This is a story with many parts to tell, but it all begins with a little girl who was scared by the Easter Bunny. Of course the iconic character was somebody in a costume, but that is unimportant. The real story is about helicopter parents, privacy issues, fear, prejudice and consequences. All because a little girl panicked when the Easter Bunny came to her daycare center.
The two-year-old named Surai was at her daycare center in Kissimmee, Florida, when the children were visited by the ecumenical character coming through the classroom door. Most of the children appear in the video to be happy, but little Surai appeared to be unprepared for one of holiday life’s mundane events. She leaped from her chair and backed away, her cherub face twisted in fear. A worker was videotaping the event and it was posted to social media, where it soon became viral and even appeared on Jimmy Kimmel’s show monologue.
Most people poo-poo childhood angst over holiday icons like Santa or the bunny, and brush it off as just being a poorly timed moment in a child’s life. They won’t remember it next year, or if it were yesterday they would not be so scared.
There were problems, however. Surai’s mother, Cassandra Bryson, and grandmother Mary Bryson-Robinson, talked to news media of their distress because the daycare did not have permission to photograph or videotape Surai. In writing. The contract between the center and parents asks for permission or opting out for several personal preferences, and the mother had checked off all the items prohibiting imaging of any kind. Also, any eagle-eyed viewer of the news articles related to this story can see that a sign prohibiting photos or video recordings appears prominently on the front of the building. So obviously breaking out the cellphone video app did not apply to somebody in their employ.
So the daycare is at fault, and somebody needs disciplinary action.
The grandmother has been on camera saying that her granddaughter has been psychologically damaged by not only the publicity, but by the trauma of having been scared and having nobody from the facility offering any guidance or comfort. It was an unpleasant surprise for a little tot. Psychologically little Surai’s environment and the way her family handles the event will likely determine whether she has lasting fears in the future. Not knowing how she responded to Santa Claus just a few months ago remains an unanswered question as well. Did her folks prepare her for clowns and other costumed characters?
The other piece of this puzzle is how average people responded to the video: some posted racist comments online. That was uncalled for. Nobody knows how a surprise like that will affect a person. Haven’t grown men fainted at the sight of a spider, or young boys punch the lights out of something (or somebody) that gave them a turn at Halloween?
Our responsibility to obey policies, and how we prepare for and process fear all came into play this time. We didn’t pass the test.
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