After seeing the kindergarten teachers’ treatment of children, other parents spoke after the Facebook post.

The passerby who saw the event asked what should be done: her children do not attend this kindergarten, but she admitted that she attended the same kindergarten when she was little; the educator did not change after 15 years. There were dozens of comments after the post, many shared their experiences.

Fear that situations will not “shut up”

One mother said that such cases occur quite frequently. She said an older educator “took her hand” mocking her daughter: “Last summer, it was 30 degrees outside in the group, even more in the group.” They told him to go to bed at night during sleep in long-sleeved pajamas and a blanket during winter. The daughter got up and went to drink calmly. The educator started yelling at him and acted differently not to sleep. I was wet with sweat.

The commentator, who shared the shocking story, said she came to pick up the girl from kindergarten without notice. “I recorded everything. He ended up covering everything and just decided “sorry”. I don’t think his behavior towards others has changed. “More than one child received sunburns in kindergarten that week,” he summarized.

Another mother was comforted that today, as soon as her preschool-age child was approaching kindergarten, she began to look out the window at an educator, and when she saw him, she burst into tears. “It just came to our attention then. Sometimes it is difficult for children to describe what it can be, because not only physical but also psychological violence is used,” he emphasized.

And during communication with the teacher, nothing bad was noticed. “As with many educators, it is common to appear in front of parents. But with this teacher, the group is silent, especially during the meal: they will hear the fly fly. It is going, it is difficult to understand what happens when parents do not see, they do not hear. Another educator loves and waits madly, even though she is currently at risk, ”the commentator reasoned.

Others have experienced that the kindergarten administration would not cover everything in silence, because there is no evidence, only the story of the woman who saw the event.

Delfi managed to contact Kristina Brinkliene, the director of the “Gintarėlis” kindergarten mentioned above. After recounting the case and asking if he was aware that one of the nursery educators was allegedly violent against the children, he replied that he knew nothing about it, that there would be no comments, and ended the conversation without going into detail.

Arūnas Malinovskis, Head of the Communication Division of the Children’s Rights Protection and Adoption Service, was not surprised by such an act.

“I always look at this issue from the other side: the directors are scared, they do not want to communicate. However, there are founders who are responsible for the activities of the kindergarten: it is the municipality (if the institution is not private), specialists from the department They are responsible for the emotional and psychological climate, the safety of children in kindergarten. “Not only educators but also the founders of the institution take responsibility,” he said.

We asked A. Malinovskis what actions should be taken in such cases when observing the violence of educators in preschool institutions. Firstly, according to him, when emotional violence, even more physical, is noticed, the head of the educational institution should be informed immediately. Each institution must have established plans to respond to similar problems. “Temporary withdrawal, pre-trial investigation, the Children’s Rights Protection Service is informed. If the violence is physical, immediately inform the police,” explained A. Malinovskis.

In the specific case, the incident was seen by a passing witness. Malinovsky said he could have acted simply by calling the general emergency number 112.

There is another way: inform the administration of the kindergarten or the founders: the municipality. Contact the Child Rights Protection Service (local branch). That message will launch a chain of action. “If physical violence is observed, the answer is within one hour, if psychological, within six. The report is being verified: surveys are being carried out, the institution is being contacted, parents and relatives are being communicated ”, – the interlocutor named the shares.

Grabbed by the arm to protect

According to him, the investigation will reveal if this is a momentary case, in other words, unique. For example, if parents and educators do not have any complaints, the violation of the rights of the child is not recorded. Still, the behavior can be recorded as emotional and psychological violence.

Head of the Communication Division of the Administration of the Municipality of the City of Panevėžys Communication specialist Loreta Kaškelienė told Delfi that the municipality is aware of the situation, contacted the director of the Gintarėlis kindergarten and clarified the situation.

“According to the director of kindergarten” Gintarėlis “, the boy behaved inappropriately without receiving the toy, endangering his health. Then the educator grabbed the boy by the arm and raised his voice to avoid injury. If the educator If he had not taken such action, the minor attending the kindergarten would have been injured, however, the Department of Education asked the director of the kindergarten to retrain the staff on how to properly deal with minors in stressful situations, “he explained. L. Kaškelienė.