Mum pulls toddler out of nursery because staff ignored 'no touching rule'
Sending your child to nursery for the first time can be worrying for any parent - but many take solace in knowing toddlers will start to learn new social skills. Plus, it can be exciting for them.
Leaving your child in the care of experienced nursery staff should make you feel a little more at ease, and you'd expect them to be accommodating to your wishes when it comes to how to look after your little one. However, one mum was left furious after nursery staff ignored her 'no touching rule' and kept hugging her daughter - and this resulted in her having to remove her tot from the nursery.
She believed the staff had "crossed the line" as they kept hugging her three-year-old when she was upset. She explained that the child "didn't feel safe", was "terrified" and was having "terrible anxiety" every time her mum would take her to preschool, in a post on Kidspot.
The mum tried to tell the staff her daughter didn't like cuddles and asked them to try and not hug her to calm her down if she's upset and said: "I know some other babies, even my son who is one, love cuddles and feel safe that way, but my daughter doesn't." She also gave them a list of alternative methods to console her.
Things such as giving her a book, her favourite toy or taking her to a quiet place by herself, which she thought were reasonable requests. Although was left horrified when she realised they had ignored this when she saw one of the teachers pick her daughter up and try to hug her. She explained how her daughter was "absolutely beside herself" and was kicking and screaming as a result.
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She tried to be understanding and simply ask them to not do it again, but they kept trying to cuddle the toddler. She further explained: "She would cry and I would have to remind them. Yes, there are a lot of children in the room, I understand it would be hard to remember everything.
"I have a huge respect for all teachers, my husband is a teacher, but this was different. I felt like I was constantly repeating myself and fighting so hard just to help my daughter feel safe at childcare. It shouldn't be this hard to help each child feel safe? It didn't feel right to me."
It got to a point where the mum had to make the decision to pull her daughter out of the childcare as her daughter told her she didn't like her teachers and how they cuddled her and the mum admitted she regretted not doing it sooner - with the message to other parents to "go with your gut".
She then moved her daughter to a new nursery, and after telling the new nursery about what happened, the mum said: "They were incredible. They set up a quiet, comfortable space for her with cushions, books and no other people around. They let her sit back and watch until she was comfortable to join in any activities. They let me hang around as much as I needed to." Her daughter now enjoys nursery because she feels safe as the teachers know she doesn't like hugs.
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