My son has been attending HCA since he was 3 months old (he is now 2) and I have been very pleased with the level of care he receives. One thing that is impressive for a day care is HCA’s well-rounded, healthy menu which always consists of a lean protein, fresh fruit, vegetable, and whole grain. I’m so happy that chicken fingers, pizza, and other processed foods are not being given to these young children. My son has become attached to all of the staff at day care and I can tell they genuinely care about the children too! I would highly recommend HCA to all working parents who want a safe, educational, fun, and healthy place for their children to spend the day while not in their own care!
My daughter attended Hoboken Children’s Academy from the age of 15 weeks through 9 months. I was nervous as a first-time parent leaving my child at daycare, but the environment at HCA is very warm and caring. The teachers and staff are extremely attentive and affectionate. The lessons were well thought out and I loved getting “artwork” my baby had created. The classrooms have webcams, so you can log-in and see your child during the day. This made me so happy when the new-mom guilt set in. When we moved out of state, I was very sad to leave HCA. We remain in contact with several staff members and will always be grateful for such a wonderful daycare experience.
My children have attend HCA for over 3 years and we love it. The staff and management are professional, friendly and accommodating. The teachers go out of their way to make my kids feel unique and special.
Also, they have a web cam!!! This is a major plus. Not many daycares provide the ability to watch your kids during the day. It’s been fantastic.
They also provide all meals- breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner. For working parents, it’s a huge help. I can’t rate them highly enough.
My son attended HCA2 (on 12th and Washington) from four months until just about his third birthday. I cannot speak highly enough about this daycare. From the infant room up to the toddler room, my son thrived in every way. The staff is incredibly competent, devoted, and loving. The management team is very hands on with the staff and the children. They set an incredibly calm, vibrant, and accessible tone and I trusted them implicitly with my son. They have web cams in every room so that you can check in any time of day to see what your child is doing. If you ever have a problem or want to check in, they welcome open communication with the director. There is a wonderful curriculum that strikes just the right balance between freedom and structure and they are very helpful when it comes to discipline and even guided us through potty training. They use positive reinforcement and it works really well with the children. There is a strong educational component – my son learned way more than I ever expected him to at his age. They do plenty of wonderful art projects and do lot of dancing and free play as well. There is a nice ratio of teacher to children and you never feel like your child is not being looked after. We always had full reports at the end of each day and the teachers were always clued into the details (what he ate, how he napped). All very useful information when you are picking up your child after a long day. They have a morning and an afternoon cook on staff who makes 3 really healthy meals a day plus they provide a snack. The cooks know all of the children and contribute to the intimate and family type atmosphere. I am always surprised to see that there are not any mentions of this school on yelp, but I know that all of the parents that I know who send their children here are very happy with their choice. We were so sad to graduate our son from this school, but it was time. In fact, we are having a difficult time finding a “school” that has the same level of care. If you are looking for a safe and nurturing environment for your child- I would definitely make an appointment and check them out.
Warm and stimulating. This is how I would describe HCA on 14th St.
We relocated from another state 1.5 year ago and found a new family in HCA,
From the morning drop-off (and the delicious smell of home-made breakfast) to the pick-up at night, I know that my children are extremely well taken care of and doing activities that we don’t always have time to do during the weekends. 2 of my kids’ favorites are the weekly yoga classes and the visit of a real fireman! The curriculum is impressive. On top of that, my kids are also having fun!The teachers are amazing. Full of energy, smart and loving. They care about our children; they also care about our families. We love them.
And for us, working parents who need convenience, HCA has great hours and provides all the meals!
I strongly recommend HCA.
I don’t even know where to begin…My daughter started at HCA when she was 11 months old. I researched several other daycares and although I felt confident about HCA it was still so difficult to put my child in the care of others. Once she began I instantly felt relieved. After the first hour of being there, the director sent me a picture of my daughter in circle time smiling and participating. I knew I chose the right place.
The teachers are loving, nurturing, patient, and they make sure to carry over whatever routines etc that you are doing in your home. They also provide great structure and truly provide a fantastic learning environment. The kids go apple picking, pumpkin picking, have yoga class, paint, engage in circle time, sing songs, among so many other wonderful things. It’s not just a daycare, it’s a school. They even do developmental assessments every 6 months. It’s truly awesome.
The webcams are also very nice. If my daughter was having trouble separating at drop off, I could go home and look at the web cam and see her sitting happily on a teachers lap or already engaged in an activity.
Finally, the fact that all meals and snack are provided makes it so easy on parents. We would stay here forever if we could:)
First and foremost, let me just say that I am one of ‘those’ moms. I am a complete nut job, type A, control freak – who researched and went to 7 different daycares in Hoboken before choosing HCA (12th and Washington). And I cannot speak highly enough about the place. My daughter started there when she was 6 months, is now 2 – and I dread the day I have to take her out!
Let me start with the teachers. They are loving, creative, informative, attentive, respectful and committed. Between observing them via the webcams (on a daily basis) or speaking with them when picking my daughter up at the end of the day – it has been consistently apparent that we made the right choice.
The curriculum. It’s always new and fresh. My daughter continues to surprise me with things I had no idea she was capable of learning.
The environment. The staff goes above and beyond when it comes to enlivening the classrooms with their own creations or things the kids have made. They’re also constantly adding new toys, gear, learning spaces and activity centers to help the children thrive and grow.
The food / kitchen staff. Informed, moms themselves!, caring, knowledgeable – and loving. When not preparing and serving food to the little ones, you can often find them helping out in the classrooms – or simply giving out hugs. They get my daughter to eat things that I can’t even get her to eat!
And finally, the management. Accessible, professional, buttoned up, informative – but most of all – hands on and very involved. My daughter loves the director just as much as her teachers. A true relief for a control freak!
It’s safe to say that I would recommend this place to anyone / everyone. I truly feel lucky that we found HCA!
Making the decision to return to work and send my baby to daycare was one of the most emotional decisions I’ve ever had to make. As nervous as I was about sending my son to daycare, it didn’t take long for me to feel completely at ease as I got to know the teachers and the director at HCA. The teachers are so warm and nurturing, and even though I miss my baby while I’m at work, I’m never worried about him. I love that the teachers do art projects in the infant room, allowing the babies to explore different textures and colors that babies may not otherwise be exposed to. My husband and I are so grateful that our baby has people in his life, other than his family, who love and nurture him when we can’t be with him.
We couldn’t be happier with our choice of HCA for our son’s day care. We drop him off every morning with the knowledge that he will spend his day with teachers who love and nurture him just as we do! He loves his teachers and all of his new friends and comes home happy every night!
My daughter started at HCA when she was just 3 months old and moved through the ranks over the first 2 years of her life to the Toddler classroom. To summarize our HCA experience in two words it was ‘absolutely fantastic’. As a first time mom I was of course concerned about leaving my baby with anyone, but after meeting the management and staff at HCA, and seeing the spacious, clean and well-kept facility, I knew that she would be in excellent hands and that was the right choice for us. I saw my daughter grow and thrive every day, learning new things (be it learning to crawl in the infant room, her ABC’s in the Step-Up room, or learning the importance of nutritious meals in the Toddler room)…and I know that I owe much of her positive development skills to date to the wonderful and loving staff and environment at HCA. My daughter truly felt like she was surrounded by family when at HCA (as did my husband and I!) and there’s nothing better than knowing that your child is part of a family like that when you can’t be with him or her every day.