Stepping Stones Child Development Center

"* Warwick location * . My experience at this facility has been poor, i’ve had several issues and concerns but will touch on a few. I had a different person pick my child up for the first time and ID was not asked for upon said persons arrival. My child was called up to this person the staff had never seen and only after being asked if she’d picked up before did a staff member decide to ask for ID. AFTER already handing over my child, checking the ID was an afterthought. The ID was not compared to a visitors/contact list, Just glanced at so there was absolutely no security in that situation. I’ve come to pick up my child and had her run straight outside the door with no adult insight to stop her or stop anyone from taking her. There are times I come in to drop off or pick and not been spoken to or acknowledged even by her ”teacher”. After only one month of my child attending this facility A total of six articles of clothing (Properly labeled) have been lost or thrown away completely unapologetically. The THIRD time addressing it with the director Barbara she was condescending, rude, unprofessional , raised her voice as if she was starting a heated argument on the street and had the audacity to accuse me of never bringing the clothes in at all. I now have an understanding of the reason behind this establishments poor rating After experiencing the nasty and unprofessional behavior of the Director. The disregard And careless handling of my personal belongings and concerns are disgusting. If it had not been for a fire at my previous daycare leaving me needing to find a quick substitute this would not have been an option, this is definitely a very short term child care solution and a last option if it must be an option at all."

"This center (Pilot House location) was very convenient and the tuition was a great price....but we quickly learned that it was in our best interest and child’s well being to remove her. Had way too many problems at this center. My child was enrolled here maybe 7 or 8 months ago. From witnessing a staff member kick a toddler, the entrance door was frequently opened from some of the ignorant parents not caring about the safety of their child or anyone else’s child, my kid losing her earring like every week from them apparently snatching her clothes off....earring was always found on the infant floor after noticing it was missing...and at her young age she was not picking with her ears and we never had this problem at home, constantly taking other kids bottles and clothes home in my kids bag, the staff was never on the same page as if they never held staff meetings, also their staff turnover was high for the few months my child was enrolled. The Director at the time was Absolutely incompetent!!!! PHEW! That’s just to name a few. I enrolled my child at Big Bethel KinderCare and we couldn't be more happy with the change. We are now so relieved and feel like our child is safe and in great hands. I hope this center was able to make some positive changes."

"READ IN FULL: God has a way of working. Our daughter started here in May. Yes, at first we worried about how she'd adjust and what was going on out of sight but as a parent you just have to pray listen to your gut (and your kids), and just hope for the best. We scoped it out before signing up our daughter. It was important that we brought her with to see how she felt. We asked as many questions as we could. The first two weeks, I personally was worried about the particular teacher (who's no longer there) my daughter would be with. She was an older woman with a demeanor that reminded me of my grandmother: no nonsense and zero tolerance. I worried because my daughters temperament is like mine. We dont adjust to aggressive people well so we continued to monitor how she reacted going in and leaving (my daughter didnt want to go, gitters and it being new for all of us). I continued to pray on it and voiced my concerns with Marissa (the director---such an angel) and my daughters teacher (at the time). The teacher mentioned her crying in her sleep during nap time. And the director explained the possible separation anxiety (being home for so long and still co sleeping). One day I came in and my bestfriend Ashley was working there (Gods plan)! That made me feel more comfortable on top of that, We couldn't really get adjusted to the teacher because she just happened to be leaving permanently and a new teacher came in (Destiny---so nice and loveable). My daughter adjusted to her nicely. After week two, she still cried for a little but now she is running to daycare! They have different teachers as the day progresses, which I think is good now so the kids adjust to them all. My daughter was already aware of the curriculum as we always do educational things at home and discussed putting her in the next age group. We agreed itd be best to keep her in her age group (oh classes are by age so no older kids with younger which I love) because of of other pivotal developmental aspects for her age (potty training and just socializing with peers). My daughter is socializing, growing, and we have peace of mind. Communication is key. Being honest with oneself and a little trust will go a long way. I love this daycare and our daughter loves it too. They even have a location on Saturdays that we can take her when were both scheduled to work. It was also cool that my best friends sister worked at that location (I've been knowing this family since middle school, good people so my worries definitely dimished when I seen her). I was nervous about her readjusting to different faces but it's always one or two teachers that will come from our location (warwick) to work there (Jefferson location)---more peace of mind for me and her! She has had an incident or two but they're kids these things will happen. We were warned that certain behaviors are to be expected out of certain ages. For my daughters group, the biting smh. She is no longer doing that thank God. But I was given an incident report after her first incident of falling off the slide. They didnt tell me until I got there to get her. I understood they have a protocol to follow to keep the flow of their schedule and care for all of the children gone, but I immediately told them calls were preferred (this my only baby) and to leave a message if I didnt answer. They understood that (again communication and understanding) my nerves couldn't handle that (laughs). As far as payment process, communication is key. This daycare has been nothing but a blessing in our lives. Understanding, genuine, and honest. Some more perks: the director has cameras in her office of every class room, open until midnight, and every parent gets a key to buzz in to the daycare so no random visitors. This is a Christian daycare so that made me feel better as well. I could go on all day but to any new parents out there I can only say try it. Everybody there is cool with me (laughs) as long as they continue to do right by my kid."

"Complaints and investigations of all licensed providers are public record. Do a search for Virginia Department of Social Services and from there you can search for your daycare. I would post a link but I think it flags my review as spam. While I found a couple members of the care team, including the director, to be genuinely interested in the care of my infant, I felt the cold, uncaring and gossip-laden staff to overshadow our entire experience. I heard parents complain regularly about missing items (properly labeled), missing diapers, infrequent diaper changes, and feeding schedules. I personally found the daily care sheets to be a joke because most sections weren't filled out and they often showed only 3 diaper changes during a 10 hour day (which means they aren't logging them or diapers are not getting changed often enough). The feeding log was also inaccurate on a regular basis, sometimes showing that he consumed more than mathematically possible based on what was leftover, which is concerning (whose bottle was he drinking?). Drop-offs seemed understaffed with often only 1 person tending to check-ins while ignoring anyone else in the room. (I note they were always legally compliant with the 1:4 ratio, however this seems ridiculous at a time when the caregiver's attention is so divided.) In only 1 month's time my infant's weight percentile dropped by half, so I'm not sure what was happening but he sure wasn't eating enough while in their care. Since moving him to a new (much more caring and organized) daycare, he doubled his milk intake and bounced back onto his normal growth curve. If you are sending breastmilk, be aware that some staff members are completely disgusted by this. I would never recommend this place to anyone."

"If i knew then what I know now this daycare should be investigated and/or closed.Speaking for children that cannot speak for themselves.Very poor management!!!!"