In the News...

Friday, April 23,2010
2-year-old Boy Bruised and Beaten, Babysitters Blamed
Two women are facing criminal charges accused of beating a two-year-old boy they were babysitting. Twenty-four year old Kellie Smith says she left her two-year-old son and six-month-old daughter with two of her friends at a house on Miller Avenue while she went to work. "She offered to baby-sit and I said okay, I never thought she would do something like this," Smith.

Baby sitter arrested in Ramsey County
North Dakota authorities have charged an 18-year-old woman who they say was baby-sitting a 3-year-old child found standing in the middle of state Highway 20 just south of Devils Lake.Authorities say the Grand Forks woman who had been baby-sitting the child at a nearby apartment building failed to notice the child had wandered off because she had allegedly gone into a garage to smoke marijuana.

Babysitter caught smoking marijuana in front of child
A Gloucester babysitter is facing charges of child endangerment after Essex police reportedly caught her smoking marijuana with two friends in a car — with the 5-year-old in her care also in the vehicle.

Police Log; Tracy, California
5:51 p.m.: A babysitter told a 4-year-old girl to bite her 3-year-old brother “to teach him a lesson” on the 1700 block of Ash Tree Court. Police arrested the babysitter on suspicion of child abuse.

With ‘Bargain Nannies’ Available, Reconsidering Child Care
Reading that Silicon Valley’s poor economy is making nannies more affordable there got me thinking (again) about the possibility of looking for in-home child care. According to the article in last week’s Journal, “the recession and the still-weak economy have altered Silicon Valley’s nanny economics,” as parents who have gotten laid off don’t need in-home childcare, or simply can’t afford it. One agency there reports wages recently hit $16 to $17 an hour, down from $18 to $25 an hour two years ago.

Mom Passed out After Meth Birthday Binge and Smothered Baby, Police Say
Twenty-five-year-old Jessica Adams reportedly told police that she accidentally suffocated her 2-month-old son while she was sleeping on March 19, 2009. But after a lengthy investigation, police say that in reality Adams smothered her child, Gary Sterling, after a methamphetamine binge. Adams now faces a homicide charge.