Mom Accidentally Sees Little Son's Photo on the Internet, Finds Out a Day Care Worker Mocked Him

One day while using the internet, a woman stumbled upon a picture of her little boy online, allegedly taken at his daycare. After seeing the photo, she felt so appalled that she knew it was time to do something about it.

Parents are known to want the best for their kids. Perhaps, that's why they spend considerable time picking good institutions for their little ones, hoping that a supportive and loving environment will enhance their learning abilities and personality traits.

But sometimes, terrible things can happen to one's children, and parents might not even suspect it because they're optimistic about their child being in complete love, care, and protection. Sadly, something similar happened to Melissa Jordan.

AN UNEXPECTED DISCOVERY

Back in 2013, Melissa accidentally came across a picture online that profoundly shocked and displeased her. The photo was of her little boy, Ethan Jordan, reportedly taken at the daycare center he attended and posted online.

But the question was, why did the Virginia mom feel so furious after discovering her son's photograph on the internet, and what was it about the image that outraged her? It turned out Melissa had good reasons for being angry after seeing the photo. She told NBC affiliate WAVY:

"I was hurt because I trusted them [the daycare] with Ethan."

FEELING SHOCKED AND HURT

Melissa's feelings seemed pretty valid in the wake of the alarming photo of her toddler son, who looked utterly miserable at the daycare center.

The Virginia resident shared she wanted to raise awareness regarding the potential treatment at the daycare facility so that other parents could watch out and take notice.

The mother further revealed that her three-year-old son didn't look his usual fun-loving self in the photograph.

THE GLUM-LOOKING BOY

The startling picture was reportedly shared without Melissa's knowledge and seemed like an apparent invasion of privacy. It showed Ethan sitting in a high chair, looking dismal and dejected. Melissa added:

"I don't know how long he's been in the highchair. He looks so pathetic and miserable. He looks so defeated in that picture."

THE STARTLING CAPTION

According to WAVY, the startling photograph was shared on Instagram by one of the daycare workers at A Heavenly Haven Learning Center 2 in Newport News, Virginia.

In addition to showing a sad toddler, the picture was said to be accompanied by a caption that read:

"I'm sick of this [expletive] !!!"

AN APPALLING COMMENT

WAVY reported that another worker from the Virginia daycare had also commented on the toddler's Instagram photo. She wrote:

"He really look like that's exactly wat he is thinking cuz sure can't talk (sic)."

Melissa expressed that the daycare workers' comments were directly aimed at her son, and they mocked him for not talking.

She also revealed that Ethan had delayed speech development. The distraught mom mentioned:

"I was disgusted, and my feelings were hurt because they are making fun of Ethan because he isn't able to talk. They are making a joke out of him. I pay them to humiliate my child?"

ETHAN WASN'T THE ONLY KID PUBLICIZED

Sadly, Ethan wasn't the only one publicized. The same daycare worker had also posted a picture of another child on her Instagram account where she compared their teeth to those of Mater in the movie "Cars."

A LOUD AND CLEAR MESSAGE

Melissa shared she wanted to raise awareness regarding the potential treatment at the daycare facility so that other parents could watch out and take notice. She also shared a powerful message for the daycare worker while talking to CNN:

"If you don't genuinely love and care for children, and if it's not a passion of yours, this isn't something that you should be involved in. If you think it's funny that a child is delayed or if they're not perfect or they have shortcomings or something that you think you should tease about, that's not a job for you."

When WAVY reached out to A Heavenly Haven, the daycare's owner, Juanita Brown, said the two workers involved were fired from their jobs. Later, the daycare center expressed it was incredibly sorry for the sad incident.

ISSUING AN APOLOGY

A Heavenly Haven also issued a public apology to the Jordan family. The apology note read that the daycare center had terminated the responsible employees, showing zero tolerance in similar matters. The statement further said:

"This incident, caused by an employee, does not reflect who we are as a childcare provider nor will it deter us from providing a safe and nurturing environment for our children."

According to WAVY, Virginia's Department of Social Services was tasked with investigating the incident.

LACK OF EMPATHY

While the center apologized to Melissa, the mother said none of the daycare workers reached out to her personally. When asked how she would feel if someone contacted her and said it was a misunderstanding, she responded:

"Maybe I would be a little bit more understanding, like OK, it was an inappropriate joke. There's no excuse, but at least I can understand a human error. But that hasn't even happened."

Indeed, nothing is more upsetting for parents than seeing their children experience miserable circumstances. Melissa and Ethan's story teaches us how important it is to be kind, loving, and understanding toward each other.

This phenomenal story also carries another eye-opening lesson: what goes around comes back around, and evil deeds don't go unnoticed. We hope no other mother or parent faces such a situation with their child.

What are your take-aways from this story? Have you ever encountered a similar incident or observed something close to what Melissa and Ethan went through? Don't forget to share this story with your family and friends.