What Should Parents in Plano Look For in a Safe Daycare Center?

What Should You Consider When Seeking a Safe Daycare Center?

Daycare centers in Plano are required to follow specific safety laws, also known as minimum standards, set by the state. These standards cover everything from how many children one caregiver can watch to how caregivers should respond in emergencies.

Unfortunately, we’ve seen firsthand that not all centers follow these rules, even licensed daycare centers. That’s why it’s important for parents to go beyond a center’s website and promises to get a real understanding of how the center operates on a daily basis.

Here are some questions to ask and operational aspects to pay close attention to:

• Are Caregivers Trained in First Aid and CPR? Texas requires caregivers to be certified in CPR and first aid, which can help save your child’s life. If your child gets hurt at the daycare center, a caregiver’s actions in those first few minutes are crucial. And if you child is injured at the Plano daycare center, caregivers are required to report it to parents via an incident report within 48 hours. If a center doesn’t follow that rule, that’s a red flag.
• Do Caregivers Know How to Handle Emergencies? Whether it’s a fire drill, a choking hazard, or a reaction to a food allergy, caregivers at daycare centers in Plano need to respond quickly and correctly. For example, 1 in 13 kids has a food allergy, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If your child has a severe reaction, would the caregiver know how to properly use an EpiPen?
• Does the Daycare Center Operate “In Ratio”? Child-to-caregiver ratios are so important. The state has clear rules mandating how many children one caregiver can watch at a Plano daycare center. When a center operates “out of ratio,” meaning too many children are assigned to a single caregiver, little ones can get seriously hurt or have their needs neglected.
• Have Caregivers Been Vetted with Background Checks and Proper Training? Every caregiver at a licensed daycare center in Plano should:
  • Pass a thorough background check
  • Complete required training before starting
  • Receive ongoing training at the daycare center

Sadly, we’ve helped families whose children were harmed by unqualified caregivers who never should have been hired in the first place, subjecting little ones to abuse, neglect, and unsafe discipline methods.

• How Closely are Caregivers and Children Supervised at the Daycare Center? Good supervision starts at the top. The daycare director should actively monitor caregivers throughout the day, either by walking the halls or using security cameras. Caregivers themselves should stay alert and avoid distractions. We have helped families after children were seriously hurt at daycare centers, suffering burns from bottle warmers, falls, or crushed fingers caught in doors because they were improperly supervised by caregivers. In some cases, little ones were able to wander off entirely from the daycare center’s premises without anyone noticing.

What Should You Look for When Touring a Plano Daycare Center?

A tour gives you a firsthand look at a Plano daycare center's overall operations and conditions. You can see how caregivers interact with kids and how clean the center and its classrooms are. It’s also your chance to see if what the daycare director and caregivers say matches what they do.

During your tour, be on the lookout for:

• Security Cameras: Ask if the daycare center has cameras and whether you’ll have access to the footage. Some centers in Plano have live streaming capabilities that allow parents to view feeds of their child’s classroom throughout the workday, which can provide peace of mind.
• Pay Attention to Class Size and Ratios: We addressed the importance of asking about child-to-caregiver ratios above. During the tour, be sure to take note of how many kids are actually in each classroom and how many caregivers are present. If a classroom feels chaotic or understaffed, that’s a red flag.
• The Center’s Licensing and Accreditation: Ask to see the Plano daycare center’s state license and check to see that the license is current. (You can also cross-check it with the state’s online daycare database.) You can also find out if the center has received Texas Rising Star accreditation, which recognizes centers that go above and beyond the minimum standards.

Our Plano daycare injury lawyers have also created this free daycare safety guide with additional steps and information on how to determine whether or not a center follows the minimum standards.

More Tips to Find a Safe Daycare Center in Plano

Try to connect with other parents in your neighborhood or local parenting groups, such as Plano Moms and Plano Moms Talk on Facebook, to learn about their positive and negative experiences at the daycare center.

Was Your Child Injured at a Daycare Center in Plano? Contact The Button Law Firm.

If your child was physically or emotionally harmed because a daycare center in Plano, Texas, did not comply with Texas daycare safety laws, contact our experienced daycare injury lawyers at The Button Law Firm. Our Plano lawyers are ready to listen, fight for your family, and help your family move forward. Our legal team at The Button Law Firm is recognized on the prestigious Texas Super Lawyers list, and we can help guide you after a traumatizing incident involving your child. We work on contingency, meaning we don’t charge you or collect any upfront fees to get started on your case. Call us at 214-699-4409, email us at [email protected], or fill out a contact form for a free case evaluation.