Toddler University Smyrna

This is honestly one of the worst “daycares” I have ever experienced. The facility is consistently dirty, unorganized, and poorly managed. The owner and her daughter present one way but operate another it feels very fake and disingenuous. There is constant staff turnover, which is extremely concerning because children need consistency, not new faces every week .I’ve only seen about three teachers remain consistent, and that alone says a lot. Academically, the children are not actually learning anything. The concept of being a “university” sounds nice, but there is nothing in practice that lives up to that title. Food is another major issue. The kids eat the same meals every single day—usually sloppy joes or spaghetti made with plant-based crumbles. At this point, it would be better to just serve real meat if the menu never changes. The so-called food program is not followed, and there is zero variety or nutritional balance. I once went into the associates classroom to pick up my son and was shocked by how filthy the kitchen area was clearly not cleaned or maintained. On top of that, teachers are frequently out of ratio, which is unsafe and unacceptable. The playground is outdated, teachers lack basic supplies for both themselves and the students, and the entire operation feels like the epitome of “fake it till you make it.” This place may have Quality Rated status, but that does not reflect the reality inside the building. Overall, this was a deeply disappointing experience and not a place I would recommend to any parent.

This daycare is absolutely AMAZING!! They are extremely professional, prompt with information and solutions!! EVERY staff member genuinely treats the children with tender love & care. The way that they stimulate the children’s minds (any age) will have you happy that you made this daycare your choice!!

July 2024 – March 2025 For my family and I, sending our son to Toddler University began as a promising start to his first time being in school/daycare. He started a little after he was one. However, overtime, we came to see that the overarching problem at this daycare is lack of consistency, organization, structure, and honesty in communication. When I first toured, I asked if parents could have access to the cameras and Ms. Serelya told me no because there is a law in Georgia that makes that not possible. I have a lot of colleagues who have shown me the cameras that they have access to at their child’s daycare located in Georgia, so I do not see how this could be true. Furthermore, they could never provide me with a physical schedule or curriculum when asked. Still haven’t seen one to this day. Ms. Keisha is an amazing asset to Toddler University and I feel that my son got the most out of his time there during her shift, but the afternoon teacher (at least for my son’s age group) was constantly changing almost every day. They finally got one fairly consistent teacher there in the afternoon, but she does not fully speak or understand English (nothing wrong with this) but she could never give me updates or answer questions about my son because she could not understand what I was saying. The children were also never learning in the afternoons, it was definitely a daycare and not a learning center during that time. The children would be running around, crying, getting into things, etc. Additionally, we feel as though Toddler University also attempted to single my son out as they began to call his dad and I asking us to come get him because he was pulling hair. While we completely understand that this is an undesirable behavior, not having or providing any advice, tips, or resources to parents whom are going through this for the first time is unacceptable in my eyes, especially if you have been working in early childhood care for as long as you say you have. I had to ask for a conference/meeting and before the meeting, Ms. Shana said she would call other daycares and ask around about advice for this behavior. While the resources she gave were wonderful, nothing truly worked and I also do not feel like it was handled well inside of the classroom because they claimed they would just have my son by their side all day long and this is not a realistic or equitable solution. Now that our son has been at another daycare for over 4 months, there has been NO ISSUES of pulling hair. This makes his dad and I wonder a few things… were they making this up OR was our son trying to communicate with us that the children/adults around him were not treating him right? While going through the trials of dealing with this behavior (it was hard on everyone involved), there were times when our son came home with scratches and then a busted top lip. No one ever knew what happened to my son, even though he was allegedly being watched closely. Ms. Shana even tried to say his lip was just dry when it was clearly busted as there was red coming out from the top inner part of his lip. We just found it very disheartening that the moment our son did something to another child, we had to come get him and/or an incident report was being completed, but every time something happened to our child, no one could tell us anything and nothing would be done. At this point, his dad and I knew it just was not going to be a good fit for us. I reached out & told them that if it did not get better by the end of that month, going into the beginning of the following month, that we would remove Cody. They ended up calling us again to tell us to come and get him again and while on this phone call I told Ms. Shana he would not return once he was picked up. She told me that they made that decision on their end as well (how can you decide that when I already said we are leaving?). Anyway, I am in no way attempting to shame this daycare. I am just sharing our honest experience for those that are considering for their child(ren) to go here.

Toddler University (TU) is a childcare program that is run very efficiently and effectively. The management is very respectful of staff, parents and students. This is evident in the high level of professionalism they display in their interactions with all stakeholders. The classrooms are clean, spacious and fully equipped with the tools necessary to facilitate the development of social, emotional and academic skills in the young scholars. It is much more than just a daycare. In addition to the daily academic and social activities, students have regularly scheduled Spanish and gym classes, which they participate in and enjoy. The teachers are passionate and enthusiastic about educating the little ones. They build relationships and truly care about the children. TU also provides a variety of healthy breakfast, lunch and snacks for the students each day. In addition, many procedures are in place to keep the toddlers safe and happy. Parents are sent videos, photos and messages to update them on their children throughout the day. I would not hesitate to recommend Toddler University to parents who are searching for a complete childcare package for their children.

I cannot say enough great things about Toddler University. It took me a long time to find such caring, committed and sincere individuals to care for my 2 year old daughter. The kids are learning so much each day in classes that just the right size. Miss Shana takes pride in her daycare and it shows. I am grateful to her and her staff. If you are looking for a safe, nurturing, educational place for your child, this is it!