KCCI really dropped the ball on this. They didn't even discuss that the child shouldn't have been on the equipment in the first place. 18 month old children should not be ON equipment with that high of a fall zone. It's not designed for babies and toddlers.

Secondly the child should have never been on the equipment unsupervised. It is obvous from the providers own words that she wasn't spotting this baby on the equipment.

Thirdly: It is the providers responsiblility to CHECK the temperature of ALL outdoor equipment before a child plays on it or near it. That means checking the temp of it with your bare hands and your bare feet for surfacing. You should always place your hand on it for at least five seconds to test the exterior temperature.

Fourth: Plastic DOES heat up. Any slick surface can heat up in direct sunlight. Simple rule of thumb... if it is slick it can heat up.

Fifth: The Mom doesn't even GET that her provider is first and foremost responsible for this. She doesn't understand the four points above. She doesn't get it NOW but she will soon enough when the Department of Human Services intervenes with a child neglect investigation.

This is a perfect example of providers believing if the parent says or thinks what they did is okay then it's okay. This parent has NO clue that she doesn't have a thing to say about whether or not this will be a founded case of child neglect with possible criminal charges. The parent and provider are sitting side by side on the tape discussing the danger of the hot slide.... with the parent being none the wiser that the provider was RESPONSIBLE to not allow the child on equipment not safety approved for her age, not allow the child to climb without direct proximal supervision and "spotting", and not allowed to allow children on equipment without assessing FULLY the safety of the equipment BEFORE allowing a child on it.

Parents can not give you permission to do the wrong thing. Parents can't forgive you for doing the wrong thing and keep the insurer of the child, DHS or the County Attorney from filing charges on you.

The provider and parents are a team now but they won't be in a few weeks. Once the parent "buys a vowel" she will figure out that the provider shouldn't have had the kid on there in the first place and is required by law to CAREFULLY supervise all children all the time. If she couldn't manage her "group" of children at the park and give them the supervision they needed then she shouldn't have stepped foot into the park.

The DHS and County Attorney need to shut this provider down TO-DAY. The parents of the other children in care (if there are) must be notified that pending a full investigation that this provider can not provide child care services. The investigation will be pretty darn easy since the provider herself stated ON TAPE she was not in close proximity to the child and allowed the child to climb on equipment that is not designed for that age group.

Reply