where does your kid go during non-school days? (if not on-site afterschool prog)

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workingmom

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my child will start k this september.
i havent decided whether she will stay in onsite after school program or go to another private academy type places, as i am a full time working mom, i need to have a "Default" place i can take her during non school days...
anybody had any good experience somewhere, anywhere in north irvine or tustin ranch?
i'd really appreciate it if you share your experience...

 
I'd go private.  Know of too many cases of inappropriate behavior at CDC including a few incidents that happened to my daughter.
 
riznick said:
I'd go private.  Know of too many cases of inappropriate behavior at CDC including a few incidents that happened to my daughter.
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Could you elaborate? I have a daughter going to CDC morning care.
 
Are you talking about days when the school is closed/closed early but not a holiday?

Most onsite care centers are open those days/hours.
 
Do you guys have any recommendations for full-day Summer programs/camps/care for the months leading up to Kindergarten?
 
Irvine Fanatic said:
riznick said:
I'd go private.  Know of too many cases of inappropriate behavior at CDC including a few incidents that happened to my daughter.
Click to expand...

Could you elaborate? I have a daughter going to CDC morning care.
Click to expand...
8 year old boys having 5 year old girls pull down their panties.  Inappropriate touching.  Bullying...  There's not enough staff to watch all the kids.  It doesn't seem like the staff cares that much about what they are doing.

After a couple of incidents, we pulled our daughter out.  Other parents asked us why, and they said their kids had similar problems.  We know of 4 families who pulled their kids out for similar stuff.

We ended up putting my daughter in Irvine Art and Music, which is a lot better and reasonably priced.
 
spootieho said:
Irvine Fanatic said:
riznick said:
I'd go private.  Know of too many cases of inappropriate behavior at CDC including a few incidents that happened to my daughter.
Click to expand...

Could you elaborate? I have a daughter going to CDC morning care.
Click to expand...
8 year old boys having 5 year old girls pull down their panties.  Inappropriate touching.  Bullying...  There's not enough staff to watch all the kids.  It doesn't seem like the staff cares that much about what they are doing.

After a couple of incidents, we pulled our daughter out.  Other parents asked us why, and they said their kids had similar problems.  We know of 4 families who pulled their kids out for similar stuff.

We ended up putting my daughter in Irvine Art and Music, which is a lot better and reasonably priced.
Click to expand...
This is sad to hear.

Was  it reported to the CDC staff? To the management?

My kids are/were in the after school onsite program and I don't recall any incidents of this type happening. I would think the staff would be very sensitive to this and would remedy this situation as quickly as possible.

What did the center say when you pulled your kids out?
 
Yes, complaints were filed with the CDC. 

Here's what my wife wrote on Yelp.  It doesn't mention the incidents:

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We did not have a good experience here. We feel that the director and staff at Deerfield CDC treats their job like they're babysitting your kids. Don't expect to get all that great stuff you read on their website (cdicdc.org); we didn't feel any family or community connection here. The director, Kristine, is not friendly; she is harsh and abrasive. My child was afraid of her.

I want to share our experience here... I wish more parent write reviews because the parents I've talked to didn't have good things to say about this place.

This is what I see when I'm there at drop-off and pick-up....

On our first day, none of the staff came up to greet me or my child. They didn't even introduce my child to the other children. That should have been the first red flag and I should have just walked out with my child that day and forget my deposit.

In my opinion, they have too many kids compare to the number of staff. Most of the time, it's the director and 2 staff (a total of 3 adults), while 1 staff is inside the office and only 2 adults are watching all the kids. And that's all they are doing... they are sitting back and looking around. They aren't interacting in "enriching" activities like how the website describes. 

I think this allow room for bullying behaviors that the staff don't see because there's too many kids to manage. If you have a kinder or very small child that is sensitive, avoid this place.

I also noticed how most of the kids aren't happy there. I think it's because the kids have to fend for themselves in that environment.

The staff turn-around is high. Two or three staffs left while we were there for a small period of time. We were not notified of new staff or provided with their credentials or experience level.

I don't think they sanitize properly there. My child and another child developed a skin infection (red rashes that never quite go away) while they were there.

All of these issues are unfortunate because Deerfield CDC is in a great location, right next to the elementary school and middle school, so parents feel that it's convenient and safe for their child to walk from school to CDC. In my opinion, that's the only good thing about this CDC. After my experience there, I don't think it's worth it. I rather deal with the inconvenience of taking half an hour out of my work day and pickup my child from school and drop off at another after-school program. Or even pay a little more and have my child picked up by another after-school program where the director and staff cares about my child's development.

I understand if parents feel they have no other options and if they have to send their child to Deerfield CDC, than really look at the staff and other kids when you're picking up your child at the end of the day. For example, did any of the staff (or even the director) introduce themselves to you and do they even know your name? Do they smile at you and the children and act like a trained professional? Are they interacting with the children or distracted by constantly looking at their cell phones, busy with paperwork, setting up snack or lunch or talking among themselves? Is your child happy when you pick them up? And if your child tells you every day that they don't want to go there, then really listen to them and find out why.
 
spootieho is right, you have to trust your instincts when evaluating child care.  I have some friends who are UCI faculty and they get free day care from on campus day care centers.  At one of the UCI day care centers, my friends said they saw a sketchy male teacher that made them feel uncomfortable.  They didn't want that guy to change their daughter's diapers.  They told the director of the facility about their feelings and the director lambasted them for being sexist.  A few years later my friends found out that the male teacher they felt uncomfortable about turned out to be a sex offender.  They are so glad they trusted their instincts and did not let themselves be bullied by political correctness.
 
spootieho said:
Irvine Fanatic said:
riznick said:
I'd go private.  Know of too many cases of inappropriate behavior at CDC including a few incidents that happened to my daughter.
Click to expand...

Could you elaborate? I have a daughter going to CDC morning care.
Click to expand...
8 year old boys having 5 year old girls pull down their panties.  Inappropriate touching.  Bullying...  There's not enough staff to watch all the kids.  It doesn't seem like the staff cares that much about what they are doing.

After a couple of incidents, we pulled our daughter out.  Other parents asked us why, and they said their kids had similar problems.  We know of 4 families who pulled their kids out for similar stuff.

We ended up putting my daughter in Irvine Art and Music, which is a lot better and reasonably priced.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the info. I was not aware this type of behavior is going on. I'm wondering each CDC is run differently. Now I'm concerned for my daughter.
 
@spootiehoo:

Thank you for your post.

During the summer, many of the CDCs do field trips together and I remember my kid complaining specifically about the Deerfield CDC kids and staff... so I guess that is another validation.

I did not know it was that bad and luckily we did not experience that at ours.

My only advice to others is if a childcare center like that was you only choice I would complain like crazy and move up the chain until something was done, not just because it's for your kids, but because it's for all the other kids too.
 
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