Zion Child Care Center & Preschool - Lodi, California

Mary G. T.

I am leaving this review as a concerned parent who would like to share our experience at Zion for others to read. My husband and I placed our daughter on Zion’s waitlist before she was born with a desired start date of November 2024, when she would be 5 months old. Once on the list, we were told to reach out closer to our desired start date, at which point we could find out if they would have a spot and could also take a tour of the facility. Tours are not offered until you are off the waitlist.

In October 2024 we were told they did have a spot for our daughter and that we could come in for a tour and paperwork if we wished to move forward with enrollment. While the building and furnishings itself were dated, everything appeared clean enough and the staff seemed nice, so we decided to move forward. In hindsight, there were red flags during the tour: The person we were scheduled to meet with was not there and the staff member that ended up taking us on the tour was not expecting us. We overheard a preschool teacher raising her voice to a child. Electric swings were used in the infant room. Children in the toddler room did not appear happy.

Moving to our daughter’s time at this daycare. I had the opportunity to visit the infant classroom during my lunch breaks for 45 minutes to an hour each day. I’m very glad that I did, because it afforded me a vastly different perspective than what was seen during our tour, or the short interactions at drop-off and pick-up. In the 4 days that our daughter attended Zion, multiple things were witnessed that not only made us uncomfortable, but made us question her safety and that of other infants in the nursery.

The following was observed each day when I arrived at 11:30am:
• Day 1 – Arrived to my daughter sleeping in an electric swing.
• Day 2 – Arrived to my daughter and another little boy sleeping in swings. The assistant director who unlocked the classroom door for me acknowledged that my daughter had “started her nap”, the teacher in the room did as well. I watched as the boy was allowed to sleep in the swing for 45+ minutes while I was in the room, with the teacher noting his nap on their tablet.
• Day 3 – I arrived to my daughter and other children crying inconsolably on the floor. The other children continued to cry for the entire 45 minutes I was in the room feeding my daughter, with little to no attendance from the staff in the room.
• Final Day – I arrived to my daughter and other babies crying on the floor again. The only child not crying in the room was the single baby being attended to by staff. When I collected my daughter’s things to leave, I discovered she was also overdue for her bottle.

On what was our daughter’s final day, I had requested that staff call us if she was crying and could not be settled like the previous day. This was done both in person during drop-off and in the drop-off notes. They did not call, and when I arrived, she had clearly been crying for a very long time, as were the other children. It was also clear that no attention had been made to wipe her face, which was dirty like it had been on previous days as well.

Of everything seen, the use of swings for sleeping was most concerning considering the known risk of suffocation during sleep, along with CCL Title 22 regulations on safe sleep within daycare facilities. While we weren't thrilled to see they used swings in the beginning, we were assured by the assistant director in person during our tour and by email that children were transferred to a crib immediately if they fell asleep. This was not the case.

Our entire experience was extremely disheartening, and we have since found other accommodations for our daughter’s care. Overall, infants deserve better than what is offered at Zion. Providing care that minimally meets state licensing requirements, and at times fails to even do that, is not a loving, nurturing, or safe environment. Because of this, we could not in good conscience remain at this daycare.

Nana K.

If you are good with your child contacting hoof and mouth, being exposed to head lice, getting bites from other children and having a diaper rash repeatedly, then this place is for your child. All these items happened within a few months of attending this day care.

Jen L.

Love the center and the teachers are amazing.

Zooey M.

Ashley B.

Ashley D.

Christian A.