I am writing this review to prevent what happened to our child from happening to another child…read more Denise Stewart's negligence and the unsanitary conditions in her home directly resulted in our 10 month old being injured, as well as requiring emergency care for severe dehydration and illness.
I initially chose this in-home daycare because Denise was licensed through the state (license number 334809651), and because of it's close proximity, 0.5 miles from my home and work place. I have since learned that while she is licensed, this licensure has not been reviewed since 2014, and there has been no inspection since that time.
My son only stayed at this daycare 4 times. The first day, I saw that he was putting many of the toys in his mouth, and so I asked about how often she sanitized the toys. She responded that she never did, and then seeing my surprise, explained that she bought new toys so frequently that she didn't need to bother with sanitation. At another visit, I noted that the area of the carpet where the children played had a strong smell of dog urine. I have also have dogs, and understand that accidents can happen, so I asked how often she shampooed the carpet, given that children played there. She became defensive, and stated that she never shampooed the carpet, but did wipe it down with a towel daily. I began to be very concerned about the conditions in the home, and now wish I had listened to my intuition.
After the third day he stayed there, he became very sick with vomiting, diarrhea, and inability to keep anything down. He became so ill, that we had to take him to the hospital for emergency care, where they diagnosed him with a stomach flu and serious dehydration. I kept him home for the next 5 days. It is very clear that he got this flu from the unsanitary conditions in her home.
The following week when we arrived at daycare explained that he was better, but still having diarrhea, and Denise said this was not a problem, he was able to come in. I was concerned about leaving him, but was also missing a significant amount of work, so despite my concerns, I brought him in but asked that if he seemed ill in any way, to please call and let me know, as I was only a half mile away and would come get him right away. I even phoned during the day to ask how he was doing, and was told that he was fine, and napping.
When I arrived to pick him up, I was shocked to see my son laying on her floor, sobbing and unattended. There were no other children there, so I am not sure why she didn't pick up or attend to a clearly distraught baby. He was hoarse from crying, and I have never seen him in that state before. He also had a gash on his nose, and was bright red. I asked what had happened, and she said that sometimes babies get red when they have a fever, and it wasn't a big deal. I asked if he was ill, fussy, or feverish, why hadn't she called, and she never really addressed that question at all, she went off on a tangent implying that maybe I should be a stay at home mom with my own child instead of using a daycare. She really didn't have an explanation about the cut on his face, he's 10 months old, I understand if he took a tumble, but she hadn't even noticed he was injured.
As I was leaving, the worst of the situation became apparent. When I dropped him off that morning, I left 2 4oz bottles of milk for him. During the day, she was supposed to make him 1-2 more bottles, as he consistently eats around 12-14 oz per day in addition to some solid foods. She handed me back a full bottle that I had dropped off that morning, and I realized he had only been given 4oz of food that day. I asked why had she given my child so, so little eat, and her response was that he wasn't hungry and that she had given him 2 packets of apple sauce. When she handed me the full bottle, my son launched himself at it and tried to eat it through the lid. He was frantic. I had told her about his ER visit, and specifically asked to to offer him meals and liquids, but even if he had never been sick, giving a child only half a cup of formula in an entire day is clear abuse and neglect.
I called the next day to say that he would not be returning, and again, she became extremely defensive and was difficult to talk to. She was also irritated with me for not picking up my child before 4:30, even though her hours are listed until 5pm (see pictures for screenshot of her posted hours).
I am a first-time mother, and so I didn't recognize these warning signs, but I hope this account of what happened to my son will help others make an informed decision. I immediately reported these events to the licensing board, and if anyone ever has a concern about any in-home daycare center, the number for Riverside County licensing board is 951-826-6626. I have included a picture of my son's face taken 2 hours after he got home after being neglected and left to cry alone on the floor until he lost his voice, as well as a picture of the gash on his nose.
