My kid has been attending for 3 years now - and they've kept him alive for that long, so that's worth at least a couple stars! Really though, the teachers we've had have all been wonderful and genuinely care about their kiddos. Yes there is some turnover because it's a daycare center, many of the staff are younger and go on to pursue their educations, but there is also turnover in the clientele because kids grow up. In school, they will have different teachers every year, so that's not been an issue for us. They have a good curriculum that covers all the basics: counting basic reading/writing, vocabulary, and other subjects needed to prepare for Kindergarten, and they track each child's process to find any areas needing improvement. Breakfast, lunch and snacks are all provided. The meals are healthy, and my picky kid actually eats them (most of the time). They have lots of play time and fun activities, including programs where they bring in outside instructors (e.g., yoga, tae kwon do, and music lessons). They have secured access like most centers, a daily report that you can have emailed (or use the iPhone app), and video monitoring of every area that you can view online-- which frankly I hardly log into anymore since it's mainly just peace of mind that they have it. I've always found the administrators to be very helpful and processional. They will talk through any issues and try to make it a great experience for parents and children. They have a summer camp enrollment option with field trips for pre-K age and up for a modest extra fee (younger kids stay in the center but they do themes for each week of camp). Certain school districts will provide bussing here after school for those of us working parents who aren't home by 2:30 p.m. My son has flourished and made lots of great friends here, plus he is very well-prepared to start school. We are glad we made the choice to send him to Doodlebugs! read more

Doodle Bugs Children's Centers - Mr. Doodlebug himself at pre-K graduation 2019 - Child Care & Day Care Near Me - Clarence, New York

Do the right thing for your child and stay far away.. While certain teachers at the school do a phenomenal job with the kids; the way the place is run makes no guarantee your kid will be with one teacher with experience vs another thats been there a week.. I had misgivings in the beginning after meeting the school director but put them in the back of my mind after touring the facility.. Now i find the child to teacher ratio is off by a wide margin (sometimes 16/1) in order to pack as many children into a room as possible. And you can tell certain teachers are burned out. I asked one teacher who looked frazzled what was wrong and they told me they were there since 7 and haven't had anything but a 30 minute lunch break until 6.. Take your queue from many others and go anywhere but here.. I dont know how they've managed to maintain their certifications as a daycare; but it should most definitely be revoked read more

I would give it zero stars if I could. Doodle bugs is just for you, parents. The center is beautiful, with an indoor play room and awesome outdoor playgrounds. Fingerprint scanner to get in. Online check in and check out. An app to watch your kids during the day. As a parent, it's intoxicating. How do you walk away and send your kid someplace else? Be warned. They are fooling you. The bells and whistles do NOT translate to better care for your kids. I can't speak for other centers. But I can speak for the Sheridan center and corporate. My kid started there when he was three months old. He stayed until he was three, when his behavior no longer pleased the director. I was happy there for a while, even tried to get my second (unborn) child in, telling the center about the pregnancy before anyone in my family knew. I was told that maybe there would be a spot, maybe not, but if I didn't want to wait until the month before I returned to work, that I could go someplace else. The director is a princess in her mid 20s. No kids. And no experience as far as I can tell other than being a preschool teacher at another doodle bugs. The assistant director, same. The underlings, same. And it seems that corporate will back these dolls (who call themselves "the quad squad" and decorate the center with pictures of themselves) at any cost. Whatever they say goes and it isn't always what's right for your kids. I have had several Doodle teachers watch my kids for me in my home. They all complain about the "quad squad" being an unstoppable, suffocating group that stifle teachers, demand that they come to work when they're vomiting with fevers, and who chase teachers out the door for "not meeting the Doodle bug standards." Listen, I've never had a complaint about how the teachers have treated my children. Except when I have no idea who they are from week to week. A friend of mine on the other hand, watched her three year old being forced to the floor by a teacher and that was reported to the state. I imagine there was something to that because that teacher was gone the next week. The "quad squad" is insufferable and it shows in the teacher turn over. This doodle location is ALWAYS hiring and it's because they can't keep teachers who are willing to deal with the management. And this is why you probably don't know your kids teachers from week to week. To me, the playgrounds do not outweigh the directors. Anything taken to corporate is referred back to the "quad squad" to deal with. Delightful. Just one more thought. When my friend was expecting and my kids were still there, I referred them to Doodle Bugs. They questioned me about the director right away, having had concerns on their center tour. They enrolled their child anyhow due to convenience, and is happy there because they have one of the only teachers who has been there more than a year. The director assured my friend that I would receive the referral bonus the following week. Several months later, I still hadn't received it. The day I confronted the princess however, I received it. Within the hour. Hmm. Since my child was abruptly dismissed from Doodle Bugs, he's been appropriately assessed by another preschool and is excelling with teachers he knows and is comfortable with. Do yourselves a favor, parents. Ignore the bells and whistles. Take your kids (and your money) someplace else read more

The name sounds great and the facility looks cool and attractive for any parent,but if you are really looking for a place where kids would actually learn something,then this isn't the place....I had opted for UPK program for my kid here ,one of the biggest mistake that I made. I had raised my concern to the director ,but recieved such cold response stating that they focus on "organic growth " and I hardly saw them even teaching hardly anything at all...and personally I also feel that they have a "preferencial treatment"( may be you should read it as differential treatment) towards different people which ofcourse is not expected for a place which works just like a day care. So Asians,that's the clue for you,if u ever thought of this place as an option...However"learning academy " is too big a name for it....they don't live up to a bit of it... read more

Please do not take your infant here. My son enrolled at 16 weeks in a room that goes up to 18 months. I looked at the camera at one point to see my son laying on the ground (with no boppy, mat or anything - which was often the case). A very large child (15 months I believe) crawled on top of my son (who is not even 4 months old and cannot crawl). There is no teacher within screen shot and it took her an entire minute to pull the child off of my baby. She then puts the large kid back down next to my baby and walks away; the child then crawls back on top of my baby a second time. If you are going to place a toddler next to an infant, I would think that an adult should at least be nearby or watching to protect the baby who can do nothing to help themselves or move away. When I discussed this with the director, she said it is completely normal and basically that I was crazy for being upset. I pulled my son after that; I can't trust that the staff will keep toddlers physically off of the babies especially when they think this is acceptable. On top of that, they don't take the time to feed enough - our baby used to eat a little slower from the bottle and they would feed him 2 oz out of 6 and toss the rest. He was at doodle bugs for a total of 7 days. We paid for 8 weeks of care and customer service is absolutely awful and will not return phone calls. We are now at EduKids and have had an amazing experience. read more

I will start by saying that my 2 year old seems to enjoy his time there. I will also say that his Two teachers are great. That's it for compliments. The management of the Clarence facility are laughable at best. They are all clones of the director who is so far out touch with reality that it really is funny! Their policies are pathetic, and the way the management talks to you is amusing. I would never recommend this place to anybody, and but for the fact my two year old doesn't know better, and we really love his teachers, we'd be long gone. Stay away! read more

They are truly horrible people. We had made a complaint about a teacher and their inability to teach or be with children. once The complaint was made, they kicked us out with zero reason, no written documentation, no meetings, and no one being able to explain the why. They continued to lie about things claiming my 4 year old did to make them fear their lives. Because he didn't listen during their circle time. Give me a break. I watched their cameras all day long and not once did my child do anything fearful to a child or teacher. and then they got mad when I told them I watched all day and these incidents did not happen. So if you want your kids cared about do not choose doodle bugs with Sara, Sam or Dan. Poor choices for a director and teachers. read more

So this morning we received a call from our daughter's daycare provider, Doodle Bugs Children's Learning Academy, that she was exposed yesterday to a positive case while in her classroom at their West Amherst location. She is quarantined at home starting today and able to return on 3/22. Between our son and our daughter we have/will spend a ridiculous amount of money (I normally don't share information like this but feel it's important to share all the facts) and our daughter has two more years to go before entering kindergarten so we've clearly made a significant financial commitment to this company. After being told that because she was exposed at Doodle Bugs Children's Learning Academy she isn't allowed back until 3/22 they then shared that they would still charge us for 50% of her tuition for the time she was not allowed back. When I called I was told by Lauren that this was necessary to "hold her spot"...really? My wife and I are fortunate our employers are very understanding that we'll have to adjust our work schedules, My wife and I are fortunate the financial impact isn't great...but what about the parents of others in our daughter's classroom that aren't so fortunate? What about the parent's of the children from 3 other classroom's at this location who also went through this the past few months? Say this is happening at their 16 other locations how many family's are also being penalized?. If our daughter was exposed at home that would be a different story, if our daughter was exposed if we were being irresponsible that would be a different story...but it's not the case. I asked them to reconsider their policy given these facts and they said they couldn't (which isn't true because they can reconsider they just chose not to) and their reasoning was because if they did then they would have to go back and do the same for others in a similar situation. Do the right thing.....Critical: Professionalism read more