Little People Preschool L.L.C.

I recently withdrew my child from Little People’s Preschool after a deeply upsetting experience with the administration. After my spouse and I spent the entire day discussing the interaction we had with the school that morning and much deliberation, we decided that we no longer felt comfortable having our child enrolled there. Considering the dismissive and antagonistic approach taken during our conversation, it became clear that resolution is only something the administration is willing to pursue when it’s in their favor. We came forward with concerns, and my spouse was very clear about what those concerns were. The school had every opportunity to consider what she was saying and respond with sympathy and understanding. A simple, “I’m sorry we gave you that impression, we absolutely love your child and can work on a better balance with feedback,” would have resolved everything immediately. Instead, we were met with smirking, eye-rolling, note-taking, and what ultimately became a combative and contemptuous response. Rather than considering the message being shared, the owner chose to spend 45 minutes picking apart every word my spouse said, gaslighting her, and going out of her way to disprove her feelings and experiences. They were so focused on defending the school, their personal experience, and their expertise that they completely failed to show up as professionals or do what was needed to repair what could have been a very repairable situation. It was clear they had no intention of hearing us. The conversation felt less like a discussion with two concerned parents and more like they were trying to silence a bad Yelp review. We were also shocked that, in the rush to invalidate our concerns, the administration never addressed the fact that our child had repeatedly told us they had been hit and punched by other kids, or that they had complained about a staff member grabbing them forcefully by the arm. We are always open to the possibility that kids can exaggerate—but for these concerns to be completely dismissed further validated our belief that neither the administrator nor the school has the best interests of the children or the parents in mind. If they did, addressing issues professionally and respectfully—rather than shutting them down or debating their validity—would be a priority. It takes very little energy to listen and consider the fears, experiences, and perspectives of others. On more than one occasion, I listened as my spouse sat quietly during multiple phone calls with the school, respectfully and sympathetically hearing them out, apologizing, and asking how she could support the school through the challenges our child was facing. Yet the one time we came forward with concerns, we were met with defensiveness and treated as though we were entering a debate. My spouse and I feel strongly that there is little room for pride and ego when it comes to caring for children. Unfortunately, it became abundantly clear that we could not rely on this administration to put their pride and ego aside for the sake of a child and their parents. For that reason, we no longer feel comfortable having our child there. We sincerely hope that, as business owners and caretakers of young children, the administration will take this criticism to heart and continue to grow. Otherwise, they are doing the community a grave disservice. No parent deserves to be gaslighted, dismissed, or made to feel “crazy” or “wrong” for expressing a concern or sharing their experience—even if the feedback is uncomfortable to hear.

I have two boys. My first is my little cherub—the kind of kid who convinces you parenting is easy, lol. Then there’s our second: our wild child. But for all his big energy, he is affectionate, playful, and lovable. When he started at LPP, he was dealing with a lot—grief, major transitions, and the kind of growing pains that sometimes show up as hitting or throwing. We were completely transparent, worked closely with his play therapist, and took every concern seriously. We believe in accountability, and our love for our children doesn’t blind us to their challenges. But from the very beginning, the negativity was overwhelming; his teacher didn’t even attempt to hide her overall aggravation, which made me increasingly uncomfortable. What bothered me more than the complaints was that they delivered them directly in front of him. I’ve never believed in talking about a child like they’re invisible. At home, we correct our kids when appropriate, or we wait until we’re out of earshot to talk. Here, public criticism is the norm; in fact, the owner proudly confirmed that she believes it’s perfectly appropriate for staff to let the kids see their anger and disappointment. I don’t know about anyone else, but I expect preschool staff to be able to regulate their emotions. Of course adults get frustrated—but it’s our job to stay composed, not use children as emotional outlets. After four months of trying to collaborate, I started to realize something was off. The final straw came when the owner stopped me at pickup for a lecture about my 4-year-old being loud during nap time that day, doing nothing to hide how put-out she felt. And again, right in front of him. In my opinion, expecting a toddler to lie silently for ninety minutes is already unrealistic, but even then—couldn’t a developmentally normal behavior like a child occasionally being noisy during nap time be handled internally? But then again, it’s clear the school is lacking in conflict resolution skills, if they weren’t, I wouldn’t be writing this review. Around this same time, my son also told me he’d been punched by other kids and that a teacher grabbed his arm too hard. I’m not claiming this is definitively true—it’s just what he said, and with the general atmosphere, it worried me. More than anything, I was starting to feel like he wasn’t welcome there, and was concerned he might start internalizing the constant negativity, eye-rolling, and irritated tones of the staff. So we asked for a conference with the owner and requested that my son’s play therapist join. The three of us went into it expecting an opportunity to collaborate on our concerns as well as theirs. Unfortunately, the owner approached the meeting like a debate. She smirked, rolled her eyes, and took notes as I spoke—not to understand, but to refute everything I said. We were then forced to sit through 45 minutes of her dismissing and deriding my every word, while taking breaks to cry before jumping back into criticising me. She could have easily said, “I’m sorry that’s been your impression, we love your son and will work on providing a better balance of feedback,” but she doubled down on defending her business and her expertise as a “seasoned mother and educator.” Unfortunately, being experienced doesn’t equate to emotional maturity. I’ve never seen a preschool owner gaslight a parent like that. It was surreal. That was the moment we realized we no longer trusted the environment. Even our play therapist—who is extremely level-headed—recommended that we pull him from the school. We emailed the owner that night to let her know we were withdrawing him. After that final meeting, I realized I wasn’t. It was refreshing to see her true colors. I’m just grateful it’s finally over.

My family has experienced a great deal of grief this past year, it has been tough on my sister, my brother in law and my nephews. They enrolled my littlest nephew here in the spring after he was struggling to deal with the loss of his grandfather. They had hoped it would be a safe and healthy environment for him to heal and for them to have a sense of peace so they could move forward. To make a long story short, it is very evident that the owners of this place are not emotionally sound. They spoke negatively of my nephew in front of him, and when approached with a boundary about that, they let pride and ego get in the way and took zero accountability. Instead, they rolled their eyes, smirked and cried as concerns were raised. Children need to have boundaries and rules and i have so much respect for care takers as it is not an easy job. However, there is zero room for mocking the needs of a parent and if you cannot have a productive and respectful conversation about the child you are being paid to care for, you probably have no business being in this industry.

LPP was exactly what our family needed! Our daughter started at 12 weeks old and if we hadn’t moved, we would have stayed forever. The staff was so kind and adaptable to any change. Mrs. Shawnonne, Ms. Taylor, and Ms. Leyla felt like family. Our daughter loved waving hello every morning to the goats, chickens, and ducks. It’s hard to find childcare you can trust and that is affordable, but LPP was that and more!

This is the best preschool in Raleigh! We love that it is family-owned, there is such a sense of community between the owners, staff, and all of the families. Since enrolling as an infant, my child is absolutely thriving and loves going to school each day. He particularly loves saying hello to the goats and chickens every morning! I cannot say enough good things about Little People Preschool!