Parental Notice Required

A woman living in a fair-sized Ontario town, presumably fairly well known in her neighbourhood, operated a home daycare. She now stands accused of heinous, unspeakable crimes. It is simply not possible to understand how a human being could become so deranged as to be responsible for deliberately causing the deaths of very young children entrusted to her care. But this, most certainly, appears to be the case of a young woman who portrayed herself as a reliable, trustworthy caregiver.

If there is one service that families of young children clamour for, and plan to use, in the current social climate of working mothers and a paucity of day-care spaces, it is that of a neighbourhood day-care provider. Parents of young children are so anxious over the necessity to find good, reliable day-care that they seem to believe just about anything claimed by someone to convince them they're making the right choice in placing their trust in them to give care to their children.

Often enough, that may be true. Occasionally it is not. And there are times when misplaced trust results in horrendous circumstances that may mark a child for life; worse, deprive that child of its life. Usually that happens when an accident occurs, or something befalls a child out of the neglect of the care-giver, taking insufficient caution to ensure that nothing untoward will occur. On occasion it is discovered by the horrified parents that their child has been abused.

Obviously the safety and security of vulnerable children should be uppermost in their parents' minds.

Mostly that is the case; sometimes, however, too much is taken for granted. There have been a handful of instances where children have drowned in backyard pools, when distracted care-givers have not been sufficiently alert to potential danger. But in Kitchener, Ontario, a 32-year-old woman has been arrested and charged with nine counts each of criminal negligence causing bodily harm and administering a noxious substance.

Although she has not yet been tried in a court of law, she has been charged with poisoning six babies and toddlers, among them a newborn. Among her victims was as well, an adult. One child escaped death. Christine Allen was caring for a child of a friend who presented with "serious physical symptoms"; breathing difficulties, drowsiness and a decreased heart rate. She was rushed to hospital, then released as she recovered. On another, later occasion, the situation repeated itself with the same child.

In July, police, it would appear, had accumulated sufficient evidence to charge the woman with the murder of eight children and a 32-year-old woman. The home daycare that Christine Allen operated in Kitchener from 2009 to 2011 had come to their attention, and as a result of their investigation, the charges were laid.

                          Christine Allen, 32, is shown in this recent police handout photo. A 32-year-old Ontario woman who used to operate a home daycare is facing charges after police allege she poisoned two kids. Christine Allen, who also goes by Christine Keilbar, is charged with two counts each of aggravated assault and administering a noxious substance. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - Waterloo Regional Police Service

Police allege she gave her victims an over-the-counter eye-care product. That product contained Tetrahydrozoline. If ingested it is capable of causing abnormal drowsiness, low blood pressure, respiratory problems and decreased heart rates, particularly in young children. It was the March incident with the child that survived her ministrations that drew police attention to the woman's activities.