I absolutely do not recommend Blue Kangaroo in South Reno. I was in a tough spot due to some changes in our family and needed urgent childcare. Most places had long waiting lists, but surprisingly, Blue Kangaroo had openings for my 16-month-old son. Looking back, that should've been a red flag. All the other places I called were full, and this one had space--definitely not a good sign.
I went for a tour last Thursday, and while the place seemed clean and organized, that first impression didn't last long. On Friday, I took my son to meet the teacher before we left town for the weekend. I thought it was important for him to get familiar with the place. The lead teacher, A, in Hopper classroom wasn't exactly warm, but I figured she was just busy--she has four children. I convinced myself that since she's a mom of four, she must know how to handle little ones. Boy, was I wrong.
I'm really thankful they have cameras, so I could check in on my son throughout the day. He's shy and usually takes a while to warm up, but the first morning, he was just standing there, looking confused, observing everything. After his nap, things went downhill. He was crying for most of the afternoon, and the worst part? A didn't make any effort to comfort him. I called, and they transferred me to the classroom so I could talk to him. He doesn't speak much yet, but he understands a lot. The assistant, L, picked him up a couple of times, but mostly, she was busy playing with the other kids who'd been there longer and weren't crying. That was my first big disappointment--no one seemed to care about how he was feeling in this new, overwhelming environment.
When I picked him up that day, his eyes were puffy from crying, and he had boogers all over his face. I asked A if he had a rough day, and she shrugged and replied, "There are a lot of crazy kids here!" That was a huge red flag for me. How can you work with kids and not have more empathy for a child who's clearly struggling?
And she was not lying about how much food my son ate. She said he finished everything. My son is learning how to eat by himself. I packed extra food for him just in case, there was no way he finished all of his food. And when he got home, he drank 18 oz of milk, normally, he drinks 8 oz. It is absolutely okay that my son didn't finish his food. My older son brings leftover from school all the time. You don't have to lie about it.
The second day was even worse. My son cried almost all day, except when he was napping or maybe outside (I couldn't see what was happening outside). I'm not exaggerating when I say he was crying for hours. I called again, and once more, L picked him up briefly, but then just put him down to clean up toys. I even asked at the front desk if I could go see him during lunch to comfort him, and they said yes. When I went in, A looked completely shocked and a little offended that I was there. When I left, the front desk stopped me and said they wanted to schedule a conference with me.
All afternoon, I watched through the camera as my son cried, and no one seemed to care. There were times when there were three women in the room, yet no one made an effort to give my son the extra attention he needed, especially considering he was the youngest and new to daycare. When I picked him up, he was still crying, and L was once again playing with other kids who weren't upset. I tried to explain that it was his first time in daycare and both of us were adjusting, but L said he didn't want me to hold him, he was just crying. That was total BS. I was watching the cameras all day, and they didn't even try to comfort him.
I pulled him out right away and sent him to a babysitter, one of my coworkers who sent her daughter to. He was doing great, not even crying once even though he doesn't speak Spanish at all. I went in to take my son's belongings and talked to the management team. I was offered the option to move my son to a younger classroom instead of the Hopper room, but I refused. I wasn't going to risk him being treated like that again. I can't trust a place where the staff ignore a child's emotional needs, especially a child who's brand new to daycare.
I'm writing this long review in the hope that management will pay attention to these issues and hire teachers (at least for the Hopper room)who actually love working with kids. After pulling my son out, I checked Yelp and noticed that they have a 3.3-star rating overall, and a lot of the 5-star reviews look fake. I really hope this review helps other parents avoid the same mistake and find a place that actually cares about kids. It was just such a heartbreaking experience I don't want other parents and their children to experience. I just speak for myself in the Hopper room experience not other teachers in other rooms. read more