Kiddie Academy of Elkridge

I’m very happy with the decision to enroll my child at Kiddie Academy of Elkridge. She’s been there since 7 months of age and is now 2 years old. I’m impressed with their curriculum, which seems to be age-​appropriate and challenges the kids to learn and explore.
My daughter has had the opportunity to meet and learn from many dedicated teachers, and when she has needed extra support or attention for any reason, she’s always been treated as an individual. The current director, Brooke, is excellent. She has a calming presence and has been prompt in answering questions and addressing any issues.
I like that I don’t need to pack a lunch every day, and that the food service seems to be helping my child develop her palate and try new things.
I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Kiddie Academy Elkridge to friends and family.

My son has been going here for about a month so we’re still learning the ropes. I have no seen any of the issues in the other review. The executive staff has always been easy to get a hold of and prompt at returning my phone calls. Enrollment was straight forward. The building is controlled access and I love the cameras in the classroom. The day is planned out in 15 minute increments and the daily schedule is always posted for review. All of the meals for the kids are prepared in house and serves family style which I love. Some of the staff seem pretty tired at the end of the day but who wouldn’t be??? I wish there had been more of a new parent orientation for us and the staff. The first day we dropped our son off, he was visibly upset and no one stepped in to help me. Other than that, I really have no complaints. My son loves his teacher and talks about her all the time. He even started getting mad to leave saying, «I want to stay and play with my friends.» That feels great as a parent. I gave it 4 stars because we are so new still but so far I am happy.

Top 10 reasons not to send your child to Kiddie Academy of Waterloo!
1. Very high teacher turnover rate. My child was in the 2 – 3 year classroom for less than 7 months and he had about 8 – 9 different teachers.
2. I noticed the teachers not switch gloves between each child’s diaper change which is absolutely gross and not acceptable.
3. There were numerous times where my child did not get a diaper change towards the end of the day when a BM was made. I had to change the diaper multiple times myself when I picked him up. It seemed as the teachers had already given up on completing the day in the late afternoon.
4. Nap times eventually reached 2.5 — 3 hours a day for my child’s 2 – 3 year old classroom.
5. If you plan on bringing lunch/​snacks from home for your child, do not count on KA to remember to give it to your child. KA teachers started forgetting to give my child the lunch and snacks that were sent from home. Their excuses were «we forgot» or «we didn’t know.» I sent lunches and snacks from home for the 15 months my child was at KA, yet, on multiple occasions they could not remember to give my child food… instead they let the child go hungry.
6. Do not count on the owner, Ms. Patel, of KA at Waterloo to help you out with anything. She is hardly ever there since opening another location, has started losing track of what’s going on in the Waterloo location, and does not take responsibility for any of the issues the daycare has. She is also very rude, negative and arrogant towards parents who try to give feedback.
7. The 2 – 3 year classroom probably averaged one educational/​learning activity a day and the rest of the day usually looked like free play. In my child’s class specifically, I noticed they danced to rap and hip hop music on the radio at the end of the day, which does not teach them anything, except the rude and offensive language in most of the songs.
8. When we signed up to attend KA, we were informed that we were going to get daily reports as to what the child ate and drank, diaper change types and times, and what their daily educational activities were. We quickly started receiving reports that were not accurate at all. It got to a point where they were being sent out incomplete reports almost every other day.
9. The building’s outdoor safety was spotty also. On multiple occasions during and after a snowfall, the side walks and parking lot of the daycare did not have any salt/​sand. Good luck balancing your child and yourself while trying to get in and out and to and from your car. A daycare should be a safe place inside and outside.
10. Initially, camera access was given to parents for their child’s primary room, play room and even the temporary rooms where the child would dropped off in the mornings. Just a couple of weeks ago, we were told that parents will only get camera access to the child’s primary room and outdoor playground because they were getting to many requests from parents about the cameras and they could not handle them all. The benefit of having a daycare with a camera system to observe your child was essentially reduced and not worth it bc KA could not or did not want to do anything about the requests.