I put my daughter on the wait list when I was 12 weeks pregnant. They had a spot for us 5 days after she was born (timed well with a new room opening). My husband worked at the hospital so that increased our priority level. My daughter has gone from infant (age 0) to pre-toddler (age 1) to now a toddler classroom (age2). I have enjoyed all of her teachers and I feel they all truly care about her well-being. When my daughter was delayed in learning to crawl/walk, the staff was happy to practice the exercises from her physical therapists. Her pre-toddler teacher was able to make my daughter try things in order to get her out of her comfort zone. All classrooms give a daily handout of what your child eats, potty habits, how well she naps, etc. You will not receive daily photos on email as I've heard from other child cares. We have had pretty consistent teachers throughout nearly 2.5 years. If you're military, DoD, or a civilian employee with base access, you should strongly consider NSAB/CDC. The hours are changing from 5am to 7pm as of February 27. Overall I am very happy and I feel 100% comfortable leaving my daughter here. read more

NSA Bethesda Child Development Center - Hot breakfast and milk provided by center starting at 11 months - Preschools Near Me - Bethesda, Maryland

See all

I am a nurse case manager at WRNMMC, and my daughter (now 3) attends the CDC. I put her on the waiting list when she was a twenty week fetus, but she was unable to secure a spot until she was 18 months old. I am a contractor, so my priority was at the bottom of the list even though my husband was active duty at the time (he was stationed at Andrews AFB). With that being said, I have been very happy with the care that my daughter has received. She has always had loving providers that seem genuinely interested in her happiness and safety. Yes, the documentation for every fall, bite and bumped head is a little over the top, but I would much prefer that than having no communication at all. What I love about the CDC is that there is constant provider accountability. Your child will never be alone with any provider, there will always be a second provider in the room even if your child is the only one there. There are cameras EVERYWHERE! No one can come or go without an ID check. Even if you've been going to the CDC for 5 years and know everyone on a 1st name basis, they will still require that you show your ID before you can pass the front desk. I am a huge fan of security and accountability, and would never utilize a home daycare. I have a coworker (medical professional) who's child was being beaten in a home daycare setting for quite some time before an employee of the home daycare reported the abuse that she witnessed. It was so bad that it became a criminal case that was prosecuted by the state. The price of the care is unbeatable. I know people that are paying close to $2000 a month for daycare. I pay the max amount, which is about $670 a month. I get regular teacher conferences, review of milestone, recommendations, behavior updates etc. I have loved the teachers and providers that have taken care of my daughter. She had a teacher with a Masters in early childhood development who was incredibly creative with the lesson plans for the kids. I could go on and on about the love that has been poured on my child at that CDC. I will admit that my kid is fairly easy and one of those kids that is easy to love. However, she has had classmates that are disruptive and what I would consider difficult children. I've watched the way those kids were handled, and I've been impressed. The current director for the CDC is named Allison (I'm blanking on her last name). She is phenomenal. She is available, involved and knows all of the kids by name. I can't say enough about the service she has provided me and my child. read more

When children feel safe and are properly guided with love and respect, they thrive and their unlimited potential is cultivated. I was compelled to write this review, because I believe that military children are very special and deserve the care of a place that understands their unique situation. I hope this review helps you to make the best decision for your child. To start, I ended up taking my child out of this CDC because of their lack of communication, continuity, and professionalism. In the one year that my child was here, two providers were investigated by the Child Protective Agency and fired, and over ten providers rotated through the classroom making it impossible to know who my child's provider was. This is not my child's first CDC experience. In the previous base, providers communicated "daily" on the progress of my child, introduced themselves, and professionally addressed concerns that parents brought up. The price was slightly cheaper than what they charge at NSA Bethesda (FYI: this CDC is the highest paid in the nation), yet their care for service members and their families were top priority. It's really sad and upsetting that the management of the NSA Bethesda CDC is still in place. If they could change the management and leadership with people who are clearly skilled and equipped to run a military child care center, perhaps things can change. Because of the bureaucracy in government positions, its truly disappointing that this will not change any time soon. As far as communication and professionalism, you have to literally keep asking the director and front desk what the plans for you child is when they turn of age and have to be moved to another class. It was not until 2 weeks after my child's 3rd birthday that they told me he was to move to another class the next week. Each time I would ask the director what the hold up was, she responded as if I had insulted her and tried to attack her on a personal level. This was frustrating because at the previous base, the providers in my child's room would talk to me a month before his birthday and explain to me what the plans were for his next move. And I would talk to his providers at NSA Bethesda about this matter; however, it was difficult to know who my child's provider was-because they keep changing them without notifying the parents. Though there were a few good providers and I mean "few", they could not put up against the chaotic disorganization of this place. Many have left the CDC for better run childcare centers, hence the high turnover and lack of continuity. To reemphasize, my child had over 10 different providers in one year of enrollment. We ended up enrolling my child in a civilian child care center and it made a tremendous difference. We pay twice as much, but my child does not come home with bites on his chest, bumps on his face, and a folder filled with incident reports. He is taught to care and help others and each day he arrives at the school, he is excited to be there. I hope that you make the best decision and find a place where your child feels safe and excited to be at. There are other parent reviews found on the site below. Just Ctrl+f "CDC" to find reviews about this CDC. http://nz.yelp.com/biz/walter-reed-national-military-medical-center-bethesda-2 read more

All three of my children are at the Walter Reed CDC and I couldn't be happier with the care they receive there. Each of their teachers are kind, loving, and dedicated to providing them the best care in such a fun environment. The admin staff have always been friendly, helpful, and greet us every morning with a welcoming smile! It is a well run center and the attention to detail shows! read more

We have been very pleased with the care our twin girls have received at the CDC. They started going full time at 15 months and are now 3.5 years old. Any concerns I've voiced have been respectfully received and addressed. I feel comfortable leaving my children in their care. read more

We have two children at CDC Bethesda, over the course of almost two years, and have gone from infant to preschool in both buildings. I have nothing but good things to say about the facilities and my childs providers. The caregivers are under a tremendous amount of oversight, but even without it, they have provided both of my babies with love, learning, and security. The administration staff has been incredibly supportive and responsive when we've needed them, which I value as well. read more

I am proud to take my daughter to this CDC. I have been bringing her here ever since she was 6 weeks old. I love her classroom caregivers. As a working mother, it is tough having to leave your child for 9 hours a day; however I trust the caregivers wholeheartedly with my daughter. The facility has been refurbished and is in amazing condition. The center is always clean and the staff professional and courteous. read more

We've been sending our little one here over a year and a half now, since she was 6 weeks old. It is a really great place. The staff are caring, attentive, the security seems good (happy it is on base so it has restricted access) and the classrooms are clean, neat, and nicely equipped. Our little one loves "school" as we call it, and she really likes her 'teachers" and the other kids. It is nice. My wife is a Doc and active duty navy officer at WRNMC and I work full time. Don't know what we would do without the CDC! read more

We were on the waiting list for a full time spot for our 3-year-old son for about 6 months. The waiting has been totally worth it. Our son is very happy. Everytime he gets to school he is excited and when I pick him up and ask him how his day was he smiles and say: "I like school mommy". read more

My son has attended the CDC for 2 years. He has had wonderful caring teachers. Overall it has been a great experience.

I'd like to help dispel any lingering parental anxiety caused by the comments from some of the previous reviewers and offer a short assessment of my 9 months (and counting) experience with the WR CDC. I would also like to appeal to the reader that this is government-run establishment, so you will find equal amounts of quirky rules, red tape, and whining patrons who pay very little for their above-average childcare (again, see other reviews). I attach the caveat that we enrolled our child as an infant and do not participate in hourly care. I am an active duty medical resident and my wife is a full-time business professional with a busy schedule. We have been using the CDC full-time since our son was about 3 months old. It is well known that availability is limited, so you must contact the CDC immediately upon positive pregnancy tests to get placed on the wait list. You must also be proactive and send the required quarterly updates to remain on the wait list. I have yet to hear of any proactive parents that have been unable to secure a spot for their infant child (although I do believe it is harder to get a spot for older children). Our child was placed in an infant room based on his age, a room of up to 8 children aged approximately 0-12 months, with two main childcare providers. The providers quickly formed a close and caring relationship with him. Our son has had 3 main full-time providers during his 9 month tenure. You will receive daily activity summaries that outline nap times/length, meals/bottles, and diaper changes. These sheets also contain information about when you will need to bring in more diapers, wipes, or clothes. We were provided with quarterly "progress reports" that roughly correspond with developmental milestones, as well as parent-teacher conferences three times a year (which is amusing for a 4-month old!). The providers offered thoughtful advice on timeframes for introducing new baby activities (e.g. time to start wearing shoes, switching from bottles to cups, etc) that were age appropriate. The providers and children practice strict hand hygiene, which helps minimize the spread of infections. Incident reports, which are snapshots of everyday bumps, bruises, or child-to-child issues like biting, will start to show up as your child becomes more mobile. These are justifiably over-documented, and are often accompanied by a phone call from the providers. Children are often consolidated into a few rooms at the end of the day, so diligent labeling of items is required to avoid misplacement. Once your child is enrolled in daycare, you will interact minimally with administrative staff (who apparently have a bad reputation). In my experience the administrators are helpful and friendly. You will occasionally have unclear answers for questions that are outside the norm - likely due to confusing or ambiguous policy wording coupled with a requirement for strict adherence to rules. Overall, the providers and administrators are reasonable and will work with you for an acceptable outcome. This is generally a tightly knit community and you will smile when you walk down the aisle after picking up your child and are greeted by caregivers you have never met calling out you child by name. read more

The staff here is amazing. The facility is top notch and they feed the kids breakfast, lunch, and snacks. The caretakers go above and beyond to make sure my son learns something new every day. read more

Very happy with our childcare experience at the CDC! All the teachers (not just my son's classroom teachers) know his name. When we show up in the morning everyone from the front desk staff to the staff in the halls say good morning. His teachers are extremely loving and attentive, and pick up on even the smallest changes in his behavior. They listen to your requests as a parents, and follow your wishes for your child. read more

If I could give this place a negative 5 stars, I would. HORRIBLE front desk staff. Incompetent, rude, inefficient, not supportive, unhelpful, idiots, unprofessional, etc....and those are the adjectives that aren't expletives that I would use to describe this place. I had to physically go into this place a dozen times before they got my paperwork correct. Mind you, I filled everything they gave me out correctly, however, they kept forgetting forms at random for both of my children. I attended two tours and nearly was made to tour a 3rd time because they are morons. It wasn't until my family was relocated to NSA Bethesda (when I was in desperate need of help with my toddler so that I could unpack my house to where it was safe enough for her and the baby to live in) that I started seeing the complete dysfunction of this place. You would *think* that they would understand and be supportive of a newly relocated family with two small children.....NOT AT ALL. Quite the contrary, actually. It got to the point where I honestly felt like they were purposely making things difficult for me to get just one of my children into hourly care. I'm still not sure, really, because I would hope that the people caring for our military children wouldn't be THAT incompetent. It took me having a complete meltdown at the front desk for them to FINALLY schedule my child for a few hours of hourly care. They previously told me I could come in and schedule daycare hours at the front desk the week prior, so I showed up to do that (to avoid any online issues - I was desperate for help) only to be told they couldn't help me. Apparently the week before their online system was down, hence why they told me I could schedule at the front desk.....but they failed to tell me that it was only for that specific week. Ensue meltdown from overwhelming frustration and stress from being relocated with a baby and a threenager. I'm pretty sure I've been put on a do-not-call-list, but I have yet to get my child off the waitlist for preschool. From my experience and the other reviews I've read, I'd say that's a good thing. If you are someone considering this place for your child, RUN AWAY. Don't even try to get into the hourly care, just run as far away from this place as you can. read more