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I am a newer provider and I am not sure if my hopes for parents are just too high.
I have a DCM who works nights. I watch DCGs 3 and 5 starting at 9:30PM straight through until 2:30PM the following day.
My concerns with these girls are numerous. A doctor actually reported them yesterday because the younger one has had both her bottom front teeth knocked out. DCM says children and youth services called her, she explained the girl knocked them out on cement, they called and verified with a previous doctor that DCM reported it a year ago and ended the situation there. Phone interview only.
DCM has picked the younger one up under the influence of marijuana. I had a friend stop by around the same time and we had to febreeze the house when she left it was so strong. Her car is filled with cigarette butts and the kids constantly smell like smoke so I am positive that was not it.
The younger child had what appeared to be a cigarette burn on her foot. Also, they regularly have bruises but not always in the same spot. My concern is less that someone is physically abusing them and more that they aren't being supervised. Older daughter has a large bruise on her hip. When my boyfriend asked her she said it was from her underwear. When I asked her, she told me she fell into a heater by her bed. When I asked where DCM was she said sleeping. The girls have shown up completely covered in marker. I am talking head to toe, on the clothes, under the clothes, everywhere. When I asked them who was watching them they tell me mom was sleeping.
The girls are similar heights but the younger one actually weighs more. She constantly comes in too small clothes. Usually around the 24 month range but I have seen smaller. I have to squeeze her into her pants and her stomach hangs out of her shirts. The first night they arrived after interviewing, they bedding and jackets were so dirty that I washed them before I could even let them use them. I described the bedding to my boyfriend by phone as, you could not wash our kids sheets for probably 2 years and they wouldn't have that kind of grime on them, and when he saw them he said that was an accurate description.
Both girls were still on sippy cups when they started a month ago. Older one still has frequent accidents at school and the younger one had never started potty training. I have started working on the potty training now. They don't so much talk as whine so I have to ask them to repeat many times and sometimes still can't understand even the 5 year old so getting a full story on anything really doesn't work. They often don't want to go home, throwing fits and crying even though we aren't doing anything too entertaining at the time. I asked older one why and after process of elimination, she likes mom, she likes mom's boyfriend, but her younger sister hurts her. I don't see that behavior so I kind of doubt it. Neither one is really aggressive or anything. They are very uncoordinated kids like I have never seen before but because of that they don't do stairs or try to step out of my van without waiting for me to help them, so I doubt they are supermanning it off furniture at home causing the bruises.
The girls also smell pretty bad. We check them when they come in because you can smell them several feet away and in the past we have found that 3 year old has dried poop on back and back of shirt yet her diaper was changed or the older one has dried poop bits in her underwear that have clearly been there a while but they also smell even when we can find no immediately cause other than lack of bathing. It often appears like DCM has dumped a dresser of unrelated clothes into their bag the first day of the week and doesn't take out dirty ones or put in new ones when the bag goes home daily.
DCM definitely loves DCGs but is it neglect?
I have a DCM who works nights. I watch DCGs 3 and 5 starting at 9:30PM straight through until 2:30PM the following day.
My concerns with these girls are numerous. A doctor actually reported them yesterday because the younger one has had both her bottom front teeth knocked out. DCM says children and youth services called her, she explained the girl knocked them out on cement, they called and verified with a previous doctor that DCM reported it a year ago and ended the situation there. Phone interview only.
DCM has picked the younger one up under the influence of marijuana. I had a friend stop by around the same time and we had to febreeze the house when she left it was so strong. Her car is filled with cigarette butts and the kids constantly smell like smoke so I am positive that was not it.
The younger child had what appeared to be a cigarette burn on her foot. Also, they regularly have bruises but not always in the same spot. My concern is less that someone is physically abusing them and more that they aren't being supervised. Older daughter has a large bruise on her hip. When my boyfriend asked her she said it was from her underwear. When I asked her, she told me she fell into a heater by her bed. When I asked where DCM was she said sleeping. The girls have shown up completely covered in marker. I am talking head to toe, on the clothes, under the clothes, everywhere. When I asked them who was watching them they tell me mom was sleeping.
The girls are similar heights but the younger one actually weighs more. She constantly comes in too small clothes. Usually around the 24 month range but I have seen smaller. I have to squeeze her into her pants and her stomach hangs out of her shirts. The first night they arrived after interviewing, they bedding and jackets were so dirty that I washed them before I could even let them use them. I described the bedding to my boyfriend by phone as, you could not wash our kids sheets for probably 2 years and they wouldn't have that kind of grime on them, and when he saw them he said that was an accurate description.
Both girls were still on sippy cups when they started a month ago. Older one still has frequent accidents at school and the younger one had never started potty training. I have started working on the potty training now. They don't so much talk as whine so I have to ask them to repeat many times and sometimes still can't understand even the 5 year old so getting a full story on anything really doesn't work. They often don't want to go home, throwing fits and crying even though we aren't doing anything too entertaining at the time. I asked older one why and after process of elimination, she likes mom, she likes mom's boyfriend, but her younger sister hurts her. I don't see that behavior so I kind of doubt it. Neither one is really aggressive or anything. They are very uncoordinated kids like I have never seen before but because of that they don't do stairs or try to step out of my van without waiting for me to help them, so I doubt they are supermanning it off furniture at home causing the bruises.
The girls also smell pretty bad. We check them when they come in because you can smell them several feet away and in the past we have found that 3 year old has dried poop on back and back of shirt yet her diaper was changed or the older one has dried poop bits in her underwear that have clearly been there a while but they also smell even when we can find no immediately cause other than lack of bathing. It often appears like DCM has dumped a dresser of unrelated clothes into their bag the first day of the week and doesn't take out dirty ones or put in new ones when the bag goes home daily.
DCM definitely loves DCGs but is it neglect?
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