A six-year-old boy died in a day care center in Frankfurt on Tuesday. According to the prosecutors, the child may have been electrocuted. Experts from the State Office of Criminal Investigation have found that a socket stuck out of the wall and a cable was loose, said a spokeswoman for the authorities.
The Unfallkasse Hessen investigates the circumstances of the accident. Their department head for the prevention of Kita accidents has also visited the Frankfurt facility. In an interview he explains how safe day-care centers can be - and which risks can not be ruled out.
SPIEGEL: Mr. Protsch, what happened at the Frankfurt facility?
Michael Protsch: I can not comment on the accident, although we have our assumptions. The National Criminal Office is still investigating and we have to wait for these results. In general: Accidents can happen due to technical or personal failure. For the fatally injured boy it was certainly a chain of unfortunate circumstances.
SPIEGEL: The facility is said to have been recently renovated, a power outlet has apparently spread out of the wall. Who bears the responsibility for this?
Protsch: Which in individual cases has led to the fatal accident, I can not and can not comment on that. In general: Where children play, electrical systems must be specially protected and touch-proof. Sockets must be secured in such a way that a child does not suffer a fatal electric shock, even if it touches them. There are regulations, rules and standards that must be adhered to and, as a rule, complied with for the proper fitting out of kindergartens - by architects, planners, property developers.
SPIEGEL: They are responsible for the safety of 4200 daycare centers throughout Hesse. How often do you have deadly incidents?
Protsch: Almost never. The general conditions in the day-to-day life are not allowed at all: children are not allowed to handle dangerous devices or carry out dangerous activities. There are no sharp objects, no hazardous substances. Fatal accidents happen more on the way to the day care center, when crossing the street or with the parents in the car. The number of accidents in day-care centers has fallen in recent years, although more children have come to the institutions due to the legal entitlement to care. For more than five years, the six-year-old boy has been the first and only case in Hesse to have been fatally injured in a daycare center.
SPIEGEL: How do you try to ensure that the standards and requirements are met?
Protsch: Our requirement is: As soon as we learn of the opening of a kindergarten, we support you in the best possible way to avoid accidents. At communal and religious institutions, we will be informed early. But in Hesse, private institutions also open up every now and again that are not informed about the necessary legal steps right from the start. It may therefore be that a day care center was founded a few weeks ago out of necessity and the topic of construction and equipment has written itself at a later date on the to-do list. Sometimes the facility does not know anything about us, and we do not know about it - that is an absolute exception. In the event of an accident, the institution of the institution or the private parents' initiative would be responsible, not us. In general, however, one has to say: All kindergartens have a basic set of safety techniques and requirements that they have to comply with. The level as such is good, but it could be even better in some areas.
SPIEGEL: In which?
Protsch: For example, in the outdoor area: While the rules are clear in the game equipment, but by the variety of design options can cause impairments that can not always be foreseen in the planning, for example, hard or uneven floors. But there are also threats that can not be counteracted. This is like normal playgrounds: children move around freely and take certain risks - and accidents can happen. They fall down, from a swing or slide, stumble or fall. Fortunately, these are mostly bagatelles with relatively little damage. And these experiences usually help with growing up - you learn to avoid danger because you hurt yourself.
SPIEGEL: What can and must educators do within their supervisory duties?
Protsch: In a day care center the children are never our contact persons in an accident, but always their kindergarten teachers. Because they are trained to assess children correctly and to make their environment as safe as possible. And yet it must be clear: Children must be able to learn how to handle dangers in the day-care center. They have to learn that fire is hot or that they should not jump from any height. You do not have to and can not pack them in cotton wool, but they should be able to develop freely. They can also misjudge themselves - and yet nothing bad can happen. That can be a tightrope walk.