She also admitted to force-feeding another child and yelling at the child to "hurry up" and "swallow it".
Rebecca Ngapo admitted to confining children in a small room with the door closed for periods of at least five minutes at a time, throwing balls at children to get their attention, and rough handling children.
Her mother, Mary Ngapo, admitted to holding a child's head back and force-feeding them stew, which the child did not want to eat.
The tribunal's ruling confirmed the decision by the wananga to dismiss the two staff members, Te Wananga o Aotearoa chief executive Jim Mather said.
Mather said a robust investigation was carried out after the allegations were raised and the welfare of their children was "paramount".
He said a new centre manager was appointed to the centre earlier this year.
Mather said a recent review conducted by the Education Review Office said: "the change of leadership had contributed to favourable improvements in centre operations for whanau, kaimahi and children."
Mather said the centre was focused on delivering a high-quality service to the 53 children attending, as well as building relationships with the Tokoroa community.
The Rebecca Ngapo in this story is not the Otorohanga-based artist Rebecca Ngapo.