The Hazard Rule
Ten things that must not be within a child’s reach
§746.3701 opens by requiring every area accessible to a child to be free from hazards, and then names ten. They are examples, not the limit — the general duty is not limited to this list.
Electrical outlets
Every outlet accessible to a child under five must have a childproof cover or be a safety outlet, and 220-volt connections within reach must be screened or guarded.
Fans, heaters and air conditioners
Mounted out of the reach of every child, or fitted with safeguards that keep any child from being injured by them.
Glass in sliding doors
Marked at children’s eye level with decals or something like them, so a child running at a clean pane can see it.
Play materials and equipment
Free from sharp or rough edges and from toxic paint — which reaches the toys and the furniture, not only the playground.
Poisonous plants
Inaccessible to all children. This one catches out centers that have landscaped the yard without checking what was planted in it.
Bottle warmers
Inaccessible to all children, and used only as the manufacturer directs. A scald involving an accessible bottle warmer requires review of the placement, use and injury against the rule.
Chests, boxes and trunks
Anything with a hinged lid must have a lid support that holds it open in any position, ventilation holes, and no latch that could shut a child inside.
Water, in any quantity
Every body of water — wading pools, hot tubs, birdbaths, fountains, buckets, rain barrels — inaccessible to all children.
Televisions
Anchored so they cannot tip, including where a set is on a rolling cart. Furniture and television tip-overs are among the most lethal hazards in a room full of climbing toddlers.
Everything else within reach
The rule opens with “all areas accessible to a child must be free from hazards”, and the ten items are examples rather than the limit.
Outside
Texas Daycare Playground Safety Standards
Six sets of requirements, from where the equipment may be placed to what may be underneath it and what children of a given age may not be allowed on at all.
It has to be supervised, and it has to be arranged so it can be
The first requirement in the playground rules is that the equipment be arranged so that caregivers can adequately supervise children at all times — weighted High.
Entrapment, entanglement and pinch points
Equipment must have no opening or angle that can trap a child’s body or a body part, no protrusion or opening that can catch clothing or something round a child’s neck, and no exposed pinch, crush or shear points on it or underneath it.
Anchoring, and where the anchors are
Equipment must be securely anchored to the manufacturer’s specification so it cannot collapse, tip, slide, move or overturn — and every anchoring device must sit below the level of the playing surface, so that the anchor itself is not what a falling child lands on.
What may not be over concrete
Climbing equipment, swings and inflatables must not be installed over asphalt or concrete unless it is covered with properly installed unitary surfacing. The equipment, fall zone and installed surface should be documented together.
Barriers and handrails, by height
Porches and platforms above twenty inches for pre-kindergarten and younger children, and above thirty inches for school-age children, must have protective barriers a child cannot crawl over or through.
Equipment children may not use at all
Heavy metal swings, structures that let a child fall inside and onto other parts of the structure, trampolines above a very small size, swinging rings and trapeze bars, multiple-occupancy swings such as seesaws and gliders, swinging gates and giant strides.
Texas Daycare Safe Sleep Requirements
For a licensed child-care center, 26 TAC §746.2427 addresses placing an infant face-up for sleep and the medical sleep-exception process. The crib, mattress, bedding, position and care instructions need to be examined together. Keep the child’s age, the incident account and medical information; do not infer a cause of injury from position alone.
The facility and supervision rules sit within Texas HHSC Child Care Regulation’s Chapter 746 minimum standards. Use the rules for the operation and incident date. A prior inspection citation is different from proof that a particular condition caused this injury.
Evidence
There is no requirement to have cameras
Which surprises most parents, and changes what the first week has to be spent on. These records can help explain a facility injury. Retention periods and legal preservation duties depend on the records and circumstances.
There is no requirement to have cameras
The center minimum standards do not generally require video monitoring. If cameras exist, identify the relevant location and time promptly and ask about preservation. Routine recording policies do not override a legal preservation duty arising from a claim or investigation. Do not assume footage exists or that it has already been lost.
The incident report is the document to ask for
Ask for the written report and keep your request. Section 746.707 addresses the Incident/Illness Report and a copy for parents within 48 hours for covered incidents. Keep the center’s account separate from your photographs and the medical assessment.
Photograph the thing itself, today
The broken rail, the gap in the fence, the surface under the climbing frame, the outlet, the unanchored shelf.
The public file says whether it was known
Search the center at childcare.hhs.texas.gov and look for prior citations under the hazard and playground standards.
Your next step
Find Proof of What Hurt Your Child
A facility-safety question should name the condition that injured the child: a reachable object, a playground surface, a gate or another feature of the premises. The center's general safety statement does not tell you how that particular condition was managed.
Our intake team answers calls 24/7 and arranges attorney follow-up. The first consultation is free.
Representation built around your case
Get Lawyers Who Challenge Unsafe Daycares
A daycare facility safety concern needs an injury review focused on the specific gate, surface, equipment or access condition the child encountered.
01 · Individual case strategy
Your Child’s Injury Gets an Individual Investigation
A general statement that the facility passed inspection may leave important gaps.
We examine the location, condition history and incident evidence alongside the child’s medical record. The assessment is developed around those facts before a proposed resolution is evaluated. Your family’s case deserves more than a quick conclusion drawn from the center’s general safety description.
02 · Attorney-led representation
Talk With Your Lawyer About Care Needs
A photograph, complaint and repair record may establish different things.
An attorney reviews what the material supports and explains which questions need further attention. Paralegals assist with collection and organization, while the lawyer directs strategy and settlement advice. You can discuss the condition without being expected to decide how a safety standard applies to the legal claim.
Meet the Genthe team
03 · Trial-ready advocacy
We Prepare for Trial Against Negligent Daycares
The evidence should explain how the setting contributed to the injury.
We prepare the incident chronology, available inspection or maintenance records and supported losses for negotiation and potential litigation. Being ready to present the case at trial gives us a stronger basis to challenge a broad denial that the facility condition mattered.
We develop the object, surface or barrier evidence alongside your child’s care and the relevant standard, preparing a supported case rather than a list of unrelated citations. The review is free; scope and fees are explained in writing.
Save Hazard Details That Support Your Claim
Locate the actual condition
Identify the room, structure, play surface, gate, entrance or shared area and the child’s activity. Keep existing wide and close views and state who supplied the account. A later image may not show the earlier activity or condition.
Match the hazard to the setting
For indoor items, record accessibility, furniture, outlets or heated objects. For playgrounds, identify equipment, surface, ages and supervision positions. For water or wandering, preserve the route and barrier details. Physical condition and staff management are separate questions.
Keep the condition’s timeline
Retain dated photographs, inspection findings, manufacturer information, maintenance, work orders and complaints about this condition. Label later repair, removal or surface replacement by its date. An unrelated citation does not establish the cause of this incident.
Preserve accounts and follow-up
Keep the written explanation, available treatment and changes in routine or expenses. Ask promptly whether relevant recordings exist and who holds them; cameras and production are not guaranteed. “Just tripped” is an account to examine, not a legal conclusion. Do not recreate danger to collect evidence.
Questions for your consultation
Ask what connects the facility history, notice and condition to your child’s injury. You can inquire without entering the center or obtaining maintenance records yourself. Bring existing materials and the questions they leave open.
Facility safety FAQs
What are the facility safety standards for Texas daycares?
They are in Chapter 746 of the Texas Administrative Code. §746.3701 requires every area a child can reach to be free from hazards and names ten of them — outlets, fans and heaters, glass doors, toys, poisonous plants, bottle warmers, hinged chests, water in any quantity, and televisions. Subchapter U covers the playground: supervision sight lines, entrapment, anchoring, surfacing over concrete, barriers by height, and equipment children may not use at all.
My child was hurt on the playground. Is the daycare responsible?
Not automatically. Review the equipment, surface, age group, supervision, relevant standards and how the injury occurred. Connect any condition or care failure to harm; a playground location alone does not establish negligence. See the playground standards.
The daycare has cameras but says the footage is gone. Now what?
Ask when the recording was made, what area it covered, the retention policy and when deletion occurred. Request preservation promptly. A center may have preservation obligations even without a general minimum-standards rule requiring cameras; missing footage does not automatically establish or defeat the claim.
They say my child “just tripped”. Does that end it?
No. Young children trip constantly; the standards exist because what they land on and what they reach decides whether tripping produces a bruise or a hospital admission. Concrete under a climbing frame, an anchor above the surface, an unguarded heater or an unlatched gate each turn an ordinary fall into a serious injury.
How long do I have?
CPRC §16.003 generally provides two years for a personal-injury claim. Section 16.001 may pause a child’s period during minority. Parent claims, abuse claims, government notice and other exceptions require separate calculations. Ask counsel promptly rather than assuming every deadline runs to age 20.
Do these rules apply to daycares in Dallas and the suburbs?
Yes. The Texas Minimum Standards apply to every licensed center in the state, including those in Dallas, Plano, Frisco, Richardson, Irving, Arlington and Fort Worth. If your child was hurt at one, our Dallas daycare injury lawyers can review what happened for free.
What if the center repairs the equipment before I see it?
Keep existing photographs and messages and date the repair, replacement or removal, including a changed play surface. Identify the earlier condition and custodian without assuming a later repair proves liability. Ask promptly about preservation and appropriate inspection; do not enter restricted areas to investigate.
Which playground details help explain a daycare fall?
Identify the equipment, height or activity as actually known, landing area and adult positions. Preserve existing wide views; a close-up of an injury alone does not show the condition or supervision involved.
Can a center’s inspection history show whether a particular hazard existed?
It may identify a dated finding, but compare the location and condition with your incident. An old deficiency may have been corrected; a clean inspection does not describe every later condition.
What should I record about a burn involving hot food or water?
Identify the item, placement, child’s activity and adults present, without touching dangerous equipment. Keep the incident account and treatment records; technical cause and applicable safety requirements need separate review.
How should parents document an unsafe-sleep concern?
Preserve the account, time, room assignment and existing records without recreating a hazardous scene. Medical needs and appropriate safety reporting take priority; the civil review should use the actual facts and applicable standards.
Does a broken toy automatically prove the center knew it was unsafe?
No. The item’s prior condition, inspection or complaint history, supervision and relationship to the injury require evidence. A photograph after an incident may not establish when the break occurred.
What if the hazard was in a shared parking or pickup area?
Identify the exact area and who controlled its use or maintenance. The daycare, property owner and another driver may have different roles; the center’s address alone does not decide responsibility.
Should I compare a child-care home with a large-center facility checklist?
Confirm the permit type first. Different operation types can be governed by different standards, and a checklist for the wrong category can create a misleading apparent violation.
How can I ask about a locked gate or blocked exit?
Record the actual location, time, access condition and how it relates to the event. Avoid assuming a photograph of an unrelated door establishes the path or hazard involved in your child’s injury.
How does Genthe distinguish equipment failure from a supervision problem?
The review can compare the condition, activity, caregiver assignments and available observations. Both issues may warrant investigation, but the presence of damaged equipment does not establish which act or omission caused the harm.