Daycare Owner Kills 3-Year-Old Girl Because She Wouldn't Take Off Her Coat

[moriah]

46. But if you choose older family members for caregivers, you may risk DHS involvement or worse.

Sadly, I've known three children who have died from drowning while in the care of their grandmothers while their parents were at work. They mishandled both IMHO (brought charges on one lady who lost both her grandsons on the same day -- she was taking care of an infant in another room and changing over a load of laundry, didn't hear the 3 and 5 year olds sneak outside to try to go swim in the unfenced pond on the property, they didn't bring charges against the other grandmother primarily because she was a nurse and managed to keep the toddler physically alive when she climbed into the pool after someone left a door open, the parents donated her organs, but they gave the family a lot of unnecessary grief).

And my grandfather was my primary caregiver until I ran into the street too many times and they felt I was safer in preschool. He had COPD and a heart condition, and could not chase me. If something had happened to me in his care, I'm certain in this day and age they would have brought charges against my family for choosing a caregiver that wasn't capable.

Taking care of toddlers is a job for the young, sadly. If an elderly family member isn't working, there may be a reason why, given that many people are forced to work past retirement age if they're capable.