North Star Children's Center

Let me begin by saying, I am not one to post reviews. I feel that people have a right to make their own opinions and judgements based off their own situations. I am posting this review simply to be the voice for my two-year-old son and his experience here. We brought our child to this center when he was 6 months old. They had just opened their brand-new facility. My son grew up 18 months here so happy, everything was perfect, the greatest kid ever, “the teachers just love him” …. then 2 years old came. He all the sudden has all these dramatic, and ridiculous reports. The owner told me that she did not think it was “normal” that my son was not talking. Then in a roundabout way hinted that there are several different signs of Autism. What a heavy thing to share with a parent. Especially when that is not your job to diagnose my son. They have already started to “target” him as the difficult kid. They have separated and compared his development with the other children in the class. He was brushed off by teachers, they usually got the other children together but would not re-engage him to the group. They would not offer parallel play and try to engage other children with him. They would never recognize when he was needing attention, or even just a simple hug. Not something a Licensed Child Care center should do with any of their kids.
We had nothing to hide, our two-year-old boy could not speak, he had a stubborn disposition when he could not communicate his frustrations… of course! So, as a result of that, he would swat, scratch, pull hair. Unfortunately, is this the ideal way I want him to communicate his frustrations, no – but he is two years old!! Also, what are you doing as a center to help him with re-direction when he does get frustrated? We sat down and had a meeting one on one with the owners to discuss how to move forward with our son. That meeting was the most unprofessional meeting I have ever had. They did not care; they did not want to help or assist him. “They weren’t that kind of center. The entire time, she was huffing and puffing and rolling her eyes like it was a burden that we were even having this meeting. The other owner said, “I’m here to defend my wife.” No, you are here to represent the State of Utah as a professional licensed childcare center. We were speaking facts; it is not like we attacked her. Completely unprofessional. They basically gave our two-year-old son a two-week probation to “improve” his behaviors but clearly that was a set up for failure. One, he is two and you expect a two-year-old to change in two weeks, and two you clearly have expressed that you are not willing to help re-direct or assist the child because you are not that kind of center. The first chance I got, after speaking to specialists, childcare licensing, therapists, doctors we removed him from this toxic environment. When they are telling me to pull him out because this is not a good situation for him based on the treatment he was getting, that said a lot! Also, weeks earlier, another two-year-old that my son started daycare with at 6 months old was also removed due to “behavior” issues. At two years old you are learning so many things. Doctors will often say “every two-year-old basically has ADHD” They develop and learn at their own speed. They all need different things. There were several children in that class that would do the exact same things that were negatively reflected daily about my son. The reports were so negative, and they made him out to be the biggest MONSTER. I took a day off and logged into the camera system and observed the entire day. To my surprise they were very contradictory to what was being reported. Yes, I did see the times he was frustrated and would clearly give the teacher a bit of a fight, but you are the teacher. He depends on you to help him! We were told he was “intentionally” hitting kids with books and the toy buckets. Again, contradictory to what I was told. AND he is two! (Reviewed Continued….) The teachers would rip books out of his hands and would literally not do a thing when another child was displaying the exact same behavior as my son. The other thing was we could never talk to the teachers for some reason. These report backs were coming directly from the owner who spent a lot of time away from that classroom because her own child was in there. He would pick up rocks at daycare and put them in his mouth. This was a way for the poor kid to get attention. At home, you stick your hand out and say, “let me see!” he would happily give it to you! Why are their rocks on your playground anyway? I watched several kids do this. The owner said, “he would dig through the grass and find rocks.” What I observed is that he found rocks under the fence line. On 3/15/2021 they had a finding from their inspection (careaboutchildcare.utah.gov – public record) that they had a five by five-inch gap issue with their fence on the 2–4-year-old playground. That became my little two-year old’s issue and not your own compliance issue as a center. It has been over 30 days since my son left North Star. My son has been in a new center well equipped with teachers that are not always leaving. North Star has had several issues with turnover. They treat their “teachers” like glorified babysitters! He is speaking, singing, and using sign language as he continues to learn more words. Thanks to his new teachers. He has engaged and plays with other children! They do not have rocks on their playground. They have several toys and learning stations in their classrooms. It has literally been like night and day. North Star really emphasizes on their credentials and their degrees, while really their lack of EXPERIENCE says it all! The way I could sum it up is they want kids that are perfect, and do not display challenges, because they want the easy money. They did not care about building a relationship with my child which is so important to his development. They isolated and neglected him. I would recommend for any parent who is not using the camera to actively use it daily. Check in on your kids. Especially if you find you are getting elaborate and more frequent reports. Allison and Jordan, what I must recommend is that you two really learn how to communicate effectively, positively, and professionally. Try the “Oreo” system. With every negative thing you are required to report back to a parent, throw in something amazing and positive about that child! I would not have any idea the struggles he was facing every single day being in your care and how important it was to find a place of peace for him. He deserves better. You are parents, and it is disappointing to know you are running a business and that you clearly do not care about the outcomes or the successes of those kids you care for. We have been completely transparent and have nothing to hide. We were not the only family you impacted; you did this to another family as well with the other two-year-old ‘displaying behavior issues” in your eyes…when that is not the reality. I hope you can make some drastic changes, because every person, childcare agency, doctor, and specialist I have talked to, respectfully I have not recommended your center for childcare. In fact, they said your treatment in your center was probably more damaging and caused delayed his development. They said it really reflects on your character as a center. They also stated that any center that says a child that they “think” has autism should be careful. Because, just like employers, you are required to adhere to the same rules and regulations with accommodating people with delays or disabilities. I refused to file a formal complaint and I am so happy I placed him in a loving, positive, happy environment with genuine people who truly care about him and his success!