KidStop Child Development Ctr.

This place is awesome.
I, like most moms, experienced the painstaking guilt of putting my 12-​week-​old in day care but honestly, it’s the best thing ever.
His very first teacher to ever hold him in his very first classroom at 12 weeks old, Ms. Nilda, still lights up when she sees her «Calvito». My Calvin is now 2 years old and in his 4^th classroom. That doesn’t stop the inherent joy she gets from seeing one of her little babies grow up.
His second teacher, Ms. Luz still goes on and on about how beautiful he is and that I need to make more.
The school tutor, Ms. Angela, well… Calvin has never even had her as a formal teacher yet she’s his second mother and he talks about her for days on end.
Point being, the people here really care. Everyone knows everyone’s name. Calvin comes home talking about stuff I didn’t even know he had the capacity to understand. He’s happy AND he’s learning?! I’m not really sure what else you can ask for.
Yes, it’s pricey. Yes, it’s breaking the bank. I don’t have the fancy government job and the student-​loan-​less college degree most of this area is used to but if you break down the cost per hour, it’s a freaking steal. And based on my experience to-​date, I wouldn’t opt out for a cheaper alternative at this point anyway. My little dude is socializing and learning in a way that my husband or I could never manage on our own.
No one wants to think of «other people» raising their kid but here, you feel good about it.

My son has been going here since he was 5 months old, and he’s now a year and a half. Staff are great, and though a couple great teachers have left since he’s been there, they have found good replacements relatively quickly. The director (Melissa) recently left but Davina is her replacement and seems to be on her game; Davina was #2 to Melissa for at least the last year or so. I anticipate it’ll continue to run well.
We like the center overall, so have taken some small measures when needed to keep us feeling like our son has the best days possible. For instance, they switched my son to the «mobile» infants’ room when he was a little younger than a year old. So we made sure to bring him in a little later in the morning, after his morning nap. They only give 1 nap per day in the mobile room; it’s at ¹²³⁰⁄₁ and my son’s pediatrician (and my son himself) told me he needed 2 naps for several months after his first birthday. Other kids in the mobile room got to the daycare earlier, though, and seemed to be okay, though exhausted by late morning.
The meals are healthy, but the snacks are not always top notch (I’ve seen goldfish and cheese-​its on some days, I’m not a fan of either). I often bring in extra fruit or yogurt so my son gets enough quality food during the day. They told me recently that they were trying to fix the problem by pushing breakfast later and lunch earlier but I haven’t seen that happen yet.
Another good thing about the center is the activities they offer. I like the way they have different projects for the kids to do each day at different times and they let them play outdoors whenever the weather permits. The center has a decent outdoor space where they rotate the classrooms so there is usually at least one group out there all the time.

My children are new to the United States and the teachers at Kidstop have made them so welcome. They are experienced and kind, and I’m very happy with them and with Kidstop.

I’m not good at writing reviews, but I wanted to help parents in the area who are looking for a good daycare for their child (ren). After a lot of research and internet digging, I’ve found that finding good reviews is just as hard as finding a good daycare. Anyways, I hope this will help the next parent.
The Staff — I’ve found the staff to be very helpful, extremely nice, and caring. Devina (I think that’s how you spell her name) and the program director (I believe it’s Melissa) are extremely nice and you can tell they’re on top of it. One of my DS’s teacher is extremely friendly and caring. It’s DS’s first time at daycare, and she’s been giving him one-​on-​one attention to help him through the transition. That’s something any parent can appreciate. DH and I would call to check in on DS everyday he’s there, and they never seem annoyed, which is good because I’m not going to stop calling. I’ve been able to sit and chat with the teachers, and although it doesn’t seem like they’re Grade-​A, top notch, private nanny material for the president, they are very caring and attentive to the children.
The Facility — KidStop is owned by KinderCare, so most of the curriculum and procedures are the same. One factor that really stood out for me though is that unlike the KinderCare up the street on Shady Grove, which has SEVEN (7) infant classrooms, KidStop only has one. They split it between mobile and stationary infants. (Those are my terminology, btw.) It just has the feel of a more intimate setting. That’s something that means a lot to me.
The Price — Honestly, childcare rates are extremely outlandish in this area. But, it’s cheaper than most other places around here. Even though it’s owned by KinderCare.
Negatives so far — (1) DS’s first week at KidStop, he caught a virus. I blame the facility as much as I blame myself. There’s nothing you can really do about something like that. Kids will get sick because all they ever want to do is stick everything in their mouth. (2) One staff member called DS by the wrong name because she read the name that was on the crib he was in (he’s enrolled PT so has to share a crib with another PT infant).
Once again, DS has only been going there for a month so far, but we’re very pleased with how he’s progressing. Before enrolling him here, we had him with a babysitter FT. He would come home sleepy, tired, and extremely inconsolable. There’s been a marked improvement in all of this since he’s been at KidStop. Although he’s still getting used to being in daycare, he comes home happy and playful.
I would definitely recommend for any parent to tour this facility. Every child is different and every parent’s wants/​needs for a childcare facility is different, but this has been my experience so far. Good luck in your search!