A baby is picked up and shaken by the caregiver. Another is forced into a chair.

A two-year-old boy is hit and kicked.

A nanny grabs a baby's head to shove in food. Another nanny lets a baby roll off her while she watches television.

Hidden cameras, known as Nanny Cams, reveal far too many disturbing cases of abuse and neglect in American daycare operations.

But the dark side of daycare can rear its head in Ottawa as well.

Consider the Orl�ans home where 50-year-old H�l�ne Ranger ran a private care. Parents thought their children were in a safe and caring environment.

That changed in October 2007, when police and the Children's Aid Society began investigating after a child in Ranger's care suffered a black eye.

Investigators arrived at the house to find seven children in a basement that reeked of urine with music blaring. Ranger was arrested after trying to stop police from entering another room.

Four more children, all under the age of two, were found in playpens in the furnace room - in complete darkness.

Ranger was charged with forcible confinement, obstructing police, and operating an unlicensed daycare.

Last month the forcible confinement charges were dropped when Ranger agreed to plead guilty to the other charges. She was fined $5,000 and received three years probation.

"There are good people out there, good babysitters and home daycare, but I'm never going to trust again," said one mother, who brought her baby to Ranger for one year.

"As a mother the guilt that you have will never go away. You ask yourself, how did I not see the signs?

"I went to the door and right away a police officer was holding my child. She said 'don't worry, nothing is wrong, your child is fine.' The minute they say don't worry - you worry."

The mother entered the basement, smelling the urine and mildew for herself. She cried and gagged.

Several home daycares have been the subject of criminal investigations over the past year. One woman was convicted after hitting a seven-year-old with a metal broomstick. Charges were dropped against another daycare provider who punished a child with a time out in her bedroom closet. And several family members of caregivers have been implicated in sexual assault cases.

Dr. Maggie Mamen, a child psychologist, said what appears to be even a mild form of child neglect can have a long-term impact into adulthood.

"If a child sat in front of a TV, video, or computer for lengthy periods of time, we have good research that shows that does make changes to their brain waves," Mamen told CTV Ottawa.

The Children's Aid Society wants parents or other observers to immediately reports suspicions of abuse or neglect before it's too late.

Some parents are planning legal action against Ranger. Other families simply want closure.

One mother won't soon forget, even though her daughter doesn't remember anything.

"You are so angry because your number one job as a parent is to protect your child," she said. "How come we didn't see this coming? How come we didn't see the signs?"

With a report from CTV Ottawa's Natalie Pierosara