A Manhattan day care center is drawing new concern after a serious safety mistake. Bright Horizons at Columbus Circle says that on October 27, a staff member accidentally filled a water pitcher with a diluted cleaning solution instead of fresh drinking water.
Parents report that the contaminated water was then served to children during snack time. A teacher also drank from the same pitcher and immediately sensed something was wrong. Staff called poison control right away, and Bright Horizons says no one needed medical treatment.
“A mistake was made and to portray it as more than that would be misleading,” a Bright Horizons spokesperson wrote. “There really is no story here.”
New York City’s Health Department shut down the preschool program at the center indefinitely after the incident. Bright Horizons issued a statement calling the event a “mistake.” According to the company, the cleaning solution is mixed daily for sanitizing toys, and one of the wrong dispensers was used.
“The safety and well-being of the children in our care is our highest priority,” Bright Horizons stated. “Unfortunately, the staff member had mistakenly filled the pitcher from a dispenser which contained a diluted cleaning solution — prepared daily for sanitizing toys. This solution consists of two gallons of water mixed with a small amount of bleach.”
This safety issue came after another serious problem occurred at the same center. Earlier this year, three former employees were charged with abuse. Prosecutors say staff taped children’s mouths shut, dragged toddlers by their hair, hit kids with water bottles and sprayed them with a bleach-mixed solution.
A parent told CBS News she was frustrated that Bright Horizons didn’t tell her about the cleaning-solution incident directly.
“Had it not been for you, I would’ve never known. Like, this was not communicated to us at all in any way, and it’s just really bad practice,” she said.
Experts in early childhood education are raising concerns about how this kind of error can happen in the first place. One director told reporters that it is a basic safeguard to keep toxic materials well away from anything children drink.
“To me, it’s shocking,” said Erin O’Connor, who is the director of the NYU Early Childhood Education program. “One of the most basic structural indicators is that you have things set up in a way that there’s no way a toxic material would be near a water supply for children. It gives me pause about how much was done in response to the first incident.”
Bright Horizons must now face an administrative hearing. The Health Department will decide whether the preschool program should be allowed to reopen.
