Small Beginnings Daycare

My son (then 3), had mixed feelings about being in this daycare & it was a struggle of deep tears to get him to go here often.

PROS: The structure is awesome & the home daycare is very kid friendly full of imaginative play available. The hours posted are very reasonable. The price is very reasonable as compared to what is in the area. There is a nice mix of children from different cultures, backgrounds, & ages to expose kids to socialization.

CONS: My son was scared about an older child who kept hitting him. When I told the owner, she first minimized, then blamed my son's brothers allegedly being home as the reason he didn't want to go to daycare (they weren't home during the day - they went to camp). She made assumptions without facts. This indicates to me that a bigger child and a younger child are being unsupervised together. She said the family would be leaving soon & she kept him next to her at all times. Then there was the continuous biting of a toddler.

In late 2022, the owner would take 1/2-1 days off outside of previous days identified & with little notice. She wouldn't acknowledge the questions even when we pay in advance for care, which means she adjusts last minute, gives us 1-4 days notice, we have no care, & she just stole our money as that it was a paid day off.

In Mar/Apr 23, she made us all sign agreements that we would not speak of her on social media. I took it to her & asked her directly if there was a problem as that I have never mentioned her name, daycare, or even liked a post on her daycare Facebook page. She told me no, she was making all the parents sign this.

Miscommunication was epic. She would tell us she had days off that weren't on the calendar. I would ask her for updated information, but wouldn't get it. I would get off work early & go pick up my son at 2p as opposed to 430p (which she told my partner and I those were hours). Kids would be asleep in the entryway of the daycare on cots awake & laying there bc they weren't allowed to be up, & she would be watching tv/surfing the internet.

She tells me I have to call before I come to pick up my son, particularly during nap time as to not disrupt the children. The children wouldn't be disrupted if they weren't sleep in the entryway.

She minimally communicate information to me, but have much longer conversations with my partner quite often. The final straw for us was she told us on Tues before Memorial Day she was taking off early at 12p & we needed to pick up our son by then. It was not optional & there was no communication or asking about our needs. This again is time theft. There was no emergency.

She told me that she assumed my partner was off because all the other employees with the company were (this was a lie - they were all working) & she "knew" my partner was not working. She said this via text 2x she assumed it. I asked her in what world was it appropriate for her to assume she knows anything about MY partner's schedule, his comings and goings, etc unless she was implying something more. When asking about her calendar, she kept referencing her website, to which I couldn't find. I asked her many times for the address & she finally gave it to me the next day via text. I discovered she blocked me from the website that she has posted my son, & all daycare information on and this had to have been some time ago.

I went in person to confront her after talking with licensing & getting some ideas on how to approach this. When I arrived, she was nasty. Lied & told me that bc I called to ask questions, a formal complaint was filed/the woman would be out the next day to investigate (it wasn't true & she had taken that day off for her training so when was she going to be there). She then lied & told me I wasn't blocked. I showed her on a business Facebook page where people are blocked. She had me, my partner, AND my partner's prior military recruiter page from 6 years ago blocked. She claimed this just magically happened & a possible hacker did it from April 2023. Just us. And 3 other random people. No one else. She then became defensive, told me she needed to know whether I was withdrawing by 5pm on Friday, June 2nd or it would be an automatic withdrawal.

To block just us when we don't comment on her stuff, never even liked a photo, paid our bills on time, picked up our son early so he wasn't the reason her days went longer, paid 2 weeks in advance and sometimes a month (& she wasn't giving receipts/only accepts cash payments until I said this is unacceptable. Told me her yearly receipt is sufficient for CASH payment, huh?!?), & tried to ensure we always stayed pleasant - this decision to block seems like she is coveting someone/thing in my household. To block my partner's prior military account, she would have had to search for it first. I am very suspicious about what else has been happening & the things my son has said at this point.

On 5 Jun 23 when my partner went to go retrieve my son's things and the money she owed us, she gaslit him, told him she can block anyone she wants from her business page, and was yelling this WHILE children were present and in her care. This is similar to what she did to me on 31 Mar 23 where my 8yo son witnessed it. NYS is a one party consent state for recordings so we made sure to record today's interaction with her as proof. I would never recommend this woman again to anyone. She is highly unstable.

Hi Kari. This is Mark. Been trying to get hold of you for sometime now. I have a way to get my things from you without any cost to you. I don't know if somehow I have offended you in any way but if I have I certainly want to clear it up with you. I always considered you my friend and I still do. I hope all goes really well with you these days. Please call me @315-783-6102.

Thank you so much Kari!

I highly recommend this provider to any family needing childcare! The owner is the nicest person you will ever interact with and she truly cared about my child!