My son’s only three. Out of nowhere, he started crying EVERY SINGLE TIME I took him to daycare.
This had NEVER happened before.
At first, I thought it was just a typical 3-year-old crisis, but something felt off. Johnny was crying, and he kept begging me not to take him.
I promised him I’d pick him up early – luckily, I left work early and showed up at the daycare just in time for lunch. Parents aren’t usually allowed to go there, but I snuck in. And then I finally saw THE REASON my little boy had been crying! Gosh, I was absolutely LIVID and horrified!
I peeked through the small window of the daycare classroom, my heart pounding. The kids sat at their tiny tables, eating their lunch. But Johnny?
He wasn’t eating.
He was standing in the corner—alone.
His little hands were clenched into fists, his shoulders shaking.
I froze. What was happening?
And then I saw her.
Ms. Dana, his teacher.
She was looming over him, holding his untouched lunch in her hand, smirking.
“Oh, Johnny, poor little crybaby,” she cooed, her voice dripping with mockery.
My stomach dropped.
“Since you cried again this morning, you don’t get to eat with the other kids.” She waved the food in front of him. “And if you keep acting like a baby, maybe your mommy will stop bringing you here at all.”
Johnny sniffled but didn’t say a word. He just stared at his shoes, too afraid to move.
I saw red.
My fingers tightened on the doorknob, and before I even realized it, I had stormed into the room.
“WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING TO MY SON?!”
The entire room froze.
Ms. Dana spun around, her face going pale. “M-Ms. Carter! You can’t just—”
I ignored her.
I rushed to Johnny, dropping to my knees and pulling him into my arms. “Baby, are you okay?”
He sobbed into my shoulder. “Mommy… I told you… she’s mean.”
My blood boiled.
I stood up, my voice shaking with rage. “You’ve been punishing my son because he cries at drop-off?”
Ms. Dana flushed, but she tried to recover. “Oh, now, let’s not exaggerate. We use gentle discipline to help children adjust—”
“GENTLE DISCIPLINE?!” I laughed coldly. “Starving a child and humiliating him is gentle to you?”
She stammered. “T-That’s not what’s happening—”
But she wasn’t getting out of this.
I pulled out my phone.
“Great. Say that again for the daycare board. Or better yet, for the POLICE.”
Her eyes widened in horror. “Wait, you—you don’t need to—”
I raised my voice.
“WHO ELSE HAS SHE DONE THIS TO?” I turned to the other kids. “Does she treat anyone else like this?”
A little girl timidly raised her hand. “She takes my snacks away if I don’t nap…”
Another boy whispered, “She calls us names when the other teachers aren’t here.”
My chest tightened.
That was it.
I turned on my heel, marching to the front desk.
“I want to speak to the director. NOW.”
The Aftermath
By the end of the day, Ms. Dana was fired.
The daycare board launched an investigation. Turns out? Multiple complaints had been made about her before—but none from parents who had caught her in the act.
She was blacklisted from ever working with kids again.
As for Johnny?
I pulled him from that daycare immediately.
I held him extra tight that night, whispering, “No one will ever hurt you again, baby.”
And I meant it.
