A Queensland mother is suing an early childhood service in northern Brisbane, after she claims that a four-year-old boy bit, scratched and hit her baby Jack, while the kids were left unattended in August 2018.
The Swindell family claims their four-year-old daughter was the first to act while the educator in charge was occupied changing another child's diaper, despite the centre's claims that staff members acted swiftly and a report describing Jack's injuries as a "scratch."
Swindells told 7NEWS, "I don't know what else he would have incurred from that if my daughter hadn't had to take a four-year-old child off.
According to a centre staff incident record reviewed by 7NEWS.com.au, the youngster hit Jack because he wouldn't let go of a toy.
The report's assertion that staff intervened "within seconds" has drawn criticism from Swindells and her legal counsel from Shine Lawyers.
According to Swindells, she was "furious" that the centre described Jack's injuries as a "scratch" yet photographs of him showed him to have numerous scratches, including ones on his scalp and behind his eyes.
She claims that Jack suffered bite wounds to the arm, a blow to the face, eye gougings, and a block made out of puzzle pieces.
She remarked, "I was told by my doctor that injury was not one that was sustained in seconds, it would have been minutes."
Swindells further questioned the decision to leave four-year-olds in a room with infants.
She claimed that the incident terrified her now-schooled kid, who also has a number of ongoing difficulties.
Swindells stated that Jack "has behavioural issues, eyesight issues has been diagnosed with traits of ADHD, and (has) problems with toileting."
The early childhood service issued a statement in which it claimed that employees responded right away to the occurrence and that at the time the centre was "fully compliant" with child-to-staff ratios.
"(Staff) administered appropriate first aid, parents and the regulatory authority were notified, resolving the issue," the centre stated.
"We didn't hear from anyone again until March 2022, or over four years later, when Shine Lawyers got in touch with us. No further legal action has been reported to us.
"We are still prepared and willing to work with you to settle the current claim."
Parents must have access to childcare staffing ratios, according to Swindells. “It’s traumatising to think that you put your trust in a childcare centre to look after your child, and you pick them up and they look like that,” she said. “It’s appalling.”
Reference:
Queensland Mum Claims Baby Injured In Attack By Four-Year-Old Boy At Childcare Centre, 7 News Australia, 7th September 2023
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