Legal Question in Personal Injury in North Carolina

My daughter (almost 4 years old) previously came home from daycare saying that the children there are regularly threatened to get hit with a stick for misbehaving. She said that she has never gotton hit, but other children have. I asked the daycare about it (which they denied) then I let it go. Today my child randomly told me that her teacher (which she specified which one by name) puts soap in her mouth for screaming. She described the color of the soap used, the taste, and what the teacher says when she puts the soap in her mouth. My daughter also listed names of specific children who have received the same punishment and also listed names of children who have not received this punishment. My question is, Is my daughters claim, and her story enough to file a claim in court against the facility? Is this enough to sue the daycare for abuse, and what other proof would I need?

Thank you!


Asked on 10/22/15, 12:08 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Soap in the mouth and stick spanking are time honored punishments when used appropriately. Heck, the soap in the mouth punishment is part of most everyone's favorite Christmas movie, A Christmas Story. So it's not abuse - if it happened the way you describe - its basically a punishment you don't approve of. The fact that you do not approve of it does not make it abuse - the manner in which it is carried out is what would or would not make it abuse and whether or not you specifically instructed the day care not to punish your child that way. If you don't approve of soap in the mouth and stick spanking, the easy solution is to simply take your child to another day care and let all the other kids grow up properly. However, if you want to sue you certainly can even with just the testimony of a 4 year old.but you would definitely need an attorney familiar with these types of cases. You will likely get absolutely no where attempting to tackle a case like this on your own. Best of luck to you!

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Answered on 10/22/15, 1:16 pm


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