Clifton KinderCare

Hannah Bower _{on Google}

Mar 30th, 2024

We have really liked it here at Clifton KinderCare. Our childrens teachers really care and the directors really spend time and thought to hire teachers they think will be a good fit. My kids love going every morning, grandparents can see videos and pictures of activities from the day and my kids have really learned a lot. My oldest child can already do addition and subtraction and is almost reading . The teachers really want our children to learn and overall our experience at this daycare has been a lot better than the last one we were at.
Some of the other comments I find a bit funny, as we were at other daycares in the area and had awful experiences (way way way worse with staffing and cleanliness) and at this daycare my children are learning grade levels ahead and arent even in grade school yet with teachers who truly want to teach them.

Jen Natalia _{on Google}

Oct 24th, 2023

Very unorganized. And not clean and sanitary at all. Floor was gross. Glass door was disgusting dirty. Smelled like dirty diapers when you walk it. This place doesnt know how to communicate at all. My son was accepted a month before his start date and they waited until the week he was starting to tell me his paperwork wasnt finished (CCAP loan) they told me I would have to pay the full until his paperwork was completed which is their JOB to make sure it was done. They dont know what they are doing. I feel bad for the kiddos that are there. All the employees looked miserable. Im happy it didnt work it. It was a sign for me not to enroll my kid is such a disgusting, lack of communication daycare. Good riddance ! Also connected with another mom who recently had to pull her kid out of this facility becusee they cant keep their staff. Staff is always changing. Or they are short staffed and the child has to stay home. Or the parents can volunteer for the day and daycare would be free for the child which is not safe to have random adults watching kids Thats so unacceptable. Good riddance. And clean that damn door !!!

John Doe _{on Google}

Jun 21st, 2022

Kindercare is a great place to send your babies to for daycare

Andrew Mott _{on Google}

Mar 29th, 2024

Tl;dr version: Dont send your kids here. They have an extremely high staff turnover rate that presents a major problem for consistency and reliability, the facility is filthy, and the communication is exceedingly poor within Kindercare and external to Kindercare. There are much better choices for the same amount of money in the neighborhood.
The full version:
The Good:
I believe the teachers that remain there are good people and that they care about the children there. The staff is friendly, and many of them have their own children there in the classrooms.
The Bad:
1) Unstable staffing and utilizing Netflix to supplement an overworked staff:
On our very first day, we received a note from the director asking if anyone could volunteer to keep their kids home because they were short on staff and couldnt stay open unless they got some volunteers. We asked if this was a normal occurrence, as we had moved from the other side of the country and had never seen anything like this before from the previous childcare centers we had our children at. We were assured that it was not normal, and that it would be corrected in two weeks as they brought on more and more teachers. This problem did not go away, rather it seemed to increase in time.
Two months later, my child was repeatedly bitten. My wife asked what was being done to stop it and she was told that there werent enough staff to intervene. I brought this to the attention of the director, and I was told that they were within ratios, and the teacher shouldnt have said that.
At another point, when it seemed like they were also low on staff, we went to pick up our son and saw that instead of planned activities, the teachers placed the ipad meant for communicating with parents in front of the children and had them watching Netflix. We were told this would never happen again.
This calendar year, before we finally decided to remove our child from Kindercare, the center had asked for volunteers to keep kids home 16 separate times over a possible 46 days. The last two days, they simply closed classrooms and told parents they would be credited for the day. I complained to the care@kindercare email, the director, and the regional director. The regional director assured me it would be taken care of and I didnt need to worry about it.
The very next day, they had me drop him off in a different classroom. I went to pick him up early, and they had a ton of toddlers with two teachers watching Netflix again. When the teacher saw me glance at it, she turned it off and hid it. When I went to get my sons coat from his assigned room and walked back, it was back on for the remaining kids. When we complained, I was told that they shouldnt be able to access it on their Ipads. The director also told my wife that she told the teachers not to do that, but the teachers dont really listen to [her].
It was comments like these that made my wife and I realize that we really didnt know what was happening on a regular basis there, especially if there was that lack of ownership from the director on the quality of care and education. Thats when we finally pulled the plug.
To be honest, I feel bad for the teachers for so many reasons. Theyre completely overloaded due to the staff issues, and theyre simply not paid enough. I filled up at the Stewarts and noted their Hiring display advertised a starting pay rate that was higher than what the teachers are paid. Its no wonder they have a problem with staffing!
2) Basic cleanliness
This was pretty shocking the place is just filthy. From the entrance to the room, its constantly caked with food, grime, and other substances one would expect from a daycare center that just is not maintained. I was assured they were getting an estimate to do a deep cleaning. No idea if they even got an estimate.
It's one thing if this place was cheap, but it's the same price as other much better centers in the area. For 395/week, you shouldn't worry about this kind of stuff.