A father has revealed he refuses to send his children to daycare because he doesn’t trust strangers to look after his kids.
Tomasi Mariner said his long-held distrust was heightened by the arrests of childcare worker Joshua Dale Brown, 26, and Michael Simon Wilson, 36, last week.
Wilson is not a childcare worker but is understood to be known to Brown.
Brown has been charged with more than 70 child sex offences, including the sexual penetration of a child and producing child abuse material, while Wilson is facing 45 charges including rape and possession of child abuse material.
Parents of 1,200 children were advised to consider testing them for sexually transmitted diseases after coming into contact with Brown.
Mr Mariner said he had always been a firm believer in not leaving his children at daycare centres.
‘There’s only very few people that I trust my kids with,’ he said in a TikTok.
‘It’s just very hard for me to trust people, especially with things that matter to me, you know, like my kids.’
Tomasi Mariner (pictured) said he never trusted childcare centres and chose to keep his kids at home before recent allegations of misconduct shocked him
Mr Mariner said his partner had previously asked about considering enrolling their children after discussions with other parents.
‘She said, “Oh hey babe, do you think we should put the kids in daycare?”… we’ve never put our kids in daycare,’ he said.
‘I said, “Darling, who gave birth to those kids?” She said, “Yeah, I did.” I said, “Right, so they’re our kids, aren’t they?”‘
Mr Mariner said he did not take the advice of other parents, instead suggesting they worry about their own issues.
Mr Mariner clarified he had no problem with families who relied on childcare out of necessity but said he personally could not entrust his children to others.
‘Some couples work and they need that service to watch the kids and you know, I’m not having a crack at that. I just don’t trust people,’ he said.
‘I’d rather my partner spend time with the kids than put them in daycare, and vice versa.’
Several early childhood educators took to the comment section to urge parents to reconsider centre-based care, and pushed for systemic reform in the industry.
Joshua Brown (pictured) has been charged with more than 70 child sex offences
Michael Simon Wilson, 36, (above) faces 45 charges including rape and possession of child abuse material
‘As an ex-childcare worker, I do not recommend daycare,’ one wrote.
‘Most employees are high school dropouts and are lazy and sit on their phones all day. Some are dedicated and love children, the others only care about “ticking all the boxes” and what’s good for the centre.
‘So, yeah, not worth it if you can help it.’
Another said she had been in the industry for 13 years before having two babies herself.
‘I won’t put them in childcare because of things I’ve seen and how I’ve seen workers behave towards kids,’ she wrote.
‘I went on maternity leave and now my babies have left due to abuse once I left,’ a third wrote.
‘I’m heartbroken and angry for my babies and their families.’
Others defended the industry.
‘It’s not the childcare, it’s the abusers,’ one wrote.
‘How about let’s put the accountability on the person and system that committed the offences, and not on parents,’ another said.
‘There’s over 300,000 childcare workers in Australia. Some of those are amazing people,’ a third added.
‘Not everyone is blessed to have a parent at home always. Some people have to utilise these services.’
