LYNNWOOD, Wash. — A Lynnwood daycare is accused of drugging kids before they took naps, according to a lawsuit.
A lawsuit filed in November accused Little Hands Big Hearts Early Learning of giving children Benadryl "to promote sedation and sleepiness." The daycare has been shut down since Sept. 22, while officials investigate the claims in the lawsuit.
While the parents who filed the lawsuit were picking up their child from the daycare in September, they were talking to another child who said "he spits out his purple medicine at nap time." According to the lawsuit, the parents asked their child if he also had purple medicine at nap time and they confirmed.
Investigators said several children attending the daycare tested positive for Diphenhydramine, known as Benadryl. Benadryl is an antihistamine that can cause drowsiness.
The daycare owner's lawyer, Jim Johanson said they’ll do their own research.
"Just verify that the tests were done accurately," said Johanson.
The daycare owner's website claims she has her Washington childcare license and that she has worked in early learning for 20 years.
“She is very upset, um, you know, she’s denying the claims," said Johanson. "We’ll deny that in our answer.”
Little Hands Big Hearts Early Learning has received multiple complaints since the daycare was shuttered in September, according to the lawsuit.
The Snohomish County Sheriff's Office is looking into the allegations against the daycare. The lawsuit also alleged a few employees spanked one or more of the children for "not listening."
Three families are named as plaintiffs in the complaint for damages.
KING 5 made contact with several parents on Monday, but they chose to decline to give comment per the advice of their lawyer.
Kelly Burdette and Paul Fogarty are listed as the lawyers for the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, but they were unreachable for comment Monday.