Ariana Reddick, a three-year-old at a KinderCare in Oswego, Ill., was returned to her parents with one of her braids almost completely torn from her head.
The little girl’s mother, Robin Reddick told NBC Chicago that she left Ariana at the daycare on Tuesday morning. A few hours later, Reddick received a call stating there had been an incident with Ariana, but workers insisted there was no need for alarm.
When she picked up Ariana from KinderCare, she realized that an entire braid was nearly ripped from her daughter’s scalp. Apparently, Ariana’s teacher did not notice the loose braid until after nap time.
Her mother said that the area looked “very painful,” adding, “I can see hair follicles of her hair.”
This isn’t even what’s most alarming about the situation. It was KinderCare’s complete dismissal that an assault, an injury and some type of trauma had happened to the child under their care.
KinderCare released a statement, saying that as soon as it became aware of the loose braid, they called Ariana’s family.
“Although no injury occurred, we also reported the incident to state licensing, so that they may look into the matter for themselves, if they so choose,” the statement read.
There are no cameras in the facility.
Reddick took Ariana to the doctor immediately after picking up the child. The doctor confirmed that a high amount of force had been used on her daughter’s hair in order for the hair loss to have occurred. She notified the Department of Children and Family Services and filed a police report.
“I just want justice for my daughter,” Reddick told the outlet. “And I just want to know what happened. What happened to her at daycare that day.”
This KinderCare is located is a relatively small town in Kendall County, about an hour away from Chicago. As of 2017, the town is overwhelmingly white with an 81% white population. Blacks and Asians make up the town’s next groups of people with 7% and 5%, respectively.
It hasn’t been determined if Ariana was the victim of an employee’s abuse but there are multiple KinderCare locations with numerous complaints on the care of children. Some can be read here.
Ariana will not be returning to KinderCare.
