Mari's Little Lambs Child Care

"As a concerned parent, I feel obligated to share our unfortunate experience with Mari’s Little Lambs. My child attended this facility for 8 months, and the issues I observed were very concerning for any child. Because of these continuous issues we decided to leave this facility. Firstly, safety standards at this daycare are shockingly lax. There were numerous instances where I witnessed safety hazards that were simply unacceptable. On a daily basis there were unsecured gates we would walk into during drop off and pick up. The main gate to the outside door was constantly left open, and the door latch was left down. The very flimsy gates were easily able to be opened, pushed over, or just downright left open for children to wander. One day I walked in to see a child in an area, past the views of the teachers where they had access to the outside doors. The toddler room is also concerning because there is ZERO safety lock or latch on the door leading to the parking lot which is right next to a high-traffic street (Murray). Also, multiple times I would walk in to see staff on their personal phones, not looking at the kids. I called the Department of Early Education and this was actually a confirmed complaint from another parent that reported this as well. (Along with other verifications of staff not meeting first aid/CPR training). Equally concerning is the quality of staff. Their lack of enthusiasm, disengagement, and apparent disinterest in the children's well-being were evident. I found the staff to be unresponsive and lacking the necessary skills to handle the responsibilities associated with caring for children. One of the worst things we witnessed was the rudeness of some of the “teachers” to the children. I can’t even count how many times myself or my husband would walk in to someone yelling or talking down to the kids. One staff member in particular, sneezed and said she was allergic to children, she would yell “attitude check”, make a child feel uncomfortable being watched in the bathroom, or something else negative towards the toddlers. She would also say it loudly and sometimes pretending it was a joke, but kids don’t understand that. It bred a very negative environment. There's also a noticeable absence of structured learning activities or any semblance of educational guidance. It's disheartening to see a place meant for early childhood development failing to provide a stimulating environment for learning. What they have tried to implement just seems like a sales tactic to “justify” their rising costs, and doesn’t seem to land because the staff is just not trained or passionate. As a parent, you hope that the people you choose to look after your babies are good, capable people, and that just isn’t the case here. I strongly advise parents to reconsider choosing Mari’s Little Lambs for their child's care and development. The safety issues, absence of educational structure, and subpar staff make it an unsuitable place for any child to thrive."