We were a very committed DoodleBugs family until very recently. My elder child was having some behavior issues following the change of the lead teacher. There were no over the top changes to our routine until this situation. I explained that I enrolled my child in a counseling program to try and help with some of these issues but also requested that my child be moved to a different room, the room be offered more support, and potentially the new lead be offered some additional training. My child was coming home more upset on a daily basis and would not cooperate at drop-offs ever - this was a huge change from the norm for us. No changes were made within the classroom and within less than a week of a meeting with the director, and teacher, my child was dismissed from the program. The day this occurred, my child was picked up early by my mother as I was recovering from a procedure. Later in the day, she picked me up so I could go in and gather my child's belongings as well as pick up my younger baby. At this time, I was informed that I could pull my youngest without penalty if I would like to. I explained that I could not make this decision for a series of reasons: I needed input from my kids' father, I was actively crying and upset about what happened that day, and I had a lot going on in my personal life that would cloud any decision making. When I got back to the director and advised that we would be interested in a slow withdrawal (3-day week followed by a 2-day week) I was told essentially that it was a one time offer - I should have taken it on the spot if I wanted to withdraw my youngest. I was told that the 4 week notice policy was to apply to my younger child. Here is the thing - you gave me nothing with my older child, why would I give you any grace with my youngest? My older child could not say goodbye to friends or teachers, was asking me for days when we would be going back & I was forced to put a 3 year old in a terrible situation on the spot. I work fulltime, my fiancé/the children's father works full time, we had a huge family change occur within days of his dismissal that caused a huge upheaval to our lives and they left us with nothing. I was honestly very upset with this place from early on, but stuck things out for the comfort of my children who have made some great friends there. The management is poor, the teachers are offered no support; staff are leaving the same day they are hired because of their awful environment; and reflecting back, it appears my children were not as well watched over as I had thought. My kiddos would come home with bruises etc. regularly, I took it as typical age related mishaps - but with them being enrolled in a new program, and not having one report of such thing, I am realizing that they were just truly unsafe. Additionally, there was an instance were my youngest was found with a button battery in their mouth! I asked why I wasn't called, why emergency services (ambulance and poison control) were not called, why this was not better managed and I was blown off. I explained to the director that this is a life or death situation - I had to take my child to the ER to be scanned and ensure there was not a deadly battery in their gut. I am disgusted at the outcome of everything to say the least. I would not recommend this place to anybody. I have attempted to reach their corporate office a number of times to no avail. Do not send your babies there. read more

We originally loved this facility. No daycare is perfect; they have high turnover overs, germs are everywhere. We had respect for the teacher in the PreK room. She truly cared about the kids and went out of her way to do things for them. She had my son well prepared for kindergarten in a tough school district. We were disappointed to find out the facility let her go with no back up or a plan in place. It was emphasized that she was not let go due to an issue with care to the children. So now the children are left without a lead teacher preparing them for the up coming school year. Disappointed with how this was handled and will be working on prepping my child at home for the upcoming coming year. read more

I wish I could rewind time and never send my daughter here. She is being pulled immediately, as we've recently become aware that the "Teacher of the Year" at this location, was forced to resign. They will not give us any details as to why, but since this took place in the middle of the school day, while children looked on, I would imagine the reasons are of plenty, and not good. What I do know for sure is that children get upset, they cry and show a range of emotions. This was met with bullying, scare tactics and cruel words. My daughter was told to "Stop crying like a baby or I'll put a diaper on you." by the wonderful "Teacher of the Year." This same "Teacher of the Year" used force to punish small children. As a 3 year old, she took this very hard, as well she should. This is not the nurturing environment we were promised. This is also not the only teacher who has been fired in recent history, either. The turnaround lately has been too much to even track. Kids need consistency, and there is none. A new HR manager has been added, and I'm fearful of what information may come to light once they begin digging through the issues that have been swept under the rugs. It seems that until now, the only thing that mattered to the director, was a weekly tuition quota. There are two incredible teachers here, but unfortunately, the bad outshadows their presence entirely. I hope, for their sake, they can move on to a place that deserves their talent. I wish I had trusted my instincts, when she began crying at the mere mention of school... Listen to your kids! read more

Beware!!! Awful place don't send you child here. My son has been going to doodlebugs for 2 years. He's been sent home with bloody lips, a bloody nose, and beat up. The director did NOTHING about it and the bully is still there. And on top of that my child was kicked out on his birthday! He's a kid he was super excited to have cupcakes with his class and celebrate and I get a phone call saying to pick him up he's hyper and not to come back he's no longer allowed at doodlebugs (he's 4 he was excited that it was his birthday) while still taking on the phone the director hung up on me!! When I got there (3pm) they had him in a classroom all by himself with 1 teacher. They did NOT feed my son breakfast or lunch that day as punishment!!!!!!! "They don't reward bad behavior" this place is a joke! They also did not give me his rescue inhaler back. he was there for 2 years and never 1 complete about his behavior until they got this new joke of a director Sarah. If you want your child to starve as a form of punishment and be a human punching bag this is your place to send your child if not then please find another daycare. They have 1 star for a reason. Oh and corporate doesn't answer their phones or return phone calls! read more

Doodle Bugs Children's Centers - Proof they did not feed my son! Not only him telling me they didn't they also told me they didn't feed him - Preschools Near Me - West Amherst, New York

We booked the tour online (I have confirmation) on 28/06/2022 at 11:00 am. My family and I planned it, we arrived, we were rudely denied the tour. They said that at this time they have other clients who signed up with them personally. The woman (did not introduce herself) said that she wrote me an e-mail that there would be no tour, but I don't have any letter. They just said goodbye. I am shocked by such a low level of service. Also the manager is very rude. Location Lakewood Ranch. read more

My son started going to Doodlebugs at 5 months old in March 2021. As new parents adjusting to taking our baby to daycare on top of our work schedules, it was terribly stressful to learn that he was in contact with a covid case his very first day and was put into quarantine. We still had to pay during this time he wasn't going in, it was difficult to understand this policy when I knew of other centers who don't charge when you are forced into quarantine. We kept him out extra because the whole month of March Covid kept infecting multiple rooms at the center. In spring and summer we overall were pleased with the staff and of course had to adjust to my baby coming home with new colds and viruses like Hand Foot and Mouth. In September 2021 we were told on a Friday afternoon that my son couldn't come in on Monday cause the center was shutting down due to not enough staffing. Teachers told me most of them were quitting as the current director was being replaced. It was sad to say goodbye to so many teachers we liked and stressful to again be out of daycare. They opened again in 3 weeks and my son was chosen to go back since not all rooms were open. We had no luck even finding a new daycare during that time and had to rely on family. Going back to daycare came the illnesses again, stomach bug/diarrhea and RSV... getting the calls to pick him up and having to keep him out weeks till he felt better. Even when he was okay we were getting calls to pick him up 'we think he was having diarrhea' 'he didn't seem himself.' Even out of caution it became exhausting, never could have a normal routine week since returning in October. When the daycare opened back up they took away our 12 'vacation days' so we were paying full price when he wasn't there. It's been frustrating to say the least when something is out of your control. The breaking point is when Covid came back into the building November 2021. The new director does not have a vaccine policy for staff and all the staff are not vaccinated, confirmed by the director. This center does not take temps at the door, we all use same key pads/finger scanners to check in and not cleaned in between uses, and staff is in and out of all rooms they do not stay in one set room the full day. We choose to take my son out as we felt it was only a matter of time that covid took over the building again like the previous March. Only this time they could have been vaccinated to help our children who are too young to be. I reported them to Erie County, they told me the State would also be investigating. I hope they can become a better center as it's an essential service we need in Amherst. But the Doodlebugs I initially toured and signed my son up for is not the same program that we left. 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 Jackson 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? Kelly and I are fortunate our employers are very understanding that we'll have to adjust our work schedules, Kelly and I 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..... read more

The N French rd west Amherst location has rude, unfriendly, and unprofessional employees. My son attended , and were never greeted when we arrived or left. Also be aware that they have no care on the type of people they hire. Me and other parents have discussed this numerous times and have pulled our children out of this location because of the high turn around of teachers, as soon as your child gets comfortable with a teacher they quit! Also parents beware that on several occasions we have witnessed teachers disciplining our children, during our tour and signed contract that is NOT ALLOWED.. I have seen teachers handling the children roughly, pointing fingers in the children's facing, grabbing them roughly, and scolding our children. This is behavior that shoulld not be allowed in a daycare! These are innocent children, the most concerning part is me and several other parents watch on camera and if these woman do this on camera I can imagine what they do off camera. I have pulled my son out of this location, and my friends have pulled their kids out too! I tell everyone I know this location is full of young teenagers who have no training, patience, or positive spirits to be left alone with our children. read more