Just Like Home, Baldwin Day Care

Honestly, Just Like Home is okay if you need those long hours—being open from 6am to 6pm is a lifesaver for my commute. It's a typical city daycare though, and since they take kids from tiny infants all the way up to 12-year-olds, it feels like there is always a bug going around. I wish they were a bit stricter with the sick-child policy because it feels like my little one brings home a new cold every other week. It’s not the cleanest place I’ve ever seen, but it’s not terrible either; just feels very lived-in and busy.

I really wanted to love this place because it's so close to home, but the sickness cycle is just relentless. It feels like every other week my little one is coming home with a new bug because the sick-child policy isn't strictly enforced—I’ve seen kids dropped off with clear fevers and runny noses more than once. The space itself is pretty cramped, and with the high student-to-teacher ratio, the staff just can't keep up with sanitizing toys or keeping the place as clean as it should be. It’s hard to feel good about a 'wellness' environment when the facility feels stuffy and the communication about outbreaks in the classroom is basically nonexistent.