Five year old leaves daycare, hits local Hooters

Hmmm yet another reason why I homeschool.

Reply

I've read all the comments and have to make one myself. I work in a childcare center. I work in the nursery. My babies can't take off, unless they are in a walker and then they head to the door, thus, a gate is up if the door is open, to help keep the room cooler. BUT, I come from lunch each day and the caregivers are all grouped together in the middle of the hallway, at the office area, gossiping! The children are on nap time, but some don't sleep. The door is very easy to open and a child could easily go outside at any given moment. I do not get into the gossiping with the other workers. They love tearing each other apart, especially if the person isn't there. I have found my own relief in the hallway and a baby with a bottle propped up for it to suck on. It could choke! I detest leaving my little ones for my lunch hour because they always cry when I leave and cry when I return. I was off for a week once on family business and found out that when I returned to work that I hadn't been gone at all. Another employee saw my neighbor checking on my house and dogs and told everyone that I wasn't out of town at all, that I was home. The supervisor sent 2 workers to my house to ring my door bell and check if I was home!! I plan to quit soon, but need to work right now. I just worry about what will happen to the little ones that I do care so much for. A couple of the mothers have already asked me to please quit and do home care for their babies. I can't because it is a conflict of interest. But, nothing says that I can't quit and then get them a week later!! I know from experience that most childcare workers don't do the job the way the state states it should be done. By the way, I have my degree in Early Childhood Development. It was on my application, and the way the other workers found out is that one of them takes the keys and goes into the locked filing cabinet and reads others files! She also goes into the money drawer and steals, I saw her! My education is the reason I am resented by most where I work. They call me college girl and I am over 50!! The joke is on them, they don't know about the other degrees I have, just prefer to work with children!

Reply

the REAL issue here is one that parents wont address
they take their children to day care where people are paid minimum wage to watch them
do you know what you get for mimimum wage?
if the place had been cited numberous times in the past then did the parents really think it was any better now?
daycare workers are in the same situation 911 dispatchers are in
they are responsible for the lives of people but no one wants to pay them a decent salary

Reply

no 5 is the new 7. 3 is the new 5. i'm a babysitting grandma for a 3 year old and i work in an elementary school. we had to have special locks put on our door to contain the 3 year old cause he thinks he is old enough to do as he pleases. and his mother isn't one of those that lets him either. we have 5 year olds that get suspended from school on a regular basis. but in the long run i'll bet that daycare center was under staffed because most of them always are. its not really about child care its all about making the money

Reply

I have to laugh a little ( only because nothing bad happened to him), because I remember when I was 4 and in preschool, and did the same thing. My teacher was going to give me a ride home, took too long, so I walked home myself. I knew exactly where I lived, and didn't see a thing wrong with it. Kids that young are not stupid, and most certainly need to be supervised. This is why my granddaughter who is 3 will never go to daycare.......I watch her, or my other daughter does. You never know what will happen in those places. I've always kept close tabs on my kids, too. And always, always, always take her with me whenever I leave the car. Too many people "forget" about the kids until it's too late.

Reply

I do think what the kid was dangreous but the funny part is he stopped for a drink and snack before he got to HOOTERS. Typical Day Care story not supervising. It is easy for a teacher to trust they are really going to the bath room when they ask. But he shoud have been back in two minutes if not she should have noticed. She should have watched him go in the bath room.

Reply

At the age of 5or 6, I was allowed to walk down the hollow to school, and also walk a mile or so with my other siblings to get a POP. We considered it very safe back in the 50's and 60's. My kids grew up playing on the front steps and sidewalks of the City of Baltimore...they also were allowed to walk to school and go to the store for CANDY. Now my grandson is 24, works 2 jobs, still lives at home with Mommy and Grandmon, and the last thing we say to him when he leaves to go to one of the jobs that is about 45 minutes away, is "Call Us When You Get There". It's like, we know for the next 8-9 hours, he is relatively safe. We also say the same thing to his girlfriend and friends, because we know what a crazy world we live in. My kids never had the freedom I had when I grew up. Maybe we need to start with putting away the criminals as they come thru the court systems and giving our children back their freedom to live their lives normally, make decisions for themselves, and not have to hold the hands of a grown-up all thru their young life. That is one smart 5 year old....his parents should get a big pat on the back.

Reply

I doubt anyone here doesn't realize how bad this could have been, and if had been my kid I would be furious, that said when my co-workers read this-we had to laugh. We figured his dad must usually pick him up, go to Pet Boys, Race track and Hooters, and the kid just was tired of waiting on him! But yes, it could have been tragic, and hopefully the day care will be dealt with. But to those going off on parents who use day care-that really isn't the issue. Parents sometimes don't have a choice and they need to feel safe, a kid shouldn't be able to just walk out a door and walk across the highway unnoticed, but still Hooters!!!

Reply

lighten up people...it is IMPOSSIBLE to monitor children 24 hours a day...two kids from the neighborhood i grew up in did exactly what this boy did...however, they did not "escape" from daycare, but from their own house when their mother was tending to the laundry (the boys were 4 and 6)...they were found about a mile away at a local gas station...they said they "just went for a walk"...this boy was just flexing his own independence - at least give him credit for being careful when crossing the streets!!!

Reply

It was said in the first article that I read about this that this daycare was sited numerous times before for not supervising the children. I think that the state of Texas is partly to blame for allowing this daycare to continue operating... I run a daycare that has never been sited for anything and I believe there are good programs out there for kids and bad one's as well... you get what you pay for... do your research.... how can you expect quality child care when the child care staff are making less than the cashier's at wal-mart... it is extremely hard to find quality dedicated staff who can afford to work for the amount of money that centers can afford to pay... stocking shelves 3rd shift pays more and you don't have to deal with parents, dirty diapers, crying children or behavioral problems. I just had a screaming 4 year old leave a half hour ago after repeatedly kicking me and several staff members... no one wants to be hit or kicked at work... especially my staff who make less than kids who are flipping burgers. I love my job but people need to realize that it is not easy and it is not cheap to care for a child 12 hours a day either... When people are more willing to spend more on quailty daycare for their children then the rate of pay can go up for the staff who care for your children... which in return lets daycare owners and directors able to offer better salaries to their staff as well as being able to hire more qualified staff and offer trainings and other job related benefits... I personally am a child care director who makes well over the state minimum wage that my staff makes and I still have to bartend 2 nights a week to make ends meet...

Reply

If you think daycare workers and owners do it "for the money" you are pure ignorant!!!! There is no big money made in childcare and the responsibility we have in our jobs are even more stressful than a firefighter or police officer because we have to do it every second we are on the clock, there is no coffee breaks when you have to watch children. Kids these days are more intelligent and sneaky so lets not make it all out to be the daycare's fault..this kid had to have some wits to do all he did.

Reply

Has anyone noticed that the headline says "daring toddler"? Five years old is 3 years removed from toddler-hood. Also, as someone commented, the danger to kids hasn't really increased significantly over the past 40 years or so, just our awareness of it has, due to sensationalistic media coverage, and around the globe reports. I, too, walked to local grocery stores or the library, or my school once I was in kindergarten (4-5 years old). My two youngest kids, now 21 and 22 also got around pretty independently as soon as they got into school. I wasn't careless, I just refused to be a jailor to my kids. Bad things happen to children, sure, but I think the ones with some street smarts have a better chance of avoiding them.

Reply

This story could have really gone wrong and been way worse. Thank God he was OK. On the funny side. HE STOPPED FOR A DRINK AND A SNACK. He is a smart kid. Guess he didn't like what the day care had. Thank God Hooters Manager helped out and nothing happened to him. Many things coud have gone wrong and happened. Thank God we are not reading that right now..

Reply

When my son was barely two, he and a little girl managed to escape daycare. The "caregivers "were all busy in the playground area listening to a performer they had hired, and the two kids followed a parent out the back fire escape door(which she should not have been using), undetected. A head count after the performance revealed the two missing, however the Director refused to believe they had gone and ordered a search under all the playground equipment,and asked one teacher to check the street. We were fortunate that a passer by spotted the two year olds, alone and notified a security guard at a buiding several hundred yards away from the daycare.The camp was still searching inside it's grounds and building half an hopur later ,and had notified NO ONE that two year old children were missing,when the guard called their facility,notifying them that kids were found, were they missing some?
Thankfully the guard had the sense to notify the police, and refuse to turn the children over to the Center,or I would never have known the accident occured.The Director then told me my son was a delinquent and had led the little girl out of the center!!! How is that for nerve???

Reply

As long as daycares hire humans, these things will happen. And this stuff happens at home as well. Yes there needs to be disiplinary action. But don't get up in arms about it.

Reply

well 5 must be the new 18 because i cant even cross the street to the other neighborhood alone and im 12! I went to daycare before it was 100$$$ a week and they treated you like a rat barely gave you any food and it was not at all fun. if sum1 comes up and socks u across the face randomly you cant even punch em back 2 defend urself ur supposed to just stand there till they eventually stop thats how i got kicked out. defending myself.

Reply

Texas. Says it all.

Reply

I think that when parents decide to have kids they should also decide NOT to send them to daycare. I had 3 little ones ages 4, 2, and a baby and I was home with them all week and on Saturday and Sunday I worked waitressing and my husband and mother-in-law watched the kids. This way they had mom, dad, and grandma watching them. Parents pay a lot of money for daycare and their kids are not supervised like they should be. Why did it take so long for someone to realize this 5 year old was missing? Thank God he was not abducterd or hit by a car. The Angels were watching over him.

Reply