10 Children Drink Windshield Wash Fluid at Daycare

[Miss B Hav'n]

Wow - they are REALLY lucky there weren't more serious results to this. I am just confused by the "mistake" of thinking it was kool-aid, I mean, no kool-aid I know of comes with a child proof cap whereas EVERY bottle of windshield fluid I have ever bought does.

10 daycare kids drink windshield fluid Owner surrenders license; liquid was apparently mistaken for Kool-Aid The Associated Press updated 1:48 p.m. ET, Fri., March. 13, 2009 LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - The owner of an Arkansas daycare center where 10 children were sickened after they were given windshield wiper fluid has surrendered her state license to child welfare investigators, officials said Friday. A spokeswoman for Arkansas’ Department of Human Services described the owner, Carolyn Bynum, as "upset" and worried about the children. "She was so upset about what had occurred and she was definitely worried some of the children had been injured," said spokeswoman Julie Munsell. "It was just a mistake, she says. She says it was just a horrible mistake." Hospital officials said a daycare staffer mistakenly put the blue liquid in the daycare refrigerator after shopping and later served it thinking it was Kool-Aid. Doctors estimate the children, ages 2 to 7, drank about an ounce of the fluid. Only one child remained hospitalized Friday morning after blood samples showed "measurable levels" of methanol, a highly toxic alcohol that can induce comas and cause blindness, officials said. "All we know was that the individual at the day care had recently shopped and had come back to the day care with a lot of different products," said Laura James, a pediatric pharmacologist and toxicologist at Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock. "This product was mistakenly grabbed and thought to be Kool-Aid and put in the refrigerator." 'Take-home message' Bynum had a state license to care for 10 children at her home in Scott, Ark., and had no complaints or serious compliance issues in the past, said Munsell. Scott is about 15 miles east of Little Rock. The toxicologist warned that many antifreeze or windshield wiper solutions have bright colors, which can be mistaken for fruit drinks. "I think the take-home message is not to have these products in the kitchen or where you're doing any kind of food preparation," she said.

[Miss.Maggie]

how the hell does a mistake like that happen? really?

[Mrs.Ginger]

Wow I hope those little babies will be ok!

[Amy]

Wow, that's....really, really odd.

And kool-aid is a powder, not a liquid! You would have had to mix it with something.

And pretty sure I would be IRATE if my daughter was even given kool-aid at daycare!

[hooah08]

Three questions come to mind...what the ****? Who the ****? and Why the ****? How responsible........****

[MarineWife0929]

This is crazy. I feel bad for those children.

[ImNoOliveOyl]

Originally Posted by iowa_lady how the hell does a mistake like that happen? really?

Exactly... the bottle the washer fluid comes in doesn't even resemble anything juice or koolaid would come in. Not only that, but it's usually got a LABEL on it. So unless the washer fluid was in a pitcher, there's NO mistaking it.. and koolaid SMELLS like "fruit flavoring".... WTF???

[lostatsea]

Holy hell...how do you mistake a bottle of windshield wiper fluid for Kool-Aid?? The bottles are completely different, one has a childproof cap, and it SAYS on there what it is. How do you even miss that?? Insane! If she's that scatter-brained, then she SHOULD give up her license!

[lostatsea]

I swear-there should be in IQ test before licenses to care for children should be issued.

[Aunt Sponge]

Anti-freeze TASTES sweet like kool-aid (this is why so many kids are killed by drinking anti-freeze all the time). . . so I wonder if that's what was really given - but even then. How in teh **** does an ADULT fk up like that unless there was more going on than I can't even imagine.

Yeah, you totally suck and shouldn't be functioning as a daycare if you can't keep the freaking windshield washer fluid seperate from the freaking drinks for the kids.