Corporal Punishment – Against the Law in Illinois Day Care Centers
In Illinois and may other States, corporal punishment and abuse are prohibited in Day Care Centers. Children enrolled in a day care center program should be provided with safe and supportive learning environment. At times, children will misbehave and ignore directions and commands by teachers and child care providers. This is not only foreseeable but almost guaranteed when supervising small children. It is important the child care providers have the proper training, patience, and temperament to deal with small children and their ways. If a child care provider lacks any of these qualities, then that particular child care provider should seek work in a completely different industry. Corporal punishment – with or without a law in place – does not belong in any day care center, school, or summer camp for that matter. It is an inefficient, ineffective, and quite dangerous way to attempt to teach a child a lesson.
Pursuant to Title 89, Chapter 3 (e) Part 407.270 (6) – Guidance and Discipline, the following acts are prohibited in Illinois Day Care Centers:
a. Corporal punishment, including hitting, spanking, swatting, beating, shaking, pinching, and other measures intended to induce physical pain or fear;
b. Threatened or actual withdrawal of food, rest or use of the bathroom;
c. Abusive or profane language;
d. Any form of public or private humiliation, including threats of physical punishment; and
e. Any form of emotional abuse, including shaming, rejecting, terrorizing, or isolating a child.
It was recently reported that a child was beaten and bruised by a wooden paddle at a Chicago based day care center. The mother of the victimized child asked a very important question: “What was a wooden paddle doing in there in the first place?” This is an excellent question. As noted above, the Illinois Day Care Center Regulations prohibit corporal punishment. As such, there is no rhyme, reason, or justification for having a paddle in a day care center. This, of course, assumes that the only purpose and use of the instrument used to paddle the child was punishment. You can read more about this incident at
Mother Accuses Chicago Illinois Day Care Center of Paddling her Child – Corporal Punishment.
The book titled –
The ABCs of Child Injury – Legal Rights of the Injured Child – What Every Parent Should Know has chapters on Day Care Center Injuries, School Injuries, Playground Injuries, Automobile Accidents, and other topics. You can get this book for free at
The ABCs of Child Injury. There is no excuse for harming a child through the implementation of corporal punishment, abuse, or neglect. Even if a parent “green lights” the corporal punishment, it does not validate this form of archaic discipline that in many States is against the law and applicable day care center rules and regulations. Child care providers should act in the best interest of the child.
Child Injury Lawyer Blog
