JACKSONVILLE, FL (WFOX/CNN) – A Florida mother says her 3-year-old is scared to use the bathroom after the girl was allegedly pulled, shoved and locked inside one by a worker at her daycare.
Two workers were forced to resign from Kidz Quest Academy Daycare in Arlington, FL, after video appeared to show one of them grab 3-year-old Patricia Brown, who was crying and screaming.
As seen in the video, the worker proceeds to pull the girl over to the bathroom, shoving her inside and shutting the door.
"I was very angry,” said Patricia’s mother, Tina Brown. "I trusted them."
Brown says after the incident happened, she received a text message from someone at the daycare telling her about it.
According to the state Department of Children and Families’ care facility handbook, corporal punishment is prohibited, which includes pulling, rough and harsh handling of children and isolating a child.
One of the two workers was forced to resign for not following the discipline policy and the other for videotaping the incident.
Still, the daycare director, Patrice Walker, says 3-year-old Patricia wasn’t physically manhandled by the teacher.
"She tried to pick her up from behind. She slipped and fell. She was not pulled and dragged into the bathroom. That's not true,” Walker said.
Brown says her daughter was scarred by the whole experience.
"Even going in the bathroom at home, she says there are monsters or zombies or ‘someone is going to get me in the bathroom,’” Brown said.
Lutheran Services oversees the federal “Head Start” program for early childhood education in Florida. The organization terminated its contract with the daycare that services more than 80 children.
DCF is investigating the incident during a 60-day window.
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