Harbor Bay KinderCare

I wish there were more stars to mark. This place is a 100 in our book.
My daughter has attended this Kindercare for almost a year. I was a little apprehensive at first because our last experience with Kindercare in San Diego was HORRIBLE. This place is a complete 180.
The director, Ms. Patty, is amazing. The Friday before my daughter started, three months old, I had a breakdown in Ms. Patty’s office and she was AMAZING. Caring, comforting, understanding — totally non judgmental. We went and met the teachers in the infant room again (I met them when I was still pregnant and of course didn’t remember any of them). Tears in my eyes holding my daughter tight. Everyone was smilies, happy, the babies were happy. It was a perfect setting. The next Monday I dropped my daughter off for a couple of hours while I had a little «mommy» time and still called in to check on her. The staff was great. Gave me a complete run-​down.
The teachers in the infant room and a number of teachers in the school that we have got to know are extraordinary. I could not ask for better people to care for my baby. We had an emergency this past week and the staff reacted perfectly. (My daughter was rushed to the ER in an ambulance from the day care. Ms. Patty went with my LO, held her, made sure she had the lovey that she enjoys).
We are leaving the state this year and it saddens my heart that we will be leaving this amazing staff. If I could take them all with me, I would. They love my daughter as their own. They are willing do what is best for her instead of «merely following policy» (which we have run into with other day care centers in the past.) Patty’s management of the center, her leadership is reflected in the care and professionalism her staff exudes with the children. They listen and work with the parents. I can’t say enough good things about this Kindercare. Your child will be well taken care of here.

My 3yr old daughter went to the Pittsburg Kinder Care. She has gone there for one year. Because of life changes I’ve had to move her to a daycare near Oakland/​Alameda area.
Originally I wanted to keep her in the Kinder Care community and just transfer. The curriculum is great. The food is included in the tuition. The hours are great for a full time worker.
What I didn’t like is the tuition and the set up of the «classrooms». The tuition is about $ 200 more than I pay in Pittsburg. I understand the cost of living is higher in alameda but the higher cost in combination with the set up of the classrooms, I didn’t think the added cost was worth it. The classrooms are not in traditional rooms. It is an open layout with small 2 ft tall removable walls. We all know toddlers can be loud and curious and I knew this set up would be disruptive to the learning process.
There are other daycares in the area which are more affordable, better layout, and smaller ratios.

Do yourself a favor and sort by date. Go on — I’ll wait…
Okay, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, the recent reviews are all stellar. While I can’t speak for issues in the past as we’ve only been taking our daughter here for 6 months, I can say that we were wary of this place because of those older reviews. Under the current management, I can assure you that if you’re on the hunt for a childcare facility, you should absolutely give this place a shot. Come down, talk to Patti, take the tour, snag a parent and ask them questions.
The level of genuine care that is exhibited here is outstanding. The caregivers are all AMAZING. Patti is truly one-​of-​a-​kind; an absolute rockstar. Without going into too many details, they have all been more than accommodating to our daughter’s medical needs. Most facilities wouldn’t have taken us. Harbor Bay Kindercare took us with open arms and they continue to surprise us with their high level of care.
Concerning the older reviews, I’d like to address some concerns you might have…
— Yes, the staff tends to run at the maximum limit for child/​caregiver ratio. This has never been an issue from our perspective. I’ve spent lots of time at Kindercare and I’ve never seen any child being neglected. Because they work in teams, someone is always looking out for the little ones.
— I’ve heard parents say they wished they got more detailed reports of their child’s daily activities. This hasn’t been an issue for us, but I can only speak for the infant room. Tangible development is more of our concern and we’ve seen nothing but that.
— I’ve heard people say the rates are high. When we were looking around, the rates seemed to be in the middle for «corporate» childcare facilities. Accordingly, the rates are higher than private childcare solutions, but surprisingly not by much. Also, you know, it’s the Bay Area — I’m just glad I didn’t have to sell a kidney to afford putting our daughter somewhere.
If I sound like a shill, I assure you I’m just an incredibly happy parent who couldn’t imagine our lives without the amazing Harbor Bay Kindercare team. As with any review, take my opinions with a grain of salt, but do yourself a favor and at least check them out.

I had to go back to work after 8 weeks with a deployed husband, and as a first-​time-​mom, the thought of leaving my brand new daughter in someone else’s arms felt excrutiating. However, after «daycare shopping» for months during my pregnancy, and sitting in at KinderCare several times while pregnant, I felt as at ease as possible when «the Big Day» finally came. Patti & Cindy were very reassuring and encouraging that first week (and beyond). The three main ladies that work the Infant Room are true care-​givers by nature. They sit on the floor, usually with several babies in-​arm or crawling on them, giving them hugs and singing and talking to them, and showing them how to play with the toys. Also, Cindy always let me hand-​off my daughter to her when I had to leave, so I left knowing she was literally ‘in good hands.’ It has been so comforting for me as the Mom. In my experience, Patti has always been great with communication, and has been a pleasure to work with. They all have. Our experience here, overall, as been so positive. I have recommended this center to other moms-​to-​be I know.

As a new first time mom, I was very nervous to leave my baby in someone else’s care. I had never set foot in a daycare and I was very skeptical of every single detail.
It took many months, but over time I learned to trust the women in the baby room. The baby room is bright and clean. The staff is always talking to the babies, interacting with them, and using their names. There is music and lots of toys to play with. Possibly the biggest positive sign is that my baby always gives the staff big smiles during drop off and pick up.
If I had one nit pick, it would be that the administrative side can be a little disorganized sometimes, but I’ve never had a problem and the staff have always been great.

This is a four-​star child care program. Miss Crystall is a teacher there and she is great. She cares about the children and gives special attention to all her class. She gives you a semi-​annual review of your child (where are they «at» developmentally) that was learned, well thought out, and demonstrated a good understanding of my child. I was pleased with their «gala» performances and what they are learning there.

Like most mothers needing to return to work from maternity leave, I had the daunting task of finding childcare for my infant daughter a few months ago. At this point in my life, there was no more important decision than who to entrust with the care of my child. I utilized local childcare resources, checking online resources such as
and online reviews, and made appointments with a number of different providers; in-​home as well as daycare centers. Some of what I saw scared me frankly.
After calling to get basic information regarding their program, I was encouraged to stop by (no appointment necessary). About a week later I did and was able to meet with the director Theresa, see the environment and observe the interactions of the staff with the babies. The environment was bright, colorful and spacious and there are lots of play areas with soft edges that provide ample room for babies to discover/​explore safely. Oh, and for me, importantly, there were separated from the toddlers who have their own room.
KinderCare was the best choice. My daughter has been there just over 2 months, and is flourishing. She is in a safe, warm and nurturing environment where she’s not just in great care, but where she’s exposed to learning opportunities too (from her teachers and by observing the other babies). I get daily written communications about her day which help me understand how she’s doing, what activities they did, etc. My daughter is happy when I drop her off in the morning, and happy when I pick her up. That to me is a very good sign! I’ve even walked into the center to sign in and can hear her giggling as she plays with one of her teachers.
The directors Theresa and LaTrina have always been very friendly and are happy to answer questions or discuss concerns (not that I’ve had any). The core infant teachers; miss Cindy, miss Valerie and miss Ann are the the best. They’re attentive, nurturing and playful and do such a great job with the babies. If I were a baby, I’d love it there too.

The school WAS colorful and bright, a perfect environment for learning — but not anymore — the old director left so the quality… we left too.

We love Harbor Bay Kindercare. We started our son there when he was four months old and he is now over two. The infant program is what really drew us to this place. The teachers are nurturing, playful and attentive, and they adapt to the children’s own schedules for eating and napping.
Our son had a difficult time transitioning from the infant room into the slightly more structured toddler room, but his teachers worked with him until he was ready and comfortable in a new environment.
The Center serves wholesome, nurtritious meals and worked with our son on his transition from milk, to solid food, to table food. They are also patient and wonderful with potty training, making it a process he enjoys and looks forward to. The kids get plenty of playtime both inside and out, and enjoy educational songs, stories, games, and crafts. You get a little feedback form at the end of each day telling you what your child did, when he ate, napped, went to the bathroom, and his overall disposition.
We recently moved our son to a preschool closer to home and were very sad to leave Kindercare. Happily, Kindercare welcomed us back on a weekly basis while his new preschool is closed over the holidays. I’m delighted to say there have been many positive changes just in the short time we’ve been gone, including more consistent teacher-​child ratios, and more fresh fruits and vegetables on the menu. The Center is now under new management, and any deficiencies called out in previous negative reviews seem to have been addressed.
This center is clean, bright and does everything by the book. The teachers and kids are always smiling and happy to see us. They’re open late (until 6:30) which makes this place convenient for commuting parents. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to other families.

I didn’t even think to look this place up on Unilocal.If I did — I would have NEVER have taken my son there. Clearly they are short staffed. I do agree that attention given to new parents or even every parent is close to none. Every time that I spoke with the Assistant Director she would be distracted by other parents or other kids. Which is EXACTLY how they treated my son. Obviously he was not getting the attention he should have been getting. At 17 months I would think watching these active toddlers is VERY IMPORTANT. According to their incident report my son got upset and decided to bang his head on the bookshelf. They then gave my son ice and plenty «TLC» tender love and care. They should be given TLC at ALL TIMES we are talking about babies for crying out loud!
At the end of the day they give each parent a Daily Communication Report to show what your child did all day, when diapers were changed, when and what they were fed. That day that I picked him up. My son’s report was accidentally given to another parent. No information was given to me for my son that day. Was he even fed, changed, or anything?
Unfortunately, these is that one decision that will help me look into where I put my son into day care from now on. Please choose wisely before you decide to bring your child to this place! They neglected to care for my son the way they portray they would — I’m sure they would treat your child the same!

We like the Bay Farm Kindercare very much. I was initially pretty worried after reading some of the reviews here but they didn’t jibe at all with what I saw when I visited, so I went with my gut and I’m glad I did.
The teachers are great and most have been there for years and years. The staff turn-​over has been very low. My girls have always felt comfortable and stimulated and they really enjoy coming here. The kids are separated into rooms by age group and there are age-​appropriate activities going on all day. You get a little write-​up about your child’s day when they’re in the younger classes. Each of the rooms has a couple main teachers and there are a few teachers who float and lend a hand where they’re needed. Everyone seems to know my girls and are able to tell me something cute one of them did that week.
Since it’s a big center, everything is by the book. There are incident reports for any bumps. There are ridiculous bright orange stickers on any bottle of breast milk (puts me in mind of hazardous materials stickers, but I get the reasoning for it). There’s a code to get in and a loud ding when the door is opened. There is always someone in the main office right next to that door and they know exactly who is coming in and out.
When my youngest was in the baby room, we had no problems with uneven nap schedules or kids being left in swings for a long time as previous reviewers have asserted. There was routine, lots of love, and there were plenty of activities. My oldest comes home with art projects, new songs, and stories about her day.
Excellent care is the top priority. Other bonuses: the center is open until 6:30, later than most other daycares and preschools; it’s close to the Bay Farm ferry landing; and they take infants up to kindergarteners.
My kids have thrived here. Dunno why Unilocal broke down in this one, but I’d recommend you go visit for yourself. I think it’s a good place.

Let me preface my comments with my issue is not with Kindercare but with this specific location. My daughter is now in the Mountain View Kindecare and she is doing great!
My daughter was at this facility for several months. We had a few problems during that time, mostly due to what I viewed as under staffing. Some of my daughters items were lost and her feeding schedule was erratic to say the least. There were times when the teacher in the infant room would have as many as 7 kids by herself (way over the cal limit). On two of these occasions the assistant director was in the front office filling out paperwork when in my opinion she should have been helping with the children. The «learning plan» they sell you on is over stated. It was a moderately priced babysitting service. I believed I could drop my child off there and she would be adequately taken care of until I returned.
Things came to a head when my daughter was bitten on the face by another child. The child who bit her was a toddler and had no business being in the infant room. Often times at the end of the day or for lunch breaks they will bring bigger kids into the infant room to be taken care of my the staff there. I wont even get in to how ridiculous that is in of itself. I also wont get in to the reason my child wasn’t being watched while she was «playing» with a bigger kid. Here is where the water gets muddy. The skin on my daughters face was slightly broken and she had a bad bruise made up of several teeth marks. They treated her with antiseptic and iced the bruise down. The kicker is they didn’t contact my wife or myself for over two hours. The excuse we were given was the teachers in the room had to cover breaks.
In our opinion the teachers in the infant room had no intention of ever informing us that our daughter was hurt. If it weren’t for the fact that she bruises so easily I believe they would have not mentioned it at all. Needless to say we took our daughter out of the daycare and contacted the corporate office. We were given a song and dance by the corporate rep and the regional manager about how they were going to follow up on the matter. They never did.

I’ve visited a few daycare centers for my child who was 21 months at the time.
When I walked into KinderCare, I felt like the staff was super friendly and warm and nurturing and had smiles for us all the time. The always said hello and took a minute to wave to my little guy which made it somewhat easier to leave him because that is hard enough as it is.
Although my child had extreme separation anxiety, they always met us at the door or right after they were done with whatever they were doing including the poopy diapers [and yes, they do use gloves] and have a lot going on and made sure that my son got many many hugs all day. now my son loves it there and runs inside. it took him a long time before that happened with many different ways of saying good-​bye in the morning [believed me i tried everything], but EVERY day the staff were always on hand to help him out. Now, that is dedication.
All that and also they are clean, the environment is colorful and and soft children’s music make it very inviting to the kids.
Also, as a note, they are wonderful at handling ‘incidents’ of hitting, unappropriate behavior with explanations and kindness.
The staff is always fun to say good-​morning to say hi to or chat with in the evenings. I love and appreciate so many of them for everything that they do! Thank you all so much! :)

I am a mother of 3 wonderful boys, 2 of which have been attending Kindercare since they were babies. I am also an Alamedian and know each and every daycare facility there is in Alameda and not one of them compares to Kindercare. I love everything about Kindercare! My 6 year old attended Kindercare for 5 years until he went on elementary school. My 4 year old has been there for the past 4 years and will we going off to elementary next year. They both received the best care and educational programs available today. Not to mention the organic and high quality food that is served consistently, the loving and well educated teachers and the best Director around, Wanda. I have read the other reviews on
regarding Kindercare and frankly I am confused by a couple of them. I think they are confused and meant to write about another school because they did not protray this school acurately at all! When I am running late and breakfast has passed, a quick phone call and it is «No Problem, I will have breakfast ready for him when you get here». When my child is crying and doesn’t want me to leave… Wanda, Barbara, Mary or Heather just to name a few will jump right in and give my child the atttention and love he needs at that moment so that I can go off to work with the confidence that they will be in good hands. When I get there in the morning it is always «Hello» with a smile. The program is extremely structured but also adaptable to each childs needs. I would and have reccommended this school to anyone and everyone I know! I will be sad to say goodbye to the wonderful people who have become like family to my children and I, come this summer when my youngest goes on to elementary school. But, I will continue to speak in the highest regard for all the years of comfort and peace of mind they have provided me with.

My daughter was at the infant room for a few months before we moved. I agreed with some of the previous review regarding lack of regularity and schedule leading to little/​no nap. My daughter always fell asleep on our way home and sometimes for 2+ hrs… she only had a 20 – 40 min nap during the day! Cindy and Valerie, the head teachers of the infant room, were nice though and my daughter liked them both a lot. Comparing to previous child care centers I used with my older child, this center didn’t come across as efficient and organized.

We have taken our son to this Kindercare for about six months now.
The previous reviewer must be talking about some other place, because you need a code to even get through the second door. The staff is friendly, always giving my son a hug or saying hi to me. Wanda, the director is great at her job, and has even been recognized by Kindercare for her efforts. The front lobby is so kid friendly with a foresty theme and soft music playing in the background.
The teachers are only rotated for breaks, and our son recognizes and likes all of them. They have a sheet that they fill out for every kid that outlines the meals and such, having arrived during snack time, I know first hand that the kids get fed! They have been doing a great job of transitioning him to the older room, everyday my son talks about the legos and activities he is involved in.
As for younger kids and babies, it is hard for any parent to see a kid placed in a swinging chair or not held every second of the day. It is something most parents must face if they both work.
I would undoubtedly recommend this place to all of my friends and family.

If I could give this place a negative star rating I would.
Staff was very unfriendly. I was never greeted upon entering or leaving. The lady behind the counter just looked up at me and went back to eating her meal. I later learned she was the Assistant Director. She didn’t know who I was but I told her I was there to pick up. She pointed me in the direction of a classroom without asking who I was nor checking my identification. I could’ve been some shmoe off the street.
There is a lack of structure that pervades this center. Naps are irregular concerning time of day and length. Sick children are seldom sent home. Infants are mixed with older children for the convenience of the teachers. If they are that short handed either hire more staff and/​or utilize substitute teachers. The infants are just stuck in chairs or swings so that the older children won’t trample on them. Numerous times I’ve seen infants asleep in their chair/​swing, head cocked incomfortably to one side, left unattended when they should’ve been moved to a more ergonomic position.
Teachers are rotated in and out of classes to the detriment of the child. There is no regularity and special needs children are at a disadvantage as the new teacher assigned to the room must start all over from square one. I heard of an instance when a parent’s child was not fed for an entire day because of teachers rotating in and out.
The director has not responded to any of my complaints. I was highly disappointed with the service and safety of the children. I strenuously recommend any parent to seek child care at one of the many other locations in the area.