We were enrolled with Lara for a record two and a half months, and while things started off fine, it quickly became clear this wasn’t a healthy or professional environment for our family.
Within a few weeks, the communication turned overwhelming and controlling. We began receiving extremely long text messages disguised as “teamwork” conversations but filled with unsolicited parenting advice based solely on how she runs her daycare. Rather than asking questions or collaborating, Lara often made assumptions about how we parented and spoke to us in a condescending tone.
Before a family vacation, she sent us a list of “expectations” that included nap times and rules she wanted us to follow while away, as if our trip needed to revolve around her schedule. Then texted us the day we were coming home from our trip to ask if our daughter was coming in the next day, despite already having told her what day she would return. She made us feel claustrophobic and we felt she overstepped with her expectations.
On a Sunday night she sent us an accusatory text that we knowingly sent our daughter to daycare sick the prior Friday. Except we had a doctor's note. No fever, not contagious but had a cough she was recovering from. Instead of kindly approaching us, she was very sarcastic, childish and rude. We had to ask her to speak to us respectfully the way we were speaking to her at which she ended the conversation.
The final straw was the next day when a deeply offensive “joke” was made about our daughter that crossed every professional line imaginable. Considering tensions were still high from the night before, you would think Lara would do whatever she could to keep the peace.
The "joke" was when I came to pick up my daughter from daycare and she wasn't in the room. I asked where she was and Lara said, "we sold her and didn't get much for her". She was aware that our daughter is adopted and we had even had recent discussions as we are currently adopting another child. When this comment was addressed with Lara, she gave no apology and instead blamed us for not taking this so called "joke" telling us to get over it. We gave notice to withdraw immediately after. She then overstepped by yet again telling us what was best for our daughter which was to stay in Lara's care to help our daughter continue growing. First, we were WAY past trying to work things out with Lara and second we felt she was simply manipulating so she didn't lose the income. We declined and asked to respectfully work together during our daughter's final days there. She shot back with yet another immature text so we again repeated that we wish to work professionally and cordially during the final days.
During the final week, she became increasingly difficult, sending daily complaints and even refusing to return some of our belongings.
In short, we found the experience stressful, unprofessional, childish and inappropriate on many levels. We would not recommend this daycare to other families seeking a respectful, collaborative environment. Leaving was an enormous relief for us.