Edmonds KinderCare

Awesome daycare! To be honest I’m surprised by the lack of stars for this place. My daughter has been going there on/​off for about 4 years. When I had my son this is the first place I thought of. I know they both are taken care of and I trust them. Thank you Kindercare Edmonds for taking such good care of my kids!

This was the third Kindercare our daughter attended. She went to one in Redmond and we had nothing but problems, dishonesty and reoccurring issues that had been addressed numerous times. She was there for 10.5 months. The next Kindercare she was only in for a week because it was that bad. When we arrived at the Edmonds Kindercare, we were skeptical about the experience we would have based on our previous nightmares. My husband and I were shocked by the staff. They were absolutely amazing.
My daughter is in the Toddler B classroom and talks about her teachers when we are at home. She cant wait to go back to school each day and see Ms. Lenee & Ms. Mercedes (these are her primary teachers). Almost daily, I take home artwork or photos of my daughter that she worked on at Kindercare that week. I always feel like there is great communication among the staff. If there is a different teacher in my daughters room, they almost always know what went on in the classroom and can answer questions. If the teacher did not know the answer right away, they always got back to me later that day or the next morning, which is not something we experienced in other centers.
We also have a 4.5 month old little boy. Towards the end of my maternity leave they encouraged me to bring in my little guy to have a few hours of practice at kindercare so that our transition was easier once I went back to work. I have to mention that since he was 5.5 weeks old we have been trying to get him to take a bottle and he refused it. The teachers in the infant room, the director Ashleigh & many other helping hands made sure my little boy was comforted and fed all while being very patient with his lack of interest in a bottle. He now is taking one with no problems at all.
My husband disclosed to me just yesterday why he likes this center so much. He said «they are real» They don’t sugar coat the truth, they are honest about your child’s day and really take the time to get to know the parents. I feel close with many members of the staff and am so grateful we got to be a part of their lives.
I am so sad to say that this Wednesday will be our kids last day at this center due to my husbands job relocation to Chicago. Any child would be lucky to be cared for by the the loving staff at the Edmonds Kindercare. We will miss you all tremendously and hope to stay in touch.

This daycare has some decent people working for it but I also noticed a lot of kids are sick and my daughter was sick all of the time when she went there. I even mentioned it one time. And I have witnessed teachers being sick working. Overall I’ve seen a lot of teachers that are caring compassionate people but I have witnessed older kids being in with younger kids which I don’t think is good and younger babies (who still crawl) crawling around on dirty floors. Also I have been having an issue with getting a refund from these guys and it’s taken more than 2 months to get it and I STILL don’t have it. There have been 2 errors so far that have contributed to this delay. So I haven’t been happy about that. I would say think it through if you want to go to this daycare.

We searched Craigslist and at the time I didn’t know about some of the state resources that I do now. I thank the lovely Michelle O’Connor from the UW Advancement office for educating me. We knew the KinderCare was less than a mile away so we stopped in and spoke with them. They gave us the standard speech about USDA foods and play and nap times. Then they told us they offered a «Free Day» where we could leave James so he could try it out. We did just that Friday morning at 6am. We told them we’d be back around noon and with a smile we were told, «Great!»
Slightly before noon we passed through the secure doors and were led down the hallway to the toddler room and the supervisor said with a chuckle, «Oh look. There he is. He looks so tired.» From my vantage point I couldn’t see him through the small 4’x2’ window so I scanned the room from right to left looking for my boy. What I saw stunned me to the core.
James sat in a small child’s chair at a table, unattended. He was slouching in the chair completely devoid of any expression, fighting to keep his eyes open, catching himself as he slid in that plastic chair. I moved my gaze toward the table when I realized his right hand was resting in a puddle made from a tipped over cup of soup. I was speechless. I wanted to break down the doors because I didn’t know if they, like the front doors were locked. That’s when the supervisor laughed again as she walked away while informing us the door was unlocked and we could enter.
As I entered the room a staff member whisked James away and another informed me in a nonchalant tone, «Oh he’s just getting his hands washed.» Again I scanned the room wondering where my son is. Where is the most important, the most precious thing in my life? GIVE ME MY SON. That was the last thought that passed through my mind before my soul was crushed. My eyes found him on the far left side of the room. He had his hands in a basin and a staffer was struggling to keep him upright while she washed away the oily liquid that had coated his small delicate arms. Her elbows clamped in under his to keep him standing. He turned his head and for a brief moment he looked at me in disbelief. As though I was a shadow of myself. An echo of the person that left him in this horrid place for an eternity. The moment passed with a shock and in an instant his face became a deep crimson and his mouth opened so wide to create the most heartbreaking scream. Tears poured from his eyes as I moved toward him. When I finally put my arms around him his fingernails audibly dug into my shirt. His arms clung to my neck like steel. I turned and found Katie collecting the original set of clothes now wet from them allowing him to play in the rain. James too saw Katie and once again I heard the scream of desperation that could only be translated as, «Save me!» I passed him to Katie and I was able to see how he was holding me. The struggle to find safe haven. The steel grip, begging for comfort.
Other words or cordiality were exchanged but I don’t recall exactly what they were. We were given some template form of the «Day’s Activities» and some photos of how happy James was. All I knew was my son; my child of only one year was traumatized and I didn’t understand how this could happen in six short hours. Later that evening Katie and I tried to make sense of all of it and we made the following conclusions.
We were told that children were given a nap at noon and that they slept on «cots». These cots were formed plastic rings with sack cloth sheets slung inside them. Indeed they were cots of the lowest form. Katie and I couldn’t understand how they were going to get a one year old to just lie down and nap but after our experience we now know that if you run them out of steam they’ll sleep in a chair. The daily journal listed the foods he was provided. Notice I mention «provided». So what they’ve done is written a list of food they’ve placed in front of my son. There is no guarantee that he has actually eaten anything. I saw that for myself. They soup James had his hand in? Cheeseburger soup. A soup that he’s incapable of consuming since he can’t use a spoon yet. He was also provided breadsticks, oranges and milk. To elaborate, 5″ breadsticks (whole), quartered navel oranges (with rind) and milk in a cup. An entire meal my child is incapable of eating without assistance yet was written on my daily sheet.
I am ashamed as a parent for not doing more research. I would have seen the reviews and had a moment of pause. I could have… I should have… I would have… but the truth is that I didn’t. Now James sweats profusely when he naps. He wakes screaming. He screams and cries for no apparent reason. I have to believe that he will weather this storm as will we all but for the time being I die inside when I see him panicked when one of us leaves the room or puts him down.

I worked at this daycare, and I can honestly tell you that I would not take a child there under ANY circumstance. First of all, it’s horribly expensive. You would think that, given how pricey it is, that the care would be decent, but it isn’t. They over load the classrooms for each teacher, except when it’s going to be inspected, then they make sure that the child/​teacher ratio is correct. Also, the kids are always sick, as are a lot of the teachers. They want the teachers to work even when they are sick, so it just keeps spreading around. The teachers are under-​paid and bitter, and unfortunately the kids suffer for it. The babies don’t get changed often enough, and the teachers in those rooms simply throw away dry diapers to make it look like the babies are being changed, so they get terrible diaper rashes too often. I feel so sorry for all the kids who are subjected to this horrible daycare. I realize it’s tough finding good daycare, but seriously PASS THIS PLACE UP. It is the worst!