Child Abuse in Nursery: The Full Account of What Happened, Opinions of Family and Lawyer

Pictures spread on the “Facebook” page showing an abused child in a nursery, and the pictures sparked reactions and condemnation. How can a son of the year and 8 months be exposed to this harm? The picture has a story and the truth has two sides. The opinion of the family whose son was subjected to violence in the nursery, and the opinion of the lawyer entrusted with the defense of the nursery. We are facing a humanitarian situation that requires stopping and asking many questions. This is the full account of what happened.

Mother Joyce’s cry penetrated the souls of many. It is not easy to accept what happened with her son, Stephen. What he was exposed to was harmful and cruel when he was less than a year and eight months old. What is the fault of the child to live a bad experience in such a year? We know very well that accidents may happen unintentionally, and there is no ability to control everything, but in such a place, supervision is supposed to be more stringent, because children do not appreciate the risks.

Returning to what happened, it was necessary to listen to the family’s story in order to find out the details of what happened that day. The father of the child, George Makhlouf, confirms that “it is not the first time that his son has been exposed to such an incident, as he was previously bitten by one of the children in the Reve des anges nursery in Byblos, and we considered that the issue may have occurred by mistake, and we did not register an opposition position or It was harsh towards the administration, given that such things happen sometimes. But last Friday, we received a call from the nursery administration informing us that our child was bitten by another child.”

This call was a preparation for us so that we would not be surprised when we received what we would see. Indeed, the shock was that the child had been bitten several times in his hands and ears, which prompted the father to direct blame and reprimand as a result of neglect and failure to monitor the children adequately and required.

The parents had only one option, which was to take him to the hospital to write a report from the forensic doctor to explain the case in order to put things right.

But what happened with my wife 3 days ago prompted us to take an upward decision, according to George. “When my wife asked to watch the cameras to find out the truth about what happened with our son, the administration refused it under the pretext that the server system does not allow the withdrawal of data and recordings. You won’t be able to see what happened that day. My wife asked for a refund of the monthly installment paid and the suspension of his registration in the nursery.”

Makhlouf stresses that “the escalation came after the administration responded and accused the family of falsifying facts and exaggerating and slandering facts. Therefore, we submitted a complaint to the Ministry of Health as well as to the judiciary to follow up on the case. The administration also accused us of extorting it and wanting money. “What a shame!” Health and psychological matters are above all considerations, and this is what made us break the silence and recount what happened to the public.”

Regarding the child’s mental and physical health, the father indicates that “his son is shocked. He does not eat well and stays in his mother’s lap and does not play, while he is a child who moves and plays a lot. He also “bitten” his brother, and this means that he repeats what he was exposed to. Is this What we teach our children?

It was necessary to hear the other opinion and know the details of what happened and its reasons, especially since the nursery administration published a response on its Facebook page, in which it stated, “What the parents of this child published is false and pure slander and exaggeration, and it would harm the reputation of the nursery and blackmail it. Therefore, we assure all our followers that The problem was dealt with in accordance with the necessary legal frameworks, and not as the parents of the affected student claim.”

Accordingly, we had contact with lawyer Abdo Eid, who confirmed to An-Nahar that “the accident could happen in any nursery, not just in the Reve des Anges nursery, and the error could happen despite the presence of supervision all the time. What happened with the child was that he was playing.” With another child in the play area, and there was a plastic house where they were sitting, and suddenly the teacher heard a scream, and she found that Stephen was bitten by the other child who was with him.

Photo of baby Stephen, posted by the mother on her Facebook page.

As a result of this incident, the administration contacts Stephen’s parents and the parents of the other child to inform them of what happened. Eid explains, “The reaction of Stephen’s parents was harsh, and we understand that for what he was exposed to, and this is their right and we do not blame them. However, their behavior was very insulting to the nursery and the teachers, and yet the administration expressed its full responsibility in treating the child and even in following him up psychologically if needed.”

The father’s demands differed from the demands of the nursery, as the father demanded that his son be removed from the nursery, his money back, and the teacher expelled from her work and the child from the nursery, while the administration offered to follow up on the child’s condition with all its psychological and physical requirements.

After considering that the issue was resolved by mutual consent between the two parties, Eid notes that “we are surprised that the mother of the child publishes a post on social media, as she exaggerates the issue and slanders the nursery. Knowing that the pictures published on social networking sites are different from the pictures we have. Therefore, we were We hope that the family will wait a bit until the judicial ruling is issued before publishing anything, and not defame the custody and contact the families of other children to incite them to remove their children from it.”