Happy kids is a must for any vacation. I use them each time I come to Hawaii and I am never…read moredisappointed. This trip I reached out at the last minute during the Christmas break with very little hope of finding a suitable nanny. They assigned Brittany to us and she was a gem. My initial goal was to put my 5 year old to sleep and have a nanny watch guard in case he wakes up while me and my husband have some adult dinner. That didn't happen. Brittany came prepared to entertain my son in the hotel room for 5 hour (way past his bedtime). She came 3 days during our stay and my some waited for her like he waited for Santa. Standing by the door listening for footsteps. I can't say enough good things about Brittany and happy kids.

Hi Elle and Kelly, Brenda from your happy kids nanny…read moreservices was amazing, showed up on time, listened to our tips on our kids, gave us photo ID up front and bonded with our kids immediately giving us time and comfort to take an adult hike for 5 hours...and she gave us an opportunity to relax to ourselves as a couple and have 5 hours. Happy kids is a great middle man to coordinate the sitter and do all arranging and paperwork. Our children are special needs autistic, and Brenda showed up with a clear plastic carry bag with toys and she knew how to take care of the unique needs of autistic kids. Well worthy investment! Trust is essential when leaving your kids with strangers and even as a paranoid couple we felt 100% at ease with happy kids and Brenda. Michael Pondrom

Ms. Qiara was one of our daughters caregivers at the Cole Academy a few years ago. Our daughter…read morewas 3 months old and was with Ms. Qiara every weekday for over a year. She is amazing with babies and kids! She is one of those people who seem to be positive all the time, patient, and always looking out for the children under her care. We would recommend her without hesitation for any sort of infant care. A lot of other parents would speak very highly of her as well.

Serving Honolulu...Qiara is an experienced and former infant care teacher at the Cole Academy…read moreDowntown who now started her own program. As a local attorney in town, my family does not know what we would do without her! She has now cared for all three of my children and currently my nine month old. She is incredibly kind, patient and loving with children and truly possesses that "special touch" that allows her to connect with them. My children naturally refer to her as their "favorite Auntie". If you are looking for someone to trust with the care of your most loved one, you have found Qiara. She is responsible, dependable and is passionate about providing a safe environment where your baby will grow, learn and be showered with love!

We had a wedding in Honolulu and wanted to bring our baby girl to the trip as well since she hasn't…read morebeen, but the wedding is kid-friendly so we had to find a sitter to watch her for one day. We were referred to Maliny from a mom travel group and ended up booking with her. At first, we were very worried because our baby had never been left with a non family member, especially in a new environment. We weren't sure how she would acted being with someone new and in a new place but Maliny reassured us she had a lot of experiences dealing with kids. From the moment she walked into our hotel room, our baby girl immediately warmed up. We chatted with Maliny for a bit before we left and felt very confident. During the whole time we were at the wedding, we got text and photo updates on how much fun they're having!! Maliny took her swimming, fed her dinner, keep her diapers clean and dry, showered her, and even put her to sleep. My baby could only sleep with me or her dad and I am sooo surprised Maliny was able to put her to sleep. I am so so happy to have found and went with Maliny. I wished she was in the Bay Area thank you so much Maliny!!! Whenever we're back in Honolulu, we'll be sure to contact you

Maliny was absolutely amazing, my 2 1/2 year old grandson walked right away with her…read more Definitely will use her next time in Honolulu. Your family would be so lucky to have her!!! ALOHA

Our daughter started at KA at 10 weeks old, very shortly after KA first opened, and (a blink…read morelater!) is now soon to graduate and head to preschool. KA has been spectacular through and through. The school is loving, nurturing, supportive, clean and full of fun activities. My daughter has thrived, with so many great friends and teachers, and so many fun things each day. She loves the play nook, book corner and circle time. Meals are all coordinated from a neighboring restaurant, so the kids eat well and with a healthy variety. They have a "book library" you can borrow from. AND They have parent-accessible cameras so you can check in on your kiddo through the day! We feel so lucky to have been a part of the KA 'Ohana and are so thankful. When I was dropping off my baby so I could head to work, I always knew that she would be loved, well fed, clean and cared for. After over 2.5yrs, they have done and been so much more. In addition to the amazing teachers, the management at KA are incredible. They are hands-on, friendly and accommodating, and truly care about the daycare and the children. When a child is hurt or sick or having a tough day, they will often be found on the laps of Ronna (the owner) or Keesha (the manager), so they can get some extra attention to help ease whatever the issue. We cannot recommend KA enough for your little one! Ps. Tell Keesha I say hi!!

We loved Kiddie Academy and sent both of our children there. The teachers and management are…read morecaring, professional, and helpful. They were all amazing and we especially loved Ms Kimmie and Ms Caitlyn, as well as Ms Keesha and the owner Ronna. My son was quite young when he began and I like that they kept the tiniest babies in their own room which (I think) helped reduce the number of times he got sick! We also had some behavioral challenges and greatly appreciated the level of communication, empathy, and willingness to try various approaches and solutions.

Our 2-year old son has been at the Cole Academy (downtown) for 2 months and we LOVE it! Every…read moresingle staff member is kind, thoughtful, and helpful. Our son is potty training right now and Ms. Monica and Ms. Darlene has been so helpful. Ms. Sara is incredibly nice and Ms. Cassandra has been so attentive in onboarding us and getting us acclimated to a school environment. We also love the indoor playground, and the artwork on the walls makes the school so inviting. I love walking in and looking at the new art displayed outside of the classrooms. Our son loves school, he comes home everyday and sings the "story" song that Ms. Monica and Ms. Darlene sings when it's story time. Overall, our first 2 months have been great. I was a mess the first week - getting adjusted to him being in school, but I am so happy we enrolled him at Cole. You get what you pay for and I know that when I leave him at school to go to work, he is in a safe, healthy, and educational environment.

Please be very careful about enrolling your child here. I was so excited when my child was able to…read moreget a spot at Cole. I overlooked a lot of things that bothered me for years because of that. I told myself I was too sensitive when the teacher in the infant class told me that my child was far behind developmentally and needed to be much farther along. I was point-blank asked if I was not doing enough at home to help further her along. (Now that I have a second child I see that what my first child lacked in gross motor skills at an early age she more than made up for in communication skills.) I told myself that maybe the teacher in the toddler class was right when, after a week of my daughter being bitten daily by another kid, I was asked if anything in our home life had changed to cause my daughter to want to get bitten. (Blaming the victim starts early, I guess). I told myself it was just another parent overreacting on the day that a father saw his daughter screaming from being cold. She had doused herself in water from the bathroom and was soaking wet and shivering when he stopped by. The sight he saw prompted him to have a very loud argument with the teachers in front of me and my kid. I really wish they had moved him away from the main classroom to have their discussion. From that day on for the next 6 months she was terrified of any new male she came across. But then she broke her toe and my vision finally shifted. At first, I only knew my side of the story. The side where I came to school to pick up my daughter and she was standing alone screaming. Now, I'll be the first to admit that she's a little dramatic. So I shrugged and grabbed her hand to lead her away. She crippled over in pain and clearly couldn't put any pressure on her foot. That's when I started to panic. I picked her up and raced her to the car where I took off her shoes to see what the problem was. The problem was her foot had been shoved into the shoe to the point where her baby toe had been folded at a 90-degree angle and broken. The toe was pinched right where it connects with the rest of the foot, cutting off circulation and turning blue. I was terrified she would lose the toe. After rushing her to a doctor and finding out her toe was in fact broken, we spent weeks splinting it until it was healed. We spoke to the school to find out their side of the story. At that point, there was a 70% chance that I would pull her out of the school after slowly looking at other daycare options. There was also a 30% chance that we would stay. It all depended on what the school told us. The school said they would view camera footage (I didn't know there were cameras!) and let us know what happened. They got back to us several days later. They said that her toe hadn't been broken. They said there was no sign of anyone coming near her prior to her crying. They said the reason she had been crying was that a father had come to pick up his kid and they cited the aforementioned male stranger anxiety. (That anxiety had finally gone away 3-months before her toe was broken, by the way.) Yes, despite the fact that we had medical proof that her toe was in fact broken and that I had seen that the cause of the broken toe was her toe being caught on something on a shoe that had been put on at the school by someone other than her parents, Cole opted to completely deny the fact that her toe was broken. That was their only response to our inquiry. At least they let us pull our daughter out of daycare the same day they came back with their "findings" (despite their rule of 30-day notice). They even paid us back for her last month of lunch that we had prepaid. Maybe they are just really generous to upset parents. I think it's more likely that they knew they had broken her toe and just wanted to hush us up and get us out of there.

Even last minute they'll find a babysitter for you! They've come through every time I've needed…read morethem.

We stayed at The Kahala Resort and had a wonderful experience with Aloha Sitters. They were able to…read moreaccommodate us last minute and provided care for both morning and evening, which was incredibly helpful. The sitters were attentive, engaging, and well prepared--bringing age-appropriate activities, books, and toys, taking the kids on walks around the resort, and keeping them happy and comfortable the entire time. A special thank you to Lauren for her amazing care and to Deborah, who coordinated everything quickly and professionally. Highly recommend Aloha Sitters for families visiting Oahu.

We had the pleasure of having Jenn babysit my 1 year old when we were visiting Waikiki. Let me save…read moreyou the painstaking agony of spending hours online researching and scouring reviews for the right sitter. I read all of Jenn's reviews and decided that she would be a good candidate. The clients that she had all gave her stellar recommendations and the reviews were all consistent. When we finally met her she was very warm and just a genuinely good person to be around. Upon introducing herself she gave us a binder that had her credentials, CPR/first aid and license they were all up to date. We talked about her background and how she moved to Waikiki from SF. Honestly, I would have loved to have just hungout with her myself and knocked back a few Primos! I had emailed her from the mainland which days we wanted to book well in advance to give her a heads up. Jenn will send you an invoice to secure those dates via PayPal. All the communication from the first email to the very last text message were all smooth and clear! I never had to worry about her not showing up, reliability in all aspects were met. We had her for a total of 6 nights and she has a 4 hour minimum. My son is an amazing sleeper and we kept him on Cali time so he was in bed completely knocked out by 3pm Hawaii time. So Jenn would come over by 5pm and we would go out and enjoy the rest of the evening. Jenn even gave us tips on things to do and where to eat, which all turned out to be great recommendations. The funny thing is she never met my son as he was always a sleep! We had a monitor that we brought which was very helpful. Trusting your child to someone who is an absolute stranger is the scariest and most daunting decision but at a certain point you have to start somewhere. My husband and I has the most amazing date nights due to Jenn, they were much needed. I've even told Jenn she is more than welcome to stay with us anytime she visits the bay area. We were sad to leave her but really happy that we met. I've already given her name and email to most of my friends and family. **Bonus: we had a lot of left over groceries in our condo and I asked if she was willing to take whatever she wanted and it felt so good to not waste it all!**

Jenn Clark was our nanny during our family vacation to Waikiki, Hawaii…read more Jenn is professional, punctual, reliable, trustworthy, honest, hard-working, dedicated and conscientious. She is an excellent nanny and took care of my three children, ages 8 years, 2 years and 10 months. Jenn always made sure the children were well fed, clean, diapers changed promptly and most important, that they were happy. She took my 8 year old daughter on a special field trip to Waikiki Beach to go boogy-boarding and she spent special one on one time on the beach with my 10 month old son relaxing under an umbrella. Jenn's energy was a great match for my active 2 year old son as well! My husband and I were able to enjoy each other's company on vacation because we knew the children were in good hands and being well taken care of with Jennifer. It was obvious to us that Jenn truly likes children and takes her job seriously.

This is such a great daycare!! They've watched my baby part time since she was 8 weeks old. The…read morefacility is spacious, clean and in a great location. They utilize an app that keeps us up to date on everything (diaper changes, feedings, naps, photos etc). Take the tour and meet the incredible staff. I recommend them to everyone!

This is a review of the pēpē room…read more My baby has been attending Hale Pa'ani O Nā Keiki since he was around 9 months old. Daycare was not a part of our initial plan but our circumstances suddenly changed. As you may know, daycare waitlists in HI are ridiculously long. While we had toured some other facilities/in-home daycares, Hale Pa'ani was the only one that could enroll us immediately. As first time parents, we were nervous about sending our baby to daycare in general, but especially one that had just opened earlier in the year. When searching Hale Pa'ani online before we enrolled, I came across a couple of news videos/articles about the devastatingly long journey owner Emi has experienced in getting Hale Pa'ani approved to open its doors (through no fault of her own). On one hand, being relatively new meant there we could enroll ASAP and the facility is basically brand new. On the other, there weren't any online reviews to take into consideration and not much history to review for DHS Child Care Licensing inspections. We took a chance and I'm so glad that we did! My husband even remarked to me last week: "You know, I'm really glad that we enrolled (our son) in daycare." Before Hale Pa'ani, you would've never heard such a statement come out of either of our mouths. If you park in the structure, Hale Pa'ani will give you validation stickers but for quick drop offs/pick ups, we just park out in the loading zone right up front or if that's full, the surface lot next to it. The surface lot stalls are "reserved" but the security knows that there is a daycare so as long as you're just doing a quick drop off/pick up, you'll be fine. If you're planning to stay longer (ex: for a tour), definitely park in the parking structure. The space is very large and clean. When you pass the first set of doors, there is a surprisingly loud alarm (it used to make me jump each time lol) and then you have to be buzzed in by a staff member to get through the second set of doors. The office area is fully enclosed by glass so it really is secure (ex: not like someone could just hop over a desk). Everyone, including staff, ambulatory children, and visitors, takes their footwear off immediately after entering the second set of doors. There are hooks to hang your footwear. As someone with a crawling baby, I'm very appreciative of this practice, though they do also get the carpets deep cleaned twice a year. Compared to the photos on Yelp, the glass wall of the pēpē room is now mostly covered with vinyl privacy film. That was an initial concern I had so I was relieved to see that change when we toured. The pēpē room is typically divided by a baby gate to separate mobile and non-mobile babies, depending on which babies are there for the day. There are so many different toys and equipment (ex: play gyms, bouncers, walkers) for different sensory experiences and stages of development! As mentioned, everything is always clean and tidy, including the fridge, sink, and diapering areas. All of the staff members have been friendly and I've never been concerned about my baby's safety in their care. There has been very little turnover since we started, none of which has affected my baby directly. They always have ample staffing with low ratios. One of the up sides of a daycare facility compared to in-home daycare is the extra coverage in case certain staff members are sick or on vacation. We've experienced very few closures (only due to the severe hurricane threats, not due to staff availability). Hale Pa'ani has recently started preparing my nearly 11 month old to transition to the kamali'i 'ōpiopio (12 - 24 month old) room. I was initially a bit nervous but they have been so great at supporting the transition! They use Brightwheel and send photos throughout the day. He has been having so much fun doing art activities and playing with the toddler toys/soft play structures. They have fun "homework" activities once a month for families of all children. It's a super simple activity like an "all about you" worksheet, just to promote that sense of 'ohana and community. It's been fun to learn a little bit about the other families this way and see their contributions posted on the walls. If you are looking for a daycare, I would highly recommend touring Hale Pa'ani. Be sure to check their Instagram for enrollment specials! @hale_paani_o_na_keiki