Thoughts About Kindercare Centers?

Hi G. - the Kindercare in my town (not your area) is kinda lousy. It has high turnover, not all of the teachers are certified (classes had the required number of certified teachers and lots of assistants), and they are a little rigid with things. A friend who was daycare director in my area put them on her "not recommended" list so I never actually went in, but other parents who toured reported things like in the pre-school room, the kids were painting. They all were given 2 colors of paint (like red and blue) and that was all the paint they could have because that's what was on the schedule for the day. So if a kid wanted a little white paint to make pink, or some yellow or orange, those were not an option, because the schedule said red and blue and that's what they were using. I'm all for routine but that sounded a bit rigid to me.

That said, I have had two friends used Kindercare in Westwood and LOVED IT. Super-satisfied with the quality of care, curriculum, etc. So although they are a chain, the people at each location can really make the difference between a great center and a just OK center.

Check it out, observe the rooms that your kids would be in, ask about things like emergency plans, curriculum, staffing ratios, what the credentials of the "teachers" are (some are teachers, some are assistants), staff turnover, hiring practices, average tenure, etc. It's been my experience that the director sets the tone. An excellent director who loves children, has years of experience, a strong educational backround and strong leadership skills will set the highest bar in hiring, training, retention and curriculum development. My friend (who now runs the staff daycare for a prestigious children's hospital) lives and breathes childcare. When she has positions open, she'll interview literally dozens of candidates before finding someone good enough to join her team. Those who make the cut rarely leave - in her old center, there were teachers who had been there for 10 or 15 years. Many were hired as assistants but were paired with great teachers and eventually went to school to get their teacher certification.

One option for you would be to check out "institutional" daycare centers - the staff daycare centers for hospitals, colleges, or businesses. Many of them have "community" slots that are open to families that are not affiliated with the institution. My kids went to a hospital daycare and a college daycare although my husband and I were not affiliated with either place. These tend to have lower prices than the chains and the staff often also work for the school/hospital/business and therefore get the same benefits that other employees do, which is rare in child care. If you look on the EEC website you can get a listing of all licensed centers in your area - if some are "staff" centers, see if they have community spots.

Hey G., I think the challenge with these franchise/chains is it is the quality of the staff differ from center to center. check out NACCRRA website (just google the accronym). They are a national child care resource and referral service and offer articles and checklists for identifying quality in early child care.
Additionally, they can link you to your regional resource and referral service that can assist you in finding more targeted options that meet not only your geography for child care, but also what you want for your children in terms of developmentally appropriate practices, trained teachers, etc.
Best of luck (oh to answer your question, I have visited two kindercares in TX, one - very impressed, the other - never in a million years would I leave my children there!)

While I have no experience with Kindercare specifically, here are some things about chain centers that you need to think about.

While they all might have rules, regulations, and lesson plans that are made by the corporate offices of the chain, each center is only as good as it's director. They are the ones that do the hiring and firing, and they are the ones that do the enrolling. Chain daycare centers are there to make a profit and because of the magnitude of the business they are less likely to have the oversight that a small group of centers or a privately owned center, so a bad director is much more difficult to detect and it is easier for them to cut corners where they shouldn't. They will get a bonus for how much their money center makes (like shopping trip, day at the spa, money) while your child will do without.

A bad director will:

Over enroll each class so that there is always a full class and they are making an optimal ammount of money each day. When too many kids show up, they do what's called "bumping". They will bump the youngest kids to the class a year younger and the oldest kids to the class a year older. So your child can either be understimulated or overexposed to children who will bully him or toys that are not age appropriate.

Spend as little money on supplies as possible in order to not have a large overhead. That means broken toys that aren't replaced, no art supplies, no extras to implement the lesson plans. Run down furniture.

Spend as little money on food as possible. At best this means no seconds if your child is still hungry. At worst this means super small portions in the first place and food that is, frankly, slop.

Hire the least qualified teachers so they can pay as little as possible. Places like this pay barely above minimum wage as it is, so you aren't going to get the best qualified person, anyway. But, add to that fact that someone isn't going to have invested even in a two year degree to make minimum wage, you aren't going to get a lot of qualified applicants.

If you use one, ask a lot of questions. Drop in a several times unannouced at different times during the day BEFORE you enroll your child. See what they are eating, when they are eating, and how much. See how they handle nap time. Actually see if the kids in your older child's class are DOING anything, are there any directed activities or are they just playing. Check out the playground and equipment. How well is it kept up, are there broken toys, are the wood chips or whatever old or new. Ask for sample lesson plans, the qualifications of the teacher, what kind of ongoing education for the teachers do they use, where the fire escape plans and routes are posted, where their last inspections are and what scores they made, ask for the menus and how they handle allergies, where the meds are kept and who gives them, how they handle incedent reports for injuries and biters, call your state licensing agency and ask for copies of complaints against the center.

I know this is a lot but I really do think these places require extra investigations.

Hope this helps,

L.

I have a different experience than others responding. My kids go to a KinderCare in IL - LOVE IT! All of the main classroom teachers have been there the entire time we've been there (since my son turned 3 - he'll be 5 in Nov). All of the teachers are interested in the kids and are happy to share in the kids accomplishments. The directors are caring and have even done whatever possible to help when it comes to tuition. Somebody mentioned their kids getting sick constantly - that will happen in any environment where there are children - kids share germs - that's just how it is, however if you have to have your kids cared for during the day and, like me, you don't have the support of family friends in the area to babysit, kids are going to get sick.

We have used two KinderCare facilities in two states. Grant it, one of best friends is the director of the KinderCare facility we most recently used. Both facilities we loved.

I agree with some other posters, it really depends on the facility. Both directors in both facilities had teaching degrees. Many of the teachers in our original facility were either certifiedand/ or teachers. Each room had it's certified teacher and at least 1 assistant. When we were searching I had contacted my friend and asked her what types of questions should I ask the facilities we visit. She gave me a list... maybe google questions to ask?

Make sure when you tour the facility to look at ALL rooms, not just the ones for your children(s) ages...you never know how long you will be in the facility.

Good Luck.

Its not about the center, it's about the director her credentials the same goes for the teachers. Your children are small, take them for a tour with you and see how warm are the teachers and how well your children connect with them. See how clean is the center, pay attention to the kids are they clean cut, are their fingernails are clean, cut etc. You want your child to be in a place with the kids that their parents have the same values. Question about lice, peanut allergy, and their prevpk accredited credits. Drop by unannounced so you will see the center without special
arrengements. The best time is 10-11 or 3-4 when the kids are not eating,sleeping or the drop off and pick up chaos. Go with your instinct, moms are always right. If you have any doubts, walk away.

G.:`

I worked for Kindercare for 2 years.

There are some GREAT centers out there. Go to each one and interview them and the teachers your child will be with...

Look at their cirriculum and ask questions...go with your gut - i personally prefer chains over private...

good luck!!

I used our local Kindercare and really liked it. There were plenty of teachers in each room. One son started when he was 2 and the other as an 8 week old. The olded was there until he started kindegarten and the other was there until he was 4 (my husband wasn't working so we pulled him out to stay home). I do think the success was based on the director. We had a great director who was willing to work with us. She left (moved) and the next director was awful but was only there for a couple of months. The last one we had - that is still there - was great. You just need to visit the centers and get a feel for it yourself.

Kindercare is a pretty good facility. I have a dear friend who is the Director of one. It depends on the director to be honest, their integrity, their personality, their influences are astronomical. They set the mood, the tone, the whole attitude of the workers.

As you go and tour the facilities you need to look for a director who you mesh with, who feels right.

Word about just dropping in, they will not just let you in, they have privacy issues, you are a stranger and they will want you to make an appointment. Kids go to school between 7:30 and 8:30 in the mornings, they start feeding lunch as early as 10:30 and eat until nearly noon depending on how early and how many kids there are, nap time could be anywhere from noon until 2:30 then school kids can be coming in from 2:30 until 3:30. So making an appointment is a courteous thing to do. Plus if the licensing worker is there doing the monthly inspection you will have to wait. Be patient.

My oldest was at a Kindercare from 6 months-15 months. It was fine, she was safe here are my comments on it. :)

She was sick CONSTENTLY! I'm sure it was just from being around other kids, it always looked/smelled clean but she was diagnosed with asthma at 9 months after 2 months of not being able to breathe correctly. She is 2 1/2 now and has not had an "attack" or flare up or used her inhalor since a month after I started staying home with her.

They would give her jared baby food even when I brought my own home made, even after I told them not to. This happened many times, including once giving her something she was mildly allergic too.

They kept her in the baby room even after a year and walking (the babies were baby babies not even crawling yet) because she was smaller than the toddlers. So she had to stay in the tiny room and they said she would stand by the door knocking to go into the toddler room and it was so cute. Well she wanted to play with toys she liked not baby stuff. :)

About a week before my school was done (I was a teacher) I got a call saying that she got hurt and I should probably come get her. Well she was standing in a rocking chair and fell off and cut her eyelid on another chair. When I picked her up there were 2 teachers and only 4 kids in the room. We had to take her to the ER because our Dr. office doesn't have a photoscope and because of the injury they had to check out her eye and make sure the scratch/cut was only on the lid and not on the actual eye. That was terrible.
~Kindercare did pay the $200 co-pay for the ER and it only took about a week to get reimbursed and corporate sent us a "we hope your kids okay" aka a please don't sue us letter about a month later. Which was nice of them.
~Obviously we didn't sue, it was an accident. I was upset that it happened, but it could have happened at home just as easily.

They never went by the menu of what they would be serving for lunch. When she was finally moved into the toddler room (at about 15 months, so right before we pulled her) I gave up the meal battle and said she could eat what they had. It concerned me because I was still trying to discover allergies and what she was outgrowing.

They also refused to do cloth diapers even though my LO is allergic to disposable so she always had a diaper rash.

For us, we had to make me staying home work. In the 10 months she was in daycare we spent over $700 in co-pays and prescriptions. Plus the diaper rash. Because it sounds like you have to work (or want to, which is fine too :)) all of my things were kind of minor and center specific.

Those are just my thoughts, the staff was always friendly and she made cute projects.
I don't think that was much help to you, but I tried. :)

It really does vary from location to location. I did check out the kindercare in our area and was unimpressed. They use to offer a free trial day, not sure if they still do. Regardless, you can set up an interview and go check it out, ask questions, etc.. Also, get there business license # and call daycare licensing and check out their history. The license # should be next to their add in the yellow pages.

Not a fan of Kindercare. I visited one when I was pregnant with my first child and it sent me into a panic. They didn't wear booties in the babies room, dirty bottles were everywhere, only one high school graduate with no other education in the room (her biography was that she had a lot of younger sibilings and therefore experienced enough for Kindercare) and while I was there for an HOUR, the same babies were kep in their swings/chairs for the whole time. The teacher never took them out, never played with them, never put them on the floor for tummy time. They were just stuck in that swing or chair and that's it.
There is another Kindercare by our new place and my neidhbor sent her son there. She hated it. They would rotate teachers constantly so there was not one primary caregiver who could bond with your child, she caught a couple not wearing gloves when they were changing diapers, didn't stick to the food requests she had, never completed the daily sheet for her son so she never knew just how much he ate, slept, diapers changed, etc.
If you have a Bright Horizons by you, I would check that out. They are the best daycare around.