MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Memphis mother is upset after learning that her two-year-old ingested THC gummies at daycare.
“I was scared. I was in all in disbelief,” the mother said.
She didn’t want to show her face, but told NewsNation affiliate WREG that last Friday, she received a call from her son’s daycare saying that he was acting strangely.
“He was lethargic. Like he wouldn’t move his eyes and stuff and they brought him to my husband and he is walking, but they brought him out,” the mother said. “And then he was just lazy.”
Then the couple got another shock.
“They was like, ‘Well, mom, something happened.’ And immediately you know, I got nervous,” the mother said. “And she was like, ‘Well, they got a hold to some gummies.’ They originally told me sleeping gummies.”
She says the toddler and another child got into one of the daycare workers’ purses and found edible gummies.
When she asked the daycare how the children were able to get to the gummies, she was told that the employee’s purse was on a bookshelf.
“The director called me [and] she said that her purse was on the bookshelf,” the mother said. ‘And you know the bookcases – just kind of low.”
The couple took their child to LeBonheur Children’s Hospital, where the mother says they ran tests and found that the toddler had ingested THC gummies.
“I was upset. You send your child to daycare thinking they safe and then something like this happens,” the mother said.
She told WREG that her son spent the night at LeBonheur and should be okay, but he still has to be monitored.
LeBonheur doctors say edibles are like a child ingesting someone’s medication and that’s dangerous.
“The child can be very lethargic or sleepy,” Dr. Rudy Kink with LeBonhuer Pediatric Emergency said. “And so what can happen is they can fall, hit their head, hit their arm, break an arm or leg, or something to that effect.”
Now, the upset mother wants answers from the LaPetite Academy located on New Allen Road.
“I think it was very negligent on their part because anything could have happened,” The mother said. “What alarmed me was that they did not call 911 when they noticed that he had got a hold of something.”
WREG went to LaPetitie looking for answers.
A woman who identified herself as the director said that we needed to call the corporate office, and that the worker involved was no longer working there.
Child Services and Memphis Police were also called. Police say this is still under investigation.
WREG is still waiting to hear back from LaPetite’s Corporate Office.
“I hope that justice is served and that this teaches her a lesson that this could have went totally wrong,” the mother said.
The mother says she has removed her children from the daycare and is considering hiring a lawyer.
Meanwhile, La Petite sent WREG the following statement:
“The safety and wellbeing of our children is our highest priority. Our staff members are expected to follow childcare regulations and uphold our policies at all times, and we do not tolerate deviations from these standards of care. This teacher is no longer with our school. Additionally, we informed the Tennessee childcare licensing department and are working with them as they assess the matter; we will also work with other authorities that might investigate. We remain committed to providing a safe, nurturing learning environment for all children in our care.”
La Petite Academy
