Smart Start Learning Center 517 West Hanover Street, New Baden, IL 62265

"Both of my children attending Smart Start Learning Center for nearly a year. As a military mother I'm often away therefore quality childcare is imperative to me. Look no further! This place was nothing short of a blessing. The teachers were really nice, we received pictures daily, COVID precautions are priority, the children were actively engaged and my daughter was actually learning. Ms. Brittany is by far one of the most kindest amazing teachers I've met for my daughter! She always had a smile on her face and I know she made my daughter feel loved. Unfortunately our stay was cut short but it's okay. No matter what I'll always give positive acknowledgment where it's due. If you decide to go here, you're in for a treat, communicate clearly with the staff and you'll be just fine!"

"I have a toddler and an infant. Both are very well taken care of and all the teachers in each room are warm and friendly. They will have a conversation and will genuinely be interested in how the parents' day is going and how the kids are doing when they aren't at daycare. My toddler has been attending since he was 1yr old and I had my concerns about placing him anywhere, but Smart Start has shown me that I didn't need to worry and that everything would be handled and they did just that. I am notified everytime that my kids get a bump, rash, low fever, or hurt themselves while playing. The center makes sure the kids have what they need and also are great about communicating with me about their behavior and needing more items. My toddler has his speech sessions at the center and I get updates from the teacher how the sessions go. I can trust that they are in great care. The center also does a great job with keeping parents updated on policies, changes, balance statements, and new things going on. They have newsletters for each room every month about what that specific room will be doing. They have reminders up about what's happening at the center as well. They are open to suggestions and always want to know what they can do better to improve themselves and the daycare. Again, I would like to say that I'm overly satisfied with how they treat my children and I wouldn't trust anyone else to take care of my babies."

"My daughter has been going for about a year and a half now and they are by far the best!! Will recommend to everyone!! They care about her and how she's doing daily. She looks forward to going there every day!!"

"I will never go back to this place My son had a diaper rash he is a red head so this is pretty common and they called dcfs on me said that he was wearing the same diaper from yesterday which was not true she had said that it wasn't full but was initialed That was a brand new diaper and I knew for a fact that it was changed because my grandma changed it that morning when I picked him up from her house i had just bought diapers the day before He had soiled his diaper from daycare so I had changed him after daycare and my grandma changed him again in the morning Either someone had written initials on it after they changed him or before They made me schedule him a doctor's appointment for the rash Luckily the doctor and my family members thought this was ridiculous as well seeing as my grandma was the one that changed him that morning There was no initials written i had a box for her house and a box for dc so I know they didn't get mixed up because I didn't take any from his daycare they said that I never had a coat on him in the winter I left a 3 piece snow suit in his cubby that they complained about because it took up a lot of room I never had a coat on him when putting him in the car because your not supposed to strap your kid In with a coat on it's a safety hazard so I left a coat at his daycare and had one at home Kept a blanket in the car She said he had worn the same socks for days when you buy socks in a pack you get 12 of the same my son is a very happy content baby has everything he needs but if anyone at this daycare has a personal vendetta or maybe you have a disagreement with one of the staff be very cautious because I really feel like my child was being messed with when he went here He got a bruise on his cheek while he was at daycare that was never written down which I didn't think much if because he is a toddler and they bump into everything but now I am not so sure They were willing to try and ruin my child's home life Where there is nothing wrong over a diaper rash that was already fading and they made me schedule a doctor's appointment for it The doctor told me to keep doing what I'm doing and, same as me, thought it was a little odd that they went that far My son is the happiest kid you could meet in your life Sometimes he does wear the same outfit if it's not dirty what mother hasn't done this I don't want his skin to dry out.It's very sensitive.so I bathe him every other day.I had 3 outfits for him at his daycare that disappeared the day after I brought them in They put them in the soiled clothes binBecause "they didn't look clean" this was when I got a note from them about leaving extra clothes but he had extra clothes And those clothes were definitely clean I looked when I got home but again didn't think much of and just went ahead and brought other outfits for him Why wouldnt they call me and tell me the clothes i brought were soiledEspecially after they left me a note saying he hasn't had any I feel like they were out to get me When I started out here I had to leave work almost every week to pick him up because they said he had a fever Very few of those times when I took him to the doctor so he could go back did they find anything wrong with my sonDidnt even have a fever when he got to the doctor and at one point I was so fed up because I was getting in trouble at work for having to leave all the time, which is why I switched to 3rd shift that I asked staff to take his temperature before I took him home because I was curiousNo fever once again but they said he had one earlier My son gets hot when he sleepsThey know this I think whenever he got too overwhelming they would take his temp more frequently so they could send him homeWhen I said this to them I stopped getting calls while I was at work haven't gotten a call about a fever since, but they called dcfs over a diaper rash I work hard to support my son Dcfs closed my case 2 days later said his daycare should've been more understanding my son is not aneglected child also it's very inappropriate to refer to call yourself a mom to someone elses kid"

"I recently enrolled my 11 week old daughter into Smart Start. A week before she started, I stopped in to drop of clothes, diapers, etc. They allowed me to pop in the baby room to get a feel for the environment where my daughter will be 40+ hours a week, which I really respected. I'm on week 3 and have nothing but amazing things to say about Brittney and Cassidy in the baby room! I take a little longer to drop off my daughter in the morning (drop offs are still hard since I miss her so much throughout the day) and notice how much love Brittney and Cassidy give ALL the babies in the room. All other personnel that I have met are just wonderful and so friendly! I'm happy my daughter is in good hands and I feel comfortable leaving her there when I drop her off in the mornings. Forgot to mention, I'm always greeted with a big smile and a friendly hello from Jennifer every morning as well. Highly recommend Smart Start!"