that your child will be safe, then and only then should you feel reassured that your child will be safe and happy when you return at the end of the work day to pick them up.
To view original article, click on title of post
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Stumble It!
2 comments:
Very good thoughts here however most cases of SBS abusers are the parent,step parent or boyfriend of the mother.
Stephanie is a childcare professional with 14 years of experience and training, including SBS. Her present and past child care families are in support of Stephanie as well as her fellow providers. She handled herself with a loving manner to all her children in care and even past families still visit her.She knew how to handle every situation and would never hurt a baby or child.
This was the baby's first day in her care as the baby's 17 yo. mother went to high school.
Please let us not be so quickly to judge someone that many believe is wrongly accused. SBS has gray areas and investigators need to do their job instead of arresting whom ever is convenient.
The child care community has lost a loving,patient,caring,educated, professional child care provider and her present child care families along with past families and those who know Stephanie are standing behind her innocense.
Research is helpful, but it will not prevent an adult from inflicting injury. It is essential to talk to the caregiver, ensure they know the danger of shaking a young child, have a plan to cope with the inevitable moments of frustration, and have made a commitment to follow that plan.
A 2005 study found that the risk of inflicted injury is much higher in "family" child care settings. Sociologists call the presence of another adult the "guardian effect."
Frustration can cause momentary "rage" behavior that is quite out of the ordinary. Unfortunately, the demands of child care can lead to that frustration more than we wish to recognize.
The take away: if a parent doesn't talk to her/his caregiver about SBS prevention (and SIDS), they haven't done all that they could to help protect their child.
Post a Comment