I want to start by saying this daycare seemed very promising, but after five months with our…read moredaughter, we lost confidence in the care she was receiving.
One of the first concerns happened when I picked her up and was told she had a diaper rash. The staff said Aquaphor wasn't working, so they used one of their own sprays instead. My response was, "Why aren't you using the Desitin we provided, clearly labeled with her name and accompanied by a doctor's note instructing you to use it?" They apologized and assured us they would use it going forward. This immediately raised concerns about attention to care, especially since diaper products should never be shared between children due to the risk of spreading illnesses like Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease (HFMD).
On June 18, after a week at home with us, we dropped our daughter off and informed staff she had drool bumps on her chin because she was cutting two teeth at once. Later that day, we received a call saying she had a temperature of 99.4°F and was being sent home for suspected HFMD because she supposedly had bumps around her mouth, in her mouth, and in her diaper area. The "bumps" around her mouth were the same drool rash we had pointed out that morning, and they nearly disappeared after simply wiping her chin dry. She had no bumps in her diaper area and no mouth lesions.
The next morning, her pediatrician examined her, laughed at the assessment, said she had absolutely no signs of HFMD, and cleared her to return. We met with the Director and Assistant Director to explain what happened. The Assistant Director admitted she hadn't been told about the drool rash or teething before making the assessment. We also brought up the earlier diaper cream incident and explained how concerning it was that our daughter's prescribed cream wasn't being used while they were quick to send children home over concerns about HFMD. We were assured these issues would be addressed.
Then, in July, our daughter actually contracted HFMD. She had the classic symptoms: fever followed by lesions around her mouth, in her mouth, and on her hands and feet. We kept her home through her recovery, and once her pediatrician confirmed she was no longer contagious, we received another signed clearance note allowing her to return. The doctor also prescribed antibiotics for a mild ear infection, and we informed the daycare that the antibiotics could cause loose stools and diaper rash, asking them to apply her diaper cream accordingly.
The first day back went well. However, the following morning, just one hour after dropping her off, I received another call telling me she was being sent home for suspected HFMD. They pointed to healed red marks under her chin from the previous infection, a small red mark on her finger that she's had since birth, and claimed her diaper area would "shock" me.
When I got home and checked, she simply had a diaper rash from the antibiotic-related loose stools. There were no blisters, lesions, or signs of HFMD. Even more concerning, there was absolutely no evidence that her prescribed Desitin had been applied despite the daycare describing the rash as severe. Anyone who uses Desitin knows it leaves a visible white residue, and there was none. We took her back to the pediatrician, who again confirmed she had no signs of HFMD and again questioned whether the daycare was confusing her with another child.
At that point, we decided to withdraw our daughter. As I packed up her belongings, one of the workers ran over laughing and said, "Can't forget this!" while handing me the nearly full tube of diaper cream. After five months, it looked like it had only been used a couple of times, despite multiple conversations, a doctor's note, and repeated reminders.
I can't speak to the rest of the school, but our experience in the Angel's classroom left us extremely disappointed. We experienced repeated misdiagnoses that resulted in unnecessary doctor visits and missed work, along with repeated failures to follow a simple doctor's order to use our daughter's assigned diaper cream. For us, those issues reflected a lack of attention to detail and consistency that we simply could not overlook.
