A fort Worth Area Day Care Center is in a sticky situation after parents of a 2-year-old boy found out about the way they decided to enforce nap time. Unlike the grandma who duct taped the pacifier to her grandchild’s mouth, the day care was not in a joking mood when the young boy would not settle down for a nap. Instead of taking the time to calm the young child or find out what was wrong, they decided to take matters into their own hands.
Kristi and Brad Galbraith were displeased and upset when they received photos of their 2-year- old son duct taped to a sleeping mat. The photo was sent to them by a former employee of the Heart2Heart Montessori Academy in Willow Park. The family is currently suing the daycare for fraud and negligence. Their attorney spoke out on the matter.
“This is a parent’s worst nightmare.Parents take a leap of faith to entrust their children to the care of someone else, and it is extremely upsetting when something like this happens to toddlers, who are too young to speak up for themselves.”
The employee of the daycare who sent the photos of the young child quit after the issue occurred. The staff member also called child protective services to report the issue. Kristi Galbraith was grateful that the abuse was reported before it became more serious, but places blame on herself for not noticing the signs.
“I felt sick to my stomach. I felt extreme guilt for possibly missing signs of what was going on.”
Although the duct tape was not affixed directly to the child, certain complications could have have resulted in a fatality. After the photos were revealed, it was discovered that the daycare was the focus of suspicion of other parents as well. Allegedly, the school refused to provide refreshments, such as water, to the children. The logic behind the lack of basic water was to prevent an excessive amount of wet diaper changing throughout the day.
The School Head, Pamela Decker, stated that the parents were “freaking out.”
“[T]his whole thing has been blown out of proportion”
The Galbraiths filed their lawsuit, hoping to receive $1 million dollars in damages. The daycare is still open and operating normally at this time. There is no further information as to whether other parents have pulled their children from attending the daycare.
How would you react in this situation?
[Photo Courtesy: New York Daily News ]