Toddler dies after being left in hot van - 'criminal charges to be filed' against Daycare Center

The Dallas Morning News ^ | June 3, 2003 | By IAN McCANN / The Dallas Morning News

[MeekOneGOP]

Toddler dies after being left in hot van

06/03/2003

By IAN McCANN / The Dallas Morning News

A 2-year-old left inside a hot daycare van in Lancaster for more than two hours on Friday died early Tuesday.

The boy, whose name has not yet been released, had been in critical condition at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas. He died about 12:15 a.m., hospital officials said.

Police said the boy and nine other children had returned from a field trip to a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant about 1 p.m. Workers realized that he was still strapped in a car seat inside the van about 3:25 p.m. and called 911. Temperatures topped 100 degrees Friday afternoon.

Representatives for the Little Dudes and Daisies Daycare and Learning Center on North Dallas Avenue could not be reached for comment.

Lancaster police have scheduled a news conference for Tuesday afternoon to announce criminal charges to be filed in the case.

The Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services, the agency that regulates daycares, is also investigating.

“[Police] are evaluating the incident,” said Stacey Ladd, a department spokeswoman. “Mostly, we’re evaluating the safety of the children. Obviously, we’re working closely together.”

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Online at: http://www.dallasnews.com/latestnews/stories/060303dnmettotdies.804ccad3.html

[najida]

Just like many women are using abortion as birth control, many women are divorcing for no good reason.
______

Right now I have 3 friends who have are going through a divorce.
a. Hubby walked out on NY eve to go live with girlfriend, leaving her with 3 kids under 7. He stated he needed to 'find his lost youth'.

b. Is divorcing her hubby because he was a chronic alcoholic and was getting into the habit of daily shoving her around in front of the kids, telling her he hated her and calling her a "F***ing b*tch" (and that was the nicer names).

c. Was married to someone who was bi-polar, not taking his meds and running their credit into the ground during his manic phases. And then losing job after job during his depressive phases. She had to go to work to keep from losing the house.

All three of these were stay at home moms. But they had to make a nasty choice. And I am being their friend and supporting their decision.

[Conspiracy Guy]

I would have been glad to have been a stay at home dad. Only my income was 3 times what hers was. I am a manly man therefore I am not threatened by stereotype or money. My future better half out earns me and I think that's great.

[LizardQueen]

What warped feminist nonsense must you be swallowing that you believe your child is better cared for by a minimum wage teenager than by you?!?!

This better not be directed to me - I already stated that because we couldn't financially swing me staying home we opted out entirely.

And that's because didn't want my theoretical kids raised in daycare, but I married a Mr. Right who was unfortunately not Mr. Moneybags and who was unwilling to give up his satisfying yet poorly paid job at a non-profit for a more lucrative position in the private sector.

I believe that one parent needs to be home full-time at least until the child goes to school, if at all possible. And when I mean possible, I mean minimum food, clothing, and shelter, not 3 cars, 4 TVs and 4000 square foot McMansion.

And BTW, my car is 12 years old with 120K Miles on it too. I just spent last weekend Bondo'ing the holes in it so it would pass inspection for one more year.

LQ

[Under the Radar]

Hmm, where to start?

Abortion was legalized in this country in part because everyone fell for the "safe, legal, and rare" argument. It was argued that women would not have abortion for convenience-- no one would make such a drastic decision without a lot of contemplation. Well, 30 years after Roe we now know that in fact women do have abortions for convenience, without care and without thought.

In the past, we were scolded not to criticize women for their abortions, because "no woman would make this decision lightly." Now, this is changing. Shame is making a comeback, thankfully, because too many women do make this decision lightly, and for their own convenience.

"No-fault" divorce is part of the same scourge. Divorce is not rare-- 50% of marriages end in divorce! And most of them are initiated by the woman. The effect of divorce on children is tragic, and documented.

Now, as to your argument that we should not criticize divorcees because we cannot know why they chose the path they chose, that is utter bunk. 50% of marriages end in divorce, but few of them due to domestic violence. Before the advent of "no-fault" divorce, leaving your husband due to abuse was still a legal remedy.

You stated, "What if a woman's husband got drunk and beat the crap out of her every night? Is it okay for her to leave and put the child in daycare? Or should she stay and cover up the bruises just to be able to be a stay-at-home mom?"

To which I respond: The vast majority of marriages do not end because of abuse. You are using an extreme case to make a point, just like abortion advocates have. Abortion advocates have always used "rape" as the example: "Would you force the woman have bear the child of her rapist?" The proper response is, "Rape is very rare, and should not be the basis upon which you establish a general principle."

Domestic violence is rare and should not be the basis upon which we establish the general principle that divorce is harmful to children and bad for society.

[annyokie]

What warped feminist nonsense must you be swallowing that you believe your child is better cared for by a minimum wage teenager than by you?!?!

When my youngest child was in Daycare, all the caregivers were grandmas.

Judge not, my FRiend. We all do what we gotta do and pray that it is the best choice for all.

[RMDupree]

My dad left my mother after 27 years of marriage. My mom stayed home with us for many years and, as a result, cannot earn more than minimum wage if she tries to get a job now.

Where would she be if not for me working and paying the bills? Where would I be without her staying home to watch my kids?

I don't know what planet some of the posters on this thread live on, but it must be the "place called Perfect" that the Walgreens commercials keep talking about.

[MSCASEY]

You are being terribly unfair to the mother. You have no idea of her and possibly her husbands situation or why she had to work. Maybe you should offer your financial help instead of just putting them down. You do not know if it was a necessity or for luxuries.

While yes there are woman who think of a career and not their children there are also many that have to work to help put food on the table.

And sometimes believe it or not it may just be the mans fault for the divorce. I was divorced once and thank the Lord I did not have any children with my first husband. I told him if we did have children, if he would not quit drinking it would mean an instant divorce. It got to the point that we just ended up divorced. Maybe you think someone should stay with someone like that and expose children to that situation. I did love him when he was not drunk, but it was a daily thing. And he refused to quit.

If I ever felt that my husband now put my children in jeopardy or in anyway was abusive I would leave. But he doesn't and I thank the Lord for that.

Now my brother has had a situation with his wife were she just wanted to fall in love with someone. She liked that new love feeling and thought of herself more than her children.

Many fathers and mothers do neglect there responsibilities, sometimes fathers do not get to spend the time they need with their children because of work to bring food in the house also.

Out of all fairness you should access the situation and circumstances on individual basis, not just own experience.

When I was young it took one parent to work in order to bring food in the house, make a house payment (on a small but comfortable home) and to take care of the other necessities of life. The pay was just a medium pay scale in order to do this. This is not the case anymore.

We have been blessed and although we make ends barely meet on one salary we do it. Most can not. We do not have a standard house payment or regular rent.

MCD

[riri]

hat unappreciated middle or upper management opportunity will still be there when your in your 40s or 50s

Many of the women who are putting the kids in daycare are not starting the family until they are well into their 30's. They put off having kids until the time was right, problem was the time was never right.

[glory]

WEll the catch though is a lot of those same mothers you mentioned vote for people who continue to tax them out into the workplace and let's be honest here, so many women who would not choose to be home no matter how much of their tax money they kept. How I would like to believe that if we magically did away with all of the fed income tax, that women would in mass go back to their home to care for their children, but let's be realistic, the percentage would likely be very small and then the number that would stay home with children beyond the age of 2, probably even smaller. Women are conditioned for a life of work outside of the home and that's how it is.

[Wneighbor]

Sorry, if you are a divorcee or, worse yet, never been married, what right do you have to sympathy when it comes to having to work from the moment the child is 6 weeks old?

REMINDER: Divorce is not always a choice! Sometimes it is forced upon one by the other party. It's called no-fault-divorce laws. And it's the kids and deserted spouse that end up paying the price.

[HamiltonJay]

Read my whole post, you will see I did not judge all women who send their kids to daycare with the same brush. Oh and Judge Not Lest Ye Be Judged references ones place in the afterlife, here amongs the mortals, judgement is not condemned.

[JesseHousman]

This is so stupid it defies gravity!

How many more children will die before career mothers stay at home with their children?

To place them in the care of commercial enterprises, or nannies is just unconscionalbe!

[proud_2_B_texasgal]

><> ..have you ever driven by one of these sad places around 5 pm, watching those poor kids waiting for their mothers? <><

I usually have to convince mine we REALLY do need to go now. I guess I'm truly blessed. She has a blast, and hugs the daycare manager everyday before she leaves. There were cheaper daycares, but I liked this one and was able to swing it.

They are not all bad.

[Corin Stormhands]

I'm glad that works for you. But your damned out of line when you judge me by your standards.

I happen to work my @$$ off too. So does my wife.

Our boys are happy and (for the most part) well adjusted. And the three-year-old is learning to read. He downloaded "Hooked on Phonics" from the Internet...

Look, here's the deal. You've managed to make a go of it without putting your five (saints preserve me) kids in daycare. I'm glad you can. For your sake, and your kids, I hope you don't work yourself into an early grave just to avoid daycare.

All I'm saying is that it's just not that cut and dried for everyone. We all do the best we can.

Would we prefer not to put our son in daycare? Absolutely. Is that an option for us right now? No, it's not.

[Under the Radar]

REMINDER: Divorce is not always a choice! Sometimes it is forced upon one by the other party. It's called no-fault-divorce laws. And it's the kids and deserted spouse that end up paying the price.

Which is why we should eliminate no-fault divorce laws.

[Under the Radar]

Judged references ones place in the afterlife, here amongs the mortals, judgement is not condemned.

Excellent point.

[Conspiracy Guy]

No, Dad needs to be home too, until separation when mine were 13 and 15 I was home by 6 pm and coached little league took vacation to attend special events, took day off to let mom go shop, helped with housework etc. most of this continued after the divorce. My ex and I love our kids who are now 22 and 23.5 In my father's generation there were too many sperm donators. I said in another post that no answer is always right. But I think more parents involved in the daily care of their children is the answer to our future. It doesn't take a village it takes a mom and dad or somebody really trying alone. I know several sucessful single parents.

[Wneighbor]

Stuff can happen to anyone. Even very bad stuff.

You hit the nail on the head there. I cried when I heard that that baby had died this morning. IMO that's the worst thing that could happen to anybody. But, all these people sitting here being in judgement on the mother when they don't even know the situation are sickening me in a totally different way.

Back when I was a stay at home mom I was also the leader of my daughter's Camp Fire group, back when that was a good thing. NEVER EVER would I have thought about moving and inch from anyplace without counting the kids and making sure every one of them was accounted for. Sometimes it was hard to keep up with 10 or 12 kids, but that's what you do. How about some childcare worker accoutability on this thread?

[stanz]

The mother of this child certainly deserves a big share of the blame - the child was HER responsibility, but the odds are she was too obsessed with the pursuit of material things to even consider staying home and raising the child she brought into this world.

How do you know this woman's circumstances? We all try to do the best for our children. As a single mother, I had to work full time while my daughter attended a Montessori. I thank my lucky stars that the staff there was attentive, but it is always within the realm of possibility that something like this could have occurred. None of us are exempt from the tragedy of human error.

[Corin Stormhands]

I hope you're not expecting me to read all of that.

My mom had to work too, so I don't read too good.