Kiddie Academy of St Johns

My child had just turned 1 yr old. He had never been in a daycare. He was waitlisted to be in the toddler classroom. He was sensitive to formulas since he was a baby so when I found the best one for him I decided to use the toddler formula the brand had. On day 1 of taking my child to daycare I was informed that the formula can't be brought in the facility. Had no idea this would be an issue. I decided he could try the cow milk the daycare offered and took the formula. I figured that I would put trust in the daycare to make sure he would be okay and that I would be called if my child was having a tough time. I regret that I picked him up so late that day. I went to pick him up and heard frantic crying from my boy like I had never heard before. When I looked into his eyes he looked devasted, confused, hurt and like he had suffered. When I gave him to my husband he started shaking his head as if telling us he didnt want to be there. My heart dropped I began asking what happend. They said he hardly ate or drank milk. He was walking all over the classroom with no one trying to figure out what a mother would know in a heartbeat. I had given explicit directions to management and employees on numerous occasions on how my child should be fed so he does not go extremely hungry throughout the day since he is still learning and gets hungry often. He eats a bit of food then likes a bottle. I hoped that they were understanding about the transition for my child. I was given extreme resistance from management and especially with Ms. Valarie explaining daycare protocols. I found myself alone having to find the solution so he could have the daily doses of milk that he needed. Employees seemed to be nice although not efficient at problem solving so my son could have his specific amount of milk even after getting a Doctor's note requested by the daycare so he could have his formula given. When brought home every day from daycare he seemed traumatized not wanting me out of his sight the whole day and woke up several times during the middle of the night extremely hungry. This is not my son's normal behavior at all. I was getting no sleep, it was a nightmare. On my son's last day I picked him up and found him again left crying. I gave him his ounces of milk in the parking lot and he stopped the uncontrollable crying immediately. He was neglected, there is no other word for this. Another issue was his safety. I reiterated to all staff members that my child is still learning how to walk on his own and every day I would have to sign off on incident reports because he was left unattended walking all over the classroom on the tile floor as I have witnessed myself. I really reccommend more staff per classrooms. The last day before withdrawing my child there was one employee with all the children and mine was left crying non stop. If a child is really hungry he is not going to understand anyone's "protocols", he just needs to be fed then and there. In the end, I was paying for my child's emotional and physical needs to be cared for and this daycare failed to show they actually cared.

The teachers do a great job with all of the children. There are tons of learning activities to keep the kids engaged

Our son has been enrolled in Kiddie Academy of St. Johns for a couple of years now, and he LOVES it there! The atmosphere is fun and inviting, and the teachers are all extremely friendly and helpful. Rita, one of the owners, is always very attentive and responsive to our needs and we know we can always count on her to help us with anything we may need. We simply couldn't be happier with our experience at Kiddie Academy of St. Johns!

We absolutely loved Kiddie Academy and are very sorry to take our daughter out because we moved. We have developed great relationships with everyone there and felt always very welcomed and cared for. My daughter had such a great bond with her teacher, we cried leaving. Ms. Mickaela made her feel safe, she always was very kind, loving and caring. She sent us lots of pictures throughout the day showing us how My daughter laughs, eats, plays. My daughter started talking and opening up thanks to her. We will always remember our first child care and our first teachers! Thank you Kiddie Academy for everything!

There's no other day care center with virus killing lights in the air conditioning system to completely wipe out all pathogens carcinogens and viruses on a single pass of the air conditioning system. Couple that with a full kitchen and a huge Portico so that you can get in and out of your car in the dry and this place is beyond believable.