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Woman fired, another quits as abuse at nursery school surfaces

49 Comments

A 51-year-old woman was fired by her nursery school in Yachiyo City, Chiba Prefecture, and a 35-year-old woman quit after the pair were discovered to have acted improperly in their jobs, it was learned on Wednesday.

The pair are accused of being involved in several incidents, including taping a 1-year-old boy's mouth and calling him a monkey, putting lipstick on two 1-year-old children's faces and taking pictures of them with a cell phone, and taking a 1-year-old boy to the class next door for children under 1-year-old and hitting him.

A staff member at Takatsunishi Nursery School - privatized in 2007 - witnessed the taping of the boy's mouth in February this year and notified the city office. The subsequent investigation revealed other improper behavior stemming back to June last year.

The nursery school held meetings with parents over two days, explaining and apologizing for the incidents involving the four children. The head of the nursery school and another member of staff had their pay reduced, they said.

© News reports

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49 Comments
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Glad someone stepped up and said something before this got any worse.

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Glad someone stepped up and said something before this got any worse. Agree.

Having a 4-year old in kindergarten here in Japan at the moment (previously at day-care), reading these stories makes me sick.

How many cases go unnoticed where witnesses say nothing?

Don't even want to think about it.

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again, where is the love?

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@ IchyaWarFare : Amen! I've seen some great childcare people in action, and then, there's this... People who step up like this, and report abuse, should be praised! I'm happy to hear about someone actually DOING something!

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Why can't child-care facilities install 'nanny cams', or parents insist on them. It is so easy these days to have a web-cam set-up and that way working parents can just have a quick look to see how their kids are doing in day-care. My brother has 2 little girls, and he has nanny-cams all over the house, which are in use anytime he uses a babysitter.

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Still took too long to fire them.

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I always thought that the ladies that worked at those nurseries were nutters that couldn't hook up and make their own families.

taking a 1-year-old boy to the class next door for children under 1-year-old and hitting him.

not exactly sure what that sentence means. Did the teachers hit him, or have the kids under 1 hit him, or what?

nutters are everywhere, watch your backs, and make sure your kids know that you'll bring the fury to any who antagonize them

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these things happen at Muninka hoikuen -not government authorized daycares. I would not put my kids in Muninka hoikuen. I was very happy with my son's daycare and am now very happy with my daughter's hoikuen- both NINKA hoikuen.

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Quitting and/or being fired is not nearly enough. If these charges are true, and they seemed to be, these two should be arrested and charged with child abuse. This kind of thing should not be tolerated.

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The nursery schools run by the ward / city are great ; safe, clean and well-regulated. The problem in Japan is that there are not enough of these, so people end up having to use private nurseries, where the regulation / safety is not as strict as in other countries.

With my kid, we couldn't get into the ward nurseries at first, so we were stuck with these. Luckily, we did find a good place, but we also saw another nursery where the moment I walked in the door I just said "No way !". Cramped, no natural light, obviously un-qualified staff ( I think that the law is there only needs to be one qualified carer ), and the place basically looked like a fire-trap. I wouldn't have wanted to leave a dog there. It would have been shut down in any other civilised country.

Childcare is one area where Japan is way behind the rest of the world, and no surprises that people don't want to have kids here.

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Tokyo's wards do the worst job of supplying enough houikuen. We've been on the eternal waiting list for our 2 yr old. Their system is to force married women to stay home.

Some private nurseries are good but who knows. This story is scary.

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And where are the police? Hitting kids is assault. These "caregivers" should be shackled and paraded in front of the media (full face). Use shame as weapon and seriously drop them in it. Let everybody see whose mom/sister/wife/girlfriend, etc. has been laying into defenseless children (sorry infants). Also some details on where these women live would be useful.

Seriously, these two scumbags should be down the cells learning the secret art of telephone book usage. The nursery and the city should also be on the hook for letting this sorry state of affairs go on for so long.

Then again, I won't hold my breath.

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The head of the nursery school and another member of staff had their pay reduced, they said.

HaHaHa...how typical..money solves everything in the some pea-size j-brains..the cruelty and emotional damage they did to the children? SHOGANAI NE!!

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Terrifying... I would probably end up being one of those moms who couldn't trust anyone but myself to watch my baby. I'm far too paranoid, and stories like this only make it worse.

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Got my 1 year old little girl in a goverment-run hoikuen, not problems so far. Knowing me, they wouldn't dare anyways. ;)

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timorborder, you are certainly right..as I wouldn't hold on my breath either..the only thing these two will get is a mere slap on the wrist after accepting their cheap gomen letter. No jail, No punishment, No shame, nothing as usual.

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Why are they not under arrest for abuse???? I'm flabbergasted. Is there no abuse law? Do the parents not care, or did they not press charges?

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The head of the nursery school and another member of staff had their pay reduced, they said.

It's not about reducing someone pay it's about justice. Reducing someone pay does nothing to rectified the problems of the children who were abuse. The parent(s) of the children should sue the nursery. Both the 51-year-old woman and the 35-year-old woman should be arrested. The name of the perpetrators should be listed on the article to let other people know so their children don't fall into the same fate. The children should get counseling. It may be on a small scale, but those children are scarred for life and hopefully they turn out to be normal.

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these things happen a lot..my kids went thru this..they were angry at their nursery teachers..they didnt want to go to the hoikuen..the one in nara...the teachers there would ( accdg to my son) slap and hit those children who do not obey and those children who are slow to learn during practice..they have to perform every year at the nara centennial hall and they practice a lot..I tried to reason that it was because the teachers are also pressured with the task but its just not right to hit the fattest girl and call her saite..accdg to my son..hes just scared it might happen to him if he doesnt do good...I told him that if they hit him well tell the police and arrest those who do that because its not right..I was relieved when we changed house. I told the superiors about it..it only fell on deafs ear..

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@spikejp99-the cam is a very good idea..

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Quitting and/or being fired is not nearly enough. If these charges are true, and they seemed to be, these two should be arrested and charged with child abuse. This kind of thing should not be tolerated.

Maybe I missed something here, but based on the article above, I'm not seeing child abuse. Oh, I agree this kind of behavior shouldn't be tolerated at all, but did these women beat these children? Did they commit serious acts of violence against them? I'm not defending their behavior. They both ought to have been fired. However saying they're guilty of child abuse, to me, cheapens truly sick behavior. This is not child abuse. It doesn't even come close to that level.

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haha yeah those were easily caught but it's better than nothing. It's more difficult to get those who are dissimulated vicious creeps, those bullies who never get caught or disciplined.

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..until something real bad happens.

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I cannot believe someone cannot see child abuse in taping a 1-year-old child's mouth shut. Can you not see the panic that a thoroughly defenseless child would experience? A 1-year-old child has been left in the care of adults -- he may not even be old enough to talk -- and suddenly his mouth has been frozen in position with something he doesn't even know what. Adults, meanwhile, are calling him a monkey. He is presumably confused and frightened. Pardon my language, but what the h--- else would you call it?

I fear the only retribution is that most of the parents will pull their children out of this day care anyway, forcing it to close. But criminal penalties for the adults? One can only hope!

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Another sickening story of abuse. Yes, why weren't these women charged?! They hit, humiliated and bullied small children! One is fired, one quit and others have their pay reduced and that's it?! I hope the parents of these kids give them tons and tons of love so their emotional wounds can heal...

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Hitting kids is not necessarily abuse; in some cases, NOT hitting kids is abuse. I know some readers in this forum subscribe to the never-hit-a-kid philosophy espoused by that nutcase Dr. Spock - gee, just look at how THAT generation turned out. That being said, these one year olds were abused by the lipstick and the taping of the mouths. That is extremely dangerous. The most telling comment is by AzabuSamurai, who seems to think it is the ward governments' responsibility to provide day-care. If you are the parent, it is YOUR responsibility. Such thinking is what leads the nanny state and then to totalitarianism....

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selection of staff should be based on psychological testing of the applicant.A normal lady will not do such act with toddlers.

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Oh the horror! Mouth taped and called a monkey! Lipstick and pictures! Some hitting! Dear God but some of you lived some sheltered lives to call this abuse!

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Dubya

If you are the parent, it is YOUR responsibility. Such thinking is what leads the nanny state and then to totalitarianism..

Have you ever thought that some parents have to work in order to pay the bills in order to keep a roof over their family's head or feed their family? Of course the ward should provide subsidized day-care! That is, after all, what part of our taxes should pay for. I'm not advocating a 'nanny state', but a state which helps parents and can provide safe child care. This, sadly, did not happen in this case.

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Tip of the iceburg. How many folks here have seen mother abise their kids? Now think of the women dealing with many kids. I agree, where are the nanny cameras and whatnot?

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Where do they find the half-wits that work in all these nursery schools? Off the streets? Who on earth would trust a nursery school with their kids anyway?

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All these people calling for these two to be arrested for abuse are forgetting where they are. They were just exercising their civil rights as carers and educators. It's in the constitution, didn't you know?

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Most workers here at these schools are young, single and have no clue about kids. Just doing the job until they get married and can quit. Doesn't seem to be regulations on hiring, first aid training...

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reduced pay?? thats all..?! why not tape their mouths and let the 1yr olds beat them up?

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You do not know what these kids are able to do. A kid at the place I work regularly abuses me by touching my breasts. shall a prosecute the school or his parents??!?!?!?!

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LoveUSA, what a ridiculous thing to say. The kids were 1 years old.

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Stevecpfc, in the place where I work they are 6 y.o. and some of them behave like they have never been taught manners by their parents.

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@LoveUSA Then you should tell your boss that's happening. And usually Japanese staff is supposed to help with the disciplining of the kids.

I had something similar happen to me at a kindergarten and the teacher nip it in the bud.

So either you're not speaking up or the staff is not helping you,which in that case, look for employment elsewhere.

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I think it's sick that they got away with doing all that to the kids. And ''gomenasai'' to the parents, I don't think would cut it.

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Brats - I've seen both sides of this dilemma. There are no excuses for taping a kids mouth. I teach English for small children. Sometimes I seen a child out of control. Many hyper out of control kids. Even the parents can't control their brats. I mean "Bonkers "!!!!! One time I saw a child crying & kicking a wall for 2 hours. I told her to sit down she would not listen. I told her to join her classmates should would not listen. Sometimes the child has mental problems or is very (highly) spoiled. Sometimes the childcare person has to spend all day with one child mind you that the childcare person has to watch 20 more other students. A lot of the times, the mother does not teach basic manners, or polite behavior. Usually the working mother/ or lazy house wife doesn't do anything at all. Some of these kids do not know how to write their own names. Or sit down and eat properly. I am glad my mother (housewife) toaught me how to be a polite individual at Nursery/Pre School/ Kindergarten age. Most of the time the parents are lazy and doesn't teach the kid at home to listen toSometimes I see children kicking a wall for hours.I used to work at a private pre-school. Some of these caregivers are weird & scary.

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Sick. Honestly, I don’t know what I would do at parent’s place in this situation. I would maybe beat up these ladies

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I agree that sometimes minor corporal punishment is needed to tell a child that what he or she has done is wrong, but nobody -- child or otherwise -- should be subjected to such unnecessary treatment. What possible reason could these women have had for taping the little boy's mouth shut? Did he talk too much? Was he crying and screaming and wouldn't be calmed? Did he steal someone else's lunch? None of those transgressions would warrant such a punishment. Do you hogtie the child who won't sit down and keeps running around the classroom? Children can be little hellions, and parents have the responsibility to teach them proper behavior so that caregivers only have to reinforce those teachings. But in a situation where a child simply will not settle down or cooperate there is STILL no justification for such humiliating treatment as having your mouth taped shut or being taken into a separate room and smacked. A little swat on the bottom or a quick slap of the hand followed by a clear announcement of what the child did wrong -- "That wasn't nice, Sosuke. Pulling hair is bad and a mean thing to do. Now apologize." -- works much better than dragging the child out of the room and spanking them. If a child is consistently disruptive, you have to talk to the parents and inform them that the behavior is unacceptable and detrimental to the other children. Get the PTA involved; not necessarily in an antagonistic way, but just so they know the situation. It's as much about covering your butt as it is about making the nursery school environment a healthy one.

I don't know enough about the lipstick incident to debate the classification of it as abuse or not. it certainly wasn't a very SMART thing to do, but maybe the kids had seen other children getting their faces painted at a local festival and wanted to have their own faces painted, too. Who knows? I'd need more details.

People tend to forget the difference between "discipline" and "abuse." Discipline is intended to teach children the difference between right and wrong and should only be used in conjunction with regular praise and acknowledgment of a child's accomplishments. It should be applied uniformly, never capriciously, and should never exceed the severity of the trangression. You don't send a guy to prison because he stole some bubblegum and you don't spank a child for not eating his vegetables. To use a common idiom, the punishment fits the crime.

Abuse is the selfish projection of an person's internal angst and narcissism onto an innocent party, and is utterly inexcusable. Often it's a way for a person who feels powerless and unimportant to exercise control over people they see as weaker than themselves: young children, the elderly, the physically or mentally challenged, etc. Taken to the extreme it goes from being merely reprehensible to being truly sadistic. Witness the case reported here in JT just today about the woman who starved her five-year-old son because he looked like her husband, while the husband in question did nothing to protect the child. Why subject your own flesh and blood to such treatment? Pettiness, selfishness, arrogance, entitlement, cowardice, and every other negative character trait known to man.

Hopefully these women will learn their lesson and reform. All too often, unfortunately, the abusers are allowed to go right back to their abusive ways, this time with even more anger and resentment after being caught. I hope that won't happen here.

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theres a japanese daycare close to my place where I used to leave my son who was only one year old at that time. I left work early once and went to pick him up suddenly without calling first and when I got close to the place I could hear him screaming and when I entered the door saw him crying inside a crib. I yelled calling for someone many times when after a few minutes this old lady came from the back half asleep...I yelled at her asking If she thought it was right to leave him yelling like that and said I would NEVER come back. When I got home I found out he was starving. He drank two bottles of milk so desperately quick I cried. The next day they just called for the money. I went back there to pay them and just asked If they did not have hearts. Most daycares like those seem to hire any dumb young and lazy girl or stupid and lazy old lady so good parents out there BE CAREFUL! WATCH YOUR KID! Sometimes even If your baby is too young you can feel If theres something wrong by the way your kid behaves (agressive, stressed) and If you are suspicious just make a sudden visit to them.

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Japan: second richest country in the world, with a 3rd world social support system. Disgusting.

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What did the children do to warrant this punishment?

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krisallenation: was the daycare in question a gov't run fascility? or a private one?

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kyoko- i'm not krisallenation, but i am sure that daycare he was talking about is not a government run facility as gov't run daycares do not call parents for money, money is being paid to the city/ward directly. also, those gov't run daycares have more people/caregivers working and the babies/kids are not left alone.

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Kids - are getting harder and harder to control (I am not condoning what happened) They generally have no fear or respect of adults whatsoever, and I am talking here about 4/5 year old not young teenagers. Until parents start taking more responsibility and teaching their kids manners and respect there will be more and more stories like this. Not all teachers are perfect but there are many good teachers trying to do a good job and they are completely ham strung when trying to discipline kids who have no concept of being taught anything at home - and the parents think their little offspring are totally incapable of any wrong.

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mike- i understand and i actually agree with you, but the article was about the caregivers taping 1-year-olds mouth, calling him a monkey, hitting him and putting lipstick on his face and taking pictures.. ONE YEAR OLD... it's a totally different story.

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