Keeping Children Safe!

When a working parent or carer sends their child or children to child care, they hope and expect their children will be safe, well looked after, and well educated. No one would ever expect something so horrible happen to their children in care. This is one experience I would never forget nor would I ever forgive.

In 2019 my son went to daycare where I thought he would be safe, well cared for and educated. Well, that’s exactly not what has happened in the morning. I took him into his class said good morning to all, and went right to work as I worked there too but in another room, I was in the 2-3 years room. Now, this is where things take a massive turn and not for the good. This is where my heart breaks and makes me feel disgusted for even trusting them and like a horrible person for not realizing how bad this educator could be. That morning this educator who was supposed to be caring for my son did something that I could never forgive.

In the morning, my son’s class went outside. I was inside with my class getting them ready for lunch and ready for rest time. When my son’s educator (Elizabeth Ayika) called to say, “hi, your son keeps crying and, I don’t know why.” I then said, “have you checked his sugars?” she then responded by saying she doesn’t know how to. I responded by saying, “so you just need to put a strip into the meter and prick his finger then, place the meter up to the blood.” I then mentioned how there should be an educator out there with you who knows how to check his sugars. I said this as this educator was new to this service. Elizabeth Ayika had just finished her Masters in Early Childhood Education so she was a qualified Early Childhood Teacher.

A few hours later, another educator from a preschool room came to my class door with my son to tell me that my son wanted to see me, so I went to the door and gave my son a big cuddle and a kiss. This educator who brought him to my classroom then took him into her Preschool classroom. This educator then tried to comfort him. When I went onto my break, I went to him to see how he was going as I went in to see him, he was sitting on the educator’s lap eating some rice while playing with a glove balloon that this Preschool classroom teacher made for him. I went in sat next to him and the educator who had taken him from his classroom. The teacher then said, “take a look at his arm, he can’t seem to move his arm, and if we touch his arm or move his arm, he ends up screaming. I then mentioned that this is how he acted when his other arm had dislocated in the past.

I took him to the manager who was on her lunch break mind you my son’s teacher was in there at the time too, I had taken him to the lunch room so I could show my son’s arm to the manager. I had taken his shirt off so the manager could see his arm, straight away the manager and myself saw that his shoulder looked dislocated and took a photo of it. I then took him to the Dr’s downstairs. The Dr then told me that I should take him to the hospital where they can give him an X-ray and monitor him.

I went back upstairs to tell the manager I grabbed all his things and my things, placed him in the car while trying to make sure I don’t touch the arm while putting his seat belt on, I then hopped in the car and then I had drove to the hospital where they had a look at his arm and took him straight into X-rays. During this time, no matter how I held my little boy, he cried, and if I touched his arm he had started to Scream so much, all of this broke my heart and made me emotional. In the X-ray room, the X-ray technicians tried to move his arm around to get the right picture my little boy started to scream on top of his lungs this all made me so sad as I knew it was hurting him so much. We then went back to his bed area when the manager contacted me and said to me that they viewed the cameras. The manager then said from what the cameras had seen it was not an accident. I was in shock when I heard that all of this didn’t happen by accident.

By the time the Dr came back into the room, the Dr had mentioned, his shoulder and elbow were dislocated and that the X-ray technician most likely popped it back into place as that’s very common to happen. My son was still unable to move his arm every time I had tried to encourage him to move his arm, or if I touched his arm myself, he would start to scream and cry. The Dr took us to the casting room to put a cast on my little boy’s arm for a week. After 8 hours at the hospital, we finally went home. During the time at the hospital I noticed how his sugar levels had spiked very high, I spoke to his Dr who stated that this would have spiked due to the trauma.

During the night my son kept waking up crying and couldn’t get comfortable as his arm was sore. So because he kept getting quite upset I had taken him back to the hospital to look at this arm again. The nurses then started questioning me about how his arm was injured, which is ok as they were following child protection protocol. The following day I had to go back to the child care service to speak to head office. While talking to the head office about my son’s injuries, the head office then showed the video footage that I wish had never happened.

In the CCTV footage, I saw my son sitting on the mat with all the other children, not doing anything wrong, and then the next minute my child’s educator (Elizabeth Ayika) grabbed him by the face. The CCTV showed that it looked like Elizabeth Ayika was yelling at him. Once Elizabeth Ayika let go of his face, Elizabeth Ayika then grabbed my son’s wrist and lifted him up off the ground by the wrist, then dragged him across the room by the wrist, all in a very aggressive manner. Seeing what Elizabeth Ayika did to my son shocked me. It made me so angry and upset seeing what that educator did to my son. I didn’t express my feelings till I got home but I then spoke to the police about what had happened.

A week after the incident, I took my son back to the Dr to get his cast taken off his arm, dr then looked at the X-rays and told me that he had a small fracture on his elbow.

Two months later my son was then kicked, out of the service after that had happened. I then left the service and have been at home with him since. I didn’t feel comfortable being at a service where an educator is comfortable to harm a child. Since he has left that child care centre Dr’s, stated his speech has improved, he tells me what had happened, and we are now waiting till Court is over.

With what the educator has done to my son, I have been feeling upset and pissed off with how people can disgustingly treat children. If you are angry or you don’t like children, then don’t work with them. What we need to be doing is keeping our children safe, out of harm’s way, and making sure they grow up following their hopes and dreams.

A couple days after getting his cast taken off my sons arm was still swollen and sore.

Due to what had happened in 2019 I had booked a holiday through Play Travel to take my son to Disneyland in Anaheim, CA. I thought a nice holiday after being harmed by the horrible teacher would be great for my son and myself, the holiday was going to happen in March 2021 but due to Covid and our borders being closed we had to put our holiday on hold. I wish we could escape overseas now. I told my son about the holiday and he was so excited to be able to see Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck because of this I put a video of Disneyland ride on my tv through YouTube and I then placed my son in a washing basket and moved the washing basket up and down like the video.

In June 2021, we will find out what the court will do with what has happened.

In March 2021 my son Started at a new preschool, when he finished his first day at preschool. I asked him how was your day? He then said it was good. I said did you feel safe? He said that he felt safe at new school not at old school. When he said that it made me happy he felt safe at his new school but it broke my heart when he told me that he didn’t feel safe at his old school.

Our story was also in daily telegraph and kid spot.

This story then went to the news, this lady got 12 month probation. Since it happened I been finding it hard to trust other educators or anyone with my son.

In September 2021 I had found out that through another source that Elizabeth Ayika decided to put in an appeal and then decided to say she has mental health problems and that she didn’t get enough training. To me I find that excuse a load of crap. She has finished her Master’s degree in Early Childhoos Education and in that degree that would have had her learn how to handle children. To me she is trying to not accept her consequences for her actions. Elizabeth Ayika never appologised nor has she shown any remorse for her actions.

There will be another hearing with the Crown Solicitor this time as the Department of Education are taking her to court for not just the harm of my son but for 8 other children who were abused by this Elizabeth Ayika.

I hope She get’s the consequences she deserves and hope she doesn’t try to get out of her consequences. I am hoping Justice is served.