Four-year-old lives are not meant for headlines. Yet, in Barrie’s south end, a single summer day at BrightPath Barrie Childcare Centre has left a mark on parents, staff, and a community suddenly forced to question what safety truly means.
Jeff and Cristina Pedano, once vocal supporters of their daughter’s daycare, now find themselves at the centre of a troubling story. Their daughter’s account—being sprayed in the face with a bottle and pinched by a staff member during nap time—prompted swift outrage and a Ministry of Education investigation. The incident, confirmed by an August 14 inspection, was classified as “critical”, the highest risk level, reserved for cases where harm to a child is direct and significant.
The Pedanos learned the employee under scrutiny was already subject to a ‘safe work’ plan meant to prevent solo supervision. Yet, on the day in question, protocols faltered: the child was alone with the staff member. According to the couple, the daycare’s director explained that other educators were at lunch and regular supervisory checks were underway, but that did little to ease parental concern.
Simcoe Muskoka Family Connexions, the local child protection agency, suspended the employee with pay during its investigation. By September, their findings sustained the allegations of intentional harm, and it emerged that other staff had witnessed at least one incident without reporting it. The Ministry’s online report no longer lists the issue as active, and the centre claims the matter has been resolved. Yet, trust has not been so easily restored.
BrightPath’s leadership pointed to staff retraining, a renewed safety plan, and “ongoing support to families” as steps forward. The employee in question is no longer present in any BrightPath location, and the centre has reopened its review process. For Barrie’s parents, the true test may be whether safety protocols are more than paperwork, and if vigilance can be made as routine as afternoon storytime. The Pedanos’ daughter is adapting to kindergarten, but the echoes of a summer’s day at daycare linger, a reminder that child safety is a community’s shared responsibility.
References:
Parents demand answers after ‘heartbreaking’ incident at Barrie daycare
