Mother says she was horrified to watch daycare worker shove toddler’s face into pillow

OKLAHOMA CITY - An Oklahoma mother says she watched in horror as her 16-month-old’s face was shoved into a pillow at the child’s daycare.

The woman told KFOR that she became concerned when her toddler came home from The Academy at Cornerstone showing odd behavior, including having nightmares and being extremely hungry.

“I couldn't imagine losing her to something when someone is neglectful to her,” one mother said.

Like any first-time mom, the woman, who wants to hide her identity, is extra protective.

“I just want to do what's best for her,” the mother said.

So when she found The Academy at Cornerstone in south Oklahoma City, surveillance cameras were the selling point, letting her keep an eye on her 16-month-old right from her cellphone.

“I felt good about it and then it just went downhill from there,” the mother said.

Just a few weeks after her daughter was enrolled, she said she was on her lunch break and tuned in to see her baby being shoved face-first into a pillow.

Surveillance video shows the daycare employee patting the toddler before looking over her shoulder and repositioning herself.

Then when the child lifts up her head, the employee appears to force it back down into the pillow.

"She almost like kept her hand on her head to keep it down,” the mother said. “I don't know why. It was weird."

She says her husband sped straight to the daycare for answers where he was told the employee would be removed for the day.

"We checked again after nap time and the teacher was right back in there,” the mother said. "I was livid and I was like, 'You need to go get her right now. Pull her out right now.'"

When a KFOR crew arrived, the owner immediately ordered them off her property and threatened to call the police.

As for the mother, she says she filed a police report, has been in touch with DHS and was forced to find a new daycare.

Now, she says she is unsure who to trust.

“That’s why I just want to make sure that other parents don’t have this happen to them,” the mother said.