MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Memphis mom is trying to spread awareness on child safety after she says a day care worker in Oakhaven hit and bruised her toddler.
Kiara Pollard said she’s been taking her kids to Rainbow Kidz Childcare for about four years and is now never going back.
Pollard said she was giving her 3-year-old a bath on Thursday when she saw bruises on his body. She said she asked where they came from, and her son described one of the workers at the day care and told her the worker hit him because he wouldn’t be quiet.
So, Pollard said she went to Rainbow Kidz on Monday to talk about what happened.
“We never got a chance to talk because the teacher just came at me,” she said.
She said she and the teacher in question got into an argument that ended in the police showing up.
The police report said the teacher grabbed a tire iron and threatened to hit Pollard, and Pollard threatened her back.
“She doesn’t need a job,” said Pollard. “She doesn’t need to be around kids.”
WREG went to Rainbow Kidz Childcare to get their side of the story, but they’d only talk to us through an outside speaker and said a manager or director wasn’t available.
“We’re looking into a case where there are some pretty serious allegations against one of your workers, so we wanted to try and get your side of the story over here,” said WREG’s Bridget Chapman to the person over the speaker.
“That’s OK,” he responded. “We have no comment on the matter.”
State records show the day care’s been investigated before for children being scratched and not having enough teachers for the number of students.
Its rating with the state is currently under review. The Tennessee Department of Human Services said it’s because the day care appealed its most recent assessment.
Pollard said she’s started the complaint process with the state and is expecting to hear from Memphis police this week as well. She said she wants all parents to be extra vigilant in checking their children for injuries and paying close attention to their daily routines.
“No parent should have to go through that,” she said. “That’s crazy.”
At this point, all that’s been officially filed is an intimidation report from when Pollard and the employee got into a verbal fight.
