We hired Malihini Keiki Care two weeks ago to care for our 7-month-old son. Overall, the experience was disappointing, and we will not be hiring MK Care again.
(2) Caregiver was unreachable for 20 min. During this time, we texted and called twice, leaving a message. We were distraught during this time and frustrated at the inability to contact someone who was in sole care of our son. At the end of the 20 minutes, we asked the caregiver to call us. She did not.
The most troubling aspects of our interaction with MK Care were:
We write this review not to insist that no one use MK Care; rather, we wanted to share the circumstances of our particular disappointment so that anyone considering this company may make an informed decision. We will most certainly not be using MK Care again.
(i) Caregiver is one of the company’s most popular caregivers. (This sentiment was repeated several times. Although likely not meant to be insulting, it implies we must be outliers.)
(1) Caregiver did not follow clear directions concerning nap times and meal times. The late nap and late dinner meant our son slept poorly that night and was, according to the caregiver, “very hungry" when he finally ate dinner.
(a) Lack of safety.
However, the experience after this time was negative and can be divided into four major issues:
The next day, the owner called again after speaking with the caregiver. The conversation was, again, a parade of excuses and patronization. The two most relevant points:
Our experience with the company began well. The phone call to arrange the session was efficient. The caregiver showed up early to our hotel (The Fairmont Orchid) and was friendly.
(ii) Caregiver might have been having an off night. (Not only is this point irrelevant, it is inexcusable to excuse the behavior outlined above—particularly the unsafe behavior—using this point.)
(ii) The owner proceeded to state we should have "specified [our] son’s needs" over the phone when making the childcare reservations. It is amazing to us that the owner felt we should have reminded MK Care that the caregiver should (a) follow our directions, and (b) been familiar enough with basic safety recommendations to not place our 7-month-old son to sleep with a blanket.
(b) Poor response from the owner.
(i) The caregiver told the owner she put our son to bed with a blanket because the room was cold. When we reminded the owner of safety concerns, she excused the caregiver’s actions by stating that the blanket was “thin” and that some parents use a blanket with their children and some do not. This excuse/explanation is irrelevant. Safety recommendations clearly state no blankets in cribs until the child is at least one year old. If the caregiver wanted to contravene these recommendations, she should have contacted us to find out if we use a blanket. She did not.
(4) The company owner’s reply to our concerns was defensive and patronizing. Her response was packed with excuses; the two most relevant are:
(3) During dinner, we were shocked to receive a picture of our 7-month-old son sleeping with a blanket. Current recommendations state no child under the age of one year old should be put to bed with a blanket to minimize the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). This act was the most serious and caused us to feel we could not trust this caregiver. We ended our evening early and returned to our room.
At the end of the evening, our son was safe, and despite being unusually unhappy that night and sleeping poorly, he seems to have suffered no ill effects.
The owner of MK Care indicated that the caregiver’s heart is in the right place. We agree. Yet having good intentions is not enough to ensure the safety of children. In addition, the owner's defensive response surprised us. Client feedback is important to gauge how well companies are performing, including RE: safety.
Malihini Keiki Care is a US School based in Kailua Kona, Hawaii. Malihini Keiki Care is located at PO Box 4792, Kailua-Kona, HI 96745, USA.
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