Hudson's Kids Kastle

I should have trusted by instincts and never taken my child to this daycare. The day that I went in to sign the paperwork, I heard a “teacher” yelling at the kids in her room (contrary to the form I was signing saying that they don’t raise their voice to kids) and heard a parent come in and say that he had to get the adult’s attention outside so she could stop some kids from beating up a little boy. Nevertheless, we started our son here at 10 weeks old because it was conveniently located, low in cost, had an opening available, and my husband had actually gone there 30 years ago. I dismissed my concerns by telling myself that we’d get off of the waiting list for the daycare we wanted downtown soon and this would do until then.

We ended up finding another daycare after less than three months due to several concerns.

1) Cleanliness: The room often had a foul odor, sometimes so bad I gagged when I walked in. Also, the babies’ faces were often dirty, even when it was obvious their mealtime was over and the snot on their noses was getting crusty. If it had just been on occasion, I would not have been so concerned – you can’t wipe every bit of snot and drool every minute and kids are messy eaters – but this was a regular occurrence. We had to ask ourselves if we could expect that our child would be treated any better, and if not, was that okay with us?

2) Security: We were told that the front door is locked during the day, though it was also unlocked at peak drop off and pick up times. However, we had to go at other times and the door was NEVER locked.

3) Stimulation: We felt like our baby spent too much time laying in his crib. They have lots of toys for the crawlers and walkers, but for the younger babies they have a quilt they lay out during the older one’s naptime and one bouncey seat.

4) Communication: We had great difficulty communicating with the workers in the infant room. Even written instructions were either ignored or misunderstood. For example, I told them that we were no longer swaddling our baby and he could use a loose blanket now, and they told me how they had stopped swaddling him weeks before. Perhaps that explains why he wasn’t getting quality sleep there. When we’d try to deal with a problem, the staff got very defensive and seemed chiefly concerned with telling us why and how they had done everything right. Even when I said that a communication problem was my fault, they seemed angry. The last day we took our child there, the worker in the room wouldn’t even acknowledge that I was there. How do you trust such a person to care for your baby? I gave the two weeks written notice of withdrawal required under the contract and tried to just leave it at “we found another daycare that is a better a fit for our family.” But, they pressed me for my reasons for leaving and I told them. A couple hours later, I got a call saying they spoke with the owner and she said we should just make that his last day. It actually worked out for the best because I didn’t want him there a second longer, but it seemed quite unprofessional and aimed at leaving me in a bind.

All of that said, there were some good things about Hudsons. We got several cute crafts made with our child’s finger print, foot print, and picture, as well as a Halloween bucket and Christmas stocking. The workers seemed to mean well, but are undertrained and just did not provide the quality of childcare that I wanted. If this is your only option due to location or finances, I don’t think they would do anything to intentionally harm your child. But, I am so much happier now that we are at a quality daycare, where the room is clean, there is ample space and equipment for the babies, the building is secure, and the workers are competent. It is more expensive to go elsewhere, but it is 100% worth it.

Had enough I would like to give another side of this story. First lets talk abut being bullied. The daycare has never allowed bulling and if a child is bullied they do not tolerate this behavior. The child doing the bulling gets time out because that is all that the staff is allowed to do because that is the law. Also the parents are talked to with and the child is written up. If this behavior continues then the child is asked to leave. The workers are always walking the play ground watching the children. They do not turn the other cheek. I know who your grandson is by what you said in the E-mail and he has spit on other children because my child was one of those he spit on. I have also been at the center when one of the teachers was talking with him about kicking other kids. Now your grandson is an older child and it is most unlikely that he got bit really bad because these children know better. I asked my child about his glasses being thrown and the student that did that was written up and the parents were spoken to as well. If you want to call that THEY DO NOTHING then what do you want them to do? I have also been at the center picking up my child and heard this child say curse words and again all the teacher done was put him in time out and I'm sure that they talked to his mother. I have gone to the center at different times of the day and I have not seen any of the things that you described above. I have been told by my child that one time while on the bus he refused to buckle up and was jumping over the seats and that another teacher had to come and get him off the bus because when she got him into his seat belt he took it off and refused to sit. I also have a friend of mine who's child attends the same center and she seen him knock over a teacher to the ground and she twisted her knee. I just thought that since you wanted to say some ugly things and not tell all I would let the readers see the other story. This center has been in business for over 30 years and I'm sure that the business would not of lasted this long if this is how the children are treated. I have seen this staff go above and beyond for many of their children and I'm sure your grandson was one of those students. I see the staff love the children and they give them the best care and my child was in another center and that center could not ever put themselves up to the standards that Hudson's has. HUDSON'S KID'S KASTLE is a great center. I would not have my child go no where else. When you tell a story please tell the whole truth and not just what makes you happy. God does not like ugly!

My grandson is enrolled in Hudson's and is bullied constantly and the so called workers do nothing about it. They turn the other cheek. He has been bitten and I mean bad, glasses thrown in the sandbox and spit on, kicked.....AND THEY DO NOTHING!!! My daughter is a single parent and has to work, she is in desperate need of help. She is in the middle of finding somewhere for him to stay, she works in Bishopville and has to be there at 7:00 - 5:00. So it's tough for her to get the proper caregiver for him. This has to stop, or close the doors on this so called day care...