Parents have one goal when it comes to sending their kids to daycare: to feel like the people they’ve trusted to care for their little ones are kind, competent, and caring.
But sometimes, proper daycare research can only do so much. If citations against facilities are kept out of public records, parents have no way of knowing the truth. This is something that one heartbroken family in Oklahoma learned the hard way.
When Derek and Ali Dodd — the wonderful parents of two young boys — dropped their youngest son off at daycare in April of this year, they had no idea that he would never come home.
One of the employees at the facility carelessly let little Shepard sleep in his carseat instead of putting him in a crib. She came to check on him two hours later, and when she touched his skin, he was ice cold. Although she called 911 immediately, the damage was already done. Sadly, the infant died from something called “positional asphyxiation.”
Essentially, the baby suffocated in his sleep because he wasn’t properly fastened into the seat.
At an early age, babies don’t have the strength to lift and support their own heads. If improperly fastened in a carseat, infants can become slumped over, which makes them unable to breathe. This act of laziness and disregard for Shepard’s safety on the part of the daycare employee is ultimately what took his life.
The most terrifying thing about the situation is that Shepard’s death doesn’t appear in public records.
Parents looking to keep their kids at this daycare center would then have no idea what happened. Fortunately, the facility has since shut down.
To help cope with their grief, Derek and Ali now work to raise awareness for positional asphyxiation so that parents and caretakers can avoid making this devastating mistake.
To learn more about their heartbreaking story, watch the video below:
(via Wimp)
No parent should ever have to endure the loss of their child, especially at the hands of someone else’s carelessness. If you want to learn more about the dangers of positional asphyxiation, check out this Facebook page, which was created in Shepard’s honor. This knowledge could save a child’s life.
