A daycare employee allegedly tried to “trash” nap drama by putting a 4-year-old boy in a garbage can for refusing to sleep.
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Monica Forte, the child’s mother, spoke to ABC 7 Chicago about the alleged incident on Jan. 13. She said she “had no words” after seeing the surveillance footage from The Learning Lab in Homewood, Illinois.
The disturbing footage shared by ABC 7 captures an employee dragging Grayson, the older of Forte’s two sons, toward a trash can by the wall and placing him inside.
Forte told the outlet how she felt seeing the shocking video for the first time.
“My first thing was, of course, I’m crying,” she said before adding, “And I immediately went to the police station.”
However, she and the boys’ father, Justin Barnes, were quickly told the police couldn’t act as their 4-year-old son hadn’t been physically harmed by the worker.
The daycare reportedly fired the employee who put the child in the trash can, as well as another employee who didn’t step in to stop it. However, the parents are still deeply concerned. They pointed out that several other staff members allegedly saw the incident but did nothing to stop it or report it.
The Daycare Employee Reportedly Told the Parents Placing Their Child in the Trash was a Joke
The daycare employee told Forte and Barnes that the incident was intended as a joke, the parents told ABC 7. The security footage tells a different story. It left the parents wondering how a daycare professional could react so drastically to a routine situation.
“If you work with kids, I mean, you have to learn,” Forte insisted to the local outlet. “They should know how to de-escalate these certain situations when they don’t want to take a nap.”
Meanwhile, The Learning Lab weighed in on the incident via a statement to ABC 7.
“We tried to work cooperatively and transparently with the family,” the company wrote. “[The Company is] working with our licensing agency, DCFS, and the Homewood police. We have shared additional information we became aware of yesterday because we believe it warranted further investigation and possible action against the person who did this.”
Forte and Barnes are considering suing the daycare while looking for a new one for their sons. They are worried about their son’s mental health and the lasting impact of the humiliation he suffered. Especially since so many people witnessed it.
“We just want to, you know, make sure that Grayson is aware that the situation that happened, that, you know, the helper, what she did was wrong,” an emotional Barnes said to ABC 7. “What he did, he did nothing wrong.”
“It was just way worse than I could imagine. I’m worried about what he feels,” he added.