Does anyone out there have experience with either Kindercare or LaPetite childcare centers. I am moving to the Hoover area at the end of August and I have visited both locations. I am trying to make a decision between the two. Any advice would be helpful. Any additional childcare recommendations would also be welcomed. Thank you!
Hi D., I have never used either daycare, but I have an uncle that used LaPetite in Hoover and he removed his son because they did not give his son his required medicine and it caused him to go to the emergency room that same night. The educational program may be good, but there may be a little negligence. Hope this helps.
I enrolled my son (who was a little under 1 at the time) at the La Petite in Pelham/Hoover in May '04 and within about a month's time, he was coming home with countless bite marks from other children, scrapes/bruises and there was even a day when they didn't feed him lunch. I understand that kids bite each other in daycare and that accidents can happen when little ones are crawling onto toys and such, but it just showed me that they don't pay close attention to the children under their care. Sometimes he'd have bumps on his head (huge goose-egg) or a cut that was obviously bleeding that I'd point out to the teachers and the teachers hadn't even noticed it before I pointed it out.
The day they didn't feed him lunch set me off and I took him out immediately. I knew that they didn't feed him because I was still bringing his lunch in each day (didn't keep extra food there) and he couldn't eat out of their kitchen yet---at the end of that day, his lunch was still in his diaper bag and there was no note of any lunch feeding on his take-home sheet. When I confronted the director, she casually apologized and said, it's easy to forget when there are so many kids to take care of and the teachers must have been changing shifts and just not mentioned it to the next teacher. I would NEVER recommend ANY LaPetite to anyone. I even called their corporate office and got the same reaction that I'd gotten from the director. They are absolutely AWFUL!!
Hey D. -
I also have a four year old. We are currently at Odyssey, but we were on the waitlist for 2months and while we were "waiting", we used La Petite. Our experience was just average. I felt that the curriculum was not challenging enough, when I went to pick him up, it just wasn't "orderly". Not that orderly is always easy for a group of kids that age, but I just felt that is was more of a "daycare environment" without structure and we wanted more of a "school environment". Good luck on your search.
Hi! My first post here!!
Anyway, we use Kindercare on Old Columbiana Road. I would recommend them. I won't give my highest marks because, well, it's daycare. But for the most part they are very caring and concientious. The director and several of the teachers have been at that center for more than 20 years. The program is certainly not state-of-the-art, so if you are looking for a quality education, Kindercare is not the place for you. Their programs are dated and a little slow IMO. They do allow you to hold a spot for about $30 though, and they honor it - which I found most daycares wouldn't. And the quality of care is good. Connor comes home with the occasional bump and sometimes I'm not thrilled with the decisions made, but overall it's a good place and I feel comfortable sending him there. An additional plus is that you can pay by week, month, however, and you can make payments online - I think that's a great feature...
Hi D..
I don't know anything about childcare in Hoover - I see a lot of requests for that on mamasource. I am sorry! I am in need of some web design though. Can you give me some of your prices and how you charge. Also, can you send me some sample websites. I have one pretty much built, but I need it maintained and some stuff added to it periodically. It is very simple - well, for the person who creatd it.
emaile me at ____@____.com
S. duncan
