A Garden For Children Child Dev. Center - Universal City TX Licensed Center - Child Care Program

840 NORTH BLVD , UNIVERSAL CITY TX 78148
(210) 659-1414
12 Reviews

About the Provider

Description: A garden for children child developement center is a licensed facility open Monday-Friday. We provide 2 Hot meals per day and 3 snacks, We offer the "Texas Randy" school curriculum as well as thematic learning activities and computer learning programs. Each month a calendar goes out with what the children are learning for the month. We provide Field trips, Our staff members have a wealth of experience C.D.A, first-aide, CPR training as well. the center director Mrs. Hunter has over 40 years experience in the education system. We have openings for Birth-school age, We also have dual language teachers who are excellent with infants and toddlers whom have been in the daycare field for years. Our children are our number one priority! We look forward to meeting your little ones!.

Additional Information: Initial License Date: 3/20/2015.

Program and Licensing Details

  • License Number: 1560678
  • Capacity: 80
  • Age Range: Infant, Toddler, Pre-Kindergarten, School
  • Enrolled in Subsidized Child Care Program: Yes
  • Initial License Issue Date: May 27, 2016

Location Map

Inspection/Report History

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Inspections Assessments Self Reported Incidents Reports
25 0 1 9 View Report(s)

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Reviews

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Savannah Aug 18, 2020
I have used this provider for more than 6 months

My kids have been going to this daycare for years and I can honestly say I love this daycare. The staff is very sweet and I can say honesty say I feel 100% comfortable that my kids are in great hands. I highly recommend this daycare.

33 out of 66 think this review is helpful
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Valerie Jul 16, 2020
I have used this provider for more than 6 months

We moved M to this daycare when he was 'let go' from another daycare for biting. The teachers here kept an eye on him and slowly, gently ended that phase! That was over a year ago. M loves going to school. At 3 yo, yesterday I asked him 'who loves you', he cited parents and grandparents, and then his teachers (Ms. Kiki, Ms. Bria, Ms. Brandy...) and finally the director (Mr. Damien). He is absolutely certain they love him, even as they potty train, break up altercations, teach him his letters, etc. - he is certain of their love. What else could we ask of a daycare than to make him feel safe and loved. Want to have a child filled with confidence and love, put the child in a daycare where they really care about the children. This is it. If a new teacher does not display this kind of caring, they are asked to leave. We love the people who work at this daycare and our M is a happy, loving child!!

33 out of 69 think this review is helpful
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Big Momma Aug 06, 2019
I have used this provider for less than 6 months

Let me say this up front, there is NO perfect Daycare. Also, there is NO perfect parent. This place is a wonderful center, caring place. They take time with each and everyone of the children. Now, I've read some of the other reviews. Listen, I owned my own daycare years ago. I was certified with the State of Michigan. I also was certified with the Army. I am now a grandma, I would not leave my grandchild with just anyone. Parents we must do our homework, we must drop by or stop in to check on our children/grandchildren and listen to our children/grandchildren. I am saying currently, this place is doing what it takes. they are Going the extra mile. I will continue to double check and ask questions regarding the care of my grandchild because it is my job and there job. It does take a village. With God's help we will continue to work as one, as a team to make all children fill safe and loved.

82 out of 141 think this review is helpful
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Yvonne Norris Feb 10, 2019
I have used this provider for more than 6 months

We were so pleased to bring our son to A Garden For Children. The teachers, administration and all staff are so excited to have these kids and do a great job teaching them and taking care of them. Mrs Hunter is amazing. We wouldn’t have our son anywhere else!

Highly recommended

51 out of 99 think this review is helpful
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Lynette Carr Feb 10, 2019
I have used this provider for more than 6 months

My son loves this place, he has been here for over a year. The staff friendly and personable. My son looks forward to coming everyday. Prior to finding Garden for children my son had a very difficult time adapting to day care. He would dread going and cry the second it was time to get out of the car.

But not with Garden for children. The environment is enjoyable and he feels loved and safe!

I’m so happy I found this place. I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone!

59 out of 115 think this review is helpful
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S. Banks Feb 01, 2019
I have used this provider for less than 6 months

I definitely would NOT recommend this daycare to anyone! As of today, January 31, 2019, my child was terminated because the stand-in owner said he “would not want me to put my daughter in a daycare where I don’t feel she’s safe.” My child was enrolled for THREE weeks and I would NEVER recommend this daycare. The legitimate owner is out on medical leave until the end of the year and Damien Hunter, the stand-in for the owner AND the owner’s son, knows NOTHING about running a business and is extremely unprofessional. This daycare is messy and full of drama. There’s a bunch of he-said, she-said amongst the employees and it shows. The infant room is not safe, in my opinion, because there is only ONE way in and ONE way out, 2 small windows, & HALF of a door! There isn’t a phone nor an intercom system put in place for communication amongst the employees throughout the daycare. I was told that if someone comes into the daycare, for instance, with a gun, there “should never be anyone coming in to the daycare because someone is always watching the front desk.” This is a false statement because Damien Hunter is enrolled in school and attends school regularly, which leaves no one at the front desk for hours on end. Apparently, the teacher in another classroom is supposed to be watching the front desk, but how can she do her job effectively, as she should, if she’s watching the front desk? My child was terminated because I asked questions about safety. Their “safety precautions” are an alarm system, apparently Universal City police is on-call, & wind chimes so they can hear who comes in and out of the daycare. All of these “safety precautions” are easy to get around especially because they have an open-door policy, meaning that anyone can enter the daycare at any time of the day! Apparently, the children will be okay because Damien Hunter would “protect them with his life,” as he stated IN FRONT of their cameras and I recorded all of our conversations! If PROPER and EFFICIENT security tactics and technology were put in place we wouldn’t need him to “protect the children like they were his own.” My mother was called a liar, but when she confronted the other party involved, the other party stated that she did not hear the conversation because she was watching her class. There is no way she could have heard the conversation if she was doing her job as a teacher, which is to ensure the overall safety and well-being of her students and educate them. Apparently licensing has come to the daycare TWICE already AND several parents have made complaints both in the reviews and to licensing. There was also a ratio issue in the infant classroom. There are SUPPOSED to be 4 infants to 1 teacher, but there were 5 when my daughter attended the daycare for 3 weeks. I guess with $170 a week, you get what you pay for because this daycare is poorly ran. Plus, their debt card machine is ALWAYS down, which is inconvenient because you have to either have cash or a check. Your child can attend this daycare if you DON’T ask the hard questions that they don’t have answers for.

49 out of 104 think this review is helpful
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BabyBoy Jan 24, 2019
I have used this provider for less than 6 months

We enrolled our newborn baby boy when he was 3 months old. When we toured the facility it seemed perfect! The staff seemed very friendly, everything seemed normal for a daycare center and the “director” seemed like a blessing. Shortly after our little boy began attending, he would come home with scratches and bruises (he was only 3 months old). At first I let it go, but it kept getting worse so I began to ask what had happened. The response I first was given was that the teacher never saw anything but would keep a better watch. Again, I questioned when a deeper scratch was found when I picked him up and no answer was given, the teacher said she didn’t know. Out of concern we called in once we had gotten home safely to inquire what happened. First, the director was very nice and after we explained what had been happening she promised she would investigate and punish the teacher. Within 10 minutes we got a call back with the director yelling and screaming, saying our little boy had come in that day hurt, that we had brought him in with injuries and tried to turn it around on us. I’m not one for conflict so I got off the phone immediately and never went back.

 

A year later we tried this daycare again since our little boy was older we figured maybe things have changed and it was so close to work I couldn’t not give it another chance. This mistake cost us medical bills. This time our little boy came home with a fractured toe and dried blood in his sock and shoe. His toe was swollen and bruised and a little bent, I was scared to death it was broken. Nobody told me anything when I picked him up but I could tell he had been crying. My husband called up there this time to ask if there had been an incident and why we were never notified. Again, everything was denied and the blame was placed on us that we had brought him in injured. Again, the director attacked us. My husband dropped off my little boy after taking him in for X-rays where the dr said his toe was fractured very badly. That something very heavy was dropped on him or he was stomped on by a large adult. The director refused to believe it and called me at work to come pick up my little boy mid morning that she withdrew him herself. I had to leave work crying in front of my coworkers and boss and try to find someone to watch my little one for the reminder of the day.

We never reported her or this daycare but we should have. Reading the reports listed are just plain scary knowing we left our newborn in her hands. Now I know why our baby would come home hurt all the time and was scared to be left there. It’s a horrible frightening feeling leaving your baby in a place where they get hurt and there’s no explanation and you get blamed and screamed at by the people who are supposed to be a home away from home. I don’t understand how this place hasn’t been shutdown yet. Now I know they have cruel and harmful punishment. We will never take a chance like that again.

51 out of 103 think this review is helpful
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amanda beall Oct 15, 2018
I have used this provider for more than 6 months

I Love this Child Care Center I don't even consider this as a daycare I consider this facility as my child's home away from home the staff and management are so nice and knowledgeable with the educational experience they give my two children. My child is always so excited to tell me what they learned and did in class today. My oldest is ready for big boy school and my toddler is ready to learn everyday.. Thank you Damien and Carolyn and staff for this wonderful experience as my first and only childcare center...

47 out of 104 think this review is helpful
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Bishop J..R. Smokes Aug 22, 2018

Strongly recommend this day care. Because of my business schedule my daughter was not even enrolled at the day care but Mrs. Carolyn made it a point to pick up my daughter from school and kept her until I was free from my meeting. My daughter only being a child herself would my ask me everyday if she could go to the daycare. Mrs. Hunter being a certified teacher would assist my child with her school work and there have been times that I would just show up at the daycare and I have seen her ask after care children if they had homework and try to help them with their homework. Had not my business schedule did not have me free much of the time I would have enrolled my daughter in to the daycare. Now I have custody of my grand daughter and even as a newborn Mrs. Hunter would come to my home to pick her up and take her to daycare just to give me a break. i do not trust people with my children like that but I knew in the care of Mrs Hunter my grand daughter would be safe and taken care of. Before returning her to me the baby had been well taken care of and I place her in bed and she slept most of the night because she had been fed and had her bath.
I have known the Director Mrs. Carolyn Hunter for almost 20 years.As I stated in my previous comment I do not just allow my children to go to anyone because i am not sure of how they would be treated if I were not present. Being a single parent and a man Mrs. Hunter and her staff was always on hand to come pick up my children just so that I may take a "mental health" break.
I serve as President of the Parents Committee for Garden for Children which I am proud to be part of. Because of the fact my time is my time I can always pay surprise visits to the day care just to see how things are going. I do this because our children are important to the future and because as I parent we have love for them . Recently during a meeting and inspecting of the day care I met with some of the staff and was informed that a parent had physical attacked Mrs. Hunter. This is an act that is prohibited as one of my policies for any employee to be attacked by a parent due to the safety of our children and employee. Remember the staff are there to protect our children. I also found one of the comments that the baby room is always dark that is not what I found to be true. Sometimes we may have a child going through certain stages where they go through biting others. Mrs.Hunter and I have discussed safety of the children on many occasions. this is something that is carefully watch for by the staff because we do not want any child hurt in anyway. The staff at A Garden For Children care about children because most are parents themselves. As a parent we want our children safe at all times.The staff has a love for children and are instructed and observed to give each child attention as if they were their own.
I hear about the complaints but I have not received one email or call from any of the people that are leaving comments . Parents are encouraged to contact me so if there is s problem that I can get with the staff and we can correct it

52 out of 121 think this review is helpful
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Susan Kelly Aug 20, 2018

The personnel are good Christian loving people and care about the well being of the children that attend there. It’s a great place and I would highly recommend them to anyone.

48 out of 121 think this review is helpful
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VisitingSLP Jan 29, 2018

I see children for speech therapy at A Garden for Children Child Development Center and have an "inside look" at the interaction between staff and children. There is so much respect for the children and families at this center from both the teachers and the owner that, as a somewhat overprotective mom myself, I would absolutely recommend going to meet the staff and considering this establishment to care for your child. I would have confidence enrolling my child here and have a close friend who has never had anything negative to say in over 2 yrs of their baby going here (started as an infant).
I've personally noticed consistent schedules/rules across families (no unfair treatment!), playful and child-friendly staff interacting with kids, and truly happy children seen growing, learning, and playing. The infant room is especially blessed with an amazing teacher who does all the right things to encourage language and motor development!
Since I work with children in other daycare centers, I have learned that it is important to see how the children respond to the staff and not make decisions based on how many "extras" they have. There isn't a mini-golf course or swimming pad here, but the rooms do not reek of urine and the kids are not ignored.

51 out of 115 think this review is helpful
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Steph09 Dec 07, 2016
I have used this provider for less than 6 months

Just wanted to share our experience with this place in order to assist other parents in making the best decision for their babies.

Our little one is 2. When we were checking out the facility, there were a couple of small concerns, but nothing major. The rooms were small and the playground was a little depressing. We decided that they kindness of the staff outweighed the negative at that point. We were told to pay deposit and 1week of tuition on Friday before she started on Monday. We paid the fee and tuition and took Macie to A Garden for Children on Monday morning. Monday afternoon when we picked her up we were given a folder with the policies, immunization record request, and contract to sign and bring back. When the man at the desk mentioned that they need the shot record the next day, they agreed that my husband can bring it in with the folder on Tuesday afternoon. Tuesday I got there to drop the little one off and they asked for the folder and records. I reminded them about the initial plan to bring the documents in during the lunch hour(2.5 hrs away), they agreed. I walked her to her class 15 feet away and the same woman who witnessed us sort that out, reminded me again to bring the folder back at noon. She was less than pleasant. I brushed it off and headed to work. When I finally got to work,and hour away, the man at the front desk called and demanded that My husband or myself take the folder that instant. I didn't argue, I just made the call to ask my husband if he could take an early lunch. My husband is active duty so he was unavailable for 45 minutes but said he could take it after that. I agreed and we hung up. Immediately after that, I received ANOTHER call from the daycare, this time it was the owner. She was SCREAMING at me to get there immediately because they have no paperwork on my child. I explained the situation and she lost it and then hung up on me. When my husband called her to explain that we were doing what we were told by her employees, she cursed him and hung up. He left work immediately and picked up our daughter. The owner was very unprofessional when he explained our reason for removing her. She said, " good luck getting your money back". My husband informed me of the interaction, and I called her to basically beg for a refund for the days that she didn't attend. Again, she cursed me and hung up. I called back twice and she didn't respond. The third time, she answered and told me she does not issue refunds and told me that's should be aware of this since I signed the policies when I started my daughter. I reminded her that I haven't returned the paper to her signed. She then got angry, screamed, and ended the call. An hour later, I received a call from her daycare, it's a police officer informing me that she claims I was harassing her and not me not to call her anymore. I explained that I called twice before and that I had no reason to call her because she already refused to repay the $. I told her I was letting the fraud dept and state make the corrections. Thankfully, I have been refunded the $ but this entire situation still just hangs over me like a dark cloud. The owner simply isn't someone that I would trust to keep a gerbil, much less my sweet little one...

Good luck on you search for the best childcare provider, I STRONGLY recommend you skip this spiteful, vulgar, ghetto, unprofessional woman's establishment. Looks can be deceiving, she can switch from calm, warm, and welcoming to just plain evil in less than 10 seconds. That, in my opinion, is a frightening situation for a little one to be in.

50 out of 103 think this review is helpful
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