Daycare WWYD, child left alone on playground

[nmosrob]

I don't post much here, some of you may know me from TTTC and eventually GotP.

DH picked up DD (just about 29 months) at daycare on Friday, and she was on the playground by herself, no other kids, no teachers.

I usually pick her up, around 5 every day. He was later than normal, around 5:30ish, but that doesn't really matter. He went to her room, no one was there, which is normal. Usually at the end of the day the kids will be in the playground, or the multipurpose room, or combined in another classroom as more kids get picked up. He got her stuff, glanced outside from the window of another room, didn't see anyone, and went around to other classrooms looking for her. He went to the front desk, the girl there said she should be in Toddler B, went there, she wasn't there, and the teachers (I think mostly floaters or new teachers) seemed to not know who she was (per him, I can't say that for sure). He went outside, and there she was, behind the fence at the toddler area, with tears in her eyes. There is a big kid area and toddler area, the door to the playground goes into the big kid area, and off to the right is fenced off toddler area. He brought her back in and yelled at the the front desk that she was outside by herself, and the girl went to get the owner. It's kind of a mess right now, there is no director (recently took another job), so it's the franchise owner and the business manager running things. Business manager was not there, owner said she would get to the bottom of things and disciplinary action would be taken. She called us both later to say she's still investigating.

I dropped DD off this morning, her 2 teachers didn't know what happened, and the business manager didn't know, either. Owner is not usually there at drop off, but she will also be out today for a funeral, so I couldn't meet with her today. Business manager looked mortified when I told her what happened.

What would you do? Other than the obvious, demand to know exactly how it happened, and how will they ensure that it never happens to any child again. Would you report them? The thing is, we do really like this daycare. DD loves it, she has friends there, and loves her teachers (her teachers are usually there early in the morning, and floaters in the afternoon, they would never have let this happen).

I've never been in a situation like this, and I'm not good at being the kind of stern I know I have to be. Just looking for input, opinions, anything.

Sorry that got long, I tend to babble.

[vtdiamond]

Yikes, yeah that is totally unacceptable.

I would schedule a meeting with the owner to discuss how it happened and what they will do to fix it.

[acr]

I am super breezy (daycare goals - keep my kid alive and in one piece), but I would be livid about this. I would want to see significant disciplinary action and I would report them. I'd probably stay if the staff issues were handled, but they definitely need to address some problems in their organization!

[lessel]

Ditto PPs. Your DD is about the same age as my DS and I love our daycare, the teachers and director, so I'm trying to imagine what I'd do in your shoes. I'd put my concerns in writing, request a meeting, demand action--see how they plan to fix it--and go from there as to whether or not to report, pull my kid, etc.

GL. Sorry this happened to you guys and your DD.

[Ashley&Scott]

Your poor DD, she must have been so scared! How long was she out there alone? Do they not do a headcount when they go in/out? I would be livid. I would expect a meeting asap with explanations & plan of action. 

ETA: I would report to the state & I might pull my kid depending on how the center remedies the situation. Susie's center handled their incident very well. 

[Susie]

So apparently something similar happened (not at pickup time) at our daycare two Fridays ago.  To give you some perspective on the reaction, our center self reported the incident to our state's Office of Child & Family Services, alerted the parents of two kids involved, instituted new policies to prevent it from happening again, and yet Hobbes is at home today because OCFS suspended the center's license.  We are HOPING it will be reinstated tomorrow because these unplanned days off are killer (especially since they are on top of her being excluded on Friday for a fever).

I think the closure was a huge overreaction by the state agency, considering the facts of the incident as I understand them.  According to statute, OCFS isn't actually supposed to yank a license without due process unless the kids were in immediate danger.  They weren't, but here we are.  It happened in a toddler class, a parent came to pickup while the kids were on the playground, teachers did headcount entering the building but then got distracted dealing with the pickup parent/child, and two other toddlers escaped back outside.  They did headcount again when they got to the classroom and went back for the two escape artists, who were briefly alone on the fenced, protected playground.  As a result, there's a new policy that parents can now only pickup from the classroom.  

Obviously what happened at our daycare wasn't acceptable, but not shut-down-the-center worthy IMO.  What makes me fine with returning was that they self-reported same-day, they're being transparent, there was an identifiable problem and there's a solution already in place.  The OCFS notice came a week after the incident (late Friday), we had an email on Sat advising us of closure, and yesterday the director called us personally (probably working her way through the alphabet calling every family at the center) to confirm that we got the message and offering to answer any questions we had.  It's a shitty situation, but I feel like the center is responding in all the right ways.  I was planning to ask for a credit for today's tuition, but she is trying to use today as a staff day to give us back a normal staff day later in the year, and that would be acceptable to me.

Your center is responding in none of those ways.  It's not so much that it happened that would have me raising hell, it's the what happens next.  I would be taking time out of my day to pay a visit and talk to the director in person about this, and gauge what to do from there.  Even if you love the teachers, if the school isn't doing enough to support the teachers in keeping the kids safe, it would be no go for me.  I would also start looking into other options.

[mrshandy]

Wow. I'm pretty breezy about stuff, but this would seriously freak me out. To me it's a sign of a larger problem, that they are overwhelmed and not keeping track of where children are.

I would want some serious action and discussion ASAP or I would be out of there.

[scm1011]

Holy Shit. That is insane and I'd be in burn it down mode. Your poor baby. The response you have gotten so far is not okay either. How are her teachers and the owner unaware of such a huge transgression?!? I hope you get a much better response today.

[miamigirl]

No. This is not acceptable, I'd be livid. Your poor DD...

I'd schedule a meeting with the owner/ditector ASAP to get to the bottom of how it happened and how they will assure it never will again.

[pugz]

It needs to be reported to the state

[kdubs923]

This happened at our center (not to us) and the teachers involved were fired immediately.

I would expect they would report it themselves, but if not, then I would report them.

In order for me to feel OK with my child's continued attendance, I'd need an explanation of how it happened and a plan for it to not happen again.

[minniemouse]

Yikes, that is horrible. I would start touring other centers now, then make a decision after hearing what their plan is. Of course, this is hypothetical and from a distance. If this happened to my dd, I might be too upset to take her to daycare today.
Susie - what happens if a parent arrives to pick up and the kids are outside? Do they have to wait until the class comes in?

[vmars]

No this is not okay. I would be removing my child. I am normally not one to pull a kid, but this is huge IMO. How long was your child alone? How did no one notice? The fact that you do not have answers yet is completely unacceptable.

[countthestars]

I pulled my kid for less. I'm sorry this happened to you. I won't judge you if you decide to stay, but I would want a very clear and detailed explanation on what happens from here, and I would want them to report themselves by EOD today or I'd be doing it.

[catbear]

Something like this happened at the daycare center I had my son at when he was 1. In the 3 year old classroom, a child left the playground and walked up the street. He was returned to the school by a good samaritan. The school was shut down for a month and had to do a bunch of recertification / staff training / rule changes. We stayed (my son wasn't in the impacted classroom) but lots of families left. This situation was a bit worse than what you describe but I think your center should be doing much much more.

[starburst604]

Wow. I'm not sure what's required by state regs when something like this happens, but if self-reporting is the proper step then I'd expect nothing less than that. The thing is, even if the particular incident didn't lead to harm of the child (THIS time), it's indicative of an overall issue that could have been more dangerous. There was a recent story locally of a child being left in a van on some kind of daycare field trip, and the child died. If they aren't following a protocol to make sure someone isn't left alone on the playground, where else are they lacking? I can completely relate to being lousy at being "stern" about stuff and I'm a pretty low-key parent with daycare, but you cannot let up on them about this.

I love our center and so does DD, but I don't think I could continue there in this situation. L is the same age and picturing her out there by herself like that makes me sick to my stomach. Of course, we don't have a ton of immediate options for care and I understand that the same may be true for you as well.

[clseale]

Yeah, I agree with Susie. In the situation she explained, I wouldn't be too worked up. Unacceptable, but things happen and they are taking acceptable steps/precautions for the future. Plus, it sounds like they noticed right away. I would be concerned and want answers, but not burn it down level. In YOUR case, I would be shaking mad. Like, I read about dd out there alone and scared and I almost cried. HTF did no one even notice she was missing?! Honestly, I'm not sure they could recover from this for me. I'm nit sure what they would have to do to make this right, but I would absolutely report them.

[Susie]

Sept 25, 2017 9:21:46 GMT -5 minniemouse said:

Susie - what happens if a parent arrives to pick up and the kids are outside? Do they have to wait until the class comes in?

I'm not sure, it's all pretty fresh.  Maybe a floater would accompany us back to the classroom to pick up?  Maybe we'd have to wait until the kids were returning to the classroom?  Maybe the whole class would come back to the classroom together?  Because of our pick up time, we won't run into it unless we're picking up early/running out for a midday pedi appt or something.  I also don't know if we can drop off when the class is on the playground (e.g. if I took her to an 8am pedi appt and to daycare late).  Things to ask about.

[lacey]

I think the nail in the coffin for me would be that the teachers and business leader didn't know about it this morning. Clearly the owner didn't care enough about the situation to inform the senior person in charge today of what happened. I would probably call and ask who will be in charge of her once her normal teachers leave and make sure its not the same people that she was with yesterday. This kind of mistake needs immediate action, not when I get to it in a couple days action. I would specifically ask at pick up of they have self reported and if not I would absolutely report to the state.

[dcn]

I would not be happy with their response. No one knew this morning? I'd report it and schedule a meeting asap with the owner.

I'd call a few other centers today too just to see what my options are.

[ssmjlm]

I would have reported it that day.

And I would have a sit down with the owner about the situation with written bullets that they should respond to.

I would also be looking for a new daycare. God knows how long she was outside by herself. I can't even imagine.

[nextbigthing]

my son is about that same age (31 months) and I'm normally pretty breezy about daycare stuff, but in this case I would LOSE MY SHIT!

this is not something to overlook and be breezy about. they didn't know where she was! report to state and burn it down.

[patches31709]

Sept 25, 2017 9:37:34 GMT -5 clseale said:

Yeah, I agree with Susie . In the situation she explained, I wouldn't be too worked up. Unacceptable, but things happen and they are taking acceptable steps/precautions for the future. Plus, it sounds like they noticed right away. I would be concerned and want answers, but not burn it down level. In YOUR case, I would be shaking mad. Like, I read about dd out there alone and scared and I almost cried. HTF did no one even notice she was missing?! Honestly, I'm not sure they could recover from this for me. I'm nit sure what they would have to do to make this right, but I would absolutely report them.

Yes, this. DD is at her first day of school today so I'm a bit emotional anyway, but my heart broke reading about OPs daughter being alone outside. They absolutely need to be reported, if they haven't done that already themselves. 

[pugz]

Also when this has happened locally, the news has been all over it. At one center the teachers were fired and can never work with children again. It was that serious.

At that one multiple toddlers got off the school property and were brought back by a repairman at a building nearby. Gross negligence and endangerment

[nmosrob]

Thank you all so much for your replies, I really appreciate it.

Susie, yes, that is a very similar situation. I'm sure it was missed when parents were picking kids up and it does get a little chaotic. I really like the way your center handled it, man, they were on top of it. Not just self reporting, but checking the kids when they got back from inside to make sure that no one slipped by, and to take care if it right away if they did.

I asked her teachers this morning what's the protocol for coming in from the playground, they said they check everyone in on the class ipod. The ipod has everyone's pictures, so even if it's a new teacher or floater, they would be able to know who is who.

I hate how it's being handled right now, or obviously the LACK of handling. I know the owner is out for her grandmother's funeral today, and I am sympathetic, but if not her, someone should be on top of this.

So, if I report, how do I do that? I mean, to who? I will look up Office of Child & Family Services as Susie referenced in her post.

[ilikedonuts]

I would not be as concerned if they had caught it within a couple minutes and then went to get her, but the fact that they all had no idea where your child was is terrifying. And that YOUR HUSBAND had to be the one to find her? I get that the owner had a funeral but why the hell didn't they call everyone and fill them in last night?

[sillygoosegirl]

That's awful! I will admit my child has gotten out of my house without my knowledge before at home, and I only have one kid to watch. But she was ringing the doorbell to be let back in before I noticed she was gone. The idea of a kid being trapped outside in a fensed playground without being able to get back in or alert anyone to needing help is very scary. A lot of daycares, there are no windows overlooking the playground, and of course the doors are big and heavy and no doubt locked. How scary! How long might she have been out there? Imagine if it was Winter? I'm all about free range parenting, but the steps daycares must make to keep the children safe make the playground actually an exceptionally dangerous place for a child to be forgotten alone, because they can't get help and often can't be seen. And nobody knew this incident had happened the next morning? It should have been all the adults were talking about. My general experience has been that after hours teachers are shitty, but this is way worse than anything we've ever experienced.

The fact that they are without a director does make me have a little more patience with it all. Obviously still a major problem, but leadership matters a lot and I think the fact that they have an open top leadership spot is more promising for this being solvable than if they had a shitty leader.

I would report them to the state licensing people, and also since you said it was a corporate franchise, I'd report them to the corporate leadership.

I'd like to see the teacher responsible fired. And I'd like to see a child-friendly doorbell and cameras installed on the playground. And teachers trained in a protocol to prevent such mistakes. Or similar steps taken. And I'd be looking at different daycares too.

[zarapipe]

I am pretty breezy and I would be livid and like pugz I would report this to the state. She was in the playground which is "safe" but she could have been outside the fence, etc. I would call the state and they will do their own investigation and hopefully the provider will feel a little heat and straighten up.

[jene]

I would absolutely report them. It's one thing if they noticed it and let you know, but to be all tra la la does not fly in my book

[momin2013]

I would be absolutely livid. I'm so sorry this happened, OP.

Honestly, I don't know if I'd be able to trust them after this. I mean, unless they have already come up with a procedure to ensure this never, ever happens again (like they should have had in the first place), I'd be worried that it might happen again.