Adorable 16-month-old boy chokes to death on a piece of watermelon at his daycare, while his distraught mother cries as she pays tribute

An adorable 16-month-old boy choked on a piece of watermelon at a Georgia daycare.

Jamal Allen Bryant, Jr. was rushed to the hospital Tuesday after choking on a watermelon seed at the Kids Nest Learning Center in Brunswick.

The baby’s mother, Taylor Hicks, and father, Jamal Bryant, Sr. have been experiencing unimaginable grief since losing their child.

“Sometimes I don’t feel anything, and the next minute I collapse again,” Hicks told WJXT.

The Georgia Department of Early Childhood Care and Learning quickly closed the facility following the tragic incident. The parents have not heard from the daycare since the tragedy.

At the time of the incident, the agency discovered that three employees were in the classroom, but they were not sitting with the children and were talking among themselves, WJCL reported.

Further investigation revealed that Jamal Jr. approached staff members and informed them that he was choking.

They then tried to remove the watermelon from his throat, but had to call an ambulance for help.

The child’s father said the school called him and told him “it would be best” to go straight to the emergency room where paramedics were taking Jamal Jr.

Once his parents arrived at Southeast Georgia Health System, they discovered their child had coded twice and died less than three hours after it happened.

The heartbroken parents said they had not heard from the daycare since losing their child.

“I trusted you all to do your job. And now I blame myself for it and I wish I had never dropped him off that day,” Hicks said through tears.

“And I don’t want to hear anything from them because they should have called. Nothing is going to fix this except for them to be done,” she added.

The Georgia Department of Child Care and Learning has closed the Kids Nest Learning Center due to the health, safety and welfare of the children in its care – who are believed to be in “ imminent danger” if they remained open.

The agency found that the daycare had previously been flagged in an inspection that showed the facility did not meet RPC requirements.

“First aid and CPR are delayed because during follow-up visits we do not evaluate all the rules. It will be evaluated during the next unannounced regulatory visit,” the agency said in a statement.

The daycare has until May 28 to appeal the agency’s decision. DailyMail.com has contacted the Kids Nest Learning Center.

A Change.org petition has been created for the “immediate and permanent closure” of the learning center. As of Saturday evening, there were 234 signatures.

The petition notes other instances at the daycare, including when Manjeet Grant, director of the Kid’s Nest Learning Center, was arrested and charged with first-degree cruelty to children following an incident in March 2022.

Glynn County police arrested Grant after she “slapped (a child) in the face, knocking her to the ground,” according to an arrest report.

The Brunswick News reported that the child’s mother filed for a civil warrant against Grant on May 16, the day after the alleged incident.

On March 17, the Georgia Department of Early Childhood Care and Learning announced it was investigating the alleged slaps.

According to the petition, the establishment has been the subject of 22 inspection reports filed by the agency since January 2022.

Jamal Sr. said he was unaware of the problems at the facility and wanted other parents to be careful about where they send their children.

“That’s what we want going forward, like just making sure this doesn’t happen to another child again,” he said.

Hicks remembered her son for his love of his family and for being “full of energy.”

“We had so many plans for him. We were just talking about his first haircut and everything. We won’t be able to do that,” Hicks said as Jamal Sr. embraced him.

Services for the baby are expected to be announced by Darien Funeral Home, according to his obituary.

“Don’t take life for granted,” the baby’s father said.

“And hold your babies every day,” Hicks added.