Adorable 16-month-old baby boy chokes to death on piece of watermelon at his daycare, with distraught mom weeping as she paid tribute to him
An adorable 16-month-old boy choked to death on a piece of watermelon at a daycare center in Georgia.
Jamal Allen Bryant Jr. was rushed to the hospital Tuesday after choking on a watermelon seed at the Kids Nest Learning Center in Brunswick.
The baby’s mother, Taylor Hicks, and his father, Jamal Bryant, Sr., have been left with unimaginable grief since losing their child.
“Sometimes I don’t feel anything, and the next moment I collapse again,” Hicks said WJXT.
Georgia’s Department of Early Care and Learning quickly closed the facility after the tragic incident. The parents have not heard from the childcare center since the tragedy.
Jamal Allen Bryant, Jr. died Tuesday after choking on a watermelon seed at the Kids Nest Learning Center in Brunswick, Georgia
His distraught parents, Taylor Hicks (left) and Jamal Bryant Sr. (right) haven’t heard from the childcare center since the tragedy
At the time of the incident, the department discovered that three staff members were in the classroom, but they were not sitting with the children and were talking to each other. WJCL reported.
Further investigation revealed that Jamal Jr. walked up to the staff members and told them he was choking.
They then tried to get the watermelon out of his throat, but had to call an ambulance for help.
The child’s father said the school called him and told him “it would be best” to go straight to the emergency room where paramedics took Jamal Jr.
When his parents arrived at Southeast Georgia Health System, they discovered their child had been coded twice and died less than three hours after it happened.
The heartbroken parents said they have not heard a word from the childcare center since losing their child.
“I trusted you all to do your jobs. And now I blame myself and I wish I had never dropped him off that day,” Hicks said as she cried.
The Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning discovered that there were three staff members in the classroom, but they were not sitting with the children and talking to each other. Jamal Jr. was the one who told them he was choking
“And I don’t want to hear from them because they should have called. Nothing can fix this except getting them done,” she added.
Georgia’s Department of Early Care and Learning has closed Kids Nest Learning Center due to the health, safety and well-being of the children in their care – who would be in “imminent danger” if they remained open.
Jamal Sr. said he was unaware of the problems at the facility and wants other parents to be careful about where they send their children
The agency found that the child care facility had previously been flagged during an inspection that found the facility was not in compliance with CPR requirements.
‘First aid and resuscitation are postponed because we do not evaluate all the rules during follow-up visits. It would be evaluated during the next unannounced visit of the regulator,” the agency said in a statement.
The daycare center has until May 28 to appeal the agency’s decision. DailyMail.com has contacted Kids Nest Learning Center.
a Change.org petition was created for the ‘Immediate and Permanent Closure’ of the learning center. There were 234 signatures on Saturday evening.
The petition situated other cases that took place in childcare settings, including when Manjeet Grant, the director of Kid’s Nest Learning Center, was arrested and charged with first-degree cruelty to children following an incident that occurred in March 2022.
Glynn County police arrested Grant after she “struck (a child) in the face and knocked her to the ground,” according to an arrest report.
The Brunswick News reported that the child’s mother filed a civil warrant against Grant on May 16, the day after the alleged incident.
On March 17, Georgia’s Department of Early Care and Learning announced they were investigating the alleged punch.
‘We had so many plans for him. We were just talking about his first haircut and stuff. We’re not going to be able to do that,” Hicks said
A Change.org petition was created for the “immediate and permanent closure” of the learning center. There were 234 signatures on Saturday evening
According to the petition, the facility had 22 inspection reports filed by the agency since January 2022.
Jamal Sr. said he was unaware of the problems at the facility, and that he wants other parents to be careful about where they send their children.
“That’s what we want in the future, just make sure this doesn’t happen to another child,” he said.
Hicks remembered her son for loving his family and being “full of energy.”
‘We had so many plans for him. We were just talking about his first haircut and stuff. We’re not going to be able to do that,” Hicks said as Jamal Sr. hugged her.
Services for the baby are expected to be announced by Darien Funeral Home, his spokesperson said obituary.
“Don’t take life for granted,” the baby’s father said.
“And cuddle your babies every day,” Hicks added.