Kiwi Preschool & Childcare

I enrolled my 2 ½ year old son and then pulled him out after just one month of care. I did not feel comfortable leaving him there any longer especially since he has a food allergy. On his first day I reminded them about his food allergy that I had discussed with the owner. His teacher had been totally unaware of it, and they were planning to serve the very thing he is allergic to that day, so thank goodness I said something! During his second week there I had picked him up and I got him ready for bath time the minute we got home and found that there was a large amount of dried poop in his underwear; it looked as though it had been there for hours. I was livid. My husband talked me down and asked me to give them the benefit of the doubt; accidents do happen after all. On his next day there I brought it up first thing with his teacher in the nicest way possible. She responded with «Oh! I wasn’t aware that he needed help in the bathroom.» I said okay, and that he does so make sure to help him. However, the more I thought about it the more it bothered me. First of all, it was a lot of dried poop… it did not look like he simply wasn’t wiped. It looked more like he had had an accident and someone dumped as much of it as they could and put them back on him (note: I did supply them with changes of clothing, several in fact, including at least 3 – 4 pairs of fresh undies), also at 2 years old he isn’t ashamed when he has an accident so he certainly wouldn’t have tried to hide it himself like that. Second, HE IS TWO. I have yet to meet a 2 year old who can wipe his own butt properly. But I moved on, figured we had talked about it, it won’t happen again. Then week 4 I got a call at work from the owner. They were concerned because they weren’t sure if he had just had some of the food he is allergic to or not! Thank God his is not a life threatening allergy! While explaining to me what had happened, it actually sounded to me like they were trying to blame him?! Something along the lines of «well, you see what happened is he sat down at the wrong table instead of with his class.» And when I picked him up I was told same thing but from a different person. So, I’m sorry, but my 2 year old is supposed to monitor himself?! Where was the teacher that was supposed to be watching him and making sure he was sitting at the correct table, the one where he wouldn’t be exposed to his allergen? If the kids are all served snack at the same time then why aren’t ALL the teachers made aware when one of the children has a food allergy so if one of them is in the wrong spot they still know not to give it to him? It is NOT my 2 year olds responsibility to ask his teacher if the food they just gave him contains something he is allergic to or not for goodness sake! That is why I pay them, to watch out for his wellbeing in my absence. As it turned out he had indeed eaten it and ended up with a reaction that caused him several days of pain and suffering and caused me to miss time at work as well as him missing 3 days of childcare that had already been paid for. Their inability to pay attention to his allergy ended up costing me over $ 300. So no, we won’t be returning, and I would especially caution parents of kids with food allergies before considering sending their child there. When I went to let them know he was not going to be returning and to pick up the things that they require we keep there the director didn’t seem surprised we were leaving and she did at least tell me that she took full responsibility for the lapse in making sure he wasn’t served an allergen. I informed her that it if had been the only incident we might not have left, and when I let her know about him coming home in dirty undies she was surprised since the teacher had not told her about the incident. I had other concerns as well during our time there, things I saw/​heard when picking him up at an earlier time than when they were expecting me, but I think this review is long enough already and goes over the major issues we had.

Kiwi does not overcharge, They have many expenses and provide the children with two large snacks a day. The teachers work very hard and even have to do all of the janitorial work for an average of 12 dollars an hour. So complaining that your little one is asked to bring a lunch is not asking for much. It’s part of parenting. Also, you child will NEVER be hurt by an employee at Kiwi. They will probably, however, be hurt by another child. Children don’t get kicked out of Kiwi because each one represents income for the school. Lots of hitting, biting, scratching and bullying. Reports are rarely written regarding this. If you choose Kiwi, check your child and ask frequently about hitting, etc…

UPDATE: After discussing the «Wondering W.» review above with Kiwi’s staff, I have found out that this is a completely fake review from an anonymous Internet user and that nothing like this has ever happened at Kiwi. I was surprised when I saw it so needed to ask about it. So, for others reading this, that can safely be ignored.
Being a dad to 5 children, you could say I have some qualifications… and opinions… in the kid dept. Placing your child in a childcare or preschool is a tough decision (and thing to do in general) for any parent, and so it’s important to know who’s running the facility and where they are coming from. I have known Kiwi’s owner Huia for some time now, and have been impressed with her and the way she runs her business. It’s clear that she and staff consider this more than a business, and sincerely care for the families and children who are part of her preschool. I highly recommend checking them out if you need a daycare or preschool for your kids.

Very dissatisfied with this establishment! Most of the teachers are great however one of them can be very abusive to the children. When the owner was told of the abuse and the concerns she simply refused to believe them and continued to put the abusive teacher alone with the children. We even had marks, other children confirming what happened and ripped clothing. I would NEVER send my child there or recommend it to anyone who loves their children while this teacher is still employed!

Here’s the great news about Kiwi: they have a talented staff made up of individuals who have a real enthusiasm and passion for working with children. It’s a true Montessori environment with structured, educational activities that really help the kids learn the basics, like colors, ABCs, and counting. After we sent my niece and the kids of several of my friends, their verbal skills improved from just a few words to whole sentences. It’s clear that the kids love their instructors and they have a reasonable amount of precautions in place so that you know your children are safe without being made scared.
But here’s the not-​so-​great news about Kiwi: they will nickel and dime you to death. It’s like going to a laundromat. To give you an idea, they don’t provide lunch to the children; parents are expected to send children with their own. And if a parent forgets to bring a lunch, while Kiwi will call and remind them, they don’t keep reserve food on hand in the event of an emergency like a parent not being able to make it back with a lunch in time.
The bigger issue is that they seemingly expect parents to finance the gaps in their budget. For example, they want each child to have an additional sippy cup or water bottle to keep the kids hydrated, but this is another thing for the parents to provide. For holidays, parents make up the shortfall – this week is Easter, and the parents were informed they are expected to color six eggs for the hunt.
And, considering that a number of the kids are there on programs like Sonoma County Works, you would think that Kiwi would try to lessen the burden on parents, not increase it. One of my friends takes her son to Kiwi as well, and between her and her ex, they pay over $ 200 a week. If that’s not enough to provide a lunch or Easter eggs, I don’t know what is.
Still, Kiwi tries to be accommodating to parents in every other way. In the case of split families and homes, they provide two copies of every piece of art a child makes and really work hard to help the two parents communicate. They offer a current website with a mailing list so that you can stay on top of the latest happenings, and they make an honest effort to communicate with parents about their child’s day, as well as assisting in potty training.
Their competence and quality aren’t in questions. It’s just a question of how much you can reasonably afford.