A daycare worker at The Learning Lab in Homewood, Illinois, has been terminated after surveillance footage revealed the employee placing a 4-year-old boy into a trash can as punishment for refusing to take a nap.

The incident, which occurred on January 13, 2025, has left the child’s parents seeking justice and raising concerns about the daycare’s practices, Local12 reports. 

The child’s mother, Monica Forte, recounted her reaction upon viewing the footage: “My first thing was, of course I’m crying. And I immediately went to the police station.” The video shows the employee dragging her son, #Grayson, towards a trash can and placing him inside while other children watched.  

Despite reporting the incident, authorities informed Forte and the child’s father, Justin Barnes, that no legal action could be taken since Grayson did not sustain physical injuries. The daycare responded by firing the involved employee and another staff member who failed to intervene. 

The parents are now considering a civil lawsuit and are searching for a new daycare for their sons. Barnes emphasized the importance of addressing the incident with their child: “We just want to, you know, make sure that Grayson is aware that the situation that happened, that, you know, the helper, what she did was wrong. What he did, he did nothing wrong.”