I read about Montessori system of nurturing children's potential and wanted to send my boy to one one of Montessori childcare centers. There was a new Precious Cargo opened not far from where we lived and they had a few vacancies, so I thought I'd give it a go. I went there first to have a look at the facilities and they are all brand new and good. Good outside play area too. So, I thought, OK, let's enroll. I've been given enrollment paperwork and was asked to pay 55$ enrollment fee on the spot (you have to pay it even if you want to get your child's name on the waiting list). The centre's policy requires you to pay fees 2 or 4 weeks in advance, I can't remember. Must have been 4 weeks, because following the requirements that was what I did. Then we went for an intoduction visit fo 1 hour. My son played with kids and I was just observing. It was OK, but I would not call the environment loving and caring. Not at all. There was one girl crying for some reason and I saw that one of the carers rolled her eyes indicating to another carer what a drama queen that girl was or something. I didnt think it was the right attitude, but decided to remain open-minded and keep going. We then came in a couple of days again. There was a 3 y.o. boy whos dad had just dropped him off. He was holding on to his teddy bear and crying: Mummy, mummy!! They didn't do much about it. One carer asked him if he was hurt. Do-ah? It was heartbreaking. I asked one of the carers whether they nurse children in distress or divert their attention and she said: "Yes, but there are so many of them..." With all due respect, I thought it was very wrong. They have a ratio of certain amount of children per carer. Anyway, my son announced that he wanted to go home (and he was the 2 y.o. who was desperately looking for friends! I had touble getting him out of playgrounds and creche in my gym) On our way out we had to go via the play area for babies and my son started to play there. Then babies were let out. One little girl went to sand pit and fell face straight in the sand. Another baby begun to throw sand into other kids eyes. Why do they let 12-14 month old babies in he sand? I thought, if you can't look after them propely, why let them do it - there are so many more activities they can do? Anyway, there was a baby boy (looked like 14 months old or so) who was cying. The carer was sitting near the sand pit and seemed to be in no rush to attend. I picked the boy up (I could't help myself, sorry) and he settled a bit, but was still fidgety, so I had a look in his nappy and sure enough it was soiled. The carer then asked:"Oh, is it pooie?" Then she went to change him. I only spent 2 hours there in total and was getting uncomfotable with the place already, so I decided to cancel all the arrangements. I told the receptionist that we would like to cancel my childs attendance before he even starts and asked for a refund. She talked to the director later (it's the same director as in all the other Precious Cargo centres, e.g. St. Peter, etc) and gave me a ring only to tell that they'll still charge me for 2 weeks attendance even if he never started. The adventure did cost me about 200$. It felt wrong. Mediocre service, greedy owners.
Approximate cost: $200
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I found this review and my comments probably come too late. But I disagree with this review and it's unfair to the business. I would also like to point out that what you did picking up that child was completely inappropriate. Parents send their children to child care and expect that the only people that handle their children are the STAFF. I have a 10 month old who is an only child and she is very spoilt being the only grandchild on both sides. When I send her to child care on a part time basis in a couple of months, I don't want the staff pouncing everytime she winges a bit. I don't want my child wrapped in cotton wool, I want her to learn to help and fend for herslef. There's a difference between crying and winging for attention and the staff would have more experience with each child (and children in general) to know the difference. If something is really wrong, yes, I expect the staff to attend to it immediately, but if there is a child that winges for attention all day and it takes away from the attention that the other children get, then I believe it's fair enough for the staff to leave them be for a bit. I hope no one seriously pays attention to these sorts of reviews. Also, people don't get rich from running a child care centre. The costs are very high and with one staff member per four children (as is the case with the little ones), it's not an industry in which people who are greedy get rich. Look at how many centres are going out of business.
Sorry but I disagree with shellym2. If my daughter was upset, I would like to think that there would be someone who could console her, not leave her crying. This isn't a great strategy to 'make them tougher' and it doesn't make them spoilt. Children in a nurtured environment are able to become confident and have the freedom & feel safe to make mistakes, learn from these mistakes etc. I know that this is against policy but if the baby boy who was crying and had a soiled nappy was my child, I would be thankful that another parent had the empathy to comfort and point out to staff that his nappy was soiled. Regardless of the feedback & these comments, each parent needs to feel assured and comfortable that their child is being looked after in the way they would expect. If the person who left the original feedback had concerns, then to remove their child from this childcare centre is the best choice for them. I found the review very insightful and helpful. Thank you.