Arizona Toddler Returns from Daycare With Bite Marks, Parents Demand Answers

File photo of crayons. (Pixabay)

The parents of a 15-month-old Arizona girl are demanding answers after their child came back from daycare covered in bite marks.

Rylee Umstead and Rocio Enriquez, the parents of little Mila, told KGUN that after Umstead returned home from a Sunrise Preschool in Maricopa they found that the child had eight bite injuries on her body.

“I lifted up her shirt just a little bit, and it freaked me out,” Umstead told AZFamily. “I froze up, just shocked.”

When Umstead, the child’s father, picked up Mila from preschool on Thursday, April 25, he said he was told that about 20 minutes earlier his daughter had been bitten.

Enriquez, the little girl’s mother, told KGUN the daycare said it was an isolated incident that happened quickly.

“She told me there were three children in the classroom including my daughter,” Enriquez told the station. “A teacher was changing a diaper ... when another child went on top of her and started biting her.”

The parents are not satisfied and have asked to review surveillance footage.

They have also filed a police report.

“We don’t know what to think because we don’t know the true answer,” Umsted told ABC15, saying the preschool has not allowed them to review the footage. “But there’s a video out there that tells the truth.”

The Response

Sunrise Preschools said in a statement cited by Q13Fox that staff “immediately provided care and assistance to the injured child,” adding, “we are cooperating with the proper authorities.”

Dana Vela, the president of Sunrise Preschools, said in a follow-up statement that the caregiver had been suspended.

“On Thursday April 25th a toddler was bitten multiple times by another toddler during a very short timeframe,” Vela wrote, according to Q13Fox. “This should not have happened. Only four children were under the supervision of the caregiver watching the children. That caregiver has been suspended without pay pending further investigation.”

Vela also said the child who bit the classmate had been expelled.

“While there is established protocol to address occasional biting behavior common to many toddlers, the severity of the incident demanded a more appropriate response,” she said in the statement.

ABC15 interviewed Lashawna Goulburne, the mother of the 2-year-old who allegedly bit Umsted’s daughter and has been expelled.

Goulburne told the station she wasn’t called when the incident happened, and not told that police were called for her son’s actions until the next day.

“He’s not at fault here,” Goulburne told ABC15. “He’s two, and we pay, not only me but the other family, we pay for our children to be protected and be monitored and safe.”

Meanwhile, Mila’s mother told AZFamily the incident has left her child traumatized.

“[She is] not the same Mila we knew when we dropped her off that day,” Enriquez told the news outlet. “She’s gotten to the point where she doesn’t want anyone to lift her shirt up. She freaks out.”

Daycare Workers Charged Over Doll Scare Video

Two Kentucky daycare workers have been charged over an online video that shows one of them scaring a toddler with a doll.

WKYT-TV reports Wendy’s Wonderland worker Tasha Cox is accused of filming Diana Willett waiving a doll at a 2-year-old girl who has a well-known fear of dolls and small animals.

The video was shared on Facebook and shows the girl hiding under a table, crying, and shoving the doll away as the singing caregiver waves it close. The caregiver later comments that the girl won’t stop crying.

Wayne County Sheriff’s deputies say they learned of allegations on Friday. Willet was arrested Monday, April 22, and charged with criminal child abuse. Cox was arrested and charged with failure to report the abuse. It’s unclear if they have lawyers.

Daycare Employees Over Melatonin Gummies

At least two daycare workers have been fired after allegations that one of the employees gave out gummies laced with melatonin to children to get them to nap, according to reports.

The executive director of Full Potential Child Development Center located at Little Rock, Arkansas, confirmed the incident with Fox 16 and said the two employees were fired on the same day the allegations were made. The daycare also said they reported the incident to the child abuse hotline, to their child care licensing agency, and the parents of the children involved.

According to a statement issued by the daycare, the incident first surfaced when a daycare staff member reported she witnessed another worker give out melatonin gummies to the children before nap time on one occasion, reported the news station.

The daycare management investigated the report and the accused worker denied the allegations, insisting that she had only given out candy. Moreover, management did not find evidence of melatonin during a search.

During further investigation, another employee that worked in the classroom said it did happen on one occasion but denied involvement.

The daycare subsequently fired the staff member that gave out the gummies and the staff member who initially failed to report the incident.

“Allegedly, this was done in an effort to calm them down before nap time,” police said, reported the news station, citing a statement.

The daycare facility was previously cited for violations during the state’s Department of Human Services on-site visit. During the latest visit in June 2018, the facility had five violations cited.

The Associated Press and Epoch Times reporter Janita Kan contributed to this article.