Big Hugs Child Care & Development - Piscataway, New Jersey

ebony

I enrolled my child in Big Hugs in Piscataway, after getting a recommendation from a coworker. That was almost two years ago. Not only does my daughter love it there, I love it there. I love knowing my child is in a protected and loving atmosphere when shes not around me. From her infant teachers like Miss Fran & Miss Gabby to her now toddler teachers, Miss Ali & Miss Vitoria, I am always sure shes in great hands. They are quick to give you updates and pictures on your child throughout the day. They have so many activities whether its at the school, inviting a guest, or going on a trip. They are not sitting in front of tv’s and iPads, they have these kids outside, getting fresh air and when they are inside they are reading, writing, learning...hitting those milestones.

To Betty & Sabah, thank you for your dedication and care towards our little ones. Thank you for being organized, communicative, and dependable. Thank you for all of your family engagement. Thank for taking the time out to find great candidates to put on your staff.

Your patience and kindness will never go unnoticed. KinderCare, Lightbridge, The Learning Experience… can never compete with BIG HUGS🩷

Ahmed A.

My son has been at Big Hugs since he was an infant. I knew once I walked in and took the tour with the staff that this was the place for him.
I have never had any issues and as a first time dad, they have helped me assure my son was doing well. My son is now a toddler and has learned so much due to their program being great and a lot of learning materials. Betty and Sabah are very professional and friendly, most of all very accommodating to special requests. I would recommend this daycare to anyone!

Frances W.

My child has been going to both Big Hugs locations since the age of two years old. Both of my children still attend Big Hugs , when the public school is closed even during the summer break. I really appreciate the entire Big Hugs staff as a working mother it can be come difficult juggling my schedule and the staff always works with me. My kids are always well taken care of.

Ariane R.

My son was in Big Hugs for about a year and we both loved every moment of it. Sam Pappas is an absolutely lovely woman and she employs women who are the best in their field. I've read some of these other reviews here and I challenge them. Sam's staff helped me to recognize some social deficiencies with my son and guided me towards getting him the help he needed in the Township school system - which is the ONLY reason my son stopped attending Big Hugs. I have referred co-workers, strangers and everyone in between to this facility!

DANA M.

We have been with Big Hugs for over 10 years. Our son went in as a toddler, went through preschool, learning new things every day, until he went to Kindergarten. They have programs that come in and teach them computers (he was 3 and learned how to work the computer & digital camera before they were so popular!), gymnastics, always different field trips to sign up for, he absolutely loved it. So when our daughter was born, there was no question where we were sending her! Our daughter is currently enrolled, she started in the infant room and now is in the preschool room. The teachers actually teach, which is a lot more than they do at other daycare's. The kids learn what school will be like at a young age, so they are ready when they enter Kindergarten. They even potty train! They offer a food program that is wonderful, so all we have to do is drop our daughter off and pick her up, and we know what she did all day, because they send her home with a detailed report. They have a great playground and bring the kids outside almost everyday, weather permitting of course.

The teachers always treat the children as if they are their own and that is exactly what you want in a daycare. You want to feel comfortable and at ease and Big Hugs does just that, we love all of the people there. Sam is very particular about the people she hires and is very open with all of the parents. She is a parent herself and knows what all of us are going through when we leave our children there. We definitely recommend Big Hugs!

Yolanda Q.

At first I loved the school when I enrolled my children. Things changed after a few months when I dropped in without calling too. I witnessed children not just mine being yelled at and I don't mean just a simple "don't do that", I mean top of the lungs yelling "DON'T DO THAT". I witnessed children being ignored when crying to the top of their lungs. At one time I had 3-4 accident reports a week. My son was getting hit, bitten and hurt and no one say anything!

They ask for 3 packs of wipes every month (ridiculous) because of sanitary reasons, yet, you pick up your kids and they are disgustingly dirty. Other children's noses are overflowing with running boogies.

Oh don't even think of bringing up your concerns to the director because there is always an excuse on why her staff yells and her excuse for being a cold fake individual is because she is "British" GO FIGURE!!!!

My last draw was walking in to find a teacher corning my son, grabbing his arm and yelling to the top of her lungs with anger at him because he wanted to play and it wasn't playtime. My son is 3 yrs old. When I questioned the director she said the teacher as wrong but.... as usual another unacceptable excuse.

Yes they have a great set up, yes their teacher/child ratio is about 10/1, yes it's really appealing to the eye when you enroll your child, yep they bring home activities, and yes, it's really cute, BUT beware of all of those things you can't see until you are there.

In the Front room, there are children crying for long periods of time. No attention, no compassion it's so sad. The only ones the teachers really tend to are those who have been there for years. It's obvious because they've established a relationship with those children but for those who don't have that longevity, it's sad to see how much they cry and for how long. I don't mean 5 minutes, it's sometimes taken me 10-15 minutes to leave or pick up my children and the babies are crying the entire time and worse than that, they are being ignored by the staff.

So my advise to you... Read the application, the sarcasm, ridiculous rules, the directors attitude about the things that happen in her school and why she feels it's necessary to have an application of this type is just a small example of what you are in for when you register your child.

rasika C.

My kid went to big hug as an infant till she was 4. It was her second home ! All the teachers were attentive, caring and experienced. We have great memories of big hugs . Sam ( the director) genuinely cares about kids and the families . I wish my second one could go to big hugs too but we moved far so that’s not an option .
I highly recommend big hugs !

Eman A.

Do not send you kids to this place. My kids are big now and still remember this place as the worst daycare ever. My infant baby was screaming and refused to go inside every time we dropped him off so we knew there was something wrong ! Once I transferred him to another daycare, he loved it so much.