Lately I have thinking a lot about getting back into shape (I never really had any baby weight to lose since I actually lost weight when I was pregnant, but I am still no where near where I would like to be) and I know the first step is going back to the gym. Simeon and I have a membership to 24 Hour Fitness that we used pretty regularly. That is, before we had Ana. Sim has actually been working out lately, but I haven’t gone since I was pregnant. I called around to the clubs in my area and found out about the day care they offer. It was reasonably priced, and super convenient, so I checked out the class schedules and decided to commit. This morning I got up, decided I would start with a Pilates class, and today Ana and I would go to the gym.
Knowing there would be paperwork to fill out, I arrived a little early, paid for my book of child care passes, and brought Ana into the Kids’ Club. I completed all the paperwork, said good-bye to Ana, and set her down to play. She quickly crawled off to check out all the new toys without giving me a second glance, so I felt comfortable sneaking off to my Pilates class.
When I came back to get Ana after my class (which, in case you were wondering, kicked my ass in the best possible way) the first thing I noticed was one of the ladies was holding Ana. Then I saw that her face looked a little red. Assuming she just fell and bumped her head or skidded on the carpet, I signed her out. The lady handed Ana over to me and I honestly gasped out loud. I quickly turned Ana around to face me and noticed her face was red and puffy, completely covered in scratches, and there were even a couple cuts that were actually bleeding. I asked what happened and the lady had the audacity to ask me if Ana had a rash when she got there. I turned Ana towards her and said this was not a rash. She was obviously scratched to the point that blood was drawn. I asked what happened and all the employees got quiet and kinda looked at each other. One of the other moms was picking up her child and said she was sure they couldn’t assume responsibility, but she was sure it was her daughter’s fault. I told her I didn’t think she should leave her daughter in day care knowing she was likely to attack the other children. She yelled back at me, “I don’t know how many children you have, but this is just something they do!” and then proceeded to slam the door on her way out.
I turned back to the workers and told them this was absolutely unacceptable and demanded they refund my money for the Kids’ Club because there was no way I was going to pay for my child to be neglected. One of the ladies told me she would take me to the manager so we could deal with the situation. He apologized, promptly refunded my money, and said he would have a talk with the other employees. While we were still talking, another mother came in with her son in her arms and pointed out his face which was covered with marks similar to Ana. Seeing that both children were clearly attacked by the same person, he said they would make a note on the other girl’s chart and not allow her back into the day care center. I thanked him for trying to handle the situation, gathered up Ana and headed to our car. As soon as I got into the parking lot I completely lost it and started crying. I felt so guilty for dropping off Ana, for leaving her in sub-standard care, and for the marks all over her face. Of course the first time I ever leave Ana without close friends or family something awful has to happen. I am seriously going to have a hard time leaving her any time soon!
Now don’t get me wrong, I understand things happen. I know how children, especially babies, don’t always understand that their actions have consequences. I know babies get hurt all the time and turn out just fine. What I cannot understand is how something like this can happen. There were three employees working the day care and only four children. The workers clearly were not watching the kids. Ana could have been scratched before they were able to separate her from the other girl, sure. But the number of scratches in multiple places means it didn’t happen in the blink of an eye. And certainly the fact that TWO children were cut and scratched obviously means there was a lapse in supervision.
But the employees are not the only ones to blame. The mother of the “bully girl” knew her daughter was the culprit, which means it has most likely happened before. I don’t understand how she could, in good conscience, leave her child knowing she has a tendency to lash out on other children. At the very least she should have mentioned something to the workers so they could have kept a closer eye on her.
I took some pictures a couple hours after the fact. Keep in mind that I washed off the dried blood and the majority of the redness and swelling had already gone down. What you still see on Ana’s face are the deep cuts and scratches. And even those don’t look nearly as bad in the photos as they do in person. My poor baby!
that is one of the saddest things i have ever seen. that little monster sure did a number on you cute little baby’s face. at the very least you know that ana has a great amount of self control. if i were her i would have bit the kid. lets just hope that this whole self control thing lasts through the age of 18….or at least through the night 😉
I a lurker to your blog, but I had to come out of lurkdom to comment. OMG. If that had happened to one of my kids I would have lost it. Shame on those people who work there & shame on that mother who left her monster of child there. You wanted to take some time to do something for yourself & this is what happened. I am so sorry this happened & hopefully that place will take some action so it doesn’t happen to someone else’s child.
Take Care
OH my gosh! I am SOOOOOOOOOOO sorry that this happened to you and Ana. Yes, kids do this sort of thing and it should be expected to some extent but the thing that gets me is that there were 3 workers and 4 children. One scratch – maybe but NOT that many. I would go a step farther with the guym. I would DEMAND them to let you out of your contract and join a different gym so that you can still work out and hopefully their day care will be better. Or you can buy some gym equipment for your house with the money you’ll save. Now there is NO WAY you’ll go back so you should NOT pay them another cent! ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good for you for working out. The days I don’t want to I just think of what example I am setting for my son.
I am just FUMING for you right now. You were much nicer to that mom and the workers than I would have been, seriously. Using the excuse that having more than one child makes it ok for you to not teach them basic social do’s and don’ts tells me that first of all, she shouldn’t have any more kids and probably shouldn’t have had more than ONE, and also that she’s one of those horrible parents who is doing NOTHING to mold her children into productive members of society, and when they screw anything up in life, she will end up blaming all of the people that "raised" her kids for her because she was just too busy doing god knows what. And those day care workers….well you know how I feel about day cares in general…usually substandard care from people who think they can just hang out and intervene every once in a while if they hear fighting…but dropping your kid off for an hour or two while you take a class is a different thing. You should have been able to trust that they could watch four babies for an hour, and that right away, they would have seen a problem with that one child, and promptly taken her back to her mother so that the rest of the kids would be safe. Grrrrrrr. I’m with Jen, you should demand that the club refund your membership because one of the benefits under which you signed your contract (safe and responsible childcare) does not exist. Tell them you took pictures and kept a journal entry to document the abuse/neglect, and that you’re willing to follow up with legal action (even if you’re not). 😉
Sorry, I’m ranting. I’m just so mad for you right now.
I don’t know how often you wanted to work out, but I’m totally willing to watch Ana for you whenever. We could swap you dropping her off here, and me driving up to your house if it would make it easier. We’re only like ten minutes away from each other, and seeing what happened to Ana at childcare, I think it’s totally worth it! Don’t let this unfortunate event stop you from doing this for yourself, you deserve it. 🙂 Love you sweetie. Give Ana a kiss for me.
yes, get your money back! Those workers are completely outrageous and it is your right to good care and your right to leave if that is denied.
Ana is definitely a tough cookie!
I think you should take Ana with you to the pilates class a few times and then get her into some weight training and then she can show the bully a thing or two and maybe even her mom!!!
I’m totally shocked that Ana was scratched so many times! They were extremely poor daycare providers to not intervene after the first contact and Ana crying out. It had to have hurt Ana with the first scratch and I’m sure she didn’t remain quiet throughout this ordeal!!
You should let the Gym know that you are filing a complaint with the better business bureau, and that they had best let you out of your contract to find another place to do your exercising. Please take Heather up on watching her and you can trade off, or find a Gym and get references from the parents on their satisfaction with their daycare experience. I’m so very sorry that you and Ana had such a terrible ordeal for your first outing. Don’t get all bent out of shape/a guilt trip, for trying to do the right thing and getting back in shape. Your nursing has been burning calories and that’s a good thing for the both of you. Wish I had been there, I’d really have raised royal H and they would have been doing everything possible to make things right. As it was, with the other mom complaining also, this bully child will most likely not be allowed back. Small consulation for what you’ve gomne through:( Kiss everyone of those scratches and tell Ana those are Gramma kisses to speed up the healing. Love, Mom/G’ma
That is horrible, I ran a daycare for 11 years without incident! This is not acceptable under any circumstances. j Poor baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lisa
Oh my God! I am totally with the others… you should call the BBB and file a complaint. Tell the gym that you’ve done this, and if they don’t give you your money back, tell them you will be retaining the services of legal counsel. Shame on them!
I take Michael one day a week to a friend who does in-home daycare. She does a great job of course, but I still always feel bad leaving him there. But don’t feel bad for simply wanting a little time to focus on yourself. We earn it.
Hi, I don’t know you but I came across your blog
while doing searches on 24 hour fitness child care.
I have a 14 month old and wasn’t sure if I should
put her in the child care at my southeast Texas
location or not. Now, after reading your post,
I say NOT!!!!!! I was also dismayed that they our
location does not have baby swing, bouncy seats,
or cribs….If you bring a 6-8 month old….what on earth would they do???