SAECC Infant Daycare

[Anonymous]

Does anyone currently have an infant enrolled at the St. Alban's ECC in Tenleytown? Or has had a infant enrolled in the last year or two? Looking for general impressions/feedback on your experience and if you'd recommend it. We'd be enrolling our 4 month old when I return to work. thanks!

[Anonymous]

My son was at ECC from as an infant/1 yr old about two years ago. For the most part, I found the caregivers very warm, loving, and responsible. They were receptive to my questions/concerns and kept me informed. My son had a very hard time napping there as an infant - that was the biggest downside for us. The administration left a lot to be desired. The communication was not great and they always seemed very chaotic and disorganized.

[Anonymous]

Thanks - the napping was a concern I had after visiting given there are 6-8 infants in one large room. Appreciate the feedback!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks - the napping was a concern I had after visiting given there are 6-8 infants in one large room. Appreciate the feedback!

Just remember you will have that many infants in a room at pretty much any center. Most kids adapt surprisingly well.

[Anonymous]

Definitely - that's a good point about any large center. We're debating between a center like SAECC and a nanny share (with one or two other children). thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks - the napping was a concern I had after visiting given there are 6-8 infants in one large room. Appreciate the feedback!

That is a standard number for most daycare centers. At least in MD, there should not be more than 6. It is a problem for babies who are sensitive to sounds like mine who is not napping at daycare. It has been 6 months, and she still cannot get used to it.

[Anonymous]

Current infant room parent and I would not recommend it. The ratio is 1:4 which is the minimum required by licensing so it's not great for individual attention and many centers have better ratios, like 1:3. Also there are 16 babies in each room which I feel is too many. Many centers have smaller infant rooms--this is the biggest I have seen. It's very loud and our son naps poorly, if at all. There is a rotating cast of teachers in the room and the babies basically spend most of their days in chairs and there is very little done to stimulate their development beyond diapering and bottle feeding. They are supported to take them out for a walk 2x a day when it's warm but this doesn't seem to happen very often. I am considering pulling DS for a nanny.

[Anonymous]

thank you for your feedback - when we visited I thought they said there were 16 babies total (2 separate rooms of 8 each), is that not the case? Thank you for your insight very helpful.

[Anonymous]

The two infant rooms have capacity for 16 babies per room.

[Anonymous]

No daycare is perfect, however, we have been very happy at Friendship Children's Center (FCC), just up the road.

[Anonymous]

Current parent of an child in the infant room and we have been at the center since the new location opened. There are 3 infant rooms at the center and there are four caregivers and 11 babies in my child's room -and two kids are transitioning to the next age level room in a week.

We've found the staff to be lovely, warm, and responsive. We've been very happy with SAECC so far -- the administration is admittedly all over the place,but my child has thrived.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Current parent of an child in the infant room and we have been at the center since the new location opened. There are 3 infant rooms at the center and there are four caregivers and 11 babies in my child's room -and two kids are transitioning to the next age level room in a week.

We've found the staff to be lovely, warm, and responsive. We've been very happy with SAECC so far -- the administration is admittedly all over the place,but my child has thrived.

Which tadpoles room is your child in? Another current parent and I could not disagree more. Yes my child is diapered and fed but beyond that I am very very unimpressed. Am genuinely curious what exactly your teachers are doing for your child that you are so happy about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Current infant room parent and I would not recommend it. The ratio is 1:4 which is the minimum required by licensing so it's not great for individual attention and many centers have better ratios, like 1:3. Also there are 16 babies in each room which I feel is too many. Many centers have smaller infant rooms--this is the biggest I have seen. It's very loud and our son naps poorly, if at all. There is a rotating cast of teachers in the room and the babies basically spend most of their days in chairs and there is very little done to stimulate their development beyond diapering and bottle feeding. They are supported to take them out for a walk 2x a day when it's warm but this doesn't seem to happen very often. I am considering pulling DS for a nanny.

Former infant room parent that had concerns similar to the above poster, plus some inconsistent feeding and diapering that convinced me to pull my child. Would not recommend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Current infant room parent and I would not recommend it. The ratio is 1:4 which is the minimum required by licensing so it's not great for individual attention and many centers have better ratios, like 1:3. Also there are 16 babies in each room which I feel is too many. Many centers have smaller infant rooms--this is the biggest I have seen. It's very loud and our son naps poorly, if at all. There is a rotating cast of teachers in the room and the babies basically spend most of their days in chairs and there is very little done to stimulate their development beyond diapering and bottle feeding. They are supported to take them out for a walk 2x a day when it's warm but this doesn't seem to happen very often. I am considering pulling DS for a nanny.

Former infant room parent that had concerns similar to the above poster, plus some inconsistent feeding and diapering that convinced me to pull my child. Would not recommend.

I'm the PP and yes, I agree. They let DS go five hours without a bottle and every time I shown up he is sitting in the same chair. Several times he's been in very full diapers or just awake and alone in the crib. It's pretty upsetting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Current infant room parent and I would not recommend it. The ratio is 1:4 which is the minimum required by licensing so it's not great for individual attention and many centers have better ratios, like 1:3. Also there are 16 babies in each room which I feel is too many. Many centers have smaller infant rooms--this is the biggest I have seen. It's very loud and our son naps poorly, if at all. There is a rotating cast of teachers in the room and the babies basically spend most of their days in chairs and there is very little done to stimulate their development beyond diapering and bottle feeding. They are supported to take them out for a walk 2x a day when it's warm but this doesn't seem to happen very often. I am considering pulling DS for a nanny.

Former infant room parent that had concerns similar to the above poster, plus some inconsistent feeding and diapering that convinced me to pull my child. Would not recommend.

I'm the PP and yes, I agree. They let DS go five hours without a bottle and every time I shown up he is sitting in the same chair. Several times he's been in very full diapers or just awake and alone in the crib. It's pretty upsetting.

I'm so sorry PP. It sounds like we had identical experiences. We were able to find a nanny share (on the nanny share forum here) and have been so much happier. I did explain my concerns to the administration when we left, but it doesn't seem like they've made any progress on improving the situation.