Star Child Academy

My son started to attend Starchild Oviedo since he was one and half, and he recently graduated from StarChild at the age of five and half. My son used to cry everyday when he was with another daycare for 8 months. He stopped crying two weeks after we transfer him to Starchild.
The good things I like about starchild oviedo is:
* The owners (Mr. Ron, Ms. Sharon and Ms. Vicki) are always there, and the daycare is very well managed, the teachers were respected.
* The director Miss Dawn is very nice.
* The price is reasonable, and they have very long hours (although I always pick up my son early)
* My son only had two lead teachers during the four years he was at StarChild (Miss Lauren and Miss Ashli). Miss Ashil was with my son for more than years, and knows him very well.
* The curriculum is very challenging and age appropriate.
* We were provided with written feedback from lead teacher on a semi-annual basis
* There are dancing, sports, karate and other programs available at Starchild for additional cost
* The playground is very age appropriate (They have four play grounds for different ages)
In my opinion, the only thing for improvement their lunch menu. It is reasonable, typical American food (and my son LOVES it), but I think it could be more healthy.

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They are fabulous. They make my child feel important.

My child is clean, safe and fed on time. For the price of 230/week for an infant, I expect that.
Things that go well:
(1) Head teacher is knowledgeable, practical and has lots of experience.
(2) They are responsive to your requests and try to meet each parents demands.
(3) They have the best hours around and are open everyday which is not a holiday.
(4) Staff at the front desk is the same and knows your name.
(5) They provide Gerber jarred food for infants and wipes which makes life with an infant a little easier.
(6) For first timers, they also have a camera system to view you little one during the day, which gives a little extra transparency.
Things that could have improvement:
(1) Turnover. There's an ever flowing support staff in and out the door of the infant room. Sometimes, the turnover is the rotation of staff within the facility. Most of the time, it's employee termination. It's hard to keep the staff knowledgeable in the children's schedules with an ever changing staff. Although they keep the food schedules on target, everything else requires re-training with new staff. It's a bit frustrating as a parent to continually remind the staff. However, one noteworthy point is that with new staff, there appears to be extra hands temporarily to help with training.
(2) The menu is an absolute disgrace!! In comparison to equivalent cost daycares, it is by far the worst - pizza with potato chips, fruit in syrup, lemonade with full sugar. There's little things which the daycare could do to make the menu more favorable whichout an impact to cost or food prep time or space - substitute pretzel for potato chips, substitute fruit in its own juice for fruit with syrup, water over lemonade. Other daycares have yogurt and fresh fruit options in moderation, but this business profile operates with a small kitchen and it shows. I'm really disappointed, as my child has excelled in this environment but I'm not looking towards me having to prepare food once the transition to the 1 year room occurs. We;ve known several other parents who have switched their kids to Primrose due to the food menu. I'm disappointed to not see widespread reviews of primrose on this site.

It's going very well. It's great center. They have cameras that you can watch the child while you're at work. They make lists about things that go on during the day and if there are any issues.

Afte rnearly a one-year wait, on 2 May 2011 my 6-month-old daughter started attending Star Child in Oviedo, FL. From the very first day I noticed a very strong chemical scent/ fragrance (similar to bounce scented dryer sheets) in the room where she was staying. At the end of the day when I picked her up I noticed her hair and her clothes had a very strong smell of the same checmical frangrance. She developed a cough that turned into bronchitis and her skin showed signs of an allergic reaction. After inquiring a few times, I was told that the smell is of the cleaning solution they use to disinfect the diaper changing area after each diaper change. The name of the solution is Odoban. I wanted to research Odoban to make sure it was safe for infants and children. I went directly to the manufacturer's website and pulled the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for Odoban Ready-to-use solution. Per said MSDS, Odoban contains at least two ingredients that are considered hazardous. More specifically and most concerning to me is the Alkyl (C12-16) dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride (ADBAC). According to several studies (Environmental Working Group (EWG) http://www.ewg.org/schoolcleaningsupplies/classroomasthma ) said substance can increase the risk of asthma. The MSDS also mentions the following in section 11 - TOXILOGICAL INFORMATION: "Acute: High vapor concentrations can cause irritation of the eyes and respiratory system. Ingestion can cause burning pain in the mouth, throat, abdomen, and swelling of larynx, affecting ability to breathe. Chronic; Prologned or repeated overexposure may result in skin irriation." I was even more concerned whe I found out that subject daycare faciltiy uses Odoban to clean/disinfect ALL surfaces including the mats where the babies played all day, infant toys and highchairs including the trays where snack food is often placed directly so the babies can feed themselves. Even worse was that spraying took place WHILE infants were present in the room. I began to understand why my daughter always smelled of the chemical scent-- considering the diaper change area is sprayed after each diaper change and there are an average of 7 babies who are changed on average 3 times in an 8-hour day, the infants would be exposed to the Odoban spray approximately 20 times a day if not more. Additionally, twice a day all toys and surfaces would be disinfected with Odoban. Considering Odoban is to be used ONLY on non-food-contact surfaces, using it on toys that certainly ended up in our infants' mouths did not set well with me. My husband and I discussed the matter with Ron Browning, one of the owners. After only a few minutes into the conversation Ron politely told us that we could go elsehwere if we were not comfortable with their environment. Ron proceeded to tell us that he had a chemistry degree and that he had done a lot of research indicating that Odoban was the safest disinfectant he could find. He also told us he did not take the recommendation of DCF (Department of Children and Families) to use diluted solution of bleach and water because he believed the odor of bleach would be overbearing. We left Ron's office somewhat relieved because he had done some research before selecting Odoban. However, over the weekend I continued to go over our conversation with Ron in my mind and something didn't make sense. I finally decided to directly email the manufacturer of Odoban, Clean Control. The following is the response I received from Clean Control's customer service representative: "Odoban is not recommended for use on toys for infants and toddlers. Although toys are no "food contact surfaces", as you mention, we know that toys will end up in children's mouths, and OdoBan is not inteded for use on food contact surfaces." "Would advise waiting until the room will be vacated overnight before spraing with OdoBan. For regular househol use, leaving the room for 15 to 20 minuts is recommended when spraying odoBan as an air freshner. Do not use OdoBan on toddlers' high chair trays or eating tables." I printed the manufacturer's response and rushed to Star Child Academy Oviedo. Upon arrival at the daycare I presented Sharon Browning, Ron's wife, with the print of my communications with Clean Control and immediately cancelled my child's enrollment at Star Child Oviedo. Late that evening I forwarded the manufacturer's emails to Ron Browning to which he responded that he was waiting on clarification from the manufacturer. Frankly, I thought the emails from manufacturer were quite clear. I believe a responsible person would err on the side of caution and stop using Odoban immediately until further clarification was received by the manufacturer. Instead Star Child Oviedo continued to use Odoban as they had been while waiting for manufacturer to provide clarification. Ron Browning wants to make sure that his daycare facility remains very clean, and yes, it is definitely clean; however, is it really and at what price? Let's take a look at some of my observations: 1- According to DCF's chapter 65C-22, Florida Administrative Code for Child Care Standards, "Toys, equipment, and furnishings must be safe and maintained in a sanitary condition, and shall be cleaned and sanitized or disinfected immediately if exposed to bodily fluids, such as saliva." According to said standard, every time an infant/child places a toy in his/her mouth it must be cleaned and sanitized. I know for a fact that this DCF standard is not being followed at Star Child Oviedo as I was told by the nursery staff that it was impractical to do so because they are very busy. 2- Said standard also states, "All areas and surfaces accessible to children shall be free from toxic substances and hazardous materials." In my opinion, there are several reasons why using Odoban in a manner used by Star Child Oviedo is posing a health hazard to the infants and children who attend said facility: A) Cleaning infant toys is not listed on Odoban's label/ consumer info sheet as one of the uses of Odoban-- An indication that cleaning toys that will end up in children's mouths (causing chemical residues to be ingested) is not a preferred use of said product as it can pose a health hazard to small children. B) Even if use of Odoban to clean toys is acceptable by rinsing toys after being cleaned by Odoban, according to Ron Browning, the toys are being "wiped" with a wet towel vs. "rinsed". Additionally, there are several large toys (play saucers) that cannot be rinsed short of being hosed down. C) Odoban's label clearly states that it is meant for "non-food surfaces." Cleaning highchair trays with Odoban is inconsistent with Odoban label and in direct violation of Federal Law as almost certainly said trays come in contact with food. D) Odoban's label clearly states, "Do not breathe spray." The strong smell in the nursery at Star Child Oviedo and on my child's hair and clothes is a clear indication that Odoban vapros are being inhaled in hazardous concentration by all present in the room. I believe the owners of Star Child Oviedo have acted irresponsibly and negligently in providing a safe environment for the precious children we so trustingly placed in their care. Unfortunately I saw no signs of regret or apology from the owners of Star Child Oviedo.