Amazing daycare! The staff is caring, professional, and truly treat the kids like family. My child…read moreloves going every day, and I feel so confident knowing they are in a safe and fun environment. Finding a daycare you can fully trust is not easy, but A Place To Grow has truly exceeded our expectations. I would recommend them to any parent looking for a safe, loving, and enriching environment for their child.

After five incredible years with A Place To Grow, I can wholeheartedly say this has been one of the…read morebest decisions we've ever made for our family. From day one, it was clear that this wasn't just a daycare, it was a second home filled with warmth, care, and genuine love. The staff are exceptional, nurturing, patient, and truly invested in each child's well-being and development. Our children were not only safe and happy, but constantly growing, learning, and thriving. The balance between structured learning and play was perfect, and thanks to the strong foundation they built here, both of our kids transitioned into kindergarten with confidence and curiosity. We especially appreciated the consistent communication, thoughtful updates, and open-door approach of the teachers. We always felt informed and supported. Leaving APTG is bittersweet, it's hard to say goodbye to a place that has been so special to us. If you're looking for a daycare where your child will be truly seen, supported, and celebrated, A Place to Grow is it. Erika Mom of Jake and Elin

I scheduled a tour of the Goddard School a few weeks ahead of time. I received several reminders,…read moredirections to the school , as well as parking suggestions. I arrived to find the building very secure, being on Fifth Ave,can be of some concern. The director pointed out that all entrances require special admittance and there are two windows, only, in the gym, which are also safely closed. I met with Brian, Director/owner. He was extremely knowledgeable (as he should be), well spoken, and able to put me at ease in several instances. We spent at least 30 minutes discussing the curriculum, which I am extremely impressed with. I don't want just a babysitter, especially at such a high price. I asked what a typical day is like for the two year olds, and he was quick to point out, that every day has the same schedule, which it is important for toddlers to have continuity. We reviewed my particular needs, and Brian explained that my requirements were out of their ordinary, but he would make it work. As we proceeded to the "gym", Brian described the cleaning procedures of the school. Strict attention is taken to prevent spread of germs. But I have to tell you, I was amazed at this activity area, WOW. Large, appears safe, and decorated to the Pittsburgh area, including points of interest, historic sites, and sports teams. This is important to me, because I want my grandson to be familiar with his roots. We visited the classrooms, but unfortunately it was nap time. I do want to point out that this is a school, with education and growth in mind. Brian appeared "compassionate ", which is also important for children of any age. Brian answered every question I had, and never made me feel pushed, or in a hurry, despite that, I later found out, he had another tour, right after mine. I have to say, that my grandson is presently in a program that I am not completely comfortable with. This of course helped me to ask certain questions. Even though i haven't yet experienced the actual intervention, I am looking forward to enrolling my grandson in the program and continuing to watch him grow. I may write further reviews as time goes on.

My daughter has been at the Goddard School for two months and we absolutely love it here. This is…read morethe third center we have tried after being disappointed with the other centers. Everyone that works here is extremely kind and professional, my daughter loves all of her teachers and always has a big smile for them. The facility is bright, clean, and there are so many amenities for the children (I mean seriously, there's a climbing wall for little kids!). I'm not ashamed to admit that I wish that I could play here all day rather than work. It is very expensive but in my experience, you get what you pay for and this is absolutely worth every cent.

We absolutely love this daycare. The teachers were exceptional, and I feel like took care of my…read morebaby as their own. The staff here are just wonderful. I can't say enough good things about this daycare. I know that whenever I dropped my baby off, he was in good hands- and as a mom, this was so important to me. Very highly recommend!

I drive 45 minutes out of my way every day to bring my daughter here. The owner is wonderful, and…read morethe staff keeps me well informed on a daily basis. I highly recommend this business!

I recently went on a tour of the program and although I liked what I saw, I did not like the…read moreattitude of the director. In my opinion, she was not very warm or welcoming to me. She kind of had a serious tone and wasn't helpful with giving me payment options and asking if I could afford it or not. She was very blunt about telling me the registration fee. It's like she was wearing a fake smile. Due to the impression that she left on me, I will not be enrolling my child. It sucks because kindercare has a great reputation and I want the best for my child but I do not want to have another interaction like that again with the director.

Words can't express how much we LOVE this KinderCare! The seasoned teachers and long-standing…read moreleadership are clear to see from first interaction. While I was nervous to start my son last July (mid pandemic), KinderCare always made me feel comfortable with the procedures in place to keep the kids safe! Now my 2 sons attend and the teachers could not care for them any better. Shout out to the infant teachers who have really raised two happy happy happy boys in those difficult months- both developmentally and mentally for me! Rose, Tia and Poli are the best! My toddler is always smiling on drop off with Janelle and Tracy. I have a demanding career in healthcare (what a time!!), and I know everyday they are so well taken care of and loved! The kids are thriving and LOVE coming to school. They are also so tired at the end of the day from the physical and educational stimulation that they sleep 12 hours straight (always helps!). I guess the only negative would be that the location might not be convenient for the work from home'rs, but I would recommend all my friends to this childcare without any hesitation, esp if it is convenient! Plus; they have an enclosed playground right on the square! Kids LOVE!

Great executive director and educators. Children are loved and cared for. Play based while still…read morelearning and is developmentally appropriate. NAEYC accredited with 4 Keystone Stars and DHS licensed.

After moving from my hometown to Pittsburgh with my preschooler, it was really important for us to…read morefind a school that was warm and welcoming while also providing a challenge for a late fall birthday baby who's been through a year of preschool already. After lots and lots of research and so many phone calls, we chose Shady Lane School. The staff at Shady Lane are all incredibly friendly and welcoming. Drop off and pick up usually take us longer than I expect because my son wants to go around and visit different teachers and say hi to everyone. Everyone learned his name quickly and greets him warmly even when he's being grumpy. Whenever I have to talk to the administrative team, my son is thrilled to play at the large train table by the front desk. His teachers are so dedicated, and I think that is such a big part of why this school is special. Our family is big and complicated, but my son's teachers have gone out their way to learn names and faces. They offer positive encouragement and praise as well as boundaries and redirection. My son used to argue with me about going to school at his last learning center/childcare provider, but now he's always eager to get up and go. I am so thankful that we found Shady Lane, and I will certainly keep them in mind if/when we have another child.

We have been sending our kids to Creative Minds since 2021 and we love them! They are so loved and…read morecared for by their teachers and it shows. The communication with the center is EXCELLENT, which is so important when trusting someone else with the care of your kids. They are always immediately responsive to messages and provide updates throughout the day in their app and also in-person at drop off and pick up. They have truly become a part of our village as parents

We've been here since last May so I wanted to wait a full year before I reviewed them. In the early…read moredays I was very back and forth on if I liked them. My main complaint, which is absolutely still the case, is communication. We don't really hear many updates via email, even important ones like staff changes. We definitely got the email about the rates going up though! I'm still not sure why daycare is so expensive considering they don't pay their workers a living wage, which truly does make me sad. Most of the teachers have been great! There's a couple who I really loved and a couple who were less communicative and so I felt less comfortable with them. I clearly appreciate good communication. They're on the remind app, so that's good IF you get a teacher in your classroom who's good at sending you updates and messages, I do feel like it should be a requirement for every teacher to be active on here. I get their main job is to watch the kids, but radio silence for important things (like your kid getting bit) would be nice to know about. For those of you who are high tech there's no video feed or daily pics. I get the occasional group pic, but that's it. I do feel bad their outdoor play area seems so sad and barren. The sun beats down on it during the day which I don't think is good for teachers and kids. They claimed to be updating it this summer but so far I have seen nothing updated. The classrooms seem clean-ish. I feel like it's probably an uphill battle with dirty little kids, but it is by no means pristine or even well organized looking. I guess what I'm trying to say is if you're SUPER particular about the things I've mentioned this might not be the daycare for you. I will say I do at this point feel he's safe while he's there. I appreciate some of the very kind teachers who I felt truly cared for my son. I wish the communication would get better and the outdoor play area would be improved, but overall I'm okay with him being here. Sometimes I feel like if you're not rich and can't pay top dollar for fancy daycares, you have to weigh the good and bad for the more "affordable" options.

Friendly and reliable staff. Grounds are well kept . We have been very happy with our experience so…read morefar . Highly recommend!

We love Royal Oak! My siblings and I went there as a kid and loved it then, and we love it now for…read moreour child. The longer hours are perfect for working parents. Educational curriculum is great and we love the teachers. Lots of learning and playtime with friends. And they provide lunch and snacks which is the best!

This location isn't currently open. Regardless, I can't recommend this company. We had our kiddo…read morethere (he started a little after 12 months), and there was a range in the quality of teachers like at most other daycare. I did notice some teachers in the older kids' classrooms sharply yelling/screaming at kids from time to time (not what I wanted for our kiddo, but he wasn't in that room, so it was a "cross that bridge when we get to it" situation). The problem was the purposeful lack of communication and withholding of information. The director and company knew their lease was up. They knew their new space wasn't finished yet (literally not built, and no occupancy permit). They knew in January it wasn't going to be ready and ended up asking for lease extensions for about 4 months. They never told parents about this tenuous situation; it was always just, "oh, we'll be moving in [insert new month]." Not a word that construction wasn't even going on at the new place because BUILDING PERMITS hadn't been issued, and that they had no other backup plan. Well, the lease extensions ran out entirely and the building owner told them they had no more extensions and had to vacate. Did they tell parents? No. They waited until there was just 2 weeks before abruptly telling parents their only Pittsburgh location was closing. Oh, but we could request to be put into one of their suburban locations, the closest of which was 30 minutes+ each way with traffic (and at least 45 minutes driving near the end of the day because of rush hour). So, at least 2 hours each day of driving to/from daycare; out and back, out and back. Even getting a straight answer from them about which suburban location they'd place my son at was a nightmare. We had no other option, because they purposefully waited so long to tell us parents what they had known for months. We did the 2 hour drive for two weeks to see if it would work, while frantically searching for other daycares with open slots. The suburban location also treated anyone from the city like a second class citizen. Suburban staff acted like the Pittsburgh kids weren't their problem, they were just taking up space; it really seemed like there had been no planning or communication about the Pittsburgh kids coming. NO PLAN for parents to sign kids in and out; wouldn't let us use the electronic sign-in/sign-out system the suburban parents got to use, wouldn't give us door codes like we had at the other location and like they had for their suburban parents (until Pittsburgh parents repeatedly complained), no bins for kids to store stuff like extra clothes (and they literally had empty bins in my son's room; I heard a Pittsburgh teacher politely ask if they could use them for our kids since they were empty, and she was VERY FIRMLY shot down, "No. You CANNOT use them." No explanation.), not enough hooks, etc. for coats/hats/mittens, and they crammed all the Pittsburgh kids into one classroom regardless of age: infants, one year olds, and older toddlers all in the same room. Napping was a nightmare. I felt so bad for the Pittsburgh teachers. All in all, I wouldn't trust this company or the Pittsburgh Director (Maggie) again. The two stars is only because we had one excellent teacher who we really liked and miss. Hilarious note: the company employee's five star post was posted AFTER they closed this location.

From a parent's perspective... the director / leadership at this place with Maggie is the worst…read moreI've ever seen and I've brought three children through this facility over the past 5 years. Her communication is absolutely horrendous and extremely unprofessional. An alleged abuse incident involving my child and his behavioral tech occurred at the facility and was reported to DHS by daycare staff. Yet, Maggie - the director - never called us to tell us this happened. We only found out because DHS called us to come to our HOME and investigate. When we questioned Maggie about it she said, "I didn't want to bother you with it". Are you kidding me?!?!? Whether this report was unfounded or not, we - the parents - should have been notified. That's communication 101. This is just one example of her poor communication but I have an entire list. *Also... people who have been accused of child abuse work here. Leadership will tell you it's unfounded / retaliation between disgruntled teachers and maybe that's truebut I wouldn't risk it if I were you.