Grandmother Accidentally Takes Wrong Child from Belgian Daycare
A grandmother picking up her grandson from a daycare center in Strombeek-Bever, a submunicipality of Grimbergen in Flemish Brabant, Belgium, accidentally left with the wrong child on Thursday evening. The mix-up was discovered within a short time and resolved safely, but the incident has prompted the daycare operator to review its child handover procedures.
The Incident
The grandmother arrived at daycare center Trammelaar, operated by social welfare organization 3Wplus, to collect her grandson. According to VRT NWS, she left the building with a different two-year-old child in a stroller. The two children looked very similar, and the child who was taken responded spontaneously to the grandmother, creating the impression that everything was normal.
“Apparently the two children looked very much alike and the child that was taken also responded spontaneously to the grandmother. So at that moment nothing seemed wrong,” said Bart Laeremans, Mayor of Grimbergen.
The mistake came to light when the parents of the other child arrived at the daycare and found their child was not there. The daycare immediately activated the local neighborhood information network (BIN), a collaboration between residents and police, sending out an alert asking residents to look out for a woman with a stroller containing a two-year-old child, reportedly heading on foot toward the center of Strombeek-Bever.
Swift Resolution
The grandmother realized her mistake on her own, and the grandfather quickly returned the child to the daycare. All children were safe and unharmed throughout the incident.
“A grandmother came to pick up her grandson yesterday evening, but went outside with another child. When the woman became aware of the mistake, the child was brought back to the daycare by the grandfather. Everything fortunately ended well, but that doesn’t change the fact that this shouldn’t happen,” said Jelle Schepers, spokesperson for 3Wplus.
Mayor Laeremans confirmed the timeline, noting that “the grandmother eventually realized herself that she didn’t have her own grandchild with her. Then the child was brought back almost immediately. Everything happened within a relatively short time and fortunately the incident ended well.”
Daycare Response and Procedural Review
3Wplus has responded swiftly, speaking with the parents of both children to explain the situation and offer apologies. The organization has scheduled an internal meeting to evaluate the incident and discuss changes to its procedures.
“We assumed that a grandparent recognizes a grandchild. This has never happened to us before and we want to keep it a one-time incident,” said Nele Macharis, Team Leader Childcare at 3Wplus. “We are looking at where we need to tighten procedures so that every child is handed over correctly.”
Proposed measures include asking for the first and last name of grandparents or other people authorized to pick up children, and requesting identification cards at the time of pickup.
Broader Implications
The incident has highlighted a gap in existing childcare procedures in Flanders. While daycares typically verify the identity of grandparents when they are authorized to pick up children, there is often no system in place to ensure they actually take the correct child once inside the facility.
Mayor Laeremans emphasized the need for change: “Even when a grandparent comes to pick up a child, their identity will have to be better checked in the future. You can’t just assume that everyone automatically takes the right child.”
Daycare centers in Flanders are regulated by Kind & Gezin (Child and Family), the Flemish government agency responsible for setting quality standards for childcare. It remains to be seen whether this incident will prompt broader regulatory guidance on child handover procedures across the region.
What’s Next
3Wplus is expected to announce specific procedural changes following its internal review. The daycare center Trammelaar is currently closed for its annual holiday period, giving staff time to implement new protocols before children return. The incident has also sparked public discussion in Belgium about the balance between maintaining a welcoming daycare environment and ensuring robust security measures for child handovers.