An angry mother has revealed that she removed her toddler from daycare because staff members violated her "no touching" rule.
Taking to the parenting forum Kidspot, a mother explained that her three-year-old daughter has always disliked being hugged or touched by others.
She stated that her child will happily embrace her mother, father, and grandmother, but even then, she isn't "the type of kid that you could cuddle to sleep or snuggle on the couch with".
So, when the parent enrolled her child in kindergarten, she informed her teachers that her child has an aversion to physical touch and listed different ways that could soothe her down such as playing with her favorite toy, reading a book, or some quiet time away from the other kids.
However, the mom wrote that the staff did not listen and added: "I'll never forget looking through the window out to the outside area where all the kids play, and seeing the teacher picking my daughter up and trying to hug her.
"My daughter was absolutely beside herself," she continued. "Screaming. Terrified. Kicking. Yelling," because the teachers crossed her daughter's boundaries.
The mother noted that she reminded the daycare manager that there were to be no cuddles, but every time she went to drop her child off at the school, she saw them offering her a hug.
"I felt like I was constantly repeating myself and fighting so hard just to help my daughter feel safe at childcare. It shouldn't be this hard to help each child feel safe? It didn't feel right to me," she penned.
Many users have shared their divided reactions to this story, with some defending her choice to listen to her child's needs while others are questioning why she expected the school to listen to her rules.
One user wrote: "Shame on those workers who did not respect the child and the mother’s wishes! As a child care worker, it is our job to make sure each child feels safe and secure."
"If a child isn’t happy in my care, I’m gonna ask what I can do differently or what am I missing!! Those workers simply did not listen to the mother or the child…I don’t care how many kids you have…no excuse!" they added.
Another user agreed with the mom and stated: "Good job to the Mom for listening to and advocating for her child. Honestly I’m not a hugger (with the exception or a few ppl and my kids) and I definitely don’t force that upon my child.
"What works for one may not for another l. Mom gave the teachers great coping skills as an alternative and yet this babies boundaries were repeatedly violated," they continued.
Meanwhile, a third user who disagreed with the mom remarked: "Sounds like she has more of a problem with it [than] the child, more of a learned behavior."
And a fourth added: "Sure ok, the child has sensory issues. Maybe go get an evaluation and also some therapy so she can exist in the world if god forbid someone.. a classmate, a friend shows affection and hugs her and wants to hold her hand."
After a month at the school, the mom's toddler informed her that she didn't like it when her teachers tried to cuddle her so she made the choice to take her out of the school for good.
"I am studying full-time, so this was no easy decision, but I didn’t second guess it this time. It was my gut feeling. I went against what everyone around me was saying," she wrote.
A few months later, she enrolled her toddler in a new school and remarked that they were wonderful and even set her up with her own "quiet space" for when she felt overwhelmed.
The new environment meant that her daughter was more eager to go to school and made the caring mother feel like she had done the right thing by taking her out of the first one.
