I read about the shocking case of child abuse at NTUC’s My First Skool (Toa Payoh) yesterday and it took me several tries before I managed to get through the video footage – it was just too painful to watch.
That’s got to be every parent’s greatest nightmare. As it is, I was a complete mess on the first day Truett started preschool. He was fine, off running and having a good time before I could even wave goodbye. I was not so fine. I put on a brave face but I got to the car and started sobbing like I was in some Greek tragedy while imagining the worst. What if his friends were mean? What if the teachers hurt him? What if a cabinet fell on him? (true story I heard)
It took a lot from me to be ok leaving my kids in the care of strangers for 3 hours a day, five days a week.
I have a lot of respect for preschool teachers because kids that age can be a real handful. I have 3 and I already want to lose my shit on some days so I can’t imagine having to deal with 15 tantrum-y preschoolers on a difficult one. Ok, maybe I can imagine what that’s like. It would be like walking into battle against a horde of evil Chuckies armed with only a small stick. Which you can’t even use to smack them with so you’ll mostly be backed into a corner waving it wildly, screaming “stay away from me!!!” as they advanced menacingly.
That’s probably why I’d suck as an educator.
That’s also why I think the world of teachers who have to put up with our kids for hours everyday and do it with seemingly endless amounts of love and patience.
But cases like this makes me go into panic attack mode all over again. It makes me want to stalk the kids in school and do a daily review of the CCTV footage. Or better yet, break in and install a couple of hidden cameras to surveil the place myself.
At this point, let me just say that teachers need to maintain their composure all the time and there is no plausible scenario where hurting a child is acceptable. It doesn’t matter how brattish the kid is – if you can’t deal with it in a fitting manner, then perhaps teaching preschoolers isn’t your thing. Go find a job where you can pick on someone your own size. And a note on the teachers who might have witnessed the whole thing – keeping silent and ignoring it makes them equally culpable. They have a responsibility to put a stop to this madness, rush the kid to the hospital and then sucker punch the perpetrator in the face.
In life, there are several things that are deserving of an immediate punch to the face and abusing a kid is one of them.
Parents are calling for harsher punishment and I can’t say I disagree. On some level, it’s comforting to know that this has unleashed the wrath of a hundred thousand outraged parents on their ass. We’re sending a message that child abuse has no place in our schools.
Hopefully this sort of thing doesn’t happen again and I hope the little kid gets well really soon.
7 Comments
What happened was tragic and yes the other teachers and principal were just as guilty for letting her go unreported. My heart goes out for the boy of the boy and hope they recover from this emotional trauma.
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Was really sad to hear about it. I think it’s important for all of us (parents and teachers) to keep and eye out for possible cases of abuse. I guess if they know that they are less likely to get away with it, they’ll be less likely to do it.
I was horrified and heartbroken when i saw the video. Really felt for the parents and the poor boy who had to go through something like this at a place they are supposed to feel safe at. My daughters are attending the same school at a different branch and I was so tempted to take them out immediately (paranoid mommy).. Just hope the authorities clam down hard on this teacher and sends a message to other preschool teachers out there that we will not stand for such behaviour!!
Hope your girls are ok! If anything, the school will be way more careful and keep a closer watch on the teachers to prevent something similar from happening…hopefully!
This is not the first incident I’ve heard of children being abused at child care or kindergarten. My neughbour’s daughter once got whacked by the teacher using the stick of the feather duster…but all the school did was just asking the teacher involved to resign. I’m pretty sure such instances will happen again too….sigh
Oh man.. we just got to do what we can to try and prevent it form happening, like getting to know the teachers and asking the kids for feedback.
[…] the Contradiction – Oak Tree Baby: When injustice happens to our child – Mother, Inc: No place for child abuse, My First Skool. – Sakura Haruka: Trust Your Parenting Instincts – A Dollop of Me: Protecting Your […]