Seesaw

Our experience with the owner, Sabrina, was very upsetting, disappointing and above all unprofessional. As a business that is supposed to be focused on your child’s well-​being & development, we felt that she prioritized money and payments above everything else. We went to see her for an «Infant/​Toddler Screening» as our 16 mo son was having severe anxiety around groups. We had sent her very specific questions about this screening so we knew what to expect as the cost is quite expensive: $ 500 for 50 min! She was not prepared for our session and it was obvious she was reading our information form for the first time as she was conducting the screening, eating into valuable time that should have been spent engaging with our son. She even commented on how it didn’t print properly so she wasn’t able to understand certain answers we filled out (instead of asking us to resend prior to our session). For $ 500 we would have at least expected this fundamental preparation a bare minimum.
We were looking to walk away from that session with some thoughtful strategies, as we were advised as such in one of our initial emails, but unfortunately we did not receive that. What we did get was Sabrina promoting Seesaw classes to us before really fully trying to understand our situation. We also got a reminder to pay her $ 500 invoice, during this same session.
To add more insult, she asked us to come in for a follow-​up meeting in person so we could discuss the results from the screening. We were misled to believe this follow-​up was part of the $ 500 screening service, especially since she was the one asking us to come in. She did not clarify at any point that the follow-​up would cost $ 250, nor did she mention it in any email correspondence.
As new concerned and insecure parents worried about our child’s well-​being, we feel that she deliberately preyed on this insecurity as it was very distastefully clear that she is more concerned about making money than helping our child. We had high hopes for Seesaw, and feel that some of the staff on board might potentially be great. But after this interaction with the owner Sabrina, we absolutely will not be back.

I come here for the Ichi Ni San Japanese music class with my son. He’s 6 months old and is the youngest in the class. But he loves it. The other kids can all at least stand and they dance around. My baby just sits and stares at the teacher and shakes his rattle once in a while. But he pays attention for almost the entire class. The teacher, Junko, has an amazing way with kids. She can get and keep their attention with fun songs that are very interactive. And you don’t have to speak a word of Japanese to enjoy or even understand this class.

I cannot recommend Dr. Sabrina Gabel highly enough. We first met with Dr. Gabel after my son’s preschool noted that he could use some extra support with his social skills. Specifically, my son spent most of his time talking to the teachers about chemistry instead of playing with the other kids. My son has been attending the Be Friends Playgroup for about six months and we have noted a dramatic improvement. While my son is an introvert and will probably always prefer smaller groups, his teachers report that they can see a dramatic improvement since he started attending the playgroups at Seesaw. His friendships are flourishing, he shows increased awareness of social cues, he doesn’t hesitate to join groups of children playing and he is even emerging as a class leader (!)
Dr. Gabel checks in with parents often and if a difficult issue comes up during the week, she incorporates it into her curriculum. Recent topics have included appropriate methods for dealing with frustration; how to respond to bullying or unsafe behavior; learning to compromise on a play date; and playing with/​meeting people who are different in some way. Sharing, reading social cues, taking turns and impulse control are integrated into the structured play. One would think that raising children in a conscientious manner would be enough but some kids don’t pick up on subtle cues. Instead, they benefit from direct, clearly articulated guidelines. Dr. Gabel excels in providing such instruction in a manner that not only conveys the information but also makes the child feel loved and respected.
There are a variety of kids who attend, and benefit, from the playgroups at Seesaw. Some are on the spectrum or have SPD. Others are gifted, shy or socially awkward. Some kids experience difficulty with impulse control or are being excluded at school. All seem to blossom after working with Dr. Gabel.
Dr. Gabel has also provided invaluable support to our family and to my son’s school. She has helped us to understand and meet my son’s needs. Our family is incredibly thankful to Dr. Gabel for her work and for her kindness to our family.

Our daughter attended Seesaw’s BeFriends Class during her first year of preschool.
We sought Sabrina out because our 3 year old was very isolated and shy at preschool. Through Sabrina’s class, she learned a lot of important social skills, including how to play side-​by-​side, how to join in play without asking, how to assert herself and also the importance of warmly greeting people.
Our daughter is still sweet and shy, but her shyness is no longer out of the ordinary. She now seeks out other kids, makes friends and loves to go on during class show and tell.
We give Sabrina a lot of credit for helping our daughter get comfortable around other kids and navigate social environments. It’s not easy to communicate such a complex set of skills to little ones, but this is one of Sabrina’s specialties.
The classes have a debriefing session at the end where she goes over skills taught that day. One thing that would be great is if Sabrina could structure separate 1:1 time with parents to track their kid’s progress and give ongoing feedback, she’s great at doing this over email, but it would be a good addition to the overall BeFriend’s value proposition!

Just terrific. I have taken my son from 6 months old (he is 1 now) to the Mandarin class on Fridays. The teacher is really awesome — very good with children, has a good singing voice as well as an unbelievable amount of energy. (There’s no way I’d be able to keep up that act for 50 minutes). I’ve also picked up on some Mandarin words myself.
If there was one con I would say the class can get kind of crowded — sometimes up to 8 kids with parents. But the owner has since added another classes on Wednesdays so maybe that will even out the attendance numbers.

Ok, so this is a late Unilocal.I came here a couple weeks ago (got in free because I was late, person doing check-​in had already left) anyways, I was quite worried during my daughters playtime here. The language moderator was great — very attentive, gave each child his/​her turn with sensory experience BUT… my daughter is 6 m old and the other toddlers ranged from 8 – 18 m. The moderator passed around some items that I thought were not age appropriate and/​or hazardous. For instance, ceramic and heavy glass bunnies, an 18″ chain with a bunny pendant, miniature ceramic frogs. I mean come on, these are babies! The caregivers are right on the carpet with the babies but why take a chance!
Pros — very clean environment, they offer tea, restrooms are tidy. Moderator has a beautiful singing voice.
Cons — it was a long session for my 6m old. I think she lost interest after 20 mins. Hazardous/​inappropriate sensory items. Play space can be larger — when some of the toys were brought out the older babies were falling over the younger ones.
I don’t feel comfortable returning until my daughter is age 2 or 3 — sorry.

5 Stars for one of our favorite spots! Wonderful, warm space, great classes and super lovely owner. We have always felt welcome there and my son never wants to leave. I only wish there were more classes! I highly recommend Junko’s Japanese music class on Wednesdays.

I would recommend the Be Friends class to any kid, whether their social skills are good or not so. Both my sons learned so much from these classes. Unfortunately kids nowadays learn the hard way at school how to navigate social issues. What do you do if a kid does not want to play with you or you don’t want to play with another kid. What do you do when people call you names? These are only some examples of situation that can happen to any kid and Sabrina really helped with figuring these things out in a fun and playful environment. We took classes for a year there and were really happy about what they learned and I feel they can more easily handle tough situations in the world out there.

i choose seesaw because i did not want my son going to a sterile clinical therapist office, where he would be uncomfortable talking. we just started to see dr gabel and he took to her immediately. he was relaxed from the start because the space is light and airy, kid-​geared and clean — plus, he thinks dr. gabel is funny.
my son feels free and comfortable, which in turn, helps him open up more during the sessions. if you are searching for child therapy services, i would definitely recommend seesaw.

Seesaw is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made! The owner, Sabrina, runs my son’s weekly social skills playgroups and I can’t even begin to explain how truly great she is. The classes go above and beyond what I expected and my son has a blast. Each week the class focuses on a certain topic such as self-​confidence, problem solving, manners, or respecting others (to name a few). My son has received multiple praises regarding his problem solving and social skills from his kindergarten teacher and I can honestly say that Seesaw has a lot to do with that. Sabrina does a parent briefing at the end of each class and posts the skills learned on a blog so we can refer back to them. She displays a real interest in the children’s well-​being and it is obvious that she loves what she does. The space is so cute and parking is not too bad either. Really, there is nothing bad to say about Seesaw!

My 4 year old was having a few issues at school, as a parent I was unsure how to approach certain social issues without making them worse or overreacting to something that may just be a phase. I had heard that Seesaw in Hayes Valley offered fun playgroups but also a class for social skills called Be Friends. So I talked to Sabrina, licensed psychologist and the director of Seesaw about Be Friends, and it sounded not only like something my son and I could benefit from, but also something that was a low pressure easy outing to get him to go to. We call it «playgroup» and he goes every Saturday, plays with new friends, reads books, talks about all kinds of different feelings and situations, and then gets a treat — what a great Saturday morning!
I would highly recommend the Be Friends program to any parent struggling to decide what is the right thing to do when addressing their child’s social issues or need help determining if their child’s behavior is abnormal or just part of normal development. :)

I started taking my son to the «Be Friends» friend skills workshop about 3 months ago at Seesa. Dr. Sabrina Gabel has worked wonders with him in this workshop. Prior to attending this workshop, my almost 5 year old had spent the past 2 ½ years in preschool playing by himself everyday and being bullied by children younger than him. He was nervous to play with the other children at birthday parties, and pretty much ignored his playdates when they came over. Since starting this class, he is now playing with kids at school, interacting with his playdates, and joining in with the group activities at birthday parties. He still has some work to do, but he has come a long way. Whether your child is just shy and socially awkward or has social skills issues for other reasons such as being on the autism spectrum, I highly recommend Seesaw. Sabrina is flexible, patient, gives feedback to parents after each workshop, and recommends tools you can use at home to help your child. I was terrified about my son starting Kindergarten this coming August. I thought because of his passive nature he would be completely bullied. He has learned how to successfully join in a group of children, get positive attention from other kids, and be assertive without being aggressive. I now feel much more confident about him starting kindergarten and I owe all this to Sabrina Gabel and Seesaw.

Seesaw was a venue for our daughter’s 3^rd birthday and the party was a great success! The owners are very friendly and pleasant to deal with. We had the food and drinks catered by Seesaw and it couldn’t have been better. Kids loved the little play area and the whole space was very light, warm and open.

I think Seesaw is focusing on classes now. The ones I’ve looked into are way overpriced. $ 25 – 30 per class for toddlers? I guess they are catering to a particular clientele.

The owner wrote me an email.
I appreciate that this might have been the morning of the class was a one-​time slip up, but the whole treatment/​situation is very unprofessional. I still don’t intend on ever taking another class again after this mess, because I don’t have time for exercises in frustration, but I can appreciate, in this case, a lot of the fault might land with the teacher rather than with Sabrina.