Protect Yourself From the Financial Risk of Daycare Accidents

Recent studies show that 58% of working parents—over 6 million American adults—rely on child care centers to care for their children during the workday. Daycares have many responsibilities caring for the many infants, toddlers, and preschoolers entrusted to them. One of the biggest is protecting them from daycare accidents.

Falls on playground equipment are most common, and most likely to send a child under five to the emergency room. Having a plan to safeguard children from falls and other injury risks is critical for your daycare. Make sure safety’s no accident with these top tips.

Planning For Falls, Bee Stings, Bites, and Other Children’s Accidents and Injuries

Children are rapidly developing physically, mentally, and emotionally but most accident risks are outside their understanding or recognition. Your facility needs to monitor both their curiosity and lack of awareness. It should provide similar childproofing to what parents do at home, along with additional safeguards taking into account the well-being of all children across various ages and abilities.

First, your daycare should have a written plan for handling illness and injuries. This plan should include information such as:

• Any local, state or federal guidelines
• How to alert staff there is an emergency
• The symptoms of illness or injury (including poison) that should determine an immediate call to 911
• Location of the closest emergency care and its phone number
  • Who is responsible for updating this information
• Number of first aid kits and locations in the facility
• The number of staff who should have first aid and CPR training
  • Who is responsible for updates and checking supplies and expiration dates
• A policy for what to do if exposed to bodily fluids
• Developing medical and emergency consent forms
  • Who is responsible for updates
• Who stays with the child until parents arrive (at the facility or emergency room) in the event of an accident
• How to maintain the child-to-staff ratio if a staff member accompanies a child to the hospital
• What information is needed for children with special needs, disabilities, or allergies
• Procedures for handling children with life-threatening allergies
  • Location of EpiPens or other treatments
• Creating incident reports
• How to communicate with parents about a small injury versus a life-threatening emergency
• How to handle biting, hitting or bullying

This written plan should be distributed to staff and be easily accessible. Parents should also have a clear understanding of the daycare’s policies.

Next, your daycare should keep a careful eye on the main causes of children’s accidents and injuries, including:

The playground:

• Regularly check equipment for maintenance and keep cushioned, impact-absorbing surfaces underneath.
• Make sure children (and staff) understand rules or restrictions for equipment use, such as age-appropriateness of monkey bars or limiting the number of kids on the tire swing and how far away they must stay while waiting their turn.

Toys:

• Make sure only age-appropriate toys can be found with their respective child groups.
• Dispose of toys with broken pieces and keep toys clean.

Stairs:

• Make sure that gates block stairways (and doorways) to keep younger children from falling down stairs and prevent them from wandering off.

Cleaning supplies:

• Lock away these and any other dangerous chemicals.

Childproofing:

• Make sure that outlets are covered, cabinets locked, sharp edges guarded, cords and strings contained, and plastic bags are disposed of or put away.

Bookshelves:

• Secure all bookshelves or heavy furniture to the wall so they don’t tip over onto children.

Stove:

• Never leave the stove unattended and watch for little fingers near hot burners and pans.

Sharp objects:

• Keep all scissors, knives, and other sharp items securely locked away.

Weather:

• Keep walkways and entrances dry and free from snow and ice.

Water:

• Make sure no standing water (such as buckets or wading pools) is left unattended, and clean up spills.
• Supervise children around toilets and sinks

Although this list may seem extensive, when it’s followed closely, you’re not only reducing accident risk, but you’re also addressing what can help prevent fatal accidents in infants and toddlers, which is a win-win for everyone.

Last, your daycare should consider offering parents a daycare accident plan from A-G Specialty Insurance. Accidents can still happen despite your precautions and planning, and it’s best to be prepared for these unexpected medical expenses. A-G can help.

Here’s how A-G’s accident plan works:

• If a child is injured at daycare and receives medical care, the family’s primary health insurance will be used first. However, that will still leave all of the out-of-pocket costs for the family to cover, which could be $8,700 for an individual and $17,400 for a family in 2022.
• The daycare accident plan covers those out-of-pocket costs, relieving the family of the financial burden.
• But it also does more: it may keep families from suing the daycare for damages.

Having an accident plan from A-G Specialty Insurance is a low-cost solution that has big benefits for everyone if an accident happens.

Talk to AG-Administrators About a Daycare Injury Policy

You have big responsibilities keeping children safe and your business running smoothly. Lessen your burden with A-G. We’ve been protecting children in daycare all the way through college from accident treatment expenses since 1983, so you can trust we understand your situation and needs.

But you may find that the best part of working with A-G is that you get this protection without the hassle or headache of claims management—our industry-leading technology handles it all for you!

Find out how we can help you protect your daycare and your families from the unexpected financial risk of a daycare accident. Contact us for a quote today.