Parents claim Washington daycare drugged kids to make them sleep

LYNWOOD, Wash. (KOMO) — A group of parents are suing a Washington daycare for negligence after the owners allegedly gave children Benadryl before nap time.

The lawsuit alleges the owners of Little Hands Big Hearts Early Learning in Lynwood, a family-owned child care center, were giving Benadryl to the children before putting them down for a nap. Benadryl is a medicine usually used for allergy relief and causes drowsiness as a side effect.

According to the lawsuit, on Sept. 21, 2023, parents arrived at Little Hands to pick up their children and were waiting for them to wake up from nap time. While they were waiting, the parents were talking to other children, and one of them said that another child, "spits out his purple medicine at nap time."

The parents later asked their kids if they received "purple medicine" or "purple candy" at nap time, to which the children said, yes, they did receive some sort of "purple candy" before napping.

The parents listed in the lawsuit, which was filed on Nov. 13 in Snohomish County, reported the co-owners of Little Hands to the Washington State Department of Children Youth and Families (DCYF) and the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office (SCSO).

Little Hands was shut down on Sept. 22 pending the outcome of the investigation, which is ongoing.

According to the lawsuit, since Sept. 22, several children who attended Little Hands have had their hair tested and all of them were found to have high levels of Diphenhydramine in their systems, which is also known as Benadryl.

The lawsuit alleges the co-owners of Little Hands administered the drug to the children to try and get them to go to sleep and stay sedated during their time there. The lawsuit also claims the co-owners used physical force against the kids, including allegedly spanking a child for "not listening."

The parents are suing the daycare for negligence and other damages as a result of the information. The sheriff's office and DCYF are continuing to investigate.

KOMO News contacted Little Hands for a statement in regards to the claims but has not yet heard back.