I am writing this review almost a year after moving our son from this daycare because I wanted to…read morebe certain that the anxiety and behavioral changes we observed were not simply part of normal toddler development or a temporary phase. After seeing how much happier, more confident, and excited he has been at his new daycare over the past year, I feel comfortable sharing our experience.
Our son attended this daycare from about 14 months old until he was around 26 months. During the first several months, our experience was generally positive. The staff made an effort to feed him, and overall we felt he was being cared for reasonably well. Our son has always been a picky eater, and while there were days he didn't eat much or drink enough water, we felt there were times when more effort could have been made to encourage him.
As he got older, our experience changed. Around the time he turned 2.5, we began noticing that he looked consistently sad in the daily photos we received. Toward the end of his time there, he seemed increasingly anxious about going to daycare. We couldn't determine exactly why, but as parents it was concerning to see such a noticeable change in his behavior.
One incident that particularly stood out involved yogurt. Our son had always loved eating yogurt at home. We asked the daycare if they could start giving him yogurt, but after only a couple of days he suddenly became afraid to eat yogurt, even at home. We don't know what happened, but the abrupt change was unusual and concerning to us.
As his communication skills improved, he started mentioning "time out." Initially we didn't think much of it, but when we asked the daycare about it, the owner acknowledged that they used time-outs as a form of discipline. We have no way of knowing how or when they were used, but this conversation, combined with our son's increasing fear of attending daycare, raised concerns for us.
Toward the end, our son frequently cried about going to daycare and seemed to become sick more often. We ultimately decided to move him to a different daycare. It has now been about a year since we made the switch, and he has been happy, excited to go to school, and thriving in his new environment.
Looking back, I wish we had trusted our instincts sooner. This daycare has many excellent reviews, and our own experience started out well. However, when our son became more challenging due to his picky eating and typical toddler behavior, we felt the quality of care and how he was treated changed. While we cannot say exactly what happened, we know our child changed significantly during that period, and that change disappeared after we moved him.
My advice to other parents is simple: pay close attention to your child's behavior. If they suddenly become fearful of going to daycare, consistently appear unhappy, or your instincts tell you something isn't right, don't ignore those signs. Every child has difficult days, but if the behavior persists, it's worth investigating and, if necessary, finding a new environment. In our experience, making the change was absolutely the right decision for our son.
