Tots' Landing Learning Centers, Inc.

"I want to share our experience. We started going to Tots when our children were 3 and 1 and we stayed for about a year. We did like the security features and some of the teachers were kind and caring. But there were a few issues that came up which causes us to find another center. 1. The kids watch too much T.V and get way too much screen time. 2. My 1 year old son was bitten more than 10 times in less than 4 months. It is understandable to deal with bites at this age but the number seemed excessive. When I brought it up with the director I was dismissed and treated as if I was an annoyance. When another bite happened, I asked for more details. I simply wanted to know if this was one child or multiple children. If it was the same child I wanted to know what the action plan was. The assistant director went to the records to check and realized they had not been keeping track. So they had no idea how many times or who was the biter. Luckily I kept my records and gave them copies but they still had no way to tell who had been doing the biting. This was a violation of their policies and again they dismissed it as if it was no big deal. I felt that my child was not being properly watched and that the leadership did not care about my concerns. We were able to get into another center shortly after and are very happy where we are. At our new center, there have been 0 biting instances and they have a strict 0 screen time policy. It is a night and day difference and I had no idea how great a daycare could be until we started at this one. I recommend research and getting on waiting lists as early as possible to ensure space at the best facilities."

"I'd like to share my experience with this Day Care Center. T.V. time was over-used at this center. They would have children watch television while lunch was prepared, for about an hour. They would then force kids to watch T.V. at the end of the day for another hour and a half while staff closed down the center. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no more than two hours of television a day, furthermore, State regulations put limits on the amount of television time kids should watch, while at daycare. It should ideally be part of a lesson plan. This was Barney and other programs that I don't see as educational. I brought this to the attention of the Director and she dismissed it saying "Barney is educational". If the children do not want to watch T.V., they were given no alternatives. No other small group activities. I observed the staff in the other corner talking about the "benders' they were going to go on. Children should have a choice and not be forced to watch Barney. Dirty diapers were left in the trashcan for days. Children were not changed properly, staff members would pat their diapers to check to see if they were soiled instead of changing them as required by State regulations. Furthermore, this day care maxes out ratios. Too many kids were on the roster, they just hoped they all wouldn't show up. When this was called o the attention of the Director, she replied with, "shhh, don't tell". They were in violation of state regulations by doing this. Furthermore, the more children present, the less "learning" happens. It hurts the children to max ratios in that way. Regarding the learning, there is a curriculum team at tots, but it is rarely followed. The term learning center is not quite appropriate. The assistant director in fact, one time yelled at an employee "too" educated. Lesson plans hang on the wall, but they are not followed. The staff need serious training. A teacher who actually makes and follows lesson plans is a rarity at this center. I had a teacher who, for example, didn't understand the importance of routine for small children. It helps young children make sense of a big world. The director does not listen to input and the children are done a great disservice here. I had a former staff member insult my seven-year old child. She called him "mildly retarded". She suggested I get him a tutor. Totally blown away that someone who was trusted to work with children would in fact speak about children that way. Where is the dignity for students with disabilities? These are the kind of people this center employs? I would not recommend this center."

"My daughter is almost 2 years old now. So she had only been in one childcare center prior to this. I went and took a tour with the director Renee and she was such amazing lady. I wanted my daughter to feel welcomed and safe and taken very good care of why she is out of my sight for almost 9 hours of the day. As a mother I know how hard it is to watch your child cry when you drop them off to head to work. I told Renee my concerns for my child and she said were all moms here and we totally understand. After visiting there I felt some type of relief that I had found the right place for my daughter. This was such amazing facility with very nice workers. My daughter has only been there a couple days. Her teacher Gena seems to be so pleasant and easy to talk too. I love the way they are willing to work with my daughter with any thing that she should not be doing because she is in that stage because of her age. Her teacher seems very caring of my daughter and takes her job serious. I really love this place it is clean and the staff is just so friendly. I would highly recommend any one who has a child first starting or going back to day care to try this place out. I simply think you will be making the best decision. So far everything they have done and the emails from her teacher during the day updating how she has done has made my life and days easier as a hard working mommy! I highly recommend this place and hope my daughter will be staying with them until preschool."

"I am a first time mom and at first I had hesitations. I can honestly say that Tot's Landing is amazing! My daughter loves it. She has been there for 3 months and we could not be happier. All of the staff members are friendly and caring. During the first week I was a mess and cried almost every day. They were so patient with my daughter (she struggled transitioning to a bottle from breast feeding). The made me feel welcome to come in and nurse anytime I wanted. Every time that I did, the room is clean, all of the kids are content and happy. They all know who we are and our names, which seems silly but it made us feel welcome. During holidays the kids do activities and make things for the parents. I would recommend Tot's Landing to every one! The staff is great, it is always clean, the kids are not a mess, my daughter is always happy when I pick her up and they update me everyday of how her day was. I could go on and on of how wonderful they all are."

"My oldest daughter (6 now) went to Tots for four years and loved it. Some rooms were better than others (a lot depends on the teacher you get, but most of them were absolutely wonderful), and things can occasionally be a little disorganized. However, I always felt like she was safe, entertained, and she learned a lot there (both socially and academically). We certainly have other options, but we're sending our youngest daughter there now, so I guess that's a pretty good recommendation. Not perfect, but I think it's been very good for our oldest daughter!"