Experience with Kiddie Corp child care?

January 4, 2013 3:23 PM

Do you have experience with Kiddie Corp child care provided at a convention?

I'm going to be attending a conference at which child care is available at the convention center, provided by Kiddie Corp. I'm thinking about whether or not to bring my baby with me on the trip and use this service. I'm feeling uncomfortable with the idea of leaving my baby with child care providers I haven't met and for whom I don't have any prior personal recommendations. Something about it strikes me as slightly creepy, like it's some kind of corporatist McDonald's of child care. It may be the Kiddie Corp name, which does not give me the warm fuzzies.

I can't tell how much of this feeling may be driven by sleep deprivation and the fear that my baby will never be ok in my absence ever. The kiddo currently attends a great daycare that everyone loves (including me), and it still took me weeks to adjust to the concept.

I've been unable to find any online reviews of the convention child care services offered by Kiddie Corp. Does anyone have any experience using their service?

posted by medusa to human relations (8 answers total)

How old is the baby? Depending on the age I would not be happy to leave them with strangers in a strange place after a few strange days...to me that would be different from daycare, which is a routine, with people they know, their familiar blankets, etc.

The closer the baby was to a 1-year-old, the less worried I'd be (of course then you start with the separation anxiety and all of that...yikes).

That said, if it'll be on-site you can visit frequently and nothing about the website strikes me as unsafe or irresponsible. It looks like they have a long track-record and have worked with lots of reputable people.
posted by the young rope-rider at 3:31 PM on January 4

Oh, also, depending how young the baby is I would also worry about leaving them for a few days without any contact with you. Especially if they were still nursing...

The ideal would be to bring along a familiar caregiver. If that's possible I'd do that in a minute over something like Kiddie Corp.
posted by the young rope-rider at 3:33 PM on January 4

I've been at conferences with this sort of thing and I've worked at this sort of thing. In my experience, they hire college girls to sit with the kids.

I think that your best bet is to bring along your partner or a grandmother to be with baby while you're at the conference.
posted by k8t at 4:59 PM on January 4

The kiddo will be 7 months old at the time of the conference. I am breastfeeding, so I don't want to travel alone. I'll consider other options.
posted by medusa at 5:43 PM on January 4

So that's the daycare service I've seen at a bunch of conferences myself, so they are more than likely fairly trustworthy. That said, I wouldn't leave a 7 month old with them, it's just too young. My feeling is that until your kid can talk to you, I wouldn't leave them with people I didn't know. That said, at most conferences you can go check on your kiddo, and if you are breastfeeding, you likely will be as well, so YMMV.
posted by katers890 at 8:15 PM on January 4

I actually worked for Kiddie Corps many years ago as a regular worker and then a manager. The name is very odd and somewhat off-putting.

Honestly, I think their baby services are better than their older kid services. Their older kids services are great (but lots of TV). Very clean, a really nice group of folks providing care, a pretty tight security and management system, and the care rooms always seemed close to where the parents were located.

I traveled for them as well, so this was over a few different cities over about 5 years.

I would leave my own kids with them after having worked for them. Hope that's a helpful reference! Good luck and have a great time!
posted by mamabear at 9:20 PM on January 4 [1 favorite]

Oh, and it is more than okay to check in often (to breast feed or just say hello). I actually expected it with babies and younger children when I worked there.
posted by mamabear at 9:25 PM on January 4

I went to a conference when my baby was a similar age. Here is the question.. He did just fine without me. Pumping was a giant pain.

I took my latest baby to a three day conference when he was 4 months old. It sucked. If you can avoid it, do so.
posted by bq at 4:09 PM on January 5