If you are considering Tender Hearts Day Learning Center (Daycare) for your child, please read this…read moreentire first. In the beginning of October, we switched our two children from Tiny Town to Tender Hearts. We were looking for something a little cheaper, but as the old saying goes, you get what you pay for. The tour of the facility and its values are good in theory. The building is nice and the layout is spacious. We liked the set up of the play area and the separate eating area. So we made the switch.
When we began drop-offs we noticed the three-year-old room was very chaotic, often the teachers seemed overwhelmed and unmotivated. I walked in once and there was a pair of adult non-safety scissors sitting on the children's table, unattended. Often during pickups, you could hear the teacher's yelling at the children, lacking some patience and kindness. During one of our pick-ups, the teacher in my one-year-old son's room stopped him from crawling out of an open door by putting her foot in his face. She did not have other children in her arms, she was just standing there, but she was too lazy to bend down and pick him up. We reported this to the facility manager, Jean, and they said they addressed it.
We also brought up the number of pee accidents that our three year old was having, but they seem to brush it off. Our three year old has been potty trained for approximately a year, he wakes up at night to use the toilet, and besides his time at Tender Hearts, has had less than ten accidents since his training began. By the end of the first week, our three-year-old son had two pee accidents, which we just attributed to the stress of changing environments. The next week he had two more, and same the next week. He is normally a very easygoing child, but drop-offs at Tender Hearts became very distressing for him, he'd plead to go with us, and hold on to my husband's leg. (Now that we have returned to Tiny Town, he is happy to "go to school" again. In fact, he runs to his classroom.) This cumulating event, which forced us to remove our children from the facility, was the beginning of November. My husband returned to pick our boys up, and my three-year-old was in the cafeteria area. When he walked in he noticed that our son was sitting alone at a table. Our son got up to greet my husband and that is when my husband noticed he had again had a pee accident in his pants. When my husband mentioned it to the teacher, she stated she knew. She was the only teach there with a lot of children, which may suggest understaffing issues. We are not sure if our son was being punished for having another accident or if they just did not have enough teachers available for the number of children, who were present, but both would be neglectful (Definition of neglect: to give little attention or respect to).
When I brought up the issue to the woman who sits at the front desk, she just shook her head and stated she knew. She did not respond that either scenario was unacceptable. I emailed the owner Jean multiple times, with no response, and further, I called her multiple times, again with no response. Finally, when I did get through to someone, I was given reason's excusing the teacher's behavior and allowing my son to sit in his soiled pants. I was not offered an apology or any understanding of my concerns. They just said they had already talked to their licensing agent, who agreed with them, to whom I will also be in contact with. Their only suggestion was that I get one on one care for my three-year-old, who is a completely able-bodied child, who meets all their milestones, in a healthy environment, basically blaming the child for their shortcomings. I am by no means a mother who believes their child can do no wrong, but in this case, he did not. Shaming a young child for accidents can have a damaging and lasting effect. Please, if you have a choice, consider our experience before making a decision on who protects your children, while they are out of your care.
