Daycare Under Investigation After Video Surfaces Of Workers Laughing While Throwing Cheese At Crying Baby’s Face
People are questioning why the employees chose to work in childcare if they get enjoyment over upsetting children.
@mamamaditate via TikTok / Caleb Woods via Unsplash A Louisiana daycare center is under investigation after disturbing video clips from inside the facility were sent to a news station by a former employee. Now, the daycare staff is being accused of possible child abuse, and many parents are now concerned about dropping off their children at such childcare centers.
A video depicts daycare employees throwing cheese at and taping toddlers to chairs as they scream and cry.
The videos were recorded at Pumpkin Patch Daycare Center in Eunice, Louisiana. One particular clip displays a group of children seated in high chairs when suddenly, a staff member approaches one of the children from the side and proceeds to throw a slice of American cheese on his face. The staff member laughs and wanders off-camera as the child screams and cries, seemingly startled by what just happened.
An additional video depicts a different toddler taped to a chair.
The videos were sent to News 10 by a former employee.
According to an anonymous source on TikTok, the employee sent in the videos after she stole a check from the daycare center and went to cash it. The daycare center had allegedly threatened to press charges against the employee, who then sent the videos to the news station as retaliation.
The employee claims that the videos were not taken recently.
People were appalled by the videos of the clearly distressed children.
“That is just unbelievable and why many parents are scared of taking their kids to daycare,” one user commented. “Horrific. They need to be charged.”
“She should be fired and go to jail!! If she does that, what else does she do?!” another user noted of one of the employees.
“As a preschool director for the last 18 years, this breaks my heart to hear that baby cry,” another user shared.
Others questioned why the employees chose to work at a daycare center if they found entertainment in tormenting children.
The daycare is currently under a police investigation.
Eunice Police are aware of the video clips. “We do have the videos and they’re very disturbing to watch,” Police Chief Kyle LeBoef told News 10. “An innocent child shouldn’t have to go through that. Especially if someone put that child in someone else’s care.”
The police department has since opened an investigation into the Pumpkin Patch Daycare Center to determine if charges can be brought against the employees in the videos mistreating the children.
“Right away you’re looking at child neglect or child abuse,” LeBouef says. “Certainly, within those statures but that’s to be determined later.”
Concerned parents also made calls to the police station regarding the disturbing video clips.
According to LeBouef, the time the videos were taken is irrelevant to the investigation. “We’re going to look at the videos and try to determine exactly when this happened. From our understanding, it could possibly be quite old but that doesn’t matter when it comes to criminal charges.”
Unfortunately, daycare staff mistreating the children they are meant to be looking after is not completely unheard of.
In 2017, 2,237 different daycare providers nationwide were reported for abusing or neglecting children, per data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The actual number of incidents of child abuse is likely much higher since some of them go unreported.
If people are going to work in childcare, it is essential that they undergo a thorough background check to ensure that they prioritize the well-being of children, rather than humiliating and antagonizing them for the expense of their caretaker’s entertainment.
While the cheese slice and tape most likely did not injure the children, the incidents left them with possible trauma and fears of the daycares that are meant to protect them.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.