Jiggle Sprouts, Inc. 69-15 64th Place, Queens, NY 11385

"I’ve been hesitant to share my experience, because I’m not one to rock the boat, but I do wish I had this information before I signed my child up. First and foremost, I do think my son was safe and cared for at Jiggle Sprouts, and that is most important. My husband and I are working parents, as are all parents at JS. We rely on the childcare provided so we can do our jobs. This was our fourth childcare experience (not counting nannies), because our oldest was in a different program every year from the time she was 15 months. We know a thing or two about daycare/preschool norms. (We absolutely loved her experiences at the Vanderbilt YMCA’s toddler program and 2s at Supermoon Art Space) All of that said, we found Jiggle Sprouts to be unreasonable and unreliable when it comes to childcare. I was told my child could not have “any active symptoms” at the school. That includes a clear runny nose that emerged once it got cold outside. At my daughter’s two past schools, I was told “if we kept every kid home for a runny nose, we would have no kids at school.” We were extra concerned then because it was peak covid (2021), but the pediatrician assured us that our child was fine and not a risk to others. She just needed her caregivers to wipe her nose from time to time. Her teacher told us to take “Boogie Wipes” and that was that. But it’s a different story at Jiggle Sprouts. They would make my husband and me pick him up, completely disrupting our days at work. I even ran out of sick days for the year, which I had never done before. And our pediatrician told us Jiggle Sprouts’ policy was taking her time away from kids who were “actually sick” and needlessly exposing Nico to all the sick kids in the waiting room. As a parent, it’s hard enough to do your job well with all the things on the mental load. Throw in the stress of not knowing whether I would have childcare for the day, and I was a mess. It negatively affected my mental health as well as that of my team at work - and I work for a nonprofit where people depend on me to get the help they need. It’s also worth mentioning that we had already made significant sacrifice in agreeing (and paying) to pick our son up by 5pm (our previous schools were 6 and 5:30). Turns out, once you start, you’re assigned a time slot for pickup that is much earlier than 5. Many parents end up having to pick their kids up around 4:30, which means not being able to take work meetings after 4. That just isn’t realistic and is a lot to ask. But it was a pill we ended up swallowing. The sick policy just pushed us too far. My child was cared for and safe, and I am absolutely grateful for that. But their policies did not work for my family. We signed up for daycare knowing he would be exposed to other kids’ viruses. That’s the risk we assumed for reliable childcare in return. Unfortunately, we were unable to rely on Jiggle Sprouts and that is why we ultimately left."

"My little one loves going to Jiggle Sprouts! She is always is a good mood after we get her at the end of the day. The staff does great activities and has a knack for getting her to take not just one but two naps per day."

"We are pleased that our child is growing happily and well at Jiggle Sprouts. We appreciate the monthly curriculum, engaging activities (music time, recently they made hand turkeys for Thanksgiving, etc.), and caring teachers. We feel that our child is at a safe place with attentive adults, meaningful learning experiences, and positive social interactions. We also appreciate being part of a great Jiggle Sprouts parents community, and are glad to meet fellow parents of young children to trade advice and tips and to set up playdates."

"Not every childcare center works for every family, and this one did not work for us. I will stick to facts in this review: - We were told “ants” got into our backup supply of formula (which we didn’t even know had been opened/used and had sent in a closed plastic bin) - We were asked if they could implement age inappropriate things multiple times (they wanted to have my at the time 8 month old on one nap a day) - We were told that our son “Has a bit of a bad temper” because he was “crying and throwing things” on the first day of the new school year after their 2 week August closure…he was 9 months old. Both crying and throwing things are age appropriate especially in those circumstances, and the tone we got did not imply he was given any grace or kindness when he was struggling. - We payed full tuition but got a strict drop-off and pick-up window amounting to EXACTLY 8 hours of care with no flexibility which does not work for working parents. - The app they use to communicate was only used for the first two weeks and sporadically at that. Then we got zero updates via the app. We had a text chain with the teachers, but even then only got updates when we asked for them and never got actual information about how his day was. - We found out he was only taking 10 minute naps even if the app had it logged at 30 mins (or even an hour sometimes) because “that’s how long he was in the crib not how long he napped” - We were asked to pick him up one day because he had a “severe red diaper rash.” We were so scared because he had nothing that morning and ran to get him. When we got home there was literally nothing. Never got clarity - did they just want to send him home? Did they mix him up with another kid? Did he have a magically disappearing severe diaper rash? We pulled him out pretty quickly and I believe we are the 6th or 7th family to leave over the course of the past 6 months or so. Again, this place works for some people but didn’t for us. I am by no means saying anyone there is a bad person, or that the kids are unsafe in any way. The people that like it seem to have a better experience, but I wish I had known some of the above before ever sending my kid there."

"Our daughter received wonderful and loving care at Jiggle Sprouts- it really became her home away from home. She attended from 6 months through 3 years. Teachers helped her blossom through all of her baby and toddler milestones. They always encouraged her independence and she learned so many new things with them! All of the staff have been there for many years and have a lot of experience. I would highly recommend Jiggle Sprouts for anyone in the area seeking care for their baby!"