Ankeny Lil' Tots Daycare & Preschool LLC

So first I want to say that the only "positive" reviews come from the damn owner herself posing as an employee/parent ???????? the owner KARRIE BERGER is actually the only real reason people hate this job/daycare center. She is very unprofessional and rude. She has no idea how to run a center, now she is even talking of opening a spa so she can run that into the ground too. After MONTHS of talking about making a playground for the kids, it is finally finished. It is literally just a couple toys on fake grass. Not sure why it took so long to throw that together. She picks favorite kids and favorite staff and doesn't care about treating people fairly or the way they deserve to be treated. She spends most days hiding in her office or gossiping with employees. She isn't hands on at all, she rarely helps or asks if anyone needs anything. As a current employee I honestly just can't wait to see her walking around once she reads this wondering which one of us put her on blast. Good luck figuring it out, you treat us all like crap. If it weren't for a paycheck and seeing the beautiful children everyday I would quit on the spot. Karrie Berger, you suck at your job! You suck at being a human being really.

Although I have nothing to say about the lack of professionalism of how this daycare is managed, I would like to acknowledge the true heart and sole of why I was always comfortable leaving my child in Lil Tots care. Megan Koll is very professional and knowledgeable about child care! She does a fantastic job! You can tell this by the way I have watched the babies in her room light up when they see her. (And sometimes would rather stay with her than go home with momma ;) As a parent, that means everything, that your child is well taken care of when you see it transcend in their face! With all the negative reviews, I just wanted to make sure that energy is not directed towards the employees. Just know that all your hard work does not go unnoticed! Thank you Megan for everything you have done and continue to do! You Love and care about the babies that come through your room like your own! You are a true asset to Lil Tots and hope you never feel unappreciated! From our family to yours, we love you!

I am at a loss for words about these reviews. Our family has been with this center since they opened in June of 2014. I have seen nothing but abundant growth from this center. Any business in the beginning has growing pains and mistakes they learn from. Businesses are also going to have employees who are not going to be happy with their job and or management giving them rules they must follow. They have grown this business by building it themselves so it does take a little longer to finish projects and as far as the playground, we have seen them there working on weekends and when they can to finish (with family helping them). And to date it looks like it will be finished at the end of the week. I felt like I needed to write this to give them credit for taking such good care of my family and always addressing issue that may arise. Everyone is always fast to write reviews on the bad and never the good. There is more good to be addressed here then bad. I also know plenty of the employees personally and they have been there well over a year and love their jobs. And the management is very good to them. Bottom line is make sure you know the truth and don't just assume what ex employees are writing is true!

Where to even begin with this center.
Staff: A majority of the staff, I will admit truly care deeply for the children in the center. As with most daycare centers there will always be staff looking for nothing other than a paycheck, however, a great deal of the staff have the right intentions.
Now as for management. What a joke. The owner has her kids running the center. She will go out of her way to avoid speaking with staff if she does not like them. She will go out of her way to avoid speaking with parents! She hides in her office (or Starbucks) daily.
She can never accept that she could be wrong. EVERYTHING is always someone else's fault. God Forbid Karrie Berger is wrong about something. Hell will freeze over.
Let's move on. Where is this so called play ground that was promised to parents over a year ago? Its quite the lovely sand pit out there! Oh but that brand new boat parked out back next to it is sure lovely. Do the kids get to play on the boat? Does the boat belong to the center? Why the hell does a daycare center keep a boat parked in their lot? Where the playground is supposed to be? Come on!
No playground but the owner can open a spa?
I could go on for days here, but I know that as soon as I post this review all Hell is going to break loose at the center. I dont even care.
These things need to be said! So I'm stepping up and saying them.
Karrie you are a poor excuse for a person. Period. You should not be running a center. You're intentions are to make money, NOT care for children!
You dont even take the time to come into classrooms. You dont check on the kids! You dont check on your staff. You make Luke do it all!

It's sad to see these reviews from disgruntled past employees. My two kids have been at Lil' Tots for nearly two years and they are THRIVING. I have never had a problem with the staff or management and any concerns that I brought to their attention were addressed appropriately. I would (and have) recommend Lil' Tots to anyone looking for a quality daycare. They are always improving the facility and finding new technologies to implement. The kids are their focus and it's evident every time I walk through the door.

POOR POOR EXCUSE FOR MANAGMENT..
The "owner" is so unprofessional I was literally speechless. Employees were heard jokingly talking about placing kids in closets. I am not an employee however was going to take my children here and quickly discoverd I would NEVER take my children here. I can't believe this place is even open. Poor excuse for a daycare very sad to see. I only put one star because there was no option to put ZERO
- a concerned parent

The above reviews are from ex employees who of course are going to say bad things about management in anyway possible because they had to follow rules! We are very picky on who we hire and who we keep employed, every business out there is going to have unhappy employees! I know exactly who these employees are and they gave us lots of attitude on how we run our business. We have only been open a little over a year and our enrollment is full in just about every room! We have over 150 fantastic reviews from parents! Our business is very successful and our families and employees will continue to make that happen! Sorry if the above employees had a bad experience but we will not continue to have employees who don't like to do their job correctly! And our cook is the one who brings all the carts to the rooms for meals the kids would never go without their meals! We have management who is always going around and checking on our rooms and each room has a radio to get a hold of other rooms and management at all times! Lil Tot's is also one of the only 4 centers in Ankeny that earned a QRS rating after only
being open 8 mos and was also voted one of Ankeny's best for 2015! We work very closely with ChildCare Resource and referral consultants to give our families the best care out there!

I am also a former employee. I left because of poor management. There were always ratio issues and unfair treatment to both the staff and the children. Upon employement, there were no legal background checks, and the interviewing/hiring process was extremely unprofessional. I was not required to get fingerprints done, nor did I have to fill out anty type of application or background check form. The director doesn't know how to manage her own business, and I would NEVER allow for this daycare center to take care of my children due to the amount of highly uneducated staff members that work there. The turnover rate for staff is extremely high. I would not recommend this daycare center to any parent or future employee.

This center is very unprofessional. As seen above the management/owner is defending herself but with lies. MOST of the staff is unqualified. They dont appreciate the ones that are. They dont back their employees and agree with parents about things that are honestly ridiculous. I worked in a one year old room and they added a crib so ONE child could have two naps during the day, throwing off our entire schedule and ratios. I once worked a 10 hour day by myself with four one year olds. I know that in the state of Iowa that 4:1 is the legal ratio but no one brought the children their breakfast, lunch, or snack. Each time I had to take 4 babies all the way to the kitchen and back by myself. Not to mention when I needed to go get milk for bottles. I was checked on once during the day to see if I needed anything. When the state comes in to check on things they move kids around to make sure that they are in ratio. Even if that means moving them up an age group. This place can not get their act together thus the high turnover rate. Some of the women there are very passionate about what they do and GREAT with the kids but with the type of management they are under they will never thrive in the field.

very poor managment

The above review was made by an ex-employee who was disciplined for her action towards the kids and staff. So of course she is going to say bad things. We have over 130 parent reviews that are VERY positive. And it is STATE LAW that all employees have a background check along with finger prints in order to work in a Iowa childcare center. I know exactly who this employee is along with her 2 buddies!! We run a very strict daycare and Im sorry if some employees dont like our rules, but we do have parents pride possesions in our care, and we are very picky about who we hire!!!!

Very unprofessional. Let's just say for all caring moms out there, that I would NEVER trust them with my child or my infant for that matter. "staff member taking an infant with them to use the restroom" Hell No! And "no background checks" " nonqualified staff"