Bed Bugs Scar Child for Life!

Hena Daniels from Eyewitness News did a horrible job on segment where a boy who brought bed bugs to school. [wsmv.com/video/17818727/index.html?rss=nash&psp=video]

The school is Washington Elementary and the video shows a resident being interviewed; when the resident was asked if he would allow his children to go to school with bed bugs and why, he said ‘no, it’s pretty obvious’. The reporter then made a statement that ‘Obvious to some, apparently not to others’. One resident said that she would not allow her child to go to school until the areas the child had been in were cleaned.

The video states that Fernando Silva, Vice Principal, sent a letter to all parents which included the statement “… A small health incident today involving bedbugs” and also stated that they “…removed, sanitized, and returned the affected clothing…”.

Did the school handle this properly? If you watch the video, you’ll hear Hena mention that it was a ‘little boy’ who brought in the bed bugs. Did the school release this information?

If the child’s name is known, that child could very well be scarred for life! The fact that gender was released is something many would consider poor judgment!

Children can sometimes be cruel; should any child be associated with having transported the bed bugs, that child may have to endure a traumatic experience that could scar deep enough to last a lifetime!

• Does the school know for a fact that the child brought the bedbugs to class?
• Was the classroom already infested?
• How does the school know that another child didn’t bring the bugs to class with them and they found their way to this child (or his coat, etc)?

People are afraid to talk about having bad bugs because there is such a stigma associated with the whole topic. People see those having bed bugs as being poor and unclean.

Narrowing it down to a classroom, then gender, could cause panic and push others to point the finger, likely at a student that had nothing to do with it.

Personally, I think Hena Daniels did a very poor job at reporting! The video should have taken a spin on how bed beds can find their way into schools rather than how negligent parents can be!

Washington School is located at 685 Baldwin St in Waterbury, CT 06706 and can be reached at (203) 574-8177 waterbury.k12.ct.us/was/ – http://www.badbedbugs.com 10/28/08