We were extremely happy with our choice for our child to go the HCA (Willow location). From the…read moremoment you step inside, that people in the front are welcoming and so warm to the children and families. The staff members are so kind and caring for the children. In addition, the added bonus of food being included just alleviated a lot of stress. It definitely forced our child to try new foods and helped to see everyone else trying it. They have so many activities that include the families. We only experienced the staff in the oldest classroom, but we, and most importantly our child, loved his teachers. When he first started going there he had a super rough time, but they helped him transition, and eventually got to the point where he often didn't want to leave at the end of the day. I would absolutely recommend this daycare for anyone who is looking!

Our son has been in HCA since the middle of July and after attending another day care for about a…read moremonth I can honestly say there is no comparison to the excellent service HCA provides. Beyond the loving and caring environment they have provided for my son in the infant room I truly feel that my son is more aware and active having been in HCA. They run a professional, friendly and courteous staff that always seem to be enjoying themselves while caring for the children. Two factors I like and do think is importantc is the phone update that they send updates on and the live webcam.

I came across Kidz Inn Day Care almost 3 years ago when I was looking for a school to enlist my…read morechild in. Not many Day Cares offer the Abbott Program but Kidz Inn does. As of this year two of my children have attended this school, so I feel pretty confident in leaving a detailed review. When it comes to my children I take great lengths to making sure they are getting the best of the best, especially when it comes to academics. And I can definitely say Kidz Inn is a great Day Care. This is a very tight knit school with limited staff and classrooms, but offers so much for their students. Spots fill up quickly so I suggest inquiring as soon as possible. For the Abbott program specifically, they operate from 8:30am-2:30pm with the opportunity for early/ after care(that is charged to the parent). However, the Abbott program is completely free. Activities: They take the children on field trips. Daily engagement includes: drawing, painting, puzzles, counting, reading books, and so much more. They send home the children's work for parents to keep. They also host occasional parades and parent activities at the school which is nice. What I enjoy most are the take home projects that allow me to assist my child with. They also take the children to the park or to their outdoor play area. My children's overall development has without a doubt excelled. Communication: Communication is done through mainly through text messages and email. But, every time I have called the office I never had an issue speaking to someone. Pictures are sent by the teachers on a daily basis to showcase child engagement. There is also an app used to communicate with parents called Kaymbu. Within this app, progress reports are sent (COR Advantage Reports). Within these reports the teachers inform parents of their child's progress. Food/ Nutrition: Parents are able to pack lunches and snacks for their children but the school also provides it for free. They offer nutritional food for the kids. They offer breakfast, lunch, and snacks every day. The menu is not automatically given, so be sure to ask the teacher for it every month. Attire: They just started implementing uniform shirts to be worn. This is beneficial it serves as a safety procedure in locating the children easily for when they do go to the nearby park. They do charge for each shirt and sweatshirt. Overall, this is a great Day Care and I highly recommend. A big thank you to Ms. Allie and Ms. Cecilia, they are the best of the best over at Kidz Inn Day Care! https://www.kidzinndaycare.com

My daughter has an IEP and this school made enrollment easy and had all things a great daycare…read moreneeds: great teachers, outdoor area, great food, great curriculum and overall great management! I also love the communication i receive daily by her amazing teacher, Miss Cecilia! Free prek program and they offer affordable aftercare and summer programming!

We did 3 days of back up care at the Maxwell Lane location this month. The staff was very helpful…read moreand informative every step of the way - between filling out the many forms, scheduling them and then doing daily drop off. I specifically appreciated the app and the teachers. The app was incredibly helpful throughout the day to check in on the kids and communicate with the teachers. While my 1.5 year old had a really tough time acclimating, her teacher went above and beyond to communicate with me via email and phone multiple times. She was so caring and compassionate to what my daughter was going through. The facility was clean, safe and was a great environment overall.

This place is the most unreliable back up childcare option. They cancelled my reservation made 3…read moreweeks ago for tomorrow with 3 hours notice. This is after confirming with them 2 times that they indeed have the space and being reassured that they do.

GOMS is a hidden gem in the Jersey City Heights neighborhood. My son has been attending GOMS since…read morehe was about 9 months old and has been in all three classrooms. The staff have been exceptional caregivers, very communicative, and are loved by my son. Some of the things we like most about GOMS: - Most of the staff speak Spanish and they do some lessons in Spanish. This was a big plus for us as a Spanish speaking household. - The GOMS community is a warm and welcoming one. The staff is incredibly consistent (low turnover from what I have observed) and therefore, it really gives a community feel. They never hesitate to give me updates, particularly when my son first transitioned to daycare and are always so supportive during transitions and milestones. - The hours are flexible and helpful for parents commuting to work. They are also open more often than other daycares because they don't have any week long closures, at least for the past 2 years. My son has learned so much from his teachers and the other kids. We absolutely recommend GOMS to anyone looking for a daycare in the Heights.

Our son has been attending GOMs for seven months. He started when he was a little baby of 5 months…read moreand is now a wild little toddler of one year. We all love GOMS. He literally laughs out loud when he gets to school. He loves it there so much. The teachers and directors are amazing care givers and you can feel how much they care about the kids. I feel like I'm leaving my baby with family. They have been there with us every step of the way through all our learning as new parents. The other parents and kids are also great and it's a really nice community. They recently added a shed to leave strollers which is a huge convenience.

Bright Beginnings was recommended to me by a friend and it has far surpassed my expectations. My…read moreson has been a student for over a year, we enrolled him at 19 months. The staff is amazing they do everything to make your child completely comfortable and acclimated to the surroundings. In addition they maintain a robust learning environment that has excelled my sons development beyond my husbands and my expectations. Anyone would be fortunate to have their children in this safe, learning, loving environment.

We can't say enough good things about Bright Beginnings! Our son has been at the daycare for 2…read moreyears and our daughter just started. The staff is warm and caring and help the kids in whatever way they can. When my son had a hard time adjusting, they switched the teachers amongst classrooms so that the one my son had bonded with could be there full time. And they have lesson plans for the older kids, from ABCs to numbers, days of the week, art projects and music time. My son's knowledge of letters and ability to count is due in large part to Bright Beginnings!

I have nothing but great things to say about Bright Beginnings! Both of my children have attended…read morethis center since they were babies. The staff members are always helpful and friendly, and the owners are always open to suggestions from parents. We were also lucky enough to have met some wonderful teachers who really treat the kids like their own. Both of my kids are thriving, and I believe it is in no small part to their time here!

I hope that Maria, who was the manager, as to other various individuals that work there are fired…read moreand go to hell. I went to that daycare since I was 5 until I was 13 and I can speak for all of the kids there that this place is hell. I was emotionally abused by various of the staff, favoritism played a great part, lack of respect towards the children was to greatly to mention. Many times they have lost various kids when on trips as simple to the park, yes the authorities stepped in. There was a child with special needs that was very abused by this placed due to his needs and I vividly remember him being DRAGGED on the floor. Some of the teachers resorted to HIT the children when misbehaving. When I was 9 a teacher handed me a baby that was under her care because she just wanted it to "shut up". These are only a few of my and others experiences . PLEASE what so ever you do do not bring your child to this hell of place

I am spending the time to write this review in hopes that another family will not go through the…read moresame experience that we did. I genuinely was excited about the possibility of my child enrolling here because of the things others have mentioned - clean appearing facilities, outdoor location attached to facility, and cameras. After months of waiting and back and forth (often with multiple unanswered voicemails etc) over 6 months, we finally enrolled in Purple Cats. I paid the fee as they suggested once the space was open for my son, but never heard back about any orientation/starting materials until I reached out. Still, I gave the office the benefit of the doubt and arrived ready with the materials requested, only to find out that neither Ghabby or Gloria (who basically use each other as a convenient scapegoat) were expecting us. Not a single person in the facility knew that we were planned to start that day, despite the payment having been received and the required documentation sent. Despite all of this, we gave them the benefit of the doubt since July is a busy month for daycares, and enrolled my son. We survived day one, but on day two, which I expected to be harder for him, I watched the camera to see how the teachers engaged / eased my son into the adjustment. What I saw was honestly appalling as a mom, not only regarding their treatment of my son, but of the other children. While I definitely understand that children cry and may have a hard time with adjustments, they allowed my son to cry for at least 18 minutes without an adult even approaching him. During this time, they messaged me stating that "live update: diaper dry" but this was clearly false as I was watching my son cry on a rug by himself. When questioned, they stated that this was because they felt they needed to "allow him to gain his trust." At 14 months old, crying for that long does not gain the trust of the child or the parent. Despite ALL of this, I reached out to both Ghabby via phone and Gloria via email who both did the proper lip service and informed me that they would get back to me by end of day with an update on the incident that occurred. I even emailed them more than 48 hours ago to ask for us to pick up our belongings as I've decided this is not the right fit for my family. Despite all of this -including recorded incident tapes documenting a teacher being unnecessarily aggressive with the students- the administration can not seem to respond in a timely manner. In summary, while they may have the "bells and whistles" you first look for on a tour & may do the lip service necessary to make parents feel comfortable, they are disorganized, unprofessional, and unnecessarily aggressive with young children. I strongly urge you stay away.

I dreaded having to take my baby to daycare when i had to return to work.. he was so little and I…read morewas anxious whether he would be ok in a new environment without mom. I have to say - this daycare quickly became such a place of comfort to me. The facilities are always clean (he's never been sick.. and my friends baby who also went here never got sick). The teachers are so attentive and loving. They give me great updates throughout the day. When i drop him off now (he's 6 months) he has HUGE smiles his teachers. They give him plenty of things to do throughout the day and make sure he feeds and naps when he needs to. It never seems like there are too many babies to a teacher either. All the kids seem happy and honestly, so do the parents. Bring your baby here if there's availability! You will not be disappointed!

-Been a "customer" of this place for years…read more -Infant room is only okay - the lead teacher has stated that "crying is good exerecise for the infant's lungs" wtf? -Rooms for intermediate ages seem pretty good (1-2 year) -Room for older kids are chaotic/dangerous (3+) - likely no better than the public option in the neighborhood (this is seemingly universal to NJ daycares as the staff/child ratio drops significantly at age 3 - so overnight kids go from having a 1:6 ratio to a 1:10 ratio while, appropriately enough, the monthly fee goes unchanged or increases) TLDR - put your infant anywhere while they are infants, from 1 to just before 3, this place is nice, then enroll them in prek 3 if you live in JC - no point at all in spending $27,000+/year when the quality is no better than the public option (or maybe worse to be honest) -also, this place has completely closed down a few times because their heat and air conditioning has just completely broken down, just a warning about that

Our baby has been going to River School in the infants class at the Warren Street location since…read moreOctober of last year. So far our experience dealing with the management and teachers has been great. The daycare is incredible and the teachers here take very good care of our baby. We are amazed and very pleased by all the activities and music classes that are conducted on a daily basis to keep the children engaged while helping them achieve their developmental milestones. The teachers worked with us from day one to set feeding schedules and sleeping patterns for our baby. We are very grateful to them for providing a loving and healthy environment for our baby. We highly recommend River school for anyone looking for great daycares in Exchange Place/Grove Street area.