Staff at Illinois preschool could face criminal charges after video shows them directing toddlers to punch each other
ST. LOUIS – A seconds-long social media post last Tuesday alleged daycare workers fought outside while toddlers were left unsupervised on the floor inside, surrounded by broken glass.
An unidentified adult voice can be overheard in the post saying, “Baby, don’t touch that—that’s glass.”
The relative of a child at the center who posted the video does not want to be identified. “What if one of these babies had gotten into this glass and put it in their mouth and swallowed it?” she said in a local news interview.
The mother of a child, asking to be identified only as ‘Milly,’ revealed that she saw her two children on the post.
Police were called about the incident at the Kreatyve Kydz Development Center on West Florissant. The state licensing board was called to report both the fighting workers and the hazardous broken glass from a shattered bottle scattered across the floor.
Both workers have since been fired.
Despite the disgraceful behavior of the former workers, a mother said she will be keeping her child there; she added that the center showed her the video of the happenings inside, as well as evidence that the center is taking the incident seriously in hopes that a similar incident doesn’t occur again.
However, Milly says she’s looking at other daycare options, saying, “I advocate for my kids because they can’t speak for themselves.”
The woman who posted the video remains hopeful about the center’s response, and thinks the daycare is moving in the right direction. “Two (bad) apples don’t spoil the whole bunch. You get rid of them. You revamp. You come show the community you can get it right,” she said.
The Missouri Child Care Licensing authority says state inspectors will be following up with a licensing investigation.
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