Toddler left at Livingston Park by daycare (FCC?)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What bothers me most about this is not that the kid was left behind -- I can sort of understand that happening with a big group of moving kids, making it hard to get anaccurate head count -- but that no one noticed for an hour. Don't the teachers know and like their kids enough to notice when someone is missing? Either the teahcers are disengaged, the classes are too big, or both.

This. Kids move and squirm, which could lead to accidentally counting an "extra" kid that isn't actually lined up. There's also more than one adult, so I can also see how you get a situation where one adult thinks the other adult got the count. But once they are back in the classroom, how can they NOT register that they are missing a kid? Even if you assume that it wasn't a whole hour, even if it was 30 minutes, that is just way. too. long.

the situation where it could occur would be a miscommunication on a parent picking up a child at the park.
you bring 12 children - a parent comes and picks up a child - another parent passes by waves but does not pick up a child - teachers start to leave to do a count - they count 10 - they get back to the school - wash hands - use potty - a parent or 2 comes to pick up - it is not until "THE" parent come sthat the have the OH SH!T moment.

Transition times are opportunities for failure. FCC became aware of this at a new level earlier this week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A terrible terrible situation no doubt. Should the center be shut down? Probably not, but what absolutely needs to happen is some real shake up. I am troubled by this situation for obvious reasons. I am a parent...and an FCC parent at that. I am even more troubled by the fact that issues regarding the attentiveness of FCC staff while off site is not a new issue, and that this is the second major incident that has occurred at FCC in the past six months! Another child was severely burned by hot water. All completely unacceptable.

Considering these major incidents together with several other observations I have made regarding the lack of attention to detail, such as stair gates consistently open while children roam around freely and lapses in staff certifications, lead me to think the shake up needs to include not only staff but also leadership.

Wow. That sounds awful PP. Are you thinking about finding a new center? I am one of the PPs who turned down a 2s spot this fall. But I am going to follow up with my current preschool to ensure they have adequate precautions against this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A terrible terrible situation no doubt. Should the center be shut down? Probably not, but what absolutely needs to happen is some real shake up. I am troubled by this situation for obvious reasons. I am a parent...and an FCC parent at that. I am even more troubled by the fact that issues regarding the attentiveness of FCC staff while off site is not a new issue, and that this is the second major incident that has occurred at FCC in the past six months! Another child was severely burned by hot water. All completely unacceptable.

Considering these major incidents together with several other observations I have made regarding the lack of attention to detail, such as stair gates consistently open while children roam around freely and lapses in staff certifications, lead me to think the shake up needs to include not only staff but also leadership.

I'm not trying to stir up old incidents but I'm curious to know how the child was severely burned?

[Anonymous]

here is a link to the story for those that missed it: http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Teacher-Leaves-Toddler-Behind-at-Playground-in-Northwest-DC-172580821.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What bothers me most about this is not that the kid was left behind -- I can sort of understand that happening with a big group of moving kids, making it hard to get anaccurate head count -- but that no one noticed for an hour. Don't the teachers know and like their kids enough to notice when someone is missing? Either the teahcers are disengaged, the classes are too big, or both.

This. Kids move and squirm, which could lead to accidentally counting an "extra" kid that isn't actually lined up. There's also more than one adult, so I can also see how you get a situation where one adult thinks the other adult got the count. But once they are back in the classroom, how can they NOT register that they are missing a kid? Even if you assume that it wasn't a whole hour, even if it was 30 minutes, that is just way. too. long.

the situation where it could occur would be a miscommunication on a parent picking up a child at the park.
you bring 12 children - a parent comes and picks up a child - another parent passes by waves but does not pick up a child - teachers start to leave to do a count - they count 10 - they get back to the school - wash hands - use potty - a parent or 2 comes to pick up - it is not until "THE" parent come sthat the have the OH SH!T moment.

Transition times are opportunities for failure. FCC became aware of this at a new level earlier this week.

The teachers should carry a sign in/out board at that hour knowing some parents will take the kids from the park or bathroom/other issues and log everything. Its too easy to forget and something like this happen especially when you have 8+ kids.

[Anonymous]

I am a parent and a friend of the family who this posting is about, whose 2 yr old son was left at Livingston by FCC on Tuesday afternoon. We saw the news story and wanted to point out an inaccuracy. The FCC Director was quoted as saying that the boy who was left at the playground was in school the following day. This information is incorrect. The family kept their son out of school following the incident and has since made the decision to take him out of the school permanently. He's no longer enrolled at FCC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a parent and a friend of the family who this posting is about, whose 2 yr old son was left at Livingston by FCC on Tuesday afternoon. We saw the news story and wanted to point out an inaccuracy. The FCC Director was quoted as saying that the boy who was left at the playground was in school the following day. This information is incorrect. The family kept their son out of school following the incident and has since made the decision to take him out of the school permanently. He's no longer enrolled at FCC.

Is the family contemplating any legal action? I guess the damages might be hard to determine.

[Anonymous]

I see a lawsuit coming the way of FCC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This story is horrifying and my reaction is THANK GOD that my DH and I can afford to live on one income (even though things are very tight) so that I can stay home while my kids are young.

Wow, you just are evil aren't you.

What's evil about a mom that can afford to stay home with her children? I applaud this mom. I would do the same thing!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a parent and a friend of the family who this posting is about, whose 2 yr old son was left at Livingston by FCC on Tuesday afternoon. We saw the news story and wanted to point out an inaccuracy. The FCC Director was quoted as saying that the boy who was left at the playground was in school the following day. This information is incorrect. The family kept their son out of school following the incident and has since made the decision to take him out of the school permanently. He's no longer enrolled at FCC.

therefore the school is lying about the incident. Wonder what else they keep quiet on. Hmmm

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a parent and a friend of the family who this posting is about, whose 2 yr old son was left at Livingston by FCC on Tuesday afternoon. We saw the news story and wanted to point out an inaccuracy. The FCC Director was quoted as saying that the boy who was left at the playground was in school the following day. This information is incorrect. The family kept their son out of school following the incident and has since made the decision to take him out of the school permanently. He's no longer enrolled at FCC.

Showing up the following day and still being enrolled is completely different. The child could very well still be enrolled (spot is reserved for that child, parents already paid for the child to be there all month) and just not show up the next day. Does not seem inaccurate to me. However, I am going off the information that was provided in the link.

[Anonymous]

OK, the FCC representative didn't LIE explicitly - she is quoted as saying that the child is still enrolled - careful language which does not contain an actual falsehood, but deliberately misleading (presuming that the PP is correct that the family has decided not to return to the center, which of course seems like a no-brainer to me). I'd be equally outraged at something else the FCC rep was quoted as saying in the news story: "The parents came to pick up the child and the child had not come back from the park." C'mon FCC, you make it sound like it was the child's fault or choice to stay in the park. He was brought TO the park and was apparently NOT brought FROM the park. And then she adds that it "seems like it was a breakdown in the process." Please.

Even beyond the incident itself - which is egregious - the way that this center is handling this would hardly inspire confidence in their diligence and responsibility.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a parent and a friend of the family who this posting is about, whose 2 yr old son was left at Livingston by FCC on Tuesday afternoon. We saw the news story and wanted to point out an inaccuracy. The FCC Director was quoted as saying that the boy who was left at the playground was in school the following day. This information is incorrect. The family kept their son out of school following the incident and has since made the decision to take him out of the school permanently. He's no longer enrolled at FCC.

Showing up the following day and still being enrolled is completely different. The child could very well still be enrolled (spot is reserved for that child, parents already paid for the child to be there all month) and just not show up the next day. Does not seem inaccurate to me. However, I am going off the information that was provided in the link.

Give me a break. HE IS NO LONGER ENROLLED.
I hope they sue and I hope the involved teachers have been fired.

[Anonymous]

Yes, it was just not a very transparent performance. Again, I understand they have liability issues (and may not have had a chance to interview all the teachers to figure out exactly what happened), but really it would not give me a good feeling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What bothers me most about this is not that the kid was left behind -- I can sort of understand that happening with a big group of moving kids, making it hard to get anaccurate head count -- but that no one noticed for an hour. Don't the teachers know and like their kids enough to notice when someone is missing? Either the teahcers are disengaged, the classes are too big, or both.

This. Kids move and squirm, which could lead to accidentally counting an "extra" kid that isn't actually lined up. There's also more than one adult, so I can also see how you get a situation where one adult thinks the other adult got the count. But once they are back in the classroom, how can they NOT register that they are missing a kid? Even if you assume that it wasn't a whole hour, even if it was 30 minutes, that is just way. too. long.

the situation where it could occur would be a miscommunication on a parent picking up a child at the park.
you bring 12 children - a parent comes and picks up a child - another parent passes by waves but does not pick up a child - teachers start to leave to do a count - they count 10 - they get back to the school - wash hands - use potty - a parent or 2 comes to pick up - it is not until "THE" parent come sthat the have the OH SH!T moment.

Transition times are opportunities for failure. FCC became aware of this at a new level earlier this week.

The teachers should carry a sign in/out board at that hour knowing some parents will take the kids from the park or bathroom/other issues and log everything. Its too easy to forget and something like this happen especially when you have 8+ kids.

Yup. All decent daycares have this. Ours does and the playground is AT the center, behind a gate you need a code to enter. And they still have it.