**Warning: Contains descriptions of child abuse some may find upsetting.**
A mum has taken to social media to warn parents after discovering her son was being hit by his nursery teacher.
In a heartbreaking post to Reddit titled, 'Please believe your child,' a mum has reached out to other parents after going through a nightmare situation with her three-year-old.
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Posted to Reddit's 'Parenting' thread, the mum - who goes by @justlurkin_0811 - explained that as soon as her son told her 'one of his teachers was hitting him' she and her boyfriend both asked him questions 'about two hours apart' to see if the young boy replied the same and check whether he was subsequently telling the truth.
The mum reveals: "The answers were the exact same, 'Miss X hits me and (other child's name)'."
The Redditer explains she immediately decided to believe the three-year-old and so emailed the director of the nursery first thing in the morning.
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An investigation was launched into the teacher and footage uncovered much 'worse than hitting', according to the mum.
"Grabbing by the arms while yelling in his face, putting him on his cot very hard," the user continues. "It's a big corporation, so they are doing a very thorough investigation, and I'm scared what else they may find."
The mum also questions what may have happened if she hadn't decided to believe her three-year-old and report the incident.
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She says: "How many more times would she have hurt him? How bad would it have gotten? How many other kids could this have happened to? If I didn't believe him and something even worse happened to him in the future, would he tell me? Or would he not trust me?"
The mum then implores other parents to 'believe your child(ren)'.
"We are their biggest and usually only advocates. I'd rather be 'embarrassed' that my kid is a lying than feel the shame of not protecting him when he needed me," she resolved.
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And parents have flocked to the comments in support of the mum and to detail their own experiences.
One Reddit user said: "This, 100 percent. My mother never believed me when I told her what was happening to me and I live with the trauma every single day."
"Better to presume a child's honesty and be fooled from time to time than to teach them at a young age that they won't be believed." another commented.
"Of course, at some point kids experiment with untruths, but I can't imagine the harm it would do to a child to not believe your own parents would side with you on something like this."
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And a third resolved: "Make sure to thank him for trusting you, and for helping keep himself and his friend safe. It can be scary to tell when someone you're supposed to trust is hurting you, and he needs to know he did the right thing. That HE didn't get his teacher in trouble. That standing up for people getting abused is a heroic thing."
The original Reddit poster noted in an update that she isn't here to 'bash the daycare' who have been 'amazing in the way they handled this' as they immediately took action.
"Everything was taken care of in less than one work day," she adds.
The mum resolves: "To all those who had parents who didn't listen, I am so sorry. I wish I could have been all of your mom. I am glad you are all breaking the cycle and listening to your children."
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, contact the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000, 8am–10pm Monday to Friday, 9am–6pm weekends. If you are a child seeking advice and support, call Childline for free on 0800 1111
Topics: Parenting, Health, Mental Health, Reddit, Social media
Poppy Bilderbeck