Nationwide — Tamara Hemingway, an African American mother of a 2-year-old girl named Myla, is demanding answers after she picked up her daughter from a daycare in Ocean Township, New Jersey, and realized that a braid was missing from her head. She claims the daycare never explained what happened and did not contact her about it.
Surveillance footage shows Myla playing with her braid earlier in the day. Around 11:45 a.m., a teacher removed a smock from Myla’s head. She then touched the right side of her head—where the braid was last seen. After that point, the braid was no longer visible. Staff searched the classroom but didn’t find the missing hair or barrettes.
According to ABC 7 NY, Hemingway believes the braid could not have come out on its own, saying it was too tightly cornrowed to be removed without force.
The daycare director stated that they couldn’t confirm what happened but insisted there was no evidence the braid was pulled out. Attorney Marc Caswell said the daycare gave inconsistent responses and never informed Hemingway about the incident right away.
“What troubles me about the case is that the facility deflected and they told my client various different things. They didn’t know if her child pulled it out. They didn’t know what happened at first they said that they had no idea that it even happened,” he said.
Hemingway also expressed frustration with how the daycare handled the situation.
“I’m very upset and I’m very frustrated because this is my child. Like she’s not able to let me know what happened. And that’s the concerning part, the fact that they’re just so insensitive. Like no one even called me to check on her, see how she was doing,” Hemingway said.
Since the incident, Hemingway has pulled Myla out of the daycare. She says her daughter has been sensitive to anyone touching her hair ever since.