I (briefly) taught a morning yoga class at this new-age daycare center. (Those of you who know me…read moreare laughing. I was an unlikely and probably unsuitable candidate for such a position. Here's a typical exchange between a child and myself... Child: :silence: Me: So... erm, what did you ask for from Santa this year?) Take that scenario -- multiply it by a bunch of kids aged 2-5, add distracting video games and Elmo toys, and subtract two wrestling boys and one little girl still crying over being dropped off. Now, you try motivating anyone to do a Downward-facing Dog! Anyway, even though my time as a teacher quickly expired, I got a good feel for this place and for the owner, Mastenah. She's wonderful, by the way, and her two girls --I'm convinced-- are the cutest and sweetest girls in all of Durham. The center has come a long way, and quickly, in Mastenah's hands. It's brightly painted and full of fun things (books, toys, blocks, a piano for sing-along) for toddlers. But the best thing about Wonderland is it's new-concept methods. In addition to yoga they offer cooking, pottery, Spanish, martial-arts, and more. (Heaven help whoever has to instruct that martial-arts class!) There's an outdoor play-set for more traditional play too. Mastenah bought the upstairs floor and is making plans to expand the daycare center. Wonderland is in the same building as a Montessori school, so many of its methods are in line with that, though it's not technically affiliated with the school. They offer flexible pick-up and drop-off times. All of the teachers are CPR certified. If I had kids (well don't hold your breath), I wouldn't hesitate to register them here.

Our children ages 3 and 1 are attending Wonderland full time all summer as part of their summer…read morecamp childcare program. It's the first time for both of them to be in full time childcare 8:30am - 5:30pm, 5 days a week, and it's a fantastic experience for both of them! They both are very happy. My son (the 1 year old) absolutely loves his teachers. This was the first place I've ever left him where he doesn't cry when I hand him over to someone else (including grandparents!) Instead, he sometimes cries when I pick him up and it's time to go home! I love the building - extra tall lofty ceilings, spacious play areas, and a friendly welcoming environment. And I love the staff - the teachers are all so nice!

FPDS has been a good choice for us. A big plus for me is that they are one of the few places that…read morewill accept cloth diapered kids in their infant section! The school is well worn and well loved on the interior because it is in a lovely old church (where they have their yearly "kids concerts"). They are in church but are not teaching religious doctrine. The outdoor play area is fully covered with lovely old trees too. The teachers I would rate as great in the younger classes. We had issues with our pre-K kid in the 4 year old room as did our friend whose child was there. I feel like the teachers are a little harsh and too displine focused in the oldest childcare room. Annoyingly you can't set up any kind of automatic payment system for the monthly fee so you gotta remember to write that check !

FPDS has been an exceptional experience for both of our children. The caring, kind and talented…read morestaff helped our older son successfully transition to kindergarten this year after attending FPDS from 2 to 4. Our 2 year old daughter loves going to school and is learning so much from music to letters to social interactions. We believe in people and community and learning and FPDS is a gift to us personally, our children and the Durham community. We feel fortunate to have found this school!

I don't use the pool or anything but the resistance equipment. The gym has broken equipment. The…read moreleg extensions machine has been missing parts since I started here over a year ago. Equipment is on the low end side and not up kept well. It's expensive. Unless you plan to swim and play basketball, it's not worth the price. Unfortunately downtown Durham doesn't have many good options. We really need a solid body building gym in Durham. Oh and some of the staff are just rude. Not all of them, most are nice folks. Tony at the front desk is all class. There is an older women who works there that is really not nice.

I prefer Upcity, but Downtown will have to do, especially when you need a workout in the middle of…read moreDurham. The Downtown Durham Y is an excellent facility with some really friendly employees and some other employees that are less friendly. They had to call back to my home location to verify that I could go in - and it took quite a long time to get me in. There were some good things and some bad things about this gym. The worst is probably the parking lot - I had to wait for what seemed like ages just for a spot. But there are good things about this Y, and I appreciate it.

Over $100 a day at 5 days a week is overpriced, especially for a daycare that lacks…read moreprofessionalism. This place is disorganized, the staff is non chalant, and their prices change based on who's paying. I paid less for 12 hrs then I paid for 8 hrs. I asked the staff 3-4 times is this all of my sons belongings they assured me it was, only to get home and find out his 2 toys he bought along with him were missing, also his shoes were missing. Staff said it fell out his book bag. The staff did not care that I had to fight thru rush hour traffic after working a 16 hr shift just to double back for my son's belongings. Do better, people work too hard to have their belongings go missing. (His mom drops him off and I pick him up, idk what he arrives at the daycare with.)

This is my go to, even though we now live 40 minutes away, for back-up, easy, quality childcare. My…read moreson has been coming here on preschool and daycare closure days, or just while I run errands, since he was 2. We have never had a bad experience and my son LOVES it. He actually asks to go here instead of his regular preschool and talks about their range of trucks and toys. Truly a big indoor playground. It feels very safe and clean as well. I'm pretty fastidious and do my due diligence about any place I take my only child/pandemic baby, and we come here consistently at least once/month. Only drop-off place I trust and my child loves it. Thank you!

We recently moved away from Durham and leaving Indigo was the hardest part. As a new mom, I was…read moreterrified of making the wrong daycare choice. From Day 1, Ms. Luisa and the rest of the staff made me feel so at ease. Our girl attended Indigo from 7 to 12 months and she never had a bad day. She LOVED going to see Ms. Luisa every day - I can say with confidence that she loved our daughter like her own. I couldn't have asked for a better experience. We miss you, Indigo!

Oh, my ickle baby is growing up! Greer started school last week, at a mere eleven weeks old. She…read moreis by far the youngest baby in her class; her classmates are all over a year old, and move up to a classroom for older babies next month, and then Greer will be all alone, so please send new friends for her to play with! I cannot bestow enough praise on Indigo. Last summer, my husband and I toured a few daycare centers, and Indigo blew away the competition, as far as we were concerned. The school practices the Montessori philosophy, which fosters a loving environment where children can grow and learn at their own pace, allowing them to spend extra time on the activities that interest them most. I found this much more attractive than your average (or above-average or even excellent) state-licensed daycare center (and I used to work at one several years ago, so I have an insider's knowledge), where the state's early childhood curriculum---and not necessarily the child's strengths and interests---rule the school. The director and teachers are loving and capable, and there is very little staffing turnover, unlike at the daycare center where I used to work, where conditions were unpleasant, and we teachers were rarely allowed to call in sick. I recall, in the short year that I worked there, nearly everyone---adults and children included---having strep throat, myself as well, and I am rarely sick. When Greer first started, her teacher, Ms. Michelle, was out sick for two days. You might think, eeks!, the teacher's sick!, but I considered this a very positive statement about the working environment at Indigo. If you're sick, stay home, get better, then come love on these kids. I think that's fantastic. Indigo Montessori and Wonderland Enrichment Arts are two separate entities that are located in the same historic building near Brightleaf Square in downtown Durham, that function as one. Wonderland operates from 8:00 a.m. until 9:30 a.m., then it's Indigo from 9:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. (which is when I pick up my bebeh), then Wonderland again from 1:30 p.m. until 5:30 p.m. These four-hour-or-less blocks allow Indigo and Wonderland to function with needing state accreditation, which means more freedom in their curriculum and lower costs and a more flexible schedule for parents and their kids. I drop my baby Greer off at Wonderland at 8:00 a.m., then pick her up from Indigo at 1:30 p.m. (I then work from home until 5:00 p.m.). In the summer (June through August), Indigo is closed, and Wonderland operates its own summer camp, with full or half day options.

I used this drop-in for my 4 yr old cousin when I had a last minute job interview for a couple of…read morehours. It's located in a minimall next to a gym and has toys, puzzles, games etc and a television for the kids. I saw a changing table also for the younger children. I called the owner, Yvonne, and set up a reservation with her the night before. She was accommodating and gave me a good hourly rate. I would definitely use this daycare again.

We highly recommend Triangle Nannies for anyone in the area looking for childcare! Everyone we have…read moreworked with there has been thorough, thoughtful, responsive, and very supportive. We've appreciated their guidance and preparation for our first time hiring a nanny, answering all our questions and providing thoughtfully-prepared reference documents and guides to help make an overwhelming process feel more navigable.

Words cannot express how grateful we are for the time, care, attention, understanding, and…read moreincredible effort that My Girl Friday dedicated to our family. As pandemic -- and first-time -- parents, we reached a breaking point where we struggled to function as humans. We just couldn't sustain full-time work and childcare at the same time, but we also weren't ready to go the daycare route during the height of the pandemic. We found My Girl Friday when we realized that we wouldn't be able to take on the arduous task of finding a quality and well-suited caregiver ourselves. We'd seen friends try and go it alone, but after dozens of interviews, red flags, compensations, and their back up against the wall with timing, their benchmark for success became "good enough" vs. their initial intent of finding someone who aligned really well with their parenting style. We wanted to do things differently but knew that without the time or brain space, we needed serious help. After a few initial calls with My Girl Friday, they were hard at work to find us a fit who met our safety, development, and overall parenting style requirements. The process of reviewing and interviewing candidates was smooth. When you have no ding-dang idea what you're doing, the continued guidance, support, and recommendations from the My Girl Friday team are invaluable. One day, we received word that a newly applied caregiver entered their system who was a perfect candidate for our position. Knowing how hard we struggled to balance life, they emphatically pushed them through their interview, onboarding, and background check process to help us meet immediately. They were such a good fit that they quickly progressed from candidate to employee to family. While we waited for them to finish up their then-current position, My Girl Friday also worked hard to apply the same effort and care in finding us a short-term nanny to help with the gap in coverage. We can't imagine life without either of them. There's absolutely no way we could have quickly, reliably, and successfully found someone more perfectly fit for our family -- let alone two! -- in such a swift amount of time. For My Girl Friday to know and attract such high-quality, kind-hearted, warm-spirited, and well-suited candidates speaks volumes about their devotion and commitment to their business and clients. It may sound hyperbolic, but My Girl Friday saved our lives and sanity. We didn't know what to do, but they certainly did. We are forever grateful.

Excellent communication and service. On time for scheduled work. Clean and thorough. We loved the…read moreservice! So much better. . staff is so friendly and nice to have in our home!

From the owner: At The Faithful Nanny, we specialize in a comprehensive range of services tailored to meet your…read morefamily's diverse needs. From childcare and pet care to senior assistance, errands, cleaning/organization, travel support, transportation and tutoring, we provide expert care with compassion and professionalism. With years of dedicated service and essential safety certifications, Faithful Nanny is your trusted family network in delivering high-quality care for every member of your family.

Some of the individual staff here are fantastic!! We love Shae and always felt that she took care…read moreof our daughter like family. We also loved Randa and Ashley while they were still there and felt the same about them. However, there are two other staff members that are harsh with the children. I have witnessed children being yelled at by one teacher on many occasions. I brought this up and it was never resolved. The staff are not treated well. I've been told by staff that they have to chase their paychecks. They also are not paid a living wage even though the tuition rate for infants has gone up more than 50% in the past two years. Other daycares charging the same price pay their staff $15 an hour plus benefits. Some full time teachers here are paid under $10! I feel strongly that paying the caretakers for my child a fair wage and paying them on time every pay period is critical and a basic benefit, which unfortunately is not delivered here. Perhaps in part due to teacher turnover (quitting or being transferred to work in a new AMC facility), there was not consistent staffing in my daughter's room. I was told her new teacher was one person but consistently saw one of several other teachers rotating to care for her and her classmates. The lack of consistency in care is not ideal or good for child development. Some vacancies have been open for several months and new teachers still have not been hired to allow for consistent care for each classroom. Adding insult to injury, I left instructions for my child to never be given juice but have found juice in her cup several times. To me this is indicative of the administration not following care instructions and made me wonder whether my daughter was cared for in the way I instructed. This is a safety issue. This may be in part due to the rotation of teachers who are unaware of her dietary restrictions in her room. Parents with a child in the same class are charged different rates from each other. I was told on multiple occasions that I am paying a "discounted rate" but know from other friends with a child in my daughter's class that they pay lower rates than me. On top of that, I was told that my rate would be increasing by $45 per week on the same day I made a complaint. No one else that is paying my rate or lower was notified of a rate increase. This seems retaliatory for bringing a complaint to administration attention. Overall, the inconsistent application of tuition rates seems dishonest and unfair. In the most recent hurricane, we were not notified that daycare closed and only found out upon driving to daycare. Though the weather conditions felt safe to us, it seems irresponsible for administration to have risked our safety and our child's safety but not notifying us in advance if they felt the conditions were too unsafe to keep daycare open. On top of that, it was inconsiderate and is indicative of how they (do not) communicate on important issues that come up. In summary, some teachers harsh treatment of children, poor treatment of teachers by the administration, staffing issues, the lack of adherence to my care instructions for my daughters dietary requirements, poor communication with parents, and inconsistent application of tuition rates across attendees led us to remove our daughter from care at All My Children. I can't recommend them for childcare.

Good evening Ms Denver I appreciate the compliment, thank…read moreyou. As an AMC Staff member I just would like to address a few things based off these accusations you posted. Not for sure where you got some of the information but let me clear the air. In most businesses when a person files a complaint , they will not know what happen. So even though you may think nothing happen the situation was address . As well to why a person is no longer employed. As far as staff being treated well sorry you feel that way. Though we may not have a Health and benefit plan(that the facility is locally own and doesn't qualify just yet)it is compensated in other areas. Just to name a few we have a life Insurace plan as well as an accidental plan because you know accidents happen. As far as salary you are paid based upon your education, raises and bonus are given based upon education performance and what are you doing to improve your craft. So if you come in entry level and give entry level performance than you will stay at your entry level position you have to want it and take advantage of it as well. There is also compensation on salary because in every state world wide we know teachers are not paid enough if the center provides the resources it is your responsibility to take advantage of it. I am sure you know Randa story, AMC provided the resources to go to school. There are also other programs through the state based on education you can get another source of income quarterly, but I am sure this information was not provided to you. As far as tuition, I am just trying to understand if you were already paying under the market how much should it have decrease. You were left at a grandfather price. In the state of NC you were actually paying school aged prices for your child. Asking anyone how much they pay a month is a violations of privacy. Some of the parents you may have had that conversation with most certainly qualified for subsidize care so yes they will pay differ from those who don't qualify. It's just like when she enters public school some kids will have free lunch some will not. Just like rent your neighbors can pay more or less than you so what was the problem. I will definitely miss your bundle of joy, wish you nothing but the best for your family in the future. Shay