Small Wonders Nursery and Preschool

I would not recommend taking your children to Small Wonders Nursery and Preschool, also known as R Kids R Small Wonders. I have a 17 month old that I took there in August 2013. We removed her from the school within a month. This was our first daycare experience. Had we recognized the red flags and been experienced parents, we would have removed her from the school earlier.
Red Flag #1 — They do not have a security system. Their security system is their claim that they know every single parent or guardians’ faces and that if they see someone they don’t know, they will I.D. them. Basically, if you look nice enough and you have enough information, you could check a child out of the center without question. Parents are required to check their children in and out of the center using a keypad monitor located at the front door, but I noticed many parents never using it much less anyone making sure it was being used.
Red Flag #2 — They pre-​fill the activity report before the day begins. The activity report lists what your child ate that day, their mood, what they learned, played, time slept, etc. I went to give my child some teething medication while I was on my lunch break. The teacher, Becca, was not expecting me and when I asked her what time she went to sleep, she could not tell me exactly. I noticed the sheet was already pre-​filled 11:00 — 1:30. They also do not list what their diapers are like, which may be important at this age group.
Red Flag #3 — My husband went to drop off the payment for the following week one afternoon. All the children in the center were outside playing, which means all age groups playing together. In my opinion, older children such as a five-​year-​old should not be playing with one and two year old toddlers in an open playground. When he couldn’t find anyone in the building and saw they were outside, he walked out and all the teachers were on their cellphones. Not a single person was really watching over the children.
Red Flag #4 — The first week of school, they did an «All About Me» poster based on what they liked to do, favorite colors, food, etc. with pictures of them and their families. My daughter’s favorite thing to do was listed as, «Watch TV». That is not acceptable. The television is not a babysitter. Supposedly, they claimed to have it on an educational channel or DVD only in the mornings. My husband and I noticed it on other times than just morning time when we were there.
Red Flag #5 — The time I went to give my child teething medication on my lunch break I noticed the teacher was blaring Norah Jones so loud that the speakers were distorting. The children were sleeping though it, but I thought that was odd.
Red Flag #6 and the reason why we removed her from their care — My child kept suffering from constipation. At first, I thought it was due to the introduction of new foods into her system. They assured me that even though she wasn’t drinking milk out of her cup at home, she was drinking it for them. I believed them until the constipation kept happening.
When I asked them if they give them any other fluids throughout the day other than lunch, I was told that they do not give juice or water to any child at the center. All they receive is milk at lunch. WHAT!!! Not only are they required to have water accessible, what makes them think that children do not need anything to drink throughout the day? Don’t you drink more than once a day? I would pick my daughter up each afternoon and she would be dying of thirst. She would finish a 12oz. sippy cup in the five minute commute home.
The day I removed her from care, I went to drop off the next week’s payment and to sneak my daughter some juice. What I witnessed from the hall window made me cringe. My daughter was standing in the middle of the room crying with the other children either wandering around or crying themselves. NO ADULT WAS IN THE ROOM. I watched my daughter walk to the window and cry looking outside. All I wanted to do was rush in there and console all of them, but I waited to see what would happen. Another toddler was walking and fell on my daughter, now they were both crying. Once that happened, I witnessed the teacher, Becca, walk in and pick the girl off of my daughter and forcefully set her down on the floor. Then, she picked my daughter up and forcefully set her down on the floor in another area. Then, she shoved a pacifier in my daughter’s mouth. At that moment, I rushed in and took my child out and never looked back.
I went back the following week to speak to the director, Carrie Barrett, but she wasn’t there. Her absence seemed to be the norm, which should have been a red flag as well.
PLEASE DO NOT TAKE YOUR CHILDREN TO SMALL WONDERS! Save your child, time, heartache and money!