KinderCare at East Brunswick

We selected this facility due to it’s proximity to our home. Full disclosure: I was asked to write a review by the center administration. Unilocal is limiting my review length so feel free to reach out if you want more detail (because clearly… I write a lot).
Cons (few but should be addressed — I’ve put them in order of importance):
— Door codes: I get it — they are hard to come up with. Some parents have rightfully pointed out the codes given were less than secure and could be guessed fairly easily. Parents will put effort into remembering a random code when they know their child’s safety is at risk.
— Tuition is very costly. Two kids = over $ 2300/​mos when you include the extracurricular activities that the older child participates in.
— Bathrooms: I understand. Most of the students are learning how to use a toilet properly. But by the end of the day, there is sometimes a smell that emanates from the bathrooms. This could just be a personal thing, as I am admittedly a microbiologist and occasional germaphobe (I don’t go crazy with hand sanitizer or unnecessary antibiotics because I don’t want to contribute to superbugs, but proper washing and hygiene is enforced in my house).
— Paper! Whoever said «print media is dead» doesn’t have small children. We get lots of notices on paper (and since we have 2 kids attending, we get duplicates). The child’s daily activities are also on paper. Also, all of their arts and crafts projects obviously are on paper and those get sent home. Both the paper and children are often covered in paint, marker and glitter. Fun!
Pros (just a few highlights):
— MOST IMPORTANT: The staff CLEARLY love their jobs. They love the children, and are very affectionate. The infant room is overflowing with positivity, and you never leave that room without a smile. The preschool classes are teaming with energy and the children are always engaged in a new project. The teachers have many years of experience and seem to work well together as a team. The kids receive plenty of instruction time as well as free play. I don’t know if this is coincidence or by design, but there doesn’t appear to be a single overweight child attending the school. I don’t count babies/​toddlers because they need their baby fat. The older children get lots of physical activity. The teachers are very hands on, Ms. Tia is an amazing preschool teacher, and Ms. Gloria is the Baby Whisperer. The center director, Ms. Sandra, and asst director, Ms. Erin, are always in the classrooms and all of the staff rotate between rooms pretty regularly. I could name them all, but I’d probably spell some of their names wrong. Suffice to say, they all genuinely care.
— Attention to detail: with few exceptions, we have always received a detailed account of our children’s day. If there is ever any questions, the teachers are always happy to fill you in. The one caveat is depending on pick up/​drop off time, your child’s teacher may not be present and the only communication you will receive from them is on the daily activity log. In our experience, there have been some days where either myself or husband had a question about our son, and the staff member at pick up would not know the answer because they had not been with the child until later in the day.
— Cleanliness of the child: as I stated earlier in this review, we’ve used 2 other daycares prior to moving to this one. The first daycare, I was sending in clothes nearly everyday to replace my older son’s wardrobe at school. He came home covered in food, and any manner of excretions that are common in infants/​toddlers. The next daycare was a Knowledge Beginnings (owned by KinderCare). This chain (or maybe it’s the individual staff) seem to pay more attention to hygiene. The children come home as clean as I can expect them to be, given their age and ability to aim food properly into their mouths. For any parents out there, you know this is a glowing review of how clean the staff keeps the children. Rarely have they come home covered in dried mucous that needed to be scrubbed off much to the discomfort of the infant or spit up/​vomit dried in their hair (believe it or not, this has happened to us at the first daycare).
— Diversity: as the parent of a mixed race child, I can’t stress how important I think diversity is. I won’t get into it. Suffice to say, the students here are a diverse group, resulting in hopefully more acceptance from their peers.
The facility meets our needs and provides adequate instruction to the children of this age group. The friendliness of the staff is what makes them different from other daycares.

After visiting various child care centers in East Brunswick we decided to go with Kinder Care because they are accredited but most importantly the staff during our initial visit was excellent!!! Our daughter has been there for a few months and she has grown tremendously academically & socially. Her teacher Ms. Christine is awesome and gives each child in her class the attention & developmental milestones they need to grow. The small classroom really provides that one on one each child needs to feel important and cared for which other centers we visited just didn’t have. The director Ms. Sandra is hands on in each classroom and our daughter gravitated towards her since day one. The other staff are just as attentive & caring which is a relief since they all have encounters with all the children. You know a center is excellent when the staff also have their children there. The assistant director Ms. Erin shares experiences with us and makes sure we are aware of all the activities Kinder Care is offering monthly, which consist of but aren’t limited to, athletics, baking, pottery, etc… Ms. Tia is very attentive to the children too & with our daughter was able to make us aware that she was ready to be potty trained & to be a big sister. Kinder Care is not only a place to bring your child to be cared for it is actually a preschool full of staff that have the same goals & love for your child as you and your family do. They really put your child first!!! We are so happy that we chose them to be a part of our child’s life and recommend it to everyone!

I have 2 kids and have quite a bit of experience with many different daycares. None of them have ever measured up until now. I can not say enough positive things about Kindercare in East Brunswick. My 17 month old son has been going there for about 5 months now and I can not be more satisfied. The level of care he receives is second to none. The caretakers are extremely caring and genuinely seem happy to be working with kids. The facility itself is clean, big, and bright. The rooms are separated by age and have age appropriate toys in each group. I originally emailed Kindercare with the impression that I would not be able to afford it. I was pleasantly surprised with the rates. I could not imagine receiving better care for ANY amount of money. They also include a very healthy breakfast, lunch, snacks, and milk with the cost of tuition. You could not go wrong sending your child to Kindercare!