Unfortunately, the teachers at this daycare center are great, but those in charge of staffing don't have enough teachers for the children there and incidents happen that could have been avoided. The parking lot is quite cramped and more often than not a parent can get stuck with a car blocking them in. There are tons of other options that are much more cost effective. This place charges $556 every two weeks and charges if a child isn't in the daycare due to being sick + doesn't offer options for not charging during scheduled vacations where other daycares do. read more

First Steps has been great for our kids. The Hudson location is convenient and rates are reasonable. It's too bad that a vocal minority have dragged down the Yelp rating. Most kids / families we know have been using First Steps for many years and are very happy there, but it's a vocal minority of upset parents that have contributed most of the reviews here. read more

My review is for the Southborough location for First Steps. It is the best place around! The teachers are the most caring and dedicated we have found anywhere and we should know, having three kids under the age of five. Every teacher knows your child and cares about your family. The back yard is spacious and wonderful for all the kids - regardless of age. The hours are wonderful for working parents and the tuition is a better deal than anything else in the area. The curriculum is appropriate, creative and fun. Kids can learn at their own pace and there is something for everyone to enjoy. No one is pressured into performing beyond their ability, or held back for any reason. The Director is smart, creative and caring. She is a wonderful problem solver and has a consistent "can-do" attitude. I trust her implicitly. We cannot recommend FSCC more highly. We will be sad when our kids move on. If they had Kindergarten in Southborough, we would stay for sure. read more

My daughter has been at First Steps for about a year and so far everything has been great. Everyone is warm, friendly, and very down-to-earth, and I'm pleased with the level of communication from her teachers. It's clear that everyone there cares very much about my daughter and has her best interest in mind at all times. I read the negative reviews and I can honestly say I have no idea what they're talking about. I've never experienced anyone acting condescending, and Kathy (director) and Nancy (owner) have been nothing but accommodating whenever special circumstances have arisen. For instance, when I changed my hours at work, they worked with me to adjust my daughter's schedule accordingly. My mom recently came from NY to visit for the summer and to help out with my kids, and First Steps was great about allowing us to pull my daughter out for well over a month. I would've been fine with paying a small fee to hold her spot, but that was not the case. Last but not least, my daughter was recently referred to Early Intervention by her pediatrician since she's a little behind in her gross motor development, and everyone at First Steps has been very supportive. It's clear that they want my daughter to get the support and services she needs, but at the same time, they've been very reassuring and kept a positive attitude about the fact that she'll learn the skills in her own time; I've never felt like they've pushed her to try something she's not ready for, but they're very encouraging of each little gain she makes. Every baby is different and it's obvious that my little girl is getting the individualized care she deserves at First Steps. They would have been happy to allow EI to work with my daughter at their site, but unfortunately EI can't arrange that because First Steps is outside their catchment area (we live in the catchment area for Lipton Early Intervention, but Hudson is outside Lipton's service area). So the only issue with arranging EI services for my daughter at First Steps is coming from the EI side, not the First Steps side. Overall, I'm very pleased with the care my daughter receives at First Steps. My only two minor criticisms would be: (1) Parking at peak drop-off and pick-up times is sometimes an issue, but that's pretty much a non-issue as far as I'm concerned. The important thing is the care my daughter receives. (2) It can sometimes be a little difficult to reach Kathy and Nancy (when I email, it sometimes takes them a few days to email back), but I get the sense that's because they're very hands-on, often helping out with practical matters in the classrooms, not sitting at their desks answering phones or replying to emails. It's clear that their first priority is the kids so personally I don't really mind waiting to hear back from them or playing phone tag for a few days. For urgent matters, someone (one of the teachers or aides) is always available by phone. read more

This is an awful daycare. My son went to the Hudson, Ma location from ages 3 months to 3 years old. In the baby room the women are grouchy and condescending. As my son got older, he went to the toddler and preschool rooms there. He had several minor and 1 major safety incident due to the staff not paying enough attention. My son had some minor speech delay and I had to work with early intervention. First steps was not accommodating and basically wanted him out at 3 years when early intervention was over. The preschool teacher, Ms. Marianne was HORRIBLE and couldn't manage 3 year olds. They made it a living hell for us for about 1 year. We were unable to move initially because we didn't have any good day cares in the area that we lived in, once we moved to where there were other options, we high tailed it out of there. Thank God for the daycare that we went to after this one, which was AMAZING - It is called Shrewsbury Childrens center. The director, Kathy Terra and Nancy (the owner's daughter) are idiots and assume all dads don't know anything. My husband was insulted on a regular basis by these two. This daycare preys on first-time mothers not being experienced in child development, and they had the gall to imply that because my son had speech delay, that he was autistic. Thank god I never listened to them, and instead listened to my mother, mother-in-law and doctors, because he is super successful in school with lots of friends and now getting into the honors program at his school. I also worked with my company to get them off the preferred daycare list since they were so atrocious. I make sure that if any of my colleagues consider them that they hear the truth. Many of my peers who had their kids there, also pulled them out for similar reasons. You would best serve your kid by going ANYWHERE else! read more

The staff at First Steps Children's Center in Hudson are an amazing group of people. The service they provide is more than just "child care" - what they provide is "family care". The small things say a lot about them. So do the big things. Here are just a few reasons I love First Steps in Hudson: - They care about the parents, too: If I was wearing high heels or dress flats, they would go into the giant sandbox to retrieve my son for me, without being asked. If I was sleep deprived and forgot to bring in his bedding on a Monday morning, they never made me feel bad, they just let my son borrow some spare bedding they keep onsite and asked me to bring in my own bedding the next day. - The kids love it there: My son always looked forward to going to "school" and never wanted to leave when I picked him up. - They are flexible: My husband's work schedule changed several times while my son was at First Steps. They were always able to find a way to make it work, even if we weren't able to give them a ton of notice. - The kids learn a lot, but have fun, too: I have toured 13 daycares, including First Steps. First Steps gives the kids more "free play" time than any other daycare I looked at. I put "free play" in quotations because the kids think it is play, but they are really learning some awesome skills during this semi-directed play. My son started in Infant 2, and was there through Toddler, and in Preschool for a short time. He started there at 15 months and was a shy boy who was just a tad bit behind in some of his developmental markers (social skills and some motor skills). After 1.5 years at First Steps he was outgoing, liked to make new friends, and had caught up to his developmental markers (and advanced beyond some of them in a few cases). As a mother who works 2 jobs and only gets to spend quality time with her kid on the weekends, I know that First Steps is responsible for these achievements. - It is reasonably priced: Are there cheaper daycares out there? Sure. But there are also more expensive daycares. Out of the 13 daycares I have toured, First Steps is the only one where BOTH the teachers and the kids looked happy. At all the other daycares EITHER the teachers or the kids looked happy. Having my son at a great daycare is worth a few extra dollars a month, but it's not like they're asking you to drop $500 a week like some of the larger centers do. The only reason we left First Steps was because we moved. In the end, the decision is up to you. Not every daycare is right for every kid, or for every parent. I can tell you that First Steps was right for us. It might be right for you, too. Call First Steps and ask Kathy for a tour. Online reviews will give you some information, but to make a truly educated decision you need to experience the environment firsthand. read more

The staff here are incredibly rude. Be aware that this is the only daycare that has "clean in, clean out" policy. Meaning, if your child comes in with a dirty diaper- they will look down and say that you - the parent- need to make sure that your child is clean. They forget, that you pay an exorbitant amount of money for their service. It makes you wonder how frequently they change the children. As a new mom, I wasn't fully aware what to look for in a daycare. Take a good look at how many toys are in the room. There are very few and all are old. Also, the owners daughter only cares about sending her children to the most expensive school in the area (Fay)- its on her bumper sticker on her car. She has no problems gossiping about families and will actually make fun of a child when they have a dirty diaper and I over heard yell "somebody had their franks and beans". This is the most unprofessional business. out there. You will get more bang for your buck at another facility. read more

My Son was 3 months when he started at FSCC and a day from being 4months when I took him out. At first I thought it was great then each day something else would happen to burst my happy bubble of "my baby is being taken care of with lots of love while I have to work" At first they would take him from my arms in the morning then eventually they would say just lay him on the floor anywhere (on the carpet no blanket) I thought fine maybe I'm being a bit over protective. Then my husband pointed out how our happy fun little baby seemed to be very detached. He was not being stimulated there. No cuddle unless it was a feeding. Babies need cuddle and stimulation. He was zombie he actually stopped his cooing that we found was so adorable. Even the teachers said that he talked a lot (because he was stimulating himself) their comments stopped as he stopped talking. I kept getting another child's bottles in our bag we had to take daily and they constantly needed diapers and wipes weekly. On his last day there I unpacked his bag for all the stuff they had been holding and I gave them 1 pacifier, which he never really cared for thankfully since he came home with 2. I threw them both away. Oh might I mention that they complained about his spitting up there... at home he didn't spit up at all. When they had given me back my storage of B-milk I thought it was odd there was so much as I basically gave them enough for each day which made me wonder if he was being fed at all or where they giving him someone else's milk or formula. he has started his new day care already he is cooing and talking again and no spitting up and I'm paying less. Its ok to be crazy about who is taking care of your child that is why you are the parent so don't think you are over reacting (that is what I've learned anyway). I would not recommend your child to this type of facility child care if you child is not mobile. read more