A mother is upset after she says a worker at Sleeping Giant Day Care in Hamden, Conn., taunted her 3-year-old son while he was in time-out.
Tyesha Reese stumbled across video of the incident after an acquaintance recognized her son and emailed her the clip, WTNH reports.
The video shows a daycare worker conversing with the young boy while he sits in a chair. Reese then posted the footage to YouTube, something she says in the video's description was done to raise awareness about what can happen at daycare centers.
"I don't like you," the boy says in the video.
"Newsflash, sweetheart: I don't really like you either, 'cause you throw toys," the worker tells the 3-year-old.
The discussion soon begins to escalate.
"I can knock your head off," the 3-year-old says to the worker.
"Do it. C'mon. C'mon, boss, let's go. You wanna scrap? Let's go." she says in return.
The exchange lasts several minutes, and although the worker has reportedly been placed on paid leave, Reese said watching her son's reactions made her upset.
"He was sitting in a chair and as a child he was trying to defend himself," she told WTNH.
According to WFSB, the worker is a teacher's assistant named Lindsay Cavallaro.
The station obtained a statement from the daycare center, which read: "Our number one priority at all times is to provide quality and safe childcare for all of the children at Sleeping Giant Day Care."
The video has been picked up by several blogs, including Babble, Cafe Mom, Opposing Views and Mommyish, where several users have left messages that express either disbelief or nonchalance about the incident.
Mommyish user vTenebrae was outraged by the worker's reaction and says her behavior was inexcusable.
"There’s no justification for taunting a 3 year old. Even if the kid had been rude, teasing her, or giving her a hard time… she’s a day care worker. The child is THREE. Put the kid in time out and leave him alone," the user wrote.
But others, like Opposing Views user Paulak, argue that although the worker's actions weren't exactly commendable, they didn't qualify as bullying.
"This is not a case of [really] bullying or taunting ... I am not saying she handled it well, I am saying this is not the abuse it headlines make it appear," the user wrote.
Nevertheless, The Stir's Adriana Velez says the worker was setting bad example.
"It's not like [the child's] scarred for life or anything. But that's not the kind of [environment] I'd want my son in every day. Lindsay is pretty much bullying [him]-- and she's just teaching him how to bully other kids," Velez wrote.
Was the worker's behavior unprofessional or wholly unforgivable? Leave your thoughts below.