Nursery workers terrifying children

[Hitatiks]

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11288091/Daycare-worker-scares-toddlers-puts-Halloween-mask-SCREAMS-children-bad.html

Has anyone seen this?!
I had to stop watching the video. Its one of the worst things I have ever seen!

The worker deliberately terrifies the children, who are toddlers, by screaming at them in a Halloween mask, they are visibly terrified, screaming, crying, calling for their mothers. At one point she appears to comfort a child by stroking their head, and then screams in their face again. The worker who filmed this said her colleagues had done this previously and she told the managers but no action was taken so she recorded it when they did it again so she could send it to parents.

So here is my AiBU. Am I BU to think that if we valued early years workers more, and they were properly trained professionals with an understanding of child development (like understanding that such young children can't separate fact from fantasy so think a monster is really screaming in their face, or that young children are not 'bad' they are just young and its your job to cope with their behaviour - that is literally your job) then abuses like this would just not happen (yeah I know its America but there are lots of badly paid and poorly trained early years workers here too. I mean, this is not one bad apple. This was done in open sight of colleagues.

It’s actually sickening and I could not watch more than a few seconds. Even hearing those kids crying was awful. I would actually happily have beat the living shit out of that woman and the bitch just watching and laughing. I’m not even a violent person but that is just awful.

One of the most disturbing things I have ever seen . I used to work with children . Your nature should be nurturing . This person is the polar opposite .I hope she never works with children or has children of her own. I think you should have to a certain level of intelligence . This lady obviously has no intelligence or empathy.

Well she’s been fired and posted the fakest, shittiest, minimising apology later.

Scum. Absolute scum.

Might as well cancel Halloween next as it’s too scary

I couldn't finish watching that. Those poor babies😓I have a 2 year old who has just started nursery and I'd not be responsible for my actions if I saw his teachers doing this to him.

If that is your way of thinking then you are as bad as her.
There are some sick individuals in this world.

I get it's horrible but it's not even in this country..

Have you actually seen the video??

I managed a few seconds and it made me feel sick - nursery is somewhere where children should feel safe and loved, not terrified and distressed.

@NannyR yes I have. It still doesn't make it in the uk though...

That’s horrendous. Absolutely heartbreaking

plus they were eating they could have choked

Halloween is fun for kids, it's silly scary not this weird abusive crap.

Doesn't really matter if it's not in this country it can still be discussed.

Also we have our own horror stories regarding nurseries in this country too but that's another thread.

So that makes it ok?? Talk me through your thinking here because I can't quite see the logic.

I wasn't referring to your post, but the one quoted in my post.

“I'm just gobsmacked. Why work with children when you are a fucking bully who clearly hates them?”

@Hitatiks you sound quite naïve. I expect it’s because she’s a bully that she works with children. And I doubt she actually hates children. She has no respect for them, sure - but she’s bullying because she enjoys the power, not because she specifically hates the victim.

I think you’re wrong about qualifications.

That's made me cry. I couldn't finish the video either. Those poor, poor babies. I don't think I could have kept my hands off her if i was her colleague. Why was the other woman just leading her to the children? evil bitch

Lots of unqualified nursery workers too. It's a mix.

I would be furious if I found out my children were deliberately being terrorised by someone they are supposed to trust.

They deserve to be fired

I couldn't watch that with the sound on.

She would have come to severe physical harm had she done that to my child. I hope she's feeling very scared right now.

I don't think it's got anything to do it's training, anyone would know that is an awful thing to do trained or not, most early years workers are trained or training (although very underpaid and under appreciated for the job, which is another subject)

This will traumatise those children for a long time. I imagine many of them will not want to go back to nursery and will have serious effects for a long time. The fact that that woman did it, then others stood by and laughed. And clearly no one is comforting those poor babies either which makes me think this is the sort of place that lets children just cry alone anyway. This place needs shutting down ASAP. This is very scary that people can be in charge of your children and do this sort of thing and you might never even know.

I disagree that this could be prevented with training. My 16 year old niece is in her first month of doing an apprenticeship in a nursery and as it’s a 2 year course, most of the training/coursework hasn’t been covered yet.

But she saw this video and sent it to me (I work in childcare and got her some work experience for when she did her application for the apprenticeship and I did her reference, so I was quite involved) absolutely horrified, because she actually has some common sense and empathy and knows that this is cruel and unnecessary.

In many ways she’s a typical 16 year old girl, a bit self-centred in the home and doesn’t always have her priorities right, but it would still never occur to her to do this. She knows that when she goes to work in her nursery placement it is her duty to look after the children, make sure their needs are met and nurture them, and she does this proudly and finds it rewarding. She is fond of the kids she works with and considers it a privilege, she wants to do a good job.

It simply wouldn’t occur to most people to do this, there is something fundamentally wrong with this woman that I don’t think any amount of training could fix.

Even someone unqualified should have the common sense not to scare children like that.

I also think that something is fundamentally wrong at this centre. We see three members of staff, one is filming, one is doing the horrific act and another is laughing. There must be more staff and no one is intervening.

this whole place is messed up. I hope it gets shut down and all the staff who were aware of this incident and did nothing or supported it never work with children again. I also agree that training wouldn’t fix this. I have no training with children and I know this is wrong. As do most people.

I think it’s a typical example of somebody choosing to go into a job where they have access to children/vulnerable people to make them feel big and powerful. I have seen it time and time again in my personal and working life. Carers, nurses, childcare workers and teachers. Most are absolutely brilliant doing a tiring underpaid job (as I said, I work in childcare myself) but you get the odd one that gets a kick out of bullying those who they are supposed to be caring for. Training can not fix these people.