A mother is devastated after daughter came home from day care with a chunk of her hair ripped from her scalp. The mom from Fayetteville, Georgia, is speaking out after she says her toddler had a braid ripped from her head, and when she called to ask day care officials about it, they said her daughter must have done it herself.
According to her family, the girl's aunt picked her up from day care on July 9 and was horrified to find that some hair had been ripped from her head.
Alive 11 reported that the girl's aunt only noticed that she was missing a large chunk of hair when they returned home from Blessings Daycare. But she was furious when 3-year-old Alani told her what happened.
In a post on Instagram that has since been taken down, the mom, who asked only to be referred to as Arielle, wrote that Alani "told her (aunt) that a little boy bit her braid and ripped it from the scalp and Miss Brown was upstairs when it happened …"
What was worse was that when the mom called the day care to ask about the incident, she was told her daughter was lying.
The mom wrote that she called the day care provider and was livid. "[The day care provider] tells me that my child is lying and she was not aware of this happening then she went on to say that my child probably pulled it herself…"
The mom shot back online, however, that this simply wasn't true. "Alani has been getting her hair braided and styled since she was born, so I find that VERY hard to believe," the mom wrote.
The mom even sent her the picture of Alani's scalp about 6:35 that night, which shows a strip of Alani's scalp exposed with her braid dangling by her ear.
“I'm trying to keep my composure because that's the only thing right at this time," the mom told Alive 11. “My child's hair has been ripped from her scalp. This is not weave, this are not any extensions. These are braids coming from her real hair from her scalp."
Blessings Daycare is in a private residence in the Fayetteville subdivision and has had a license since 2015. Thus far it has had no complaints lodged agains it, but Arielle is still concerned about what happened to her daughter.
“My 3-year-old child, standing here in front of me with a braid ripped from her scalp, that bothers me very much," she said. "You can see there's nothing there."
Arielle said she has reached out to law enforcement about her case, but they've told her there was nothing they could do.
In her Instagram post, the mom assured her followers that she was was determined to handle the situation despite her anger. "I’ve contacted Bright, which is a day care complaint service and they are sending someone out to investigate," she wrote.
She also told Alive 11 that she contacted Clayton County authorities, but they “told me that this is not a crime and they can’t give me an incident or police report," she said.
Yahoo! News reported that officials at the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning told the outlet that they "very familiar" with Arielle's complaint. "The health and safety of Georgia’s youngest learners and peace of mind for their families is always our top priority," a spokesperson said.
The department did not have anything else to say because it's an ongoing investigation.
Alive 11 visited Blessings Daycare and was told by proprietor Mildred Brown that she was “not aware” of the allegations and declined to comment.
That won't stop the mom from getting justice on her daughter's behalf. "She is my child and I’m going to defend her every chance I get," she said.
"I am begging everyone who sees this to REPOST & TAG @fox5atlanta @wsbtv & who ever else u can think of" she continued on Instagram. "If this was your child how would you feel??"
