Florida mom Stephanie Martinez arrived just fifteen minutes late at her daughter’s day care ready ready to pick her up. Until the terrified mom realized that the doors were locked and her daughter was inside alone.
2-year-old Anastasia found herself locked inside a KinderCare Child Care Center in Plantation. The lights were off and the child truly was alone.
Martinez then called her best friend, Samantha Scaramellino, just to be sure that she didn’t pick up Anastasia. Perhaps to also confirm that it really was her toddler inside the building.
The panicked mom walked around the building, banging on the windows until she saw her daughter’s head appear in a dark room.
“The window is way taller than she, somehow after hearing the banging she pushed a chair in the dark to the window to see,” Scaramellino wrote.
“She managed to push a chair to the door to stand on it and call my name, and that was the only reason I was able to see her, is because she is shorter than the door,” Martinez continued. “She got on the chair to call out ‘mommy.’”
The 911 operator was as shocked as Martinez was.
“She’s inside by herself?” the operator asked.
“Yes, she’s crying. She’s inside by herself,” Martinez replies.
“OK, honey. How old is your child?” the operator continued.
“She’s two. She’s only two,” Martinez replies.
“Gosh,” the 911 operator responded.
Firefighters soon arrived at the scene and broke down the doors.
The poor toddler must have been so afraid. Imagine how Martinez felt.
The daycare center said in a statement, “Nothing is more important to us than the safety of the children in our care. We’ll also take immediate steps … to ensure this kind of thing doesn’t happen again.”
Staff members involved were placed on administrative leave.
“They know I get here around 6, 6:15, because I have to pick up my other son by 6. I get here, everything’s shut off, no cars, which is weird,” Martinez said.
“What if she fell off the table? You know, she used a chair to get by the door. Like, she’s traumatized. Last night I couldn’t turn off the light; she started crying,” Ani’s mom continued.
Martinez was then told by school officials that the incident happened due to short staffing.
“Everyone’s short-staffed, but that’s not an excuse. This is a child,” Martinez said.
She is so right.
Parents soon reacted to the incident with some sharing very positive reviews, while others saying that they were going to have a word with the school’s officials.
As for little Ani, she’s a tough little princess. Maybe some ice cream and a nice movie did the trick for the 2-year-old child.
This incident surely caused a stir with parents demanding to know that their kids are safe in the hands of their teachers.
See how this little girl found herself locked inside the school below!
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