00:00Hi Sophie. Thanks for speaking with us today.
00:05In September, Sophie Tilley arrived at her daycare to pick up her two sons, only to be told one was gone.
00:12Our eldest came running over to us like normal.
00:15Our youngest is usually right behind him, running after him.
00:18However, he wasn't there.
00:20Her one-year-old had been accidentally handed to the grandfather of another child,
00:24who hadn't realised the mix-up and took him home.
00:27I just went into panic. I just, I couldn't really talk. I was a mess. I couldn't speak.
00:33The man returned with the child, who was unharmed, after being called by the centre.
00:38He was just in the back of the car looking at me and I just grabbed him out and he clung onto me.
00:44He's a little clingy koala anyway and he just gripped on.
00:48Sophie was told her son had been sitting on the grandparents lap for two hours watching TV.
00:54I think there was such a genuine mistake on the grandfather's side.
00:59I think he was under a lot of personal stress from other things that were going on on that day.
01:05He later sent the family flowers.
01:07That night I didn't want to put either of them down, to be honest.
01:11Like, I held them so tightly. We just sat on the sofa and just cuddled, the four of us.
01:17How are you coping now?
01:19I'm in therapy. I have, I'm on tablets to help my anxiety and stress levels.
01:26Which is probably why you can't see emotion because like I have my, I have my tablets.
01:33Because I think without them I would be a mess.
01:36I have big trust issues now. I have, if I can't see the boys in the garden or I can't, you know, if they run down an aisle at a shopping centre I get very concerned.
01:48The two weeks after the incident I didn't sleep.
01:51Like, I went through every possible scenario, every, like, you know, every worst case scenario.
01:59Her three-year-old was also affected.
02:02Police had been called to the centre but said no offences were detected.
02:06Every time we saw a police car, every time I heard the police car, he would, yeah, get quite upset.
02:12He's been out of nappies for a while that week.
02:15Two weeks after he had lots of accidents.
02:18They bought him a toy police car to try and create happier memories.
02:22The Department of Education has been investigating for two months.
02:27Why is the case still open?
02:29Like, why have the centres still not been held accountable?
02:31Why are they still earning a profit?
02:33The childcare provider says it's overhauled its pick-up procedures, offered training to staff and reviewed on-site safety.
02:41As Sophie waits for answers, she won't let her little boys out of her sight.
02:46Like any parent, they drive you mad, but when something like this happens, it makes you appreciate those little things even more.
02:52Because they're like the light of our lives.
02:55For me, yeah, I do hook them tighter.
02:59Amy Greenbank, ABC News, Sydney.
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