What if my child has an accident at daycare? 2026

"The first day I left my son Álvaro, who was one and a half years old, alone at preschool, I felt my heart sink," Marta tells us. "Although we had completed the adaptation period and the child already knew the educators, suddenly, when saying goodbye, it seemed to me that he was too young to leave in other hands, and the world fell on me, I even started thinking strange things, for example, that my son could have an accident," adds this mother, and concludes: "I spent a few horrible hours thinking about that possibility."

Although injuries in preschool are not common, they can occur. How does the center act in these cases?

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Each autonomous community has its own action protocol. In Madrid, for example, there is a Guide for the Prevention of Accidents in Schools (can be consulted at www.madrid.org) which explains the most common accidents, the prevention measures that must be taken to prevent them from occurring and what to do when they occur.

According to the director of the Tákara Children's School, in Boadilla del Monte (Madrid), "in minor accidents, such as a scrape on the knee or a bite, the educator performs the treatment respecting basic hygiene rules, and the parents are called in case they think it is appropriate to come pick up their child. In case the little one stays in the center, we do not stop observing him, especially if the accident has been a blow.

What if it is a serious injury?

When it is a more serious injury, the emergency room is called and the instructions received are followed. Normally, the person who was with the child at the time of the accident is the one who speaks with the medical team as they can provide more information about what happened. At the same time, another person, usually the school principal, contacts the parents to tell them what happened.

In the event that the emergency service considers it necessary to transfer the injured child to the hospital and the parents have not had time to arrive, the child will be accompanied by a member of the management team and the person who was present when the accident occurred.

It is normal for the school to have a prevention plan to try as far as possible to ensure that accidents do not occur or at least to reduce them to a minimum. The nursery school must implement all possible protection measures to achieve a safe environment and meet the conditions established by both Organic Law 2/2006 on Education (LOE) and Royal Decree 1537/2003.

At the same time, all the center staff monitor the child, point out where the danger is, even if he is too young to understand it, and try to make him aware that he should not take risks.