The Learning Experience

NO, they do not take credit cards, they are under new unprofessional management, the teacher turnover, experience and qualifications is abysmal and I can’t wait to find a new daycare!

My children attended this daycare for 3 years and we were happy there with no issues. The center was sold in September 2015, and we lasted 2 months under the new ownership.
My daughter (4) told her teacher that her brother (7) had touched her butt. The center called CPS immediately, without asking my daughter, who is 4, to elaborate or get any further details. CPS went to my son’s elementary school and interrogated him. I was completely unaware of this until I received a card in the mail saying that CPS had interrogated both of my children.
When I asked the daycare why they hadn’t communicated to me that they were concerned for my daughter, they told me that it was «policy» to make the call and not notify parents. TLE had actually made the call a month before without letting me know anything was going on this entire time. I am heartbroken that they, after 3 years of caring for my children, did not ask my daughter what she meant, or let me know that they were convinced that she was being abused.
CPS closed the case after talking to my children for 10 minutes; so a stranger was able to determine that there was no real issue, when the people I had trusted to care for her couldn’t even ask. I understand calling CPS if you really think that a child is in danger; I encourage it. But not to get any more information at all, and to just sit back and watch a little girl be abused (which is what they thought was happening), and not even let me know their concerns, that is disgusting.
That is the worst part about all of it is that if TLE really was concerned that my daughter was being abused, they just let it continue for a month while waiting for CPS to investigate. They never mentioned anything to me nor made any attempt to protect her in any way.
This was one of the worst experiences of my life, and I could never trust them with my children again.

This review is based on management. My child was enrolled for only a period of 6 days before I was notified that she was being «expelled» for biting other children. Having worked in the daycare/​childcare industry for several years myself, I was terribly surprised by this action.
In situations like this, childcare facilities would investigate what was the cause of the biting and take different action depending on the cause (i.e. redirecting, time out, extra supervision, etc.).
At my child’s previous daycare (which my child had attended for 15+ months), there was never a biting incident. Now, in this facility, my child had bitten other children. Now, I understand that biting is an issue that should be taken seriously. Having seen children who were bitten (in my past experience) and now, having a biting child, I was horrified. I wanted to know what I could do to help my child and help the other children who had been bitten. As a concerned parent, I wanted to help my child stop biting and wanted other parents to be reassured that my child wasn’t dangerous.
Management simply explained to me that while it was their mistake to place my child into a room with older children (18 to 24 months), they would not place my children into the proper age group (12 to 18 months) for fear that my child would bite. Needless to say, I was beyond disappointed. I was disappointed because for the longest time, I really wanted my child to attend this facility. I had done my research, read all of the reviews, toured the facility multiple times and was finally able to place my child there. Now, after 6 days, my child was expelled. I suspect that the teething and the transition was difficult. Plus, being in a room with so many children (10+ plus) didn’t make the transition any easier.
However, what I was most disappointed in was the management’s lack of action. As a working parent, I am not able to be there and find out what my child is biting. I depend on the caregivers to help me find out what is causing the biting and how to stop it. If my child is biting, then investigate the reason for it. I thought the school would supervise my child more closely or redirect or use time-​out. For whatever reason, the facility decided that expulsion was the best resolution and that was disappointing to me.
On my child’s last day, I understood why my child was biting. There were many children in the room, plus the 2 caregivers looked overwhelmed. While one caregiver was changing diapers, the other caregiver was in the bathroom for about 5 minutes. This left one caregiver with several children to watch. During these 10 minutes, one child was hiding under a table, another was sitting by herself. Three children were pushing down sleeping mats and the other children were following me and asking me questions. I think maybe my child was overwhelmed and I could see why the caregivers couldn’t spend more time with my child.
Upon leaving the facility, the management simply told me that my child was more than welcome to return to the facility once the biting stopped. By that point, I do not think that I would ever return my child here. The lack of patience and lack of guidance was overwhelmingly disappointing and to me, those are the most important things that a daycare/​childcare can provide for a child and their family.