Village Babies

pearlie

Mar 4, 2015 at 9:58am Edited

Has anyone had trouble lately with the administration at VB? I have a son there and we've been happy with the teachers, but I recently had to interact with the owner about something and she was unbelievably rude and unreasonable about a policy. I am wondering if anyone else has dealt with something similar or if I just caught her on an off day? I can forgive one lapse, but if this is consistent then I'd be very worried about trusting my son to her care. TIA!

TNT

Mar 4, 2015 at 10:04am

We experienced something similar a couple of years ago. I was shocked at her rudeness about a policy. Up until then we had an ok experience, although there was a lot of staff turnover at the time. Feel free to pm me.

pmartinezv

Mar 4, 2015 at 10:28am

Sent you a PM.

clover22

Mar 4, 2015 at 12:20pm

Yes, I've had the same experience. My child is no longer there.

BsMom

Mar 4, 2015 at 12:32pm Edited

I always got very defensive reactions any time I made a suggestion or questioned anything (several years ago). Interestingly however, several of my suggestions and complaints that had been met with hostility at the time were implemented and/or addressed the following year (after we'd withdrawn and moved to another school).

pearlie

Mar 4, 2015 at 12:49pm Edited

Very interesting! They have also been having a lot of delayed openings and closures even when the public schools are open, which I find unacceptable.

pol100gk

Mar 4, 2015 at 12:49pm

We have the opposite experience. Prompt reactions when alerted to a problem and very accommodating.

prisoners_dilemma

Mar 4, 2015 at 2:34pm

We had the same experience (first and only) with the owner, rude, and somewhat condescending. Our child is no longer there.

project37

Mar 4, 2015 at 10:39pm

We're there now and have been there for several years. During that time, we've seen the place grow at a fairly exponential rate. The owner is a very nice person who has had to learn a lot along the way about communication as the business kept developing. All things considered, we've been extremely happy with the quality of care and found the owner and staff to be quite reasonable and accommodating whenever we've approached them.

pearlie said:
Very interesting! They have also been having a lot of delayed openings and closures even when the public schools are open, which I find unacceptable.

This has been frustrating and we raised the issue. It's a tough call (look at how snow days have played out in our district; look how today is playing out so far). There's a lot of moving pieces involved for them. At the heart of it is 1) ensuring that enough staff can get there safely since they have state daycare requirements about caregiver-child ratio 2) making sure that the facility is ready in time (that back lot can be treacherous if not properly cleaned/de-iced; they also had a fire alarm that needed to be reset after a snowstorm-related power outage). It's definitely frustrating (I was once late for work to accommodate a delay even though my older kid went to Clinton with no issues) but I would have been more understanding if they'd explained why they had to delay.

I think that they're very nice people that provide outstanding care (they have a waiting list a mile long, so they're doing something right). Sure, they could do some things better but in my experience, they've always been receptive to listening and want to ensure that we're satisfied.

I'm sorry to read that you're having a problem and hope that you're able to get things worked out. Please feel free to PM me.

Shadeaux

Mar 4, 2015 at 11:22pm

It's been a few years since we've been there but I remember looking over their calendar and being stressed out by the number of days they were scheduled to be closed.

istudymemory

Mar 4, 2015 at 11:44pm

pol100gk said:
We have the opposite experience. Prompt reactions when alerted to a problem and very accommodating.

Same here. I am sorry to read others have had a different experience.

meganlibrarian

Mar 4, 2015 at 11:55pm

Shadeaux said:
It's been a few years since we've been there but I remember looking over their calendar and being stressed out by the number of days they were scheduled to be closed.

This. It's part of why, in the end, my older daughter attended the Y for preschool when we moved into town. She was offered a spot at both Village Babies and the Y, and the days off thing tilted the decision toward the Y.

minnow1

Mar 4, 2015 at 11:59pm

Have also heard numerous stories about frustrating encounters with management and unreasonable school closures when public schools/nearby daycares are open. Enough to choose other daycare options for our little ones.

bog

Mar 5, 2015 at 12:22am

minnow1 said:
Have also heard numerous stories about frustrating encounters with management and unreasonable school closures when public schools/nearby daycares are open. Enough to choose other daycare options for our little ones.

VB always had f'd up management and random closures. At least as of a couple of years back, they also had great caring staff and a good building. We left for other reasons (shifted to a religious pre-k) but you need to balance the two items.

pearlie

Mar 5, 2015 at 1:23am

Some parents have mentioned how much $ the school probably saves by closing/delaying for any random reason - they can avoid paying their hourly staff, heat, etc. I hate to imagine that they wouldn't pay their hardworking staff on a day like today, but I have to say that would be consistent with their seemingly greedy, penny pinching ways - charging for chaperones on field trips, every possible extra "enrichment" activity, and even village babies t-shirts. When I joined Planet Fitness for $99/year, I got a free T-shirt, but Village Babies charges for theirs even when parents are paying them thousands of dollars a month!

TarheelsInNj

Mar 5, 2015 at 1:29am

We've been in a few daycares now for various reasons, but had a very happy few years at Village Babies. It's absolutely common to pay for t-shirts, field trips and enrichment activities. We've paid for all of those things at my sons' current school.

bradg

Mar 5, 2015 at 2:12am

We had the same experience at VB and changed schools.

project37

Mar 5, 2015 at 2:14am

pearlie said:
Some parents have mentioned how much $ the school probably saves by closing/delaying for any random reason - they can avoid paying their hourly staff, heat, etc. I hate to imagine that they wouldn't pay their hardworking staff on a day like today, but I have to say that would be consistent with their seemingly greedy, penny pinching ways - charging for chaperones on field trips, every possible extra "enrichment" activity, and even village babies t-shirts. When I joined Planet Fitness for $99/year, I got a free T-shirt, but Village Babies charges for theirs even when parents are paying them thousands of dollars a month!

As a VB parent, I understand how it feels with all of the costs, but I've also been there for a while and seen firsthand how dramatically things have changed for the better in terms of quality of care. I also understand wanting to vent.

That said, I don't think it's fair at all to categorize their financial plan as "greedy", not one bit.

A number of us *have* reached out to management about costs and got some very helpful insight. It's not my place to give specific numbers, but I will say this:

Are you happy with the quality of staff in the classrooms? They get training, health benefits, and other incentives to help retain them. A surprisingly high percentage of the tuition/fees goes back into getting those amazing people to stay there. I think that they're worth it.

There's also a lot of indoor/outdoor maintenance, there's security upgrades, and other investments that go right back into improving the overall quality of the facility. They're continuing to improve on their communication approach. They've come a long way and we're very happy there overall. That said, you have choices. If you feel that you get better value somewhere else, that's up to you. I'm not sure why you'd compare childcare fees to Planet Fitness fees, though.

Again, I understand your frustration. I've also found the management to be very receptive to feedback and not rude. Please PM me and I'd be happy to share more info.

pearlie

Mar 5, 2015 at 2:18am

I was just joking about planet fitness. I'm glad to hear others have had a better experience with management. When I've questioned policies I've gotten a very hostile response. In all honesty, I am torn. I love the teachers and community, but the negative attitude seems to come from the top down. I really do hope you're right and the teachers are being paid fairly. They're the reason we stay. I just wish it was as good of an experience for the parents as it is for the kids.

pol100gk

Mar 5, 2015 at 3:26am

My oldest child was at a different daycare in town and the experience with Village Babies management is dramatically better than what we experienced elsewhere. VB may not be open as much as the Y but it's open more days than other places in town. I guess it's all relative.
Their snow day procedure this year was erratic but to be fair, that cut both ways. I remember one delayed opening in the school district when VB was open on time (and saved my bacon at work). But yes, there was also one day when it was the other way around.
Most issues seem to be handled by nurse Liz and her care, efficiency and attention to detail is amazing.

project37

Mar 6, 2015 at 12:51am

Funnily enough, VB seems to be open on time today even though SOMSD is delayed. Sometimes it just works out.

Gundudad

Mar 6, 2015 at 4:46am

Good morning, I just wanted to add that we have two kids at Village Babies, and have been at the school since 2012. My wife and I are absolutely thrilled with the school, the teachers, the activities and most importantly with the fact that our kids are happy, healthy and love the school.

Nothing is perfect, but at the end day, Village Babies, meaning their whole team, always tries to do what is best for the kids and I appreciate that.

ninac

May 8, 2015 at 5:41am

Hi - For those of you who left Village Babies for another daycare, can I ask which daycare you switched to? And are you happier there than you were at Village Babies? We're considering VB too and it would be helpful to hear about good alternatives.

MarianR

May 8, 2015 at 10:19am

We found the South Mountain YMCA was much more professionally run and better suited our needs. Feel free to PM me if you want to discuss further.

SO_Dad

May 8, 2015 at 10:56am

FWIW, we were quite happy with VB, and the transition to K was painless. VB seems to prepare kids for school completely, perhaps even to fault if you prefer a less structured pre-k experience.

clover22

May 10, 2015 at 6:07am

I think the the challenge with Village babies is largely due to 2 issues:

1--The owners are nurses. They have pediatric experience but they are NOT early childhood trained. This is a huge issue when it comes to understanding developmentally appropriate practices for young children and has the potential to negatively impact the development and implementation of center policies. There is an educational consultant around but she's just that a consultant. Not a consistent presence on site and I found her to have a fairly weak skill set.

2--Moving from taking care of children in one's home to running and staffing a center based facility requires a lot of skill and expertise. Recruitment, hiring, firing, budgeting, training, communication with families, understanding state regs, etc....all issues that make or break you...they are learning but it's a process.

Main Discussions

Education Category