Little Munchkins Learning Center

Both of my kids went to this daycare from the age of 9 months until they started school. I really trust them — it’s a very good daycare. You can see that the owner has a good heart, and we always felt our kids were safe there. My son even had his favorite teacher here; he’s in school now but still talks about her often.

I’m so glad I found this daycare! Everyone who works here knows my son’s name and they’re all so great with him. When he first started, I was so surprised at how quickly he got comfortable and adjusted. The care and attention they give really shows, you can tell the safety of the children is a top priority and that the staff truly love what they do. I couldn’t be happier with our experience here! I love the fun activities they do with the kids and pictures and videos alway brightens my day to know he is in safe hands.

I GIVE THIS FACILITY EVERY BIT OF 0 STARS IF THE OPTION WAS AVAILABLE ! PARENTS THAT CARE ABOUT SANITATION AND IF YOU ARE A PERSON OF COLOR PLEASE BEWARE !!!!!!! THANK GOD FOR SCREENSHOTS !!!!! My son started attending Little Munchkins Daycare on Monday, May 5th. Right away, I had an uneasy feeling. As we walked into his classroom on his first day, I overheard one of his classmates say that my son and another African American child “looked the same.” Although we all know children are children, I noticed immediately they were the only two children of color in the class. As a mother of a Black child, that moment stuck with me. The very next day, Tuesday, May 6th, after picking up my son from daycare, I noticed he had ringworm. I was taken back and kind of disgusted but not quite surprised. The daycare doesn’t feel or look clean. It has a lingering musty smell, and although I’d often see a staff member vacuuming when I arrived for pickup, it didn’t give me much confidence in their sanitation practices. I called my son's doctor, who couldn't see him in person until May 15th but confirmed it was ringworm and advised he stay home for 48 hours while starting antibiotics. His first week of school, and he’s already coming home with an infection. Out of concern, I began looking into the facility’s health records and found a violation from February 24, 2023 specifically, 746.3401(a) for failing to complete their annual sanitation inspection. The last one on record was from December 15, 2021. That speaks volumes. This isn’t just an old problem it’s an ongoing one. THAT WAS JUST WEEK 1 On Friday, May 9th, when my son returned to school, he handed me a Mother’s Day card and I was genuinely excited. I always look forward to the sweet crafts my children make, I keep them forever. But when I looked at the card, my heart dropped. The handprint holding the flowers on the card was clearly from a child with much lighter skin. It didn’t reflect my child or our family at all. It made me emotional because representation matters especially at this age when kids are just beginning to understand themselves and how they show up in the world. I sent a message about it through the Procare app but never received a response. The following Monday, after Mother’s Day, I did receive an in-person apology from his teacher. And while that may seem small to some, it wasn’t small to me. Things like this carry weight especially for young children learning to navigate identity and self-worth. That moment only confirmed for me what I was already feeling: my child wasn’t in a space where he was truly seen, valued, or welcomed. Sanitation and inclusion are two of my highest priorities when it comes to child care. After everything we had experienced, I gave my two-week notice on Monday, May 12th. His last day would be yesterday May 26th but since it was a holiday it would be Friday, May 23rd. But unfortunately, the issues didn’t stop there. The following week, I picked my son up and noticed he was sitting alone while the other kids played on the other side of the carpet. As I approached, I heard the teacher say, “How would you guys like it if someone said they didn’t want to be your friend?” I didn’t say much in that moment, but on the ride home, my son opened up to me telling me how no one wanted to read with him and how it made him feel. He’s not disruptive or a behavior issue. He’s just a kid trying to connect. I gave him a little life talk about friendships that not everyone will be your friend, and that’s okay, just as we won’t always choose to be friends with everyone. But it broke my heart that he felt the need to explain that to me, at four years old. CONTINUED ....

CONTINUATION : By Thursday, May 22nd, I was questioning whether he should even finish the week. I cleared out his cubby that day, thinking it might be his last. But on Friday, May 23rd, I decided to let him go one final time, even though my gut said otherwise. I dropped him off at 8:59 AM, just before their 9:00 AM cut-off. By 11:27 AM, I received a message from his teacher: “Hey, can you let me know what time are you coming to get ____? He is crying a lot bc he doesn't have a blanket.” I immediately realized I had left his blanket in the car. I texted back on the Procore app and asked her to call me. When she did, I could hear my baby crying in the background. I asked: Don’t you all have extra blankets? Did you try contacting the front office for other solutions? Why is the immediate solution to write me and ask when I’m picking him up? Not can you or someone else bring up an extra blanket ? I offered her the solutions she should have offered upon writing me in the Procore app. She eventually offered to let him use another child’s blanket — which I declined and I said I’d just come get him. When I arrived, he was sitting next to the teacher cleaning up toys. I tried to calmly talk through what had happened, but she denied even advising me to come pick him up, despite the message I had in writing. Through tears, I explained how emotional intelligence is just as important as anything else when caring for children. This moment and everything leading up to it hurt deeply. As I was walking out in tears, another teacher who had seen everything stopped me. She was crying too. She hugged me, offered kind words, and said if my son ever came back, she’d make sure he was in her class. Her compassion meant more than she knows and it also left me wondering: if another African American teacher felt so emotional about what she saw, what does that say about the deeper culture of this place? Then at 1:19 PM, I received a call from Crystal, the director. From the moment she began speaking, her tone was hostile. No care, no concern just demanding to know why I “spoke to her worker.” She didn’t ask what happened. She didn’t want to hear anything. She cut me off, raised her voice, and when I tried to explain I thought we were discussing the incident from that morning, she started ranting about the Mother’s Day card and said they “use pink paper for Mother’s Day and blue for Father’s Day.” She talked over me the entire time. I asked if the call could be recorded because I could already tell where it was headed and she refused. I told her I would be leaving a review. She replied, “OK, that’s fine.” Moments after hanging up, I checked the Procare app and every single message and conversation we ever had was deleted. I’m LIVID. I’m hurt. I’m disappointed. As a mother, I trusted this facility with my child. In just a few weeks, I experienced a complete lack of sanitation, emotional care, and cultural awareness. If you are a parent of color especially a Black parent please take this as your sign to pay close attention. Our children deserve more. They deserve better.

I think most first time moms can agree that it is a huge and stressful decision to choose who to trust with your baby for daycare. Even with the other amazing positive reviews of LMLC, I was still skeptical when the time came to drop off my son. I quickly learned it was one of the best decisions we made for our family. I cannot say enough about Ms. Jordin and Ms. Tima. They truly treat the babies like their own with love, care, attentiveness, and joy. Their regular updates throughout the day brighten my day every day! I love watching my son flourish and learn and it wouldn’t be the same without his teachers.