How Does This Sound To You?

[Unregistered]

Im registered but Im unregistered for privacy reasons.

Unfortunately one of the 2 year olds in my class that just started daycare ended up with a broken collar bone that grandma claimed happened in our care. The story grandma and the parents gave us is that after the child was picked up & taken home by grandma, she went to sleep & woke up with a broken collar bone. The very next day the entire family shows up after the ER visit stating that the dr said the break came from a fall or abuse from a teacher. But, the child was never hurt did not show any apparent signs of injury and was doing great on her 3rd day of care. At the time of pick up grandma said that the child hates daycare and another child hurts her arm. Of course when my co-teacher and I didnt give the response the family wanted to hear, we were accused of abuse. Everyone who saw the child the previous day gave the same story, yet we are "covering stuff up". The family wants us to pay medical bills but we have proof that the injury did not happen in our care.


Does this story sound fishy to anyone else? There is no way the break happened in our care and that the child fell asleep with the break she had. I feel so bad knowing any child I care for has been hurt. But this story is not adding up. What do you guys think?

[NightOwl]

You said you had proof. What kind of proof? That could be your hole in one. AND you could sue the family for slander.

[playground1]

I can tell you my story. Many years ago I was looking for babysitting jobs to earn extra money. I put a little ad on the internet and said that I only spoke English and that I was looking for families that spoke English.

So this lady calls and says she'd like a sitter for her son. I explained that I usually did a short interview first. We agreed to meet at her place, she does the barest of interviews and then tells me "as part of the interview" that she's going out for "a bit" and I should stay with her son. I remind her that I don't speak German and she says that's no problem, he's got a friend over to play and I just need to make sure they don't get into any trouble. I KNEW this was a bad idea, watching two kids whose language I don't speak, but I was desperate for the money so I did it anyway.

The boys were playing in his bedroom, I was sitting on the floor reading a book. He had one of those bunkbeds with a slide. He suddenly fell off, no crying, stood back up. I asked him if he was okay, he said yes, and went back to playing. Mom comes home, pays me and everything is fine.

Next day I get a call from her. The boy had apparently broken his arm in the fall and no one knew it! She asked me a bunch of questions, but there was really nothing to tell and thank GOD he was old enough to tell her nothing had happened and the other boy was there to back it up. I mean, I could have gone to jail, because she clearly though I had done something to him.

Moral of the story, is that kids bones are still pretty flexible and they can break things without there seeming to be anything wrong. It's possible it happened in your care, but if there's no evidence, they certainly can't blame you. But I would definitely talk to a lawyer if it looks like this is where it's going. Protect yourself!

[Play Care]

Im registered but Im unregistered for privacy reasons.

Unfortunately one of the 2 year olds in my class that just started daycare ended up with a broken collar bone that grandma claimed happened in our care. The story grandma and the parents gave us is that after the child was picked up & taken home by grandma, she went to sleep & woke up with a broken collar bone. The very next day the entire family shows up after the ER visit stating that the dr said the break came from a fall or abuse from a teacher. But, the child was never hurt did not show any apparent signs of injury and was doing great on her 3rd day of care. At the time of pick up grandma said that the child hates daycare and another child hurts her arm. Of course when my co-teacher and I didnt give the response the family wanted to hear, we were accused of abuse. Everyone who saw the child the previous day gave the same story, yet we are "covering stuff up". The family wants us to pay medical bills but we have proof that the injury did not happen in our care.


Does this story sound fishy to anyone else? There is no way the break happened in our care and that the child fell asleep with the break she had. I feel so bad knowing any child I care for has been hurt. But this story is not adding up. What do you guys think?

Several years ago my neighbors daughter fell off a couch at day care and broke her collar bone. It was *very* painful. So yes, the story does seem fishy.
That said, have you called licensing? Are they aware of what's going on? Have you documented the day it supposedly happened? Have they sent the child at all, after the fact?

[CraftyMom]

I would think that a broken collar bone would be very painful and he would be at least whining or something, especially if he was laying down which would seem to me to put pressure on it.

Although I have heard stories of minor breaks and the parents didn't know about it right away.

If it is possible that he broke his collar bone in your care without you knowing, then it is also possible that he broke it at home without the parents or grandma knowing

[Unregistered]

Thank you for your responses. Our center has cameras that record and the family was able to view them. All teachers in contact with the child documented the same exact story that grandma had been really negative about the child being in daycare the whole 3 days she was there and that she did not get hurt that day. She has not been back since the morning after the ER trip.

The family said she was not hurt UNTIL they got her home, at daycare before grandma picked her up she was sitting in my lap. Im an EMT and I know that the pressure from putting her in her carseat and lifting her would have been extremely painful considering how bad the break was. But now the family wants a payout and nobody sees how the injury could have occured here considering that she was always clinging to a teacher.

[Unregistered]

Licensing is aware of the situation.

[spinnymarie]

So glad you have video and several teachers to corroborate the same story! I agree, the car seat is the kicker here, no way would grandma not have noticed the screaming in pain from the car seat in this situation! This is so sad.

[gracepatiencelove]

Thank you for your responses. Our center has cameras that record and the family was able to view them. All teachers in contact with the child documented the same exact story that grandma had been really negative about the child being in daycare the whole 3 days she was there and that she did not get hurt that day. She has not been back since the morning after the ER trip.

The family said she was not hurt UNTIL they got her home, at daycare before grandma picked her up she was sitting in my lap. Im an EMT and I know that the pressure from putting her in her carseat and lifting her would have been extremely painful considering how bad the break was. But now the family wants a payout and nobody sees how the injury could have occured here considering that she was always clinging to a teacher.

I don't see how anyone could even argue that

But, everyone wants to blame the daycare. I would probably tell them to not ever come back and then follow up with a lawsuit for slander (does this scenario count? idk). Clearly, Grandma wants to find an out so DCG doesn't have to return.

[craftymissbeth]

Im registered but Im unregistered for privacy reasons.

Unfortunately one of the 2 year olds in my class that just started daycare ended up with a broken collar bone that grandma claimed happened in our care. The story grandma and the parents gave us is that after the child was picked up & taken home by grandma, she went to sleep & woke up with a broken collar bone. The very next day the entire family shows up after the ER visit stating that the dr said the break came from a fall or abuse from a teacher. But, the child was never hurt did not show any apparent signs of injury and was doing great on her 3rd day of care. At the time of pick up grandma said that the child hates daycare and another child hurts her arm. Of course when my co-teacher and I didnt give the response the family wanted to hear, we were accused of abuse. Everyone who saw the child the previous day gave the same story, yet we are "covering stuff up". The family wants us to pay medical bills but we have proof that the injury did not happen in our care.


Does this story sound fishy to anyone else? There is no way the break happened in our care and that the child fell asleep with the break she had. I feel so bad knowing any child I care for has been hurt. But this story is not adding up. What do you guys think?

There is absolutely no way that a doctor would know WHO injured a child. A) Is a bone break from a teacher different than a bone break from a grandma? and B) They aren't the police. That's law enforcement's job.

[debbiedoeszip]

I broke both my collar bones as a child. The first time was at daycare (at 5yo), and it happened after a tumble down a hill into the post of a metal fence. The second time, it happened at home (at 8yo). My cousin and I were spinning on a chair and I flew off into a cement wall (unfinished basement). Both times I screamed bloody murder because it was freaking excruciating.

It doesn't make sense to me that a child who was fine all day at daycare also broke a bone on the same day at daycare. No sense at all. Very fishy.

[debbiedoeszip]

I would think that a broken collar bone would be very painful and he would be at least whining or something, especially if he was laying down which would seem to me to put pressure on it.

Although I have heard stories of minor breaks and the parents didn't know about it right away.

If it is possible that he broke his collar bone in your care without you knowing, then it is also possible that he broke it at home without the parents or grandma knowing

You're right. I've broken my collar bones and when that happened, every movement of my arms made me scream. I've also broken toes, and minutes after was able to walk on the same foot. Some breaks are more painful than others, and collar bones are among the painful ones. I can't imagine this girl breaking her collar bone and then being able to play, be dressed, be placed in a car seat, be picked up by her underarms (the typical way of picking a child up), and not have her screaming in pain. Unless she spent the day sitting perfectly still and nobody touched her, there would be some indication that she was in a substantial amount of pain.

[daycarediva]

This is beyond fishy. It's a blatant lie. You have video evidence of a child not being injured, acting and appearing normally, not in any signs of distress/pain.

Collarbone breaks are one of the worst from what I have heard, there is no way this child broke her collarbone and was able to play, be picked up, active, moved to home, without ANY indication.

I would contact and attorney and sue the parents for slander.

[Unregistered]

Thank you all so much for your replies.

Grandma is looking for a payday and I highly doubt she'll get one, you cannot throw the word abuse around especially in child care. Grandma is trying to use us to cover up the truth. But the truth will come to light eventually.