VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Virginia Beach Parents, Kaitlyn Price and James Delauny, said a daycare worker slapped their one-year-old son in the face.
They said the incident happened on Friday at Haygood KinderCare in Virginia Beach. A spokesperson for the daycare said the teacher was immediately fired.
One-year-old Jack is home with his family.
“We just never thought we would be in a situation like this.” He’s the nicest, sweetest kid. You can look at him, and he’ll start giggling," said Father James Delauny.
Jack’s parents, Kaitlyn Price and James Delauny said a KinderCare worker saw the teacher slap their son and immediately told a supervisor about the teacher's actions.
“And when she was confronted about it, she said that she was trying to move his face while changing his diaper," said Price.
In a statement, a KinderCare spokesperson said they terminated the teacher:
"At KinderCare, nothing is more important to us than the safety and well-being of the children in our care. We take all concerns about safety seriously and have a protocol we follow any time a concern is raised. Part of that protocol includes notifying our agency partners, like state licensing or Child Protective Services, as we did here. This teacher was terminated immediately, and the actions that occurred last week do not reflect our company values nor the standards we hold our teachers to."
Price hopes the company adds cameras to all of its buildings.
“Especially, because my kids can’t really speak for themselves. So, that is something I did tell the regional manager, I will be fighting for that they have cameras in all their facilities going forward even though my kids won’t be there," said Price.
Now, Jack’s parents said they hope other parents look up daycares before enrolling their child.
You can find that information on the Virginia Department of Social Services website. Jack's parents say they filed a police report.
A Virginia Beach Police spokeswoman said they are looking into our request.
