WEST BRIDGEWATER, MASS. (WHDH) - A West Bridgewater daycare owner is taking action after she says three toddlers in her care opened a gate and wandered off alone Monday morning.
Erica Kilcoyne, owner of the Cowlicks and Pigtails Child Care Center for the past 20 years, says she’s still in shock that three 2-year-olds were able to walk away from her facility.
“I do this for the children, and this is why it’s so devastating to me,” she said. “I’ve serviced thousands of families. It’s heartbreaking, absolutely heartbreaking.”
She says it happened when the children were outside in the fenced-in play area.
“We have these latches that hook and go in. Somehow one of the kids got one of the latches off and then two toddlers proceeded to go after them,” she explained. “When they got out, there was a yell that kids were out.”
Kilcoyne added that she fired four teachers on the spot and had new cameras and locks installed on the gates within two hours.
The parents of one of the wandering toddlers took their child out of the daycare, but Kilcoyne says she’s gotten strong support from the other parents.
“The parents are coming in today and giving us hugs and telling us good luck,” she said.
Kilcoyne says she reported the incident herself to Department of Children and Families and state licensing authorities, who are now investigating.
“I’ve been here for 20 years with this reputation. It’s going to be hard to fix it, but with my amazing staff, we will,” Kilcoyne said.
Kilcoyne says she owns three daycare centers and Monday night, she held an emergency meeting to retrain all her teachers.
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