Mistreated Child at Little Darlings Daycare, 16 Hope Street Gardens, Cape Town.

After speaking to a mother whose son attends the daycare, I was determined to write my complaint and share my story.

My daughter started daycare a week early. This was very kind of the daycare as they wanted her to settle in.

My daughter was fine during the first week. The second week came and my husband and I noticed that she was coming home with a dry bum every evening. We asked the Principal to please use the bum cream that we bought. It was Vaseline bum cream.

One day my daughter came home with a massive nappy rash. I was upset because she was scream crying when I changed her nappy. Even through her teething she had never had a nappy rash so bad. I sent the Principal a message. The next morning she bombarded me with messages attacking me telling her to admit I was lying because the nappy rash mysteriously disappeared.

The nappy rash was still there. This is her message to me:

Dear Taryn. Morning. I had a look at baby’s bum now. There is absolutely nothing. A miracle like this does not happen. You wrote to Inge after 7 so when last was that happy changed after she left here???? That’s irrelevant now. The point I am making is if that rash was so severe it would still be here. We change or check the nappies ever 30 minutes. This is the first time the child is exposed to so many children. You should expect little bumps, scratches and sometimes tiny bruises because it means that they are playing. When children play or crawl under or over obstacles they get these things. Completely “NORMAL “. You made a big fuss last night and now there is nothing. The other thing is please don’t contact me or Inge after hours unless it’s an emergency. We do have private lives just like you. That last thing is you either trust us completely and slow her to grow and play or you get a nanny that can be at your beck and call 24/7. I have worked with children for over 30 years and I understand that is is new but we need to know when to step back. I also teach but I have my eye on all of them. My staff has been with me for 9 years and they have done this fir years. Ever child gets VIP treatment. I am 58 and not a child. Thank you.

I was then told that Vaseline is bad for baby’s bottoms. I asked my aunt who is a nurse and she said it’s good as long as you apply it thickly. I messaged the principal who then attacked me verbally for “going behind her back to consult a nurse”. She said I don’t trust her and she then forced me to buy Bennett’s even after I tried to explain that I wasn’t attacking her but I had spent money on two tubs of Vaseline that had to be used.

My daughter started acting very strange in the mornings. She would cling and scream and not want to go to the teachers.

My husband walked into the nursery one afternoon to find our daughter, as that was where she was supposedly being kept. He walked in on a child who had fallen on her head and the teacher was just watching. She got a fright when she saw my husband.

He was shocked to see a teacher doing nothing when a child had fallen and did not hesitate to tell me.

While all of this is happening, the principal is no longer present in the mornings to meet and greet parents.

The principal would send me pictures of my daughter playing outside barefoot. She got sick.

I then had to ask a teacher to please keep my daughters shoes on because she is sick. The principal then sent me a message saying I spoke disprespectfully to her staff and accused them of making my child sick because she was barefoot. I had asked them to keep her socks and shoes on and did not blame them for making her sick nor did I speak disrespectfully to them.

My daughter came home from daycare with bruises on her arm that looked as though she had been grabbed. She also had insect bites on her tummy and back.

I sent the principal a message to ask her what the arm looked like to her and also sent a picture.

She rep**** saying I accused them of grabbing my child.

The principal told me that just because I am a paying customer, it doesn’t make her my nanny.

The principal also told me that unlike any of the other parents, no one complains like I do.

I felt emotionally bul****.

I am a concerned parent who cares for the health and well-being of my child. The principal then proceeded to tell me that she won’t walk on eggshells around any child. And then called me immature.

I have taken my child out of the crèche. I did not even ask for my money back that was paid. I am convinced that they do not treat children well there. I am scared for the children that attend the crèche. There is no cctv footage.

Every time I had a concern or a question, I was verbally attacked and made to feel like a terrible person. The principal accused me of being immature, when in actual fact she was being immature and unprofessional.

When I think of my daughters cries I really wish I could have done more.