NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — The mother of an 11-month-old boy has contacted city and state authorities after her child was bitten several times at Shining Lights daycare.
Brianna Johnson said she was happy with Shining Lights daycare on Kimball Terrace in Norfolk until the incident.
“I think there’s a lack of supervision,” Brianna said on Tuesday morning.
Last week, Brianna got a call from Shining Lights saying her son, Nico, had been bitten and was sent a picture of a bite mark on his cheek.
She took Nico to Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters. However, doctors only looked at the cheek because Brianna told them that’s where she thought the biting was limited. The next morning she learned that was not the case.
“As I was getting him dressed, he rolled over and that’s when I saw his back,” Brianna said. “There were three more bites on Nico’s back, plus one on his ankle, for a total of five.”
Brianna said that although biting does happen, this was five in one day.
Daycare operator Jennifer Ortiz said she followed protocols and has been operating a daycare for a long time. Ortiz said Brianna’s story doesn’t add up, and said she will file a civil cease and desist action against Brianna for harassment.
The two also dispute how many children Ortiz actually cares for. Ortiz told 10 On Your Side it was only three, but Brianna said she recently saw more than double that number.
“There was way more than that in there,” Brianna said. “There was at least eight kids on cots on the floor.”
According to Child Care Aware of Virginia, “an unregistered provider may provide care for up to 4 children in their home (not including their own children or children that reside in the home.) Unregistered family day homes that exceed this capacity are operating illegally.”
In addition, Norfolk also requires daycares to register with Social Services under the Home-Based Childcare Network — this applies to all daycares providing for at least one child outside of immediate family.
Brianna said she’s contacted state and city authorities about Nico, and wishes now that she had contacted more people before choosing Shining Lights to care for her son.
“Do I regret not doing my research? Yeah, I do,” she said. “And it sucks that it had to happen this way. But now I know.”
Brianna said she will now stay at home with her son.
Continue to check WAVY.com for updates.
