It is every parent's fervent hope that their kids are enjoying themselves in day care, and that their supervisors are professional and caring. No parent would certainly want their kid to be left sitting on the toilet, smeared in feces, for an hour-and-a-half -- as happened back in October to little Laura Hamilton, aged five.

A pupil at New Vision School in Madison, North Carolina, Laura "soiled herself while she was in the care of Rockingham County Schools' after-school program." OK, accidents happen. But Laura was left "in the restroom, wrapped in a towel, for the ninety minutes it took her mother to get from work to the school." And to add insult to injury, when her mother, Toni Hamilton, arrived and started to clean her daughter, she was told by a day care worker to clean the bathroom [1]!

As a result of the incident, New Vision School Day Care has been issued a "provisional license" which expires on 20th April. This means they have to shape up, basically; if everything goes to plan, everything goes back to normal. Part of their compliance has been a new policy mandating that all children should keep a change of clothes at school.

Sadly, things are not back to normal for the Hamiltons, who have enrolled their kids at a different school, even after four separate apologies from the school board. Hardly surprising, you might think -- but their move was not a knee-jerk "let's get out of here." You see, Laura got "taunted" by other kids.

Well, kids can be cruel; and taunting, though it may not be nice, is the nature of the poop-smeared beast. But it appears that the Hamiltons' grievance goes beyond chants of "Poopy Pants, Poopy Pants!" though -- according to article, Laura and her siblings are being teased and blamed for the new change-of-clothes policy.

For Christ's sake! Though the article isn't very explicit, it seems to me that such an issue is something that kids wouldn't give a damn about. My view is that it's probably the parents who have bitched about the new requirement -- if kids are bitching, they're bitching by proxy. Why get angry with Laura and her family, Mr. and Mrs. "Concerned Parent?" Instead, why not sit in your armchair and shake your fist at the day care staff -- you know, the ones who actually left the girl stewing in her own shit?

That's what this sorry tale boils down to, folks: human dignity and personal responsibility. Laura's dignity was stripped when she was left on the pot in an unclean state. Those who were responsible for her shirked their duty. And those who should act responsibly in the aftermath -- the Hamiltons' fellow parents -- have not been acting in a supportive manner.

Finally, I give Greensboro's News-Record a black mark for naming the little girl. Now she will be forever associated with this incident. Thank goodness her name isn't very distinctive.