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December 2023 by Maggie Morgan
My daughter has been going here since she was 6 months old and is currently 2. The place is clean, good policy and procedures, and very good communication between parents/teachers/director. They offer video to watch your child through out the day, and I see my daughter do wonderful activities and crafts. Ms Rena is my daughters favorite teacher. My daughter gets so excited to come to daycare (part time) on her days.I felt compelled to comment on here due to the negative reviews. I expect my child to generally fall (like all kids do), or there are times when they are short staffed that they have to close a classroom. But I know other daycare who close for a week on a Monday morning so ignore the negative reviews. I was scared to bring my daughter to a daycare in general and this place has been wonderful.
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August 2023 by MissPrissJewels
Avoid! Bottom line, as many reviewers have stated, the director Amanda and assistant director are ineffective and running this daycare into the ground. The sad part is, after so many bad reviews and low ratings, does Doodlebugs care? No. Consider that before enrolling your child. Your kid, money, time and business are expendable and you will be treated as such.Our daughter was scratched or assaulted almost weekly and somehow the staff always wrote up accident reports as if our newly two year old, somehow brought the injuries on herself. To give you a better idea, she had a knot on the back of her head and her teacher, said that she fell backwards. Never. Another week, she had a scratches on her face and I was told that she probably scratched herself. Not a chance. A week after that, there were scratches on her arm and her teacher said that she got too close to another kid and the kid scratched her, but guess what? The accident report didn’t say that and how is another child hurting my daughter now her fault? Obviously there was a kid who was little sociopath, in the toddler class. Instead of addressing the concern in an honest way, the center blamed our kid, ignored the problem and wrote up weekly accident reports. When we brought it up directly, Amanda deviated from the point. A couple of weeks later, we were called into the office for a meeting which was canceled when we showed up. Super unprofessional.Bottom line, I do not recommend starting your toddler here because it is not a safe or friendly environment. Additionally, there is an extremely high turn over of kids. I noticed, but just figured that kids were moving up to the next class or the parents where enrolling elsewhere, but we realized part of what they do is rotate families in and out who they think ‘fit the mold’ of the students that they wish to attend. The staff we encountered were jaded or burned out. There were several times when teachers would not greet our kid at the door or take the extra time to help her adjust to a new environment. The director is ineffective and makes excuses for negligent staff to the effect of documenting children in unannounced observations - when feeling that a family is displeased or has complaints. One tactic that she uses is to try and persuade the parents of toddler behavioral concerns that aren’t legitimate at all. However, a two year old that has never seen a classroom does not know classroom behavioral expectations or teacher expectations. It is the job of the 20 something year old teachers to teach the toddlers. Remember? Again, they are toddlers and it is important to note that two and three year olds are all different and learn at a different pace. As educators it is not only their job to meet the basic needs of students, it is their job to TEACH them. The teaching part does not translate to the staff or director. Instead if the toddler does not miraculously subscribe to their expectations, the staff creates a problem. Management is completely unfriendly. The assistant director, ignored our two year old saying hello. Just all around weird environment. Find a suitable place for your kid, but this location isn’t it.As other reviewers have pointed out, Doodlebugs as a corporation is greedy. Should you decide to pull your kids, they are getting one month of tuition regardless of if your child attends or not. We ended up paying for a month of care without my daughter attending a single day because of their corporate greed and policy. How is this ethical? The school did not prove to be a safe environment for my daughter and the daycare director did not address this concern, instead she deflected. Most other daycares in the area only require two weeks notice and pay. Their loss though because we are a good family. We have already started spreading the word among others about our dissatisfaction with this center and will continue to do so.
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June 2023 by Rose Zhen
We absolutely adore Brighten Center! Our son started attending when he was just 18 months old, and it has been an incredible experience for our family. During the first two weeks, he had a tough time adjusting and would cry frequently. However, thanks to the exceptional care and dedication of Ms. Vicky and Ms. Macy, he quickly adapted to the new environment. They patiently held him and provided the comfort he needed, which made a world of difference.Every day when we picked him up, we could see how genuinely happy he was. It was heartwarming to witness his joy and excitement. In fact, he even started learning several new words during his four-month journey at the center, which was truly remarkable.Sadly, we had to discontinue his enrollment due to our recent relocation to another state. It's truly a pity because we will miss everyone at Brighten Center. The staff members have become like a second family to us, and we are grateful for the love, care, and support they provided to our son.
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May 2023 by Andre Carson
Don't be fooled by the clean appearance. It only looks this way because it's fairly new. We were excited to have our son interacting with other kids as he had no real exposure for the first 1.5 years. But there were so many things that could have been done better and respectfully. Where do I start first the Director and the lady under her aren't nice people I'll leave it at that. The teachers were okay and for the most part followed our instruction when special attention was needed. The staff wiped the kids noses with hard towel meant for hands and almost always avoided the tissue dispenser which was easily visible due to the good quality of the video. 6 plus hours of that my son would have dry snot all across his face and his nose would be raw at times. We purchased special tissue and some teachers used it most didn't, even after multiple requests. That was one of many but the kicker was this, they sent my son home for diarrhea. Most of the time this was tru, but then I noticed that they were doing it on days I knew he didn't have diarrhea. I asked them I thought the kids had to have multiple incidents and was told but he has a runny nose too(which kid doesn't during the winter months). I called service and not sure why she told me but she said the same thing was happening in Buffalo. That they were short staffed so they sent kids home. So instead of being good people and saying we have to send your son home due to staffing. They made up the diarrhea and runny nose bit. And still charged me for a full week at least the could credit my account for next week I wasnt asking for money back. Customer service gave the center a call the next week late Thursday evening we received a call that his class was closing the next day on Friday. No real notice almost less than 12 hours very unprofessional as me and my wife both work full-time.The teacher knew nothing of the closing and said her class had room still. Seems vindictive the last day the Director avoided us and said nothing since I the intial call to service made the call.
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April 2023 by suman shrestha
The most important thing you need to confirm before enrolling your kids here:Ask them to guarantee you they won't kick your kid out when they are short of staff.This is not an angry rant. Just some facts that might help other parents and kids. The facilities and webcam service are good. But they left us completely astonished.After months of waiting we enrolled our 3yr old daughter here and they kicked us out after one month saying a bunch of staff quit. It was our daughter's first time experiencing separation from us and the whole month was a traumatic experience for her. And she was just starting to adjust & settle down finally, and now suddenly she is out. Now she has to go through the whole trauma all over again.I understand their problem but I don't understand what is their criteria of choosing who to kick out. They said it's "random". But is it?Ms. Lacie was exceptional on how she handled our kid's first time struggles. Huge respect! But then there is Ms. Sierra, rude to kids, I can tell she doesnt like this job. One time she didn't evn make the bed for our daughter. I didnt make it a big deal but maybe I should have.So just talk about these few things at the time of enrolling your kids. Thanks!
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December 2022 by Eric P
An excellent facility with great staff. They had a few issues with stability during the heights of COVID (just like everyone else), but they've regained their footing admirably, and I can heartily recommend them!
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December 2022 by James Wooten
Generic replies. No responsibility because there is no accountability. The director should not be the director. There is a reason staff has such a high turn over. There's missing the mark and then there's having the bar set so low that it's practically a tripping hazard in hell, but here you are limbo dancing with the devil.
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December 2022 by Amanda
Director openly admitted she didn't like children!!! I don't feel safe with my kids going here. I encourage everyone else to read all the bad reviews it is unbelievable!!
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December 2022 by Jessica Stroud
My daughter has been here since the day they opened in Sept 2020. We absolutely love it here! She has grown so much and developed so many positive learning and social skills in her time here. The director, Amanda, is always helpful and easy to talk to. It’s been a pleasure working with her, the other admins at the desk and all of my daughter’s various teachers and caretakers throughout her years here. Obviously the ability to watch your child any time of day is a huge bonus! But to be honest, we are so happy and comfortable here it’s to the point we barely look now. Keep up the great work Brighton!
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December 2021 by Rebecca Borrelli
Our kids have been going to DoodleBugs! since my oldest was 6 months old. They have been at the Brighton location since they opened in 2020, and we love it there. The teachers are all wonderful with the kids and really take the time to get to know them. The curriculum is amazing and I love watching my kids learn and grow. My kids both enjoy being there during the day.Any time we have had any questions or concerns, Miss Amanda and the rest of the administrative staff have been wonderfully responsive. Even though they aren't teachers, the administrators know all of the students.We love the Brighton DoodleBugs! and have recommended it to multiple friends.
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December 2021 by Kari “The GOAT Mom” Aldridge
My son has been going here since early October, 2021. I give all the staff a lot of credit for opening a daycare center during a pandemic!! They have been very accommodating to my school age son. They make space and time for him to get his schoolwork done. The outdoor and indoor play areas are bigger than any other in the area as far as I know. This is the first daycare where my son is sad when he doesn’t get to go. They even made a homemade cake for his birthday! The staff are very kind and patient. Highly recommend!
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December 2021 by Kerynn Laraby
Lots going on here.1. My son was not alloted the full time needed with his speech therapist (is alloted 30 minutes with her, according to doodlebugs, she's only allowed 20 minutes a session)2. Every time we dropped my son off, it was complete chaos. My son didn't want to go and was having a hard time adjusting to having different teachers each day and the amount of kids in the classroom was insanity3. Daily report didn't tell us anything besides what he ate4. Constant policy changes happened within the 2 weeks we were there5. I tried to call and express my concerns and basically was met with a "does he have any stuff here? I can pack it up for you. Okay bye". Director wasn't interested in making things right, or hearing my side or, if anything, making me feel better about continuing to send my child there.6. I will say, while I was watching the cameras, my son hit his head on the playground and the staff member was quick to comfort and check him. I did appreciate that and appreciate the teacher for that.
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December 2021 by Ellyn Keith
My one year old son loves it here! When he sees where we are in the mornings, he starts laughing and clapping and wiggling to get out of his car seat. Yes, there is a high turnover rate, but not any more so than other daycares-- I don't think that's the fault of the staff, it's just the nature of the job. Childcare is exhausting. It's clear to me that everyone at the center works very hard and truly cares for the kids. I'm happy my son is there.
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December 2021 by Briona Miller
My son LOOOVES his teacher Ms.Julie! The center is great about keeping the kids on a schedule, they take care about dietary restrictions, and he's constantly bringing home fun art. The center keeps clean (disinfecting for covid,) they have cameras and an app so I know everything about his day, and the security to get into the building is top notch. Covid restrictions and policies that are out of their control are the only issues I've had so over all its just great!
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December 2021 by sara lolo
First week/ my daughter in doodlebug I am so happy with the amazing work that the staff is doing with her.. its a hard transition for her and I can see all the time the amazing work that they are doing by just holding and calming her down and that means alot for my daughter's mental support and transition she will do better thanks to them. First day she became more independent she is a toddler and I can see amazing results on her selffeeding skills .. Great staff friendly people and most important they love the kids ... I will recommend this place I am very satisfied with their hard work on my child and their program is really good for her development. First week is hard but I can see through the cameras they Are doing Their best and they will always do that with all the kids...
