Maplebear Moulmein incident: Toddler ends up with cut on forehead

When it comes to caring for young children—especially toddlers who tend to be more active—we can never be too careful. This was especially true for Edwin Ng whose 19-month-old daughter suffered an injury resulting in a cut on her forehead at her Playgroup class at Maplebear Moulmein. 

In a Facebook post (July 31), Edwin Ng shared his child’s harrowing experience having to undergo two day-surgeries where she was placed under general anaesthesia just a couple of weeks apart.

The distraught father also claimed that her toddler, whom he calls Little L, experienced “recurring nightmares since the surgeries.”

First incident took place on July 3

According to Ng, the Principal called on 3 July morning to inform him that Little L “fell and suffered a cut on her forehead.”

“The Principal said she was unable to tell us the actual condition (how deep or wide) of the cut as the blood was flowing out continuously from the cut“. Ng immediately rushed down to take his daughter to see a paediatrician (PD). 

Further examinations revealed a laceration (or deep cut) on Little L’s left forehead. It was a “severe” cut according to the PD, and Ng was referred to visit a specialist. 

“The cut was so deep that it cut through the skin layer and muscle layer, nearing the skull,” Ng stated. Little L underwent a “multi-layered stitching” procedure under general anaesthesia later that afternoon.

The 19-month-old was brought home that night after a successful surgery. 

Following the incident, Ng said he went on a conference call with Maplebear who explained their side of the story. According to Ng, Maplebear claimed no one witnessed anything that occurred, including the teachers, on how Little L fell or what she hit her forehead against. 

No CCTV was installed in the centre

While Ng said there was no CCTV footage available to uncover what actually happened, he said that the Principal claimed that Little L lost her balance while sitting on a chair that was too high for her, and eventually fell from it. 

In addition, it was said that the teacher-in-charge was only alerted of the incident after hearing Little L’s cries. Ng said the teacher claimed that Little L was  “already on the floor, facedown with her hands in front of her” when she saw her.

In his Facebook post, Ng questioned the claims. “The centre said that Little L was not within reach of any of the teachers when the incident happened because of social distancing measures. How can my little girl who is only 19-months-old be left alone with no supervision and left on a chair that was too high for her?”

Furthermore, Ng also noted that some details of the incident were not reflected in the report sent to The Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) by the Principal.  

Ng said he gave the centre “a second chance”, seeing how Little L “was happy at Maplebear” and that the school promised to take remedial actions.

Second incident on July 23

It took a second incident on July 23 that made Ng “regret” his decision.

Yet to recover from her stitched wound—and still undergoing scar treatment—Little L injured her forehead once again under the care of the same teacher-in-charge of the playgroup. It caused her wound to reopen.

Ng said that varied statements from Maplebear claimed that Little L was made to participate in an activity that required the kids to lower their head towards the floor.

“[The] principal said Little L missed the mat while lowering her head and her forehead ‘touched’ the ground,” Ng wrote. 

Ng said the principal further claimed that there was also “no sound of an impact” heard.

19-month-old underwent a second surgery

Following the second incident, Ng immediately brought Little L to consult the surgeon. The second day-surgery under general anaesthesia was scheduled for the following day.

However, unlike what the principal alleged, the surgeon said it was not possible that the stitched-up wound reopened with simply a “touch”.

In Maplebear’s finalised incident report that went through three iterations, the teacher-in-charge was said to have confirmed that Little L was not placed on the mat at all for the activity. 

“Post first incident, the directors assured us that they take safety issues at Maplebear seriously and yet this second incident happened,” Ng wrote. Ng also stated that he did not receive the incident report for the second incident.

“We feel that there is a lack of accountability of what had happened and the school nor the teachers has taken responsibility of what happened.”

He added: “Till today, many questions are left unanswered by Maplebear. We do not know what happened exactly. We sought police assistance with investigations. We checked with ECDA and they said we need evidence. But we have no means to collect any evidence as the evidence is being controlled by Maplebear. We feel helpless.”

Ng said by sharing his story with fellow parents to highlight the importance of a safe environment in school as well as proper care by teachers and caregivers, he hopes that no parents or children will have to experience what he has gone through. 

Meanwhile, Maplebear Moulmein in a Facebook post said they have released an “official statement to all relevant parties.”

[embed]https://www.facebook.com/MaplebearMoulmein/photos/a.138383064276843/294118545369960/?type=3[/embed]

theAsianparent has reached out to Maplebear Moulmein for the official statement in response to all relevant parties and has yet to receive a response as of the time of publication.

You can read Ng’s full post here: 

[embed]https://www.facebook.com/edwin.ng.75286/posts/10158361081107527[/embed]

This article was first published in theAsianparent.