Some parents tend to feel at least a little apprehensive about sending their kids to day care because they want to ensure their little ones are safe and properly cared for while they’re at work. Unfortunately, that’s not always going to be the case. A suburban day care worker in St. Charles, Illinois, is facing charges after allegedly giving multiple toddlers laxatives. On February 3, 2026, police received multiple calls from concerned parents alleging that one of the day care teachers at a facility on West Main Street was responsible.
According to People, 23-year-old Yizel J. Juarez was arrested and faces charges of three counts of attempted aggravated battery causing bodily harm to a victim under 13 and three counts of endangering the life or health of a child after reportedly giving laxatives to young children at the day care center where she worked in St. Charles, which is about 40 miles west of Chicago.
Juarez was fired from The Learning Experience day care the morning of February 3 after police were reportedly told by multiple parents that she had given their toddlers chewable laxatives. Investigators confirmed she gave them to three children at the facility who were all younger than 2, CBS Chicago reported.
Juarez turned herself in to police and was released from custody, Fox 32 reported. According to CBS Chicago, Juarez studied early education at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb.
A mother who asked to remain anonymous told CBS Chicago that she was “devastated” and had been “trying to figure out for many weeks why [her] child was always sick.”
The mom told the news outlet that her 17-month-old had been in the care of The Learning Experience since the summer of 2025, which was around the same time Juarez started working for the day care facility.
Her daughter had been sent home from the center for diarrhea at least three times over the past two months and “is still suffering from constipation,” which she was told by a doctor is a side effect from coming off laxatives, per CBS Chicago.
The mom also told the news outlet that on February 2, she found out from the day care center director that Juarez had been fired because she had allegedly been giving kids laxatives “and saying that it was candy,” so they would be sent home sick because she was reportedly “overwhelmed.”
Juarez has a court date, and the St. Charles Police Department is still investigating the case. We hope the families and children involved can move on from this incident and find a care facility with nurturing and respectable workers.
If you suspect child abuse, you can call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453 (1-800-4-A-Child) or go to Childhelp.org. The hotline is available 24/7.
