16-month-old Jamal Allen Bryant, Jr. lost his life in a tragic incident after chocking on a piece of watermelon while at daycare. The toddler was attending Brunswick’s The Kids Nest Learning Center that has since been temporarily closed.

According to the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning, or DECAL, the staff waited nearly two minutes after alerting emergency services.

The grieving family claims that their son, along with the rest of the children who attended the same facility, has been neglected.

Reports are that at the time of the accident, the staff gave the children the food but didn’t stay with them while they ate.

“JB tragically lost his life when The Kids Nest Learning Center failed to have staff trained in CPR, gave the 18 month a large piece of watermelon, didn’t require kids to be seated while eating and the staff weren’t seated within arms reach of the children as mandated by Georgia’s Dept of Early Childhood and Learning (DECAL),” the GoFundMe page started by the toddler’s family stated.

The tragedy took place on May 21, and the owner of the daycare, Charles Grant, testified at court saying that only one of the two staff members who were supposed to take care of the children was certified in CPR. He acknowledged that the staff did not adhere to the center’s or state’s regulations, as they were not supervising the children while they were eating.

The mother of Jamal said the daycare failed her baby boy as surveillance cameras showed that instead of administering CPR as required, the staff repeatedly patted the child on the back.

“We depend on you all to take care of our children to the best of your ability and if that was one of the rules, I feel like obviously you should have followed them,” she said. “I trusted you all to do your job. And now I blame myself and I wish I never dropped him off that day. And I don’t wanna hear anything from them because they should’ve called. Nothing’s gonna fix this, other than them being done.”

Considering the serious breaches of rules that “seriously affected the health and safety of children and demonstrated the intentional and reckless disregard for the physical and mental health and safety of children,” DECAL has initiated steps to permanently shut down the daycare.

The owner appealed the decision, but later reconsidered and withdrew his appeal.

“Notice has been sent to the Office of State Administrative Hearings so that the case can be dismissed and court canceled. Since there is no longer an appeal, the center has officially been closed in our system due to the revocation of the license,” the statement read.

We are so very sorry for this devastating loss. Our thoughts and prayers go to the grieving family.

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