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Mother furious after toddlers escape daycare onto busy road

<p>A young mother is demanding answers after her toddler managed to flee his daycare centre and walk onto a busy road. </p> <p>Adelaide mum Makayla Lill dropped her son Wyatt off at the Goodstart Early Learning Blair Athol on Monday, when only hours after, Wyatt and another toddler were seen climbing through a hole in a broken fence. </p> <p>The two children ran out towards the busy road, which is regarded as a notorious accident blackspot, forcing traffic to slow down to avoid hitting the children.</p> <p>The staff quickly realised the children had escaped and ran to retrieve them. </p> <p>"I am pretty furious. There’s no excuse,” Makayla said.</p> <p>After the children were secure, the staff rang Ms Lill to inform her of the incident, which is now under investigation. </p> <p>“The first thing she said was ‘I’m just letting you know Wyatt is safe’”, Ms Lill said. “That straight away makes you think ‘What’s happened?’”</p> <p>"They said he was there for a maximum, this is what makes me upset, 10 seconds," Lill said.</p> <p>The mother said staff told her the gap in the fence was missed on a routine perimeter check.</p> <p>George Mavromatis was nearby when the incident occurred and said he heard the staff's screams from across the road.</p> <p>"This is a very bad intersection. We've seen multiple car accidents, it was very lucky to come out of that lightly to tell you the truth," he told <em><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/two-children-found-wandering-near-busy-road-after-leaving-childcare-centre-adelaide/3c0164f9-d799-45e2-806b-1db00bc67e22" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener">Nine News</a></em>.</p> <p>Makayla Lill has made a formal complaint with the centre, as some parents have pledged to remove their children from the daycare centre, while others have said they hoped it was just an isolated incident.</p> <p>The incident is now under multiple investigations by the centre and the Education Standards Board of South Australia, as South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas said SafeWork may have a role to play in the investigation. </p> <p>"I think any parent would be horrified when they see these images. They're pretty confronting. I think it begs the question of what went wrong in this circumstance," Malinauskas said.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Nine</em></p>

Family & Pets

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Who let the wrong dog out? Dad's hilarious doggy daycare blunder

<p>Leigh Terrell entrusted her dad to pick her dog up from daycare.</p> <p>Little did she know that the pup he had with him was not hers, and now the moment she realised her dog had been left behind at the daycare has gone viral. </p> <p>"This is what happens when you let a man pick up your dog from daycare," she captioned the post shared on <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@leigh.terrell/photo/7403459903190289695" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TikTok</a>. </p> <p>She shared a series of text messages between her and her dad, after he sent her a picture of the dog he collected, to which she replied: "Let me see his face haha that doesn't look like him."</p> <p>She then jokingly sent a follow up text saying: "make sure you got the right dog," with no idea that he actually collected the wrong dog. </p> <p>Her dad then sent another photo of the dog, now facing him, and wrote:  "His collar [is] on," and that was the moment it clicked for Terrell. </p> <p> "That's not my dog dad. That is not Archie, you need to go back and switch him out," she replied. </p> <p>It appeared that both dad and the daycare had mixed up the two dogs who looked pretty similar. </p> <p>The father then replied with a photo of Archie, to which Terrell replied: "Alright that's my dog thanks."</p> <p>The video has racked up over 4 million views, and many were amused at the dad's blunder. </p> <p>"The way the first dog is looking out the window for his real dad, too," one user wrote.</p> <p>Another joked: "I'm imagining the first dog thinking 'my name is NOT Archie' as your dad tries to get his attention for a pic lmao."</p> <p>"The way your dad didn't reply, I bet he was panicking and thinking he did not just dognap someone's baby," another wrote. </p> <p>"That dog knew he wasn't supposed to be there" another joked.</p> <p><em>Images: TikTok</em></p> <p> </p>

Family & Pets

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Thailand in mourning as victims of daycare massacre farewelled

<p><em><strong>Warning: Some readers may find the content of this article distressing. </strong></em></p> <p>Hundreds of mourners have gathered in temples in north-east Thailand to farewell more than 30 victims who were killed in a heartless massacre in a children's daycare.</p> <p>On Thursday, a man armed with a gun and a knife stormed a daycare centre, killing 12 adults and 24 children between the ages of two and five. </p> <p>Relatives and grief-stricken members of the community gathered at the Si Uthai temple in the village of Uthai Sawan on Saturday to pay their respects to the victims. </p> <p>They lit candles in front of coffins topped with floral wreaths and framed photographs of the dead, as loved ones placed toys, clothes and their children favourite foods atop their caskets. </p> <p>One of the coffins belonged to toddler Pattarawat Jamnongnid, whose photo showed him dressed in a pink sports shirt</p> <p>On his coffin was a model dinosaur and a bottle of milk.</p> <p>His mother, 40-year-old factory worker Daoreung Jamnongnid, said her only child was energetic and talkative.</p> <p>At just two years and 10 months, he was the youngest of the children killed but his mother said he already knew the alphabet.</p> <p>"He was so smart. He liked to watch documentaries with his father," she said. </p> <p>Police have identified the attacker as Panya Khamrap, 34, a former police sergeant who was facing trial on a drugs charge.</p> <p>His autopsy showed no evidence of drug use at the time of his death, according to police. </p> <p>Deputy police chief Surachet Hakpan said officers were still interviewing 180 people about the incident, and when asked about the killer's motive, he said it was "because of his constant stress … his family, his money and his legal cases. So he acted aggressively".</p> <p>Three boys and two girls survived the attack and four of them remain in hospital, police said.</p> <p>Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn visited the hospital on Friday to express his sorrow over the "evil incident".</p> <div data-component="EmphasisedText"> <p>"There are no other words to describe this feeling," he said.</p> </div> <p>"I want to give you all moral support to be strong so that the souls of those children can have a sense of relief that their families will remain strong and be able to move forward."</p> <p>Meanwhile Kittisak Polprakan, a witness to the attack, described the killing spree.</p> <p>"It was so quiet," he said.</p> <p>"There was no noise, no screaming, nothing."</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

Caring

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Young girl fights for life after being left on bus in roasting temperatures

<p dir="ltr">A three-year-old has been left fighting for her life after she was found unresponsive from being on a daycare bus outside a Queensland childcare centre for nearly six hours.</p> <p dir="ltr">Temperatures in Rockhampton reached 28 C on Wednesday, and it’s believed that three-year-old Nevaeh Austib had been on the bus - parked outside the Le Smileys Early Learning Centre near Rockhampton - since she was picked up from her family’s home at 9am.</p> <p dir="ltr">She was found unconscious at approximately 3pm and rushed to Rockhampton hospital in critical condition.</p> <p dir="ltr">Nevaeh’s father, Shane Austin, told the <em><a href="https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/rockhampton/child-found-in-critical-condition-on-bus-at-le-smileys-early-learning-centre-on-lucas-street-in-gracemere/news-story/c86e5ffa4a41f1c4d6ef8631fe547f25" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Courier Mail</a></em> his little girl has since been taken to a Brisbane hospital to undergo a deep brain scan and treatment for potential kidney failure.</p> <p dir="ltr">“She’s the most loudest little girl they tell me … she’s the heart of the daycare,” he said.</p> <p dir="ltr">The childcare centre has remained closed as of Thursday morning.</p> <p dir="ltr">Jason Thompson, the operations manager for Queensland Ambulance’s Central Region service, told media on Wednesday that Nevaeh was found “unresponsive” and described the situation as “traumatic” for those who treated her, per <em><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10783585/Karl-Stefanovic-breaks-girl-fights-life-left-daycare-bus-Rockhampton.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Daily Mail</a></em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">“On the crew’s arrival Queensland Police were already on scene and escorted the crew into the childcare centre where the young child was on the floor in the admin room,” he said.</p> <p dir="ltr">Police have launched an investigation into the incident and interviewed the daycare staff, according to <em><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/child-critical-after-being-left-on-central-queensland-bus-rockhampton/7cb7646c-350e-4cf5-908e-0d0f7d69f58d" target="_blank" rel="noopener">9News</a></em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">It comes just two years after Muriel Namok’s three-year-old son died after being left on a minibus by childcare staff for a similar amount of time in Cairns.</p> <p dir="ltr">Ms Namok appeared on the <em>Today Show</em> on Thursday morning and shared her anger at Nevaeh’s situation, saying it made her “sick to her stomach”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It’s just too tragic. Again, why?” she told co-hosts Ally Langdon and Karl Stefanovic. </p> <p dir="ltr">“This is terrible.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-3d9cba41-7fff-e294-b401-b0a192801ebd"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">“I feel really sick to my stomach. Angry. I know this feeling too well.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/05/karl-nevaeh.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Today show hosts Karl Stefanovic and Ally Langdon fought back tears after speaking to the mum who lost her son in a similar situation. Image: Nine</em></p> <p dir="ltr">She said that parents should be able to trust that their children are safe in childcare centres, and that the centres need to take responsibility when things go wrong.</p> <p dir="ltr">“They are taking our children and we are trusting them to bring them back,” Ms Namok said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“For this to happen, they need to be held accountable.”</p> <p dir="ltr">After speaking to the grieving mum, who broke down as the interview ended, both Stefanovic and Langdon were fighting back tears live on air.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It’s horrendous,” Stefanovic said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“There’s nothing else to say to that,” Langdon added. “And that poor family. It really shouldn’t happen.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-f62bbcf3-7fff-02f3-aac6-d50c1b0477e7"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Nine</em></p>

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Toddler "traumatised" after being left locked in daycare

<p>A mother went to collect her child from Kindcare Learning Center, north of Miami, to find her 2-year-old daughter locked inside alone at 6:30 pm on a Wednesday.</p> <p>After lights had been turned off and workers had left for the day, Stephanie Martinez reportedly saw her child peeking through the window of the locked childcare center.</p> <p>In a video recording of a 911 call Ms Martinez shared with NBC Miami, the room appears dark and Ms Martinez can be heard telling a dispatcher that she could see her daughter crying.</p> <p>“She was able to push a chair up to the door and call for my name, and that was the only reason I was able to see her, ” Ms Martinez said.</p> <p>Fire department workers pried open the door of the Sunrise Boulevard day care and found the girl in good health roughly 20 minutes later, according to the Plantation Police Department incident report.</p> <p>Ms Martinez shared that her daughter is “super traumatised.”</p> <p>Police later learned that the day care worker responsible for checking out children left at 6:20 pm and locked the doors. The police report does not say if criminal charges are expected and further investigations are being made by the local child protection agency.</p> <p>A spokesperson for KinderCare, which owns the facility, said in a statement that while the company was “thankful the child was quickly found and was safe, this incident should not have happened.”</p> <p><em>Image: NBC </em></p>

Family & Pets

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Special Forces veteran delivers heartfelt plea over stolen puppy

<p>Special Forces veteran Luke Evans has launched an emotional appeal after his seven-week old puppy was stolen from his doggy daycare farm on Monday morning</p><p>The father-of-three set up the farm on NSW's Central Coast three years ago with the help of his wife following 11 years of service in the navy to help him cope with his PTSD. </p><p>The farm offers daycare for pets and also works to rehabilitate and find forever homes for rescue dogs. </p><p>The dogs, who were all secret inside at the time of the theft, began barking around 4am to alert the couple that something was wrong. </p><p>The navy veteran got up to check out the commotion, but didn't find out of the ordinary. </p><p>It wasn't the next morning that Luke realised one of their beautiful blue-eyed Australian Shepherd-husky cross litter pups was missing. </p><p>The puppy was taken from a seperate room where the litter was being kept away from the larger dogs during the night. </p><p></p><p>"This little male pup that has been taken is just 7 weeks old, incredibly cute, two bright blue eyes and perfect Blue Merle and White markings," the family wrote online.</p><p>"The little one is microchipped and the number has been reported as stolen."</p><p>"We sincerely hope that someone might make the right decision to hand him in somewhere. Or perhaps someone might recognise him and let the police know."</p><p>"We are heartbroken. Numb. Terribly deflated. So many emotions right now. Disappointed. Disbelief. Concerned. Upset. Angry. Lost," the post read. </p><p>The 37-year-old navy veteran suspects the thief had been watching his daycare's YouTube channel, where he shares updates on his animals and an insight into their life on the farm, in order to plan the daring heist.</p><p>Following the theft, the farm has been set up with extra security measures including multiple cameras and alarms to keep their animals safe.</p><p><em>Image credits: Facebook - Doggy Daycare Farm Trips </em></p>

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COVID-19: what closing schools and childcare centres would mean for parents and casual staff

<p>Several schools in Australia <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/toorak-primary-school-closes-following-coronavirus-case-20200317-p54atp.html">have closed</a> after some students and teachers tested positive for COVID-19. Meanwhile, some independent schools have <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/private-schools-begin-sending-students-home-for-remote-learning-20200316-p54agn.html">sent all students home pre-emptively</a>, without any infections being detected. Classes will now be done online.</p> <p>While the federal government has introduced a ban of public gatherings with more than 500 people, it is not, at this stage, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/16/why-australia-is-not-shutting-schools-to-help-control-the-spread-of-coronavirus">considering mass school closures</a>. Victoria’s Premier Dan Andrews has been more forthright, saying the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/11/coronavirus-mass-school-closures-and-industry-shutdown-on-the-cards-says-victorias-premier">time will come</a> for statewide closures of schools.</p> <p>Even with schools staying open, some <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/i-m-happy-to-be-a-small-drop-families-withdrawing-children-from-school-to-fight-coronavirus-20200314-p54a2p.html">families are keeping children home</a> to prevent them getting infected, or passing the virus on to more vulnerable family members.</p> <p>There have been no reports of childcare centres closing across Australia, but some parents may also be keeping their pre-school children at home. Childcare centres <a href="https://ca.news.yahoo.com/alberta-schools-childcare-centres-closing-203000995.html">have been closed</a> in some Canadian provinces, and it’s possible we’ll see something similar happening in Australia as the pandemic progresses.</p> <p>Even without closures, the fewer numbers of students across Australia will impact on casual staff in both the childcare and school sectors. But if both were to close their doors, this may mean a massive loss to Australia’s workforce and economy.</p> <p><strong>How many families would be affected?</strong></p> <p>Millions of parents would be affected if schools and childcare centres were to close. Across Australia there are close to <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/3101.0Jun%202019?OpenDocument">six million children</a> living in around four million families.</p> <p>Around two thirds of these children are enrolled in Australian schools. In 2017, 2.2 million were <a href="https://www.acara.edu.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/national-report-on-schooling-in-australia-20170de312404c94637ead88ff00003e0139.pdf?sfvrsn=0">primary school students</a> and 1.6 million were in secondary school.</p> <p>Capital Economics senior economist Marcel Thieliant <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/second-stimulus-morrison-government-considers-billions-in-spending-20200316-p54aoi.html">told The Age</a> up to 1.85 million parents, or 14% of the workforce, would be required to stay home to care for their children if schools were closed.</p> <p>He said a four-week school closure could knock off as much as an estimated 2% from quarterly GDP. And it is unclear how long schools would need to stay closed for to contain the outbreak.</p> <p>Nearly 1.6 million children are aged 0-4. More than half of them <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/cat/4402.0">attend early childhood education and care</a> or preschool.<br />Economic analysis estimates subsidised early childhood education provides <a href="https://www.thefrontproject.org.au/initiatives/economic-analysis">more than 32 million additional hours</a> to the labour force. This means an additional A$1.4 billion in earnings, which then filters back to the government through taxes.</p> <p><strong>How will closures affect staff?</strong></p> <p>Part and full time teachers are likely to remain employed during any school closure, supporting children remotely. But schools are less likely to need casual teachers, which make up <a href="https://www.aitsl.edu.au/docs/default-source/research-evidence/spotlight/spotlight---professional-learning-for-relief-teachers.pdf">at least 12% of the workforce according to survey data</a>.</p> <p>Casual staff in schools that have already closed may be feeling the pinch, and schools may also have less need for casual teachers if many students are staying home.</p> <p>An <a href="https://www.aitsl.edu.au/docs/default-source/research-evidence/spotlight/spotlight---attrition.pdf?sfvrsn=40d1ed3c_0">estimated 25-50%</a> of teachers are leaving the profession at five years. If casual teachers are not paid to be in class, they may be prompted to leave the profession sooner.</p> <p>But the situation is even worse for early childhood education.</p> <p>Government provides funding for schools based on their census enrolments. In private schools parents pay fees based on annual enrolments. But early childhood education funding is tied to both enrolment and attendance. It is <a href="http://www.mitchellinstitute.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Australian-Investment-in-Education-ECEC-report.pdf">estimated parents fund</a> around 40% of the cost of early learning, and the government around 60% through a subsidy tied to household income.</p> <p>Families in isolation, can use their child care subsidy to pay for a certain amount of absences, but only if centres remain open and operating. If a centre closes it cannot levy parents for fees nor collect subsidies from the government.</p> <p>Early childhood education services can spend up to <a href="https://childcarealliance.org.au/media-publications/aca-media-releases/112-occupancy-and-performance-report-early-childhood-education-and-care-sector-10-12-2018/file">80% of their revenue</a> on staff and rent. This means services may need to stand down their workforce of <a href="https://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/2016_ecec_nwc_national_report_sep_2017_0.pdf">200,000 staff</a>, and potentially dismiss casual staff, if they are forced to close.</p> <p>We don’t have a clear indication of how many educators are casual, although certain types of care, such as holiday care, lend themselves to a casual workforce.</p> <p>In 2019, we estimated the childhood workforce would be short of <a href="https://www.futuretracks.org.au/upskilling/upskilling-research">29,000 teachers by 2023</a>. With <a href="https://theconversation.com/one-in-five-early-childhood-educators-plan-to-leave-the-profession-61279">one in five educators</a> reporting they wish to leave the profession in the next 12 months, the effects of workers stepping away from the early childhood workforce due to centre closures could be dramatic.</p> <p>In recent days, the federal government <a href="https://ministers.education.gov.au/tehan/minimising-impact-covid-19-child-care">announced an assistance package</a> of A$14 million to help minimise the impact of COVID-19 on childcare centres.</p> <p>But the Community Child Care Fund (CCCF) <a href="https://docs.education.gov.au/node/53362">Special Circumstances Grant Opportunity</a> is too small, and only available to some services. It is particularly designed for disadvantaged or vulnerable communities and can be used to pay expenses such as wages where services have fewer children attending or are forced to close due to COVID-19.</p> <p>But staff would still be affected in more advantaged communities.</p> <p>My analysis finds that if a service was to close for just one day, based on an average of 90 places and with an average daily fee of A$113.30 per child, it would lose more than <a href="https://education.govcms.gov.au/child-care-australia-report-september-quarter-2019">$10,000 dollars</a> per day. Multiply this by the nearly <a href="https://www.acecqa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2019-11/NQFSnapshot_Q32019.pdf">8,000 centres</a> and tens of millions of dollars would be foregone every day centres are closed – more if you consider other forms of care, such as out-of-school-hours care, would also close.</p> <p>Many services are small or not for profit, and will not have the cash reserves to withstand extended unpaid closures. An extended closure could see services close for good and educators leave the workforce.</p> <p><strong>So, what more can the government do?</strong></p> <p>The early childhood sector already faces uncertainty around the <a href="https://www.themandarin.com.au/122765-its-time-to-commit-to-universal-access-to-preschools-and-funding-certainty-children-families-business-and-government-all-benefit/">time limited nature</a> of pre-school funding, which expires at the end of this year. It is vital the government retain funding in the education system to support educators in the event of a shutdown.</p> <p>Educators can be actively engaged if services close. Remote education can be trialled, even for little learners, given the importance of early brain development. Governments should support schools to develop lessons and provide resources to help deliver education in new ways.</p> <p>With these measures, we can minimise the economic effects of closures, keep our skilled workforce, and ensure parents can return to work and children return to learning settings as soon as possible.</p> <p><em>Written by Megan O’Connell. Republished with permission of <a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-19-what-closing-schools-and-childcare-centres-would-mean-for-parents-and-casual-staff-133768">The Conversation.</a> </em></p>

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“We don’t know what happened”: Boy, three, dies in daycare van

<div class="body_text "> <p>Police are investigating how a three-year-old boy was left to die in a day care bus in Cairns, which is in the midst of a heatwave where temperatures skyrocket above 34C.</p> <p>The boy was tragically found dead by the driver of the Goodstart Early Learning Centre minibus.</p> <p>Queensland Police Far North Inspector Jason Smith said investigators are still piecing together how the tragedy unfolded.</p> <p>“We’re just trying to work out exactly what’s happened between now and when he should have been delivered to the daycare centre,” he said to<span> </span><em><a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.couriermail.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/police-courts/boy-3-left-for-dead-in-minibus-outside-hambledon-state-school/news-story/cb28a36c6dc4703242bb0c62b24283bd" target="_blank">The Courier Mail.</a></em></p> <p>“It appears the child was to be delivered to a daycare centre. The child has now been discovered deceased.”</p> <p>Goodstart Early Learning CEO Julia Davison admitted on Channel 9’s<span> </span><em>Today</em><span> </span>that the organisation “doesn’t know what happened”.</p> <p>“All of our 15,000 educators are devastated and shocked,” she said.</p> <p>“It is every family’s worst nightmare that something might happen to their child and it is every educator’s worst nightmare something might happen to a child in their care.”</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">TRAGIC: A three-year-old boy has been found dead on a childcare bus in Cairns. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/9Today?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#9Today</a> <a href="https://t.co/kyxZ4doIBz">pic.twitter.com/kyxZ4doIBz</a></p> — The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheTodayShow/status/1229844080739471362?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 18, 2020</a></blockquote> <p>It is not apparent why the van was parked outside Hambledon State School, which is just 1.6kms away from a Goodstart Early Learning Centre.</p> <p>“Obviously there’s the police investigation that has already commenced. There will be various other agencies who are involved in investigations. We have decided, as a precaution — this has been a very difficult decision for us to make — to not use our buses from later today,” Davison explained.</p> <p>“We obviously don’t know what happened in this particular incident but we want to be cautious but at the same time we’re a not-for-profit that picks up and collects lots of vulnerable children who otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity to access early learning.”</p> <p>Inspector Smith said that the scenario is awful.</p> <p>“The mother has been notified,” he said. “The death of any child is an awful thing, which is why it is so important for us to get to the bottom of this.”</p> <p>“We don’t know at this stage because it is early days, and a number of factors could be at play here”.</p> <p>“We’ll investigate all possibilities,” he said.</p> </div>

Family & Pets

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Daycare worker fired after horrific note body-shaming five-year-old

<p>A daycare employee has been fired after body-shaming a five-year-old boy and saying that he should be “put on a diet”.</p> <p>The drama unfolded after the boy’s mother Francesca Easdon sent her son Kyler to school with a sweet note inside of his lunch bag.</p> <p>The note read:</p> <p>“Please tell Kyler that his mommy loves him so much and I’m thinking about him. Thank you!”</p> <p>However, she was shocked to get a harsh response in black.</p> <p>“No! Put him on a diet and go away!”</p> <p>Francesca explained that she has been working with Kyler about “healthy options”.</p> <p>“We have been working with Kyler on his eating, he’s extremely picky! I have been introducing new healthy options in his lunchbox and discussed the changes with his school,” she said in a Facebook post.</p> <p>“And for the record, I feel that Kyler is absolutely perfect the way he is, I’m just helping him make healthier choices.”</p> <p><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fphoto.php%3Ffbid%3D568357070587665%26set%3Da.110845729672137%26type%3D3&amp;width=500" width="500" height="708" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allow="encrypted-media"></iframe></p> <p>Francesca went onto explain that she was in “absolute shock” over the reply to the note.</p> <p>“I was absolutely livid and immediately reached out to the school. First thing this morning I was at the school waiting on the director with my mother in law for a meeting. I was assured that it was being investigated and handled, yet almost no remorse was shown,” she wrote.</p> <p>“I also brought to their attention the fact that on his teachers public Facebook page there were mass posts regarding drug use and other very inappropriate content. The teacher that wrote this note confessed while I was at work and was fired, but nothing has been done about the other situations. Zero remorse for their actions.”</p> <p>Francesca was “disgusted” in putting her trust in people who would openly boast about inappropriate content on their public page.</p> <p>“Kyler’s safety and level of care comes first. Sorry for the long post but I feel it’s so important to share this. I’m extremely hands on with my child’s care and still didn’t see this coming. Monitor your daycares closely and stay away from this facility, they do NOT deserve the privilege of teaching our children.”</p>

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Mother mortified by daycare worker's complaint about her son

<p>A mother has been shocked after a daycare worker complained about her son’s language.</p> <p>The woman took to online parenting forum <a href="https://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3606548-Nursery-stopping-DS-from-saying-penis">Mumsnet</a> to share her frustration after the manager of her daycare pulled her aside to have a serious chat about her two-year-old son.</p> <p>“She closed the door and said in a very serious voice that my DS [dear son] had told one of the workers that he liked his penis when she was changing his nappy. Then directly afterwards he said to some of the children that he likes his penis,” the mother wrote.</p> <p>“So I said, ‘OK. I’m not sure what you want me to do. I think most little boys like touching their penises.’</p> <p>“She said that she understands that, but it’s inappropriate for him to use that sort of language in the nursery setting.”</p> <p>The manager said “other parents may not want their children, particularly the little girls, to hear that word”, and she told the son to stop saying the word because “it wasn’t a nice thing to say”.</p> <p>“I got quite angry and said that I really don’t appreciate her doing that because it’s not a bad word and her telling him that it is will make him think it’s a dirty or bad thing, when it’s actually the correct word for it.”</p> <p>The manager maintained that the mother should teach her son “what is appropriate and what is not” in a group setting.</p> <p>“I said, ‘Absolutely not. I’m not giving my child a complex or making him think his body is something to be ashamed of. He’s 2 for god’s sake! He doesn’t understand anything about what is socially appropriate and telling him that penis is a bad word seems bizarre. And furthermore, I do not want you or anyone else to tell him not to say it either.’”</p> <p>The mother went on to tell her husband about the incident, but he ended up questioning her insistence on the issue. </p> <p>“He said everyone here says willy and it’s more socially acceptable. He said it was all my fault and the nursery was correct. I am genuinely blown away. Was I wrong?”</p> <p>The majority of the forum users sided with the mother. </p> <p>“God forbid we call body parts by their actual name,” one commented.</p> <p>“Of course there’s nothing bad about the word. Good on you for being so firm and calm and logical,” another added.</p> <p>Some suggested that context should be considered. </p> <p>“I don’t think the problem is with the word penis so much as the context of him running about saying, ‘l like my penis’,” one wrote.</p>

Family & Pets

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In pictures: life inside a panda “daycare centre”

<p>It’s official – the Chengdu Research Base in China is the cutest place on earth. And after looking at these pictures, we’re sure you’ll all agree there’s nothing cuter than a baby panda riding a rocking horse.</p> <p>It’s been called “panda daycare” but the centre is actually a specialised breeding centre and nursery that aims to revitalise China’s dwindling giant panda population. Giant pandas are among the world’s most threatened species, with less than 2,000 remaining in the wild.</p> <p>The daycare is crucial as it is notoriously difficult to successfully encourage pandas to breed. Females are able to breed for only a few days a year, and only give birth to a cub every two years.</p> <p><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.panda.org.cn/english/" target="_blank">Find more information at their website.</a></strong></span></em></p> <p><strong>Related links: </strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/family-pets/2015/09/dogs-make-the-best-companions/">8 reasons why dogs are the bee’s knees</a></em></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/family-pets/2015/08/signs-your-pet-is-sick/">10 signs your pet is sick</a></em></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/family-pets/2015/11/cats-are-like-psychopaths-gallery/">11 ways cats are like “psychopaths”</a></em></strong></span></p>

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