Baby wesley loves his food

Early Childhood Education and Daycare

Curriculum that develops the whole child

Our L.E.A.P.® (Learning Experience Academic Program) Curriculum uses fun, hands-on activities throughout early education to help children develop intellectually, socially and cognitively. Or as we say, to Learn, Play and Grow.

Learn More About Our Curriculum

Characters that bring learning to life

Children love learning from characters—and studies show that it’s highly effective especially in preschool and early education. TLE® has a cast of unique, beloved characters, each one teaching children a new value or activity.

Meet The Characters

Our lovable friend who takes you on a daily adventure that makes kids happy to learn, play, and grow.

Our dynamic doggy duo introduces the importance of being generous and giving to others through the learning of philanthropy.

Our passionate fitness instructor teaches the importance of an active lifestyle and healthy food choices.

Our wise and creative scientist who makes science fun and exciting.

Our literature loving llama makes reading fun and takes our children on imaginative adventures through books.

Our creative mathematician helps explore the joy of math.

Our well-mannered etiquette coach demonstrates the importance of being helpful, honest, and kind.

Our spunky monkey keeps kids active to promote a strong body and mind through sports and movement.

Centers where imaginations

run free

From the vibrant colors to the furniture and floor plan, TLE® Centers foster an early childhood care environment where children feel comfortable and where their curiosity and creativity are rewarded.

Explore Our Centers

For TLE parents:

The Show N Tell app

We offer an easy-to-use smartphone app that helps parents stay connected with their children at TLE. It sends you picture notifications of their activities, lets you check tuition balances and notify us of absences, and more.

A full summer of learning and fun at TLE®

When it’s summer, TLE® is the place. Give your child a summer full of learning, engagement and fun through themed programs.

Learn More At Camp TLE

Success measured in happy stories

See what parents are saying about TLE Childcare Centers.

“We’ve been sending our son to TLE for three months now and we couldn’t be happier! We spent a lot of time trying to find and research the best choice of childcare for our infant and we’re confident TLE was the right choice!”

– Annie & Joanna from Rocky Point, VT

“My daughter loves going to daycare at TLE. She loves her teachers, friends, and the programs that change monthly keeping her engaged and learning, and I get peace of mind. The staff there is always friendly and approachable, the directors awesome to deal with. Come be apart of the family. Your kid will love it, mine surely does.”

– Ouida from New Haven, CT

“My son is learning so much thanks to the engaging curriculum. The facility is impeccably clean and well kept. I appreciate you all for everything that you do. The Learning Experience is an excellent place for any child to obtain their education during the early years.”

– Vivian from Eastvale, CA

“My son never showed an interest in books. Since going to TLE, he asks me to read to him every night. I believe this is from his preschool experience. He loves his little friends and always jabbers on about the teachers. It’s been a great place for him to learn and grow.”

– Sandra from Aurora, IL

Family owned for 40 years

The Weissman family started TLE® in 1980 with one location in Boca Raton, FL. More than 275 locations have opened since, each built on the same effective early childhood programs the Weissmans developed.

Explore TLE’s Story

About Us - Wesley Chapel North

With a love of children at our core, each Kids ‘R’ Kids facility is family owned and operated to ensure a solid sense of community.

With a love of children at our core, each Kids ‘R’ Kids facility is family-owned and operated by local residents to ensure a solid sense of community.

Kids ‘R’ Kids Learning Academies are nationally renowned, and our academy is proud to be part of your community! We desire the absolute best for the children in our care and, therefore, we provide:A safe and secure, state-of-the-art environment with onsite owners

Peace of mind with secure online video monitoring of your child’s classroom
Creative, fun, and technology-driven accredited educational programs
Dedicated, highly-trained, and personable teachers and staff
Nutritious meals prepared onsite that exceed USDA guidelines
Convenient drop-off and pick-up with flexible hours

In addition to being the perfect choice for your family’s early educational needs, we seek to be your partners in the care and education of your child. Plan your visit today

Designed to maximize engagement, safety and sense of community

Our Classrooms

Based on decades of experience, we have designed classrooms to create an atmosphere where education and safety are priorities. Our developmentally-appropriate classrooms feature:

Floor-to-ceiling, tempered glass walls and doors, which give children a preview of their next level classroom and aids in their transition into that class
Separate, clean storage for each child’s personal belongings
Child-sized handwashing facilities
Separate children’s restrooms

Direct access to fenced-in, gated playgrounds

Schedule a Tour

Providing peace of mind for the families we serve

Our Safety & Security

Kids ‘R’ Kids has consulted with experts to create a safety and security program with the following features:

- Infant, child and adult CPR and First Aid trained staff
- Dedicated (Boo-Boo) room to address medical needs
- Strict background checks on all staff
- Secured entrances with restricted visitor access
- Closed-circuit cameras that are continuously monitored by staff
- Password-protected Internet viewing of classrooms, playgrounds and the cafeteria
- Tempered glass walls and doors for situational awareness
- Emergency and inclement weather preparedness plan

The balanced nutrition your child needs to learn and grow

Our Dining Experience

Research shows that practicing family-style dining enhances social skills, table manners, and increases conversation techniques. Our nutritious dining program is designed with these attributes in mind, and features:

- Mealtime conversation focused on nutritional education
- Well-balanced and healthy meals prepared by onsite chef
- Protocols to protect children with food allergies
- Menus that are prepared in advance and available online
- For bottle-fed children, families must provide prepared formula or mother’s milk placed in bottles. All infant items should be marked with the child´s first and last name. We will inform you of the policy regarding baby foods

Jenni and Jett

“Jett struggled with food allergies in his first day care. Now with Kids ‘R’ Kids, I feel confident with his care.”

Age-appropriate playgrounds for physical development and FUN

Our Outdoor Time

Outdoor time is all about exploring our natural environment, developing physical skills and enhancing brain growth. Components include:

- Large separate playgrounds designed specifically for infants, toddlers, preschool, and school-age children
- Play equipment built to meet Consumer Product Safety Commission Guidelines
- Supervised free play to promote physical fitness and development
- Outdoor classroom educational activities

Trouble-free transitions between school and our facility

Our Transportation System

For your convenience, we provide bus transportation with the following features:

- School buses with alarms to ensure no child is left behind
- Certified bus drivers and supervisory staff
- Safety measures, including a comprehensive attendance check
- School buses with seatbelts
- Scheduled, dedicated bus routes for enrolled school-age children
- Service to field trips in the community

Eat, it's healthy! How to teach a child a healthy relationship with food?

Does the child eat a limited set of foods and flatly refuse to try new things? Or, on the contrary, does he overeat, but his food is mostly sweet and fast food? What a healthy attitude to food looks like in a family, why you can’t force a child to eat, and sweets shouldn’t be a reward, says psychologist Anna Skavitina.

Anna Skavitina, psychologist, analyst, member of the IAAP (International Association of Analytical Psychology), supervisor of the ROAP and the Jung Institute (Zurich), expert of the Psychology journal

What is a healthy diet?

There are two serious issues that parents regularly turn to me for help with. What to do when my child eats very little, and only certain foods - I'm just afraid of not feeding him, and my child eats a lot, I'm afraid that his health will suffer from overeating.

Of course, each situation and each child is unique, but there are a few general points worth discussing. These two questions are asked by parents who have the opportunity to feed their child enough, and ideas about what healthy eating is. Statistics says 90% of children in developing countries still do not have such a choice, and their parents are concerned about simply feeding the child. Malnutrition is a serious problem that starts at an early age. Low birth weight occurs in approximately 25% of children in some countries in Asia and Africa. It causes the death of almost 10 million children every year. More than 200 million children under the age of 5 in developing countries do not develop fully, mainly due to chronic malnutrition. The parents of these children do not think about the usefulness of nutrition, their children usually do not suffer from selectivity in food, and few people think about food allergies when deciding questions of survival.

Our children in developed countries are the first or second generation of people who do not starve and have a fairly large food choice. Therefore, it is not at all surprising that people who have survived with a shortage of food, and have always been looking for ways to get food to feed their children, will not have adequate skills to cope with a situation where food is now always in abundance. Rather, they will either suffer that they cannot feed their children in any way (just like their mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers during times of famine), or worry that children eat too much - compared to mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers in their childhood. That is why the skills of parents regarding the nutrition of children often have to be artificially regulated, coping with off-scale anxiety and not hoping that in parents these skills are automatically activated immediately upon the birth of a child.

How do I deal with anxiety?

Parental anxiety related to overeating/overeating children usually leads to compulsive eating. “Be sure to eat THIS (meat, fish, vegetables, fruits)” or “Never eat THIS (fast food, sweets, sodas”, “You can’t leave anything on your plate, if you don’t eat, you won’t get out”, “Put the second piece of pie back.” Bottom line: parents' anxiety, inherited as a baton from their ancestors, is transmitted to children and colors their relationship with food with intense anxiety and guilt. When you worry, you do not hear your body signals well and either overeat or undereat. Thus, a vicious circle is formed that , of course, does not contribute to a healthy diet.

So, the first rule of normalization of relations with food in the family: no coercion of children.

It is very difficult for many parents to fulfill because it is scary to trust their children and the idea that their bodies know how much food they need.

Our children are lucky: there is really a lot of food around, their chance of starving to death is minimal if they can reach the fridge. If food is available and children are not forcibly restricted, after a while they will adjust the amount necessary for their normal development. If you're really, really scared and you don't believe the situation will change, or you're worried that when it does, "it might be too late," start keeping your child's food diary to record everything he actually ate during the day.

It is better to keep a diary for at least one or two weeks, because children eat unevenly, just like adults. Today they want and eat more, tomorrow - less. You will be surprised, but little ones actually eat not so little, and those who overeat not so much.

If anxiety does not leave you, go with a food diary to a pediatrician or nutritionist, let him assess the nutritional value of the child and help you make a varied menu if there are really difficulties with nutrition.

Rule #2: organize the conditions for a healthy diet in the family. Let the child have the opportunity to eat what he needs for development. Your task is to ensure the purchase and preparation of tasty and healthy food. Yes, healthy food must be tasty! For some reason, few people like unleavened rice and meat without salt and sauces. Unpalatable food can easily turn into compulsion (see rule 1). One of the reasons for overeating is the belief that healthy food always tastes bad and unhealthy food always tastes good. What to do if the child does not like the taste of vegetables or fruits, meat or fish? Suggest other options or forms. It is normal if the child does not eat fruits, but eats vegetables, or vice versa, does not eat boiled, but eats raw, does not eat any yet, but is ready for mashed potatoes in jars or fresh juices. He does not eat meat - we offer vegetable protein: beans, lentils. Your task is to provide the child with the necessary chemicals in the form that the child will like now. If your child is very selective in nutrition, then there is good news - he definitely has enough food. There is also bad news: if a child prefers to eat only sweets, he ... is malnourished and tries to “grab” fast carbohydrates for life instead of those substances that his body really needs.

Rule No. 3 : Do not rigidly divide food into permitted and prohibited. Forbidden fruit is known to be sweeter. Children will find an opportunity to get themselves a “forbidden thing” bypassing their parents: stealing from kitchen cabinets with holiday stash, from the refrigerator, buying sweets and fast food with all their pocket money, friends, grandparents, in the end. We organize the possibility of a normal full-fledged diet, and show how to deal with not very healthy food. The problem is not the food itself, the problem is that you should not eat only such food, or eat too much of it. We understand that there will be no drama if the child eats normal food and eats some sweets for dessert: a cake, 2-3 sweets or fruit. There will be no drama if sometimes you eat fast food along the way if you are hungry.

Rule No. 4 : Family breakfasts, lunches or dinners at a well-laid table contribute to the transmission of good eating habits to children and good family relationships. Family meals become a place where you can provide "pedagogical complementary foods" - try food from your parents' plate and thereby expand your understanding of various foods and their forms, expand your food repertoire. Personal example is contagious. It is important not to panic and not tear out of the hands of the child what he decides to try, even if it seems to you that this is not the most useful or the child will not be able to cope with it due to age. Allow me to experiment with food! If you don't like it or can't chew it - it's okay, it will spit it out. If a child has tried food and has a slight reddening, this does not mean that the child is allergic to it, and now you should never give this product for anything and ever. Let's take a little at a time to let the child's body adjust. You can start eating together from the moment when the child already receives the first complementary foods and can sit for some time, that is, from about 6 months. It is better to agree that the family eats without gadgets in their hands. Firstly, they interfere with communication, and secondly, they do not allow you to feel the signals of your body and stop in time when you are full.

Rule #5: Take your child to shops and markets when you plan to shop for groceries. Show and tell what you buy and why, what criteria you are guided by so that the family has good nutrition. Offer your child to help put food in the cart, choose vegetables and fruits himself, ask what he would like to try and cook. Cook together, showing and telling why we cook food this way. Let me cook for myself, even if later it will take a long time to clean the kitchen - he won’t try, he won’t learn.

Food is neither a reward nor a punishment. “Do your homework - you will get a lollipop”, “Eat soup - you will get a cake” and similar phrases quickly convey to children that lessons and soup are obviously disgusting, and lollipop and cake are something to strive for. Food is needed to have a healthy body, to have enough strength to run, jump and talk, to enjoy food and rejoice that we were lucky to be born in a place and at a time in which our children and we no longer starve .

See also:

This is my body! How to talk to a child about body positivity?

Eat and become smart: 5 foods that are good for the brain

Food with a bang! How to feed a child if he refuses

Do you not know what to do when it is difficult to feed your child? At first, the baby refuses to eat the “wrong” chicken or the “bad-smelling” cauliflower.

Then you start cooking the same food every day three times a day, wondering if a child can survive on pasta alone...

Before forcing a baby to eat, let's remember that refusing to eat is a common behavior for many children. You may experience this for the first time at age 2.

In most cases, the causes may be:

Personal preference. Agree, not all of us love broccoli, although it is useful.
Lack of appetite.
Reluctance to try something new.
Teething, cold.
Refusal to eat is a way for a child to show his parents his independence, which he often shows up to 5 years.

It is important for parents to find out the reasons why a child cannot be fed. And instead of punishing, fighting, bribery or threats, try to instill a healthy attitude towards food in your baby.

Feed the unwilling woman

When a child refuses to eat, parents consider him/her to be a fussy eater. A person who is picky about food usually does not eat certain foods or only eats the same food every day. While the whole family is happy to eat different dishes, the baby can only choose chicken, favorite sandwich or apple.

If this is your case, make sure that he is picky about food only because of his taste preferences.

Also, there may be other problems:

The child does not like the texture of the new food
He has difficulty chewing or swallowing certain foods
Mom shows her dislike for food and he starts refusing to eat too
Parents are trying to force feed the baby. He ends up protesting

10 rules to help feed your baby

1. Diversify your baby's diet and offer his favorite dishes at every meal, supplementing them with a new product.

Allow me to choose and eat only what is on the plate. The child may not touch rice or vegetables, but instead eat meat. Or vice versa. The main thing is to offer choice and have a positive attitude towards food intake.

2. Limit distractions.

If a child watches cartoons or plays a game during lunch, he can easily lose interest in food. From the outside, gadgets seem like a good way to seat a child at the table, but in fact they distract from eating. Set a rule at home - eat all family members without phones and with the TV turned off.

3. Watch your portion sizes.

Perhaps the problem is not that the child does not want to eat, but that he refuses to eat all the food that is on his plate. Remember that children do not need as much food as adults. If the portion size is too large, the baby will not be able to eat everything. Not because he is mischievous, but because he has already eaten. It is better to reduce the portion size. If necessary, the baby will ask for supplements.

4. Remember that the child may not be hungry when you offer food.

Children's appetite changes during the day or week.

5. Make sure the feeding time is not too late and the baby is not tired yet.

It will be difficult for you to force your child to eat if he is sleepy and overtired. Review your diet and don't feed when it's time for bed.

6. Watch your emotions when feeding your baby.

Coaxing, threatening or shouting will not help you get your baby to eat. As soon as he gets upset and starts crying, he will definitely refuse to eat.

7. Involve your child in cooking and choosing new foods.

Decide what to cook today with your little one and make a grocery list together. The child is more likely to eat what he has prepared.

8. Reduce the number of snacks and drinks other than water between meals.

Some children refuse to eat the main meal if there were too many snacks. Babies have a smaller stomach than adults and feel full faster. If the child is not hungry, he is unlikely to eat.

9. Understand your baby's eating style.

His appetite may change throughout the day. Some children do not eat a heavy dinner, but they eat breakfast and lunch well.

For more tips on what to do if your child is not eating well, read here.

How to feed a baby who is teething

The first teeth actively begin to erupt in babies from an average of 6 months. Due to discomfort, the baby may not eat well, and their mood may change.

During this period, it is important to offer the child nutritious food that is easy to chew:

Chilled vegetable or fruit puree.
Soft foods - yogurt, chicken soufflé, casserole, porridge.

Is it difficult to feed a baby without a bottle?

Many babies get used to bottle feeding and then don't want to eat "like adults". The later you wean your baby from the bottle, the more difficult it is to teach him to drink from a cup and eat with a spoon.

Drinker and cup training can begin as early as approx. 9 months.

But first check if the child is ready for this:

Can he sit up and hold his head without support?
Does the baby open its mouth when spoon fed?

If the child is able to do these things, he is ready for a drinker.

Introduce the cup slowly. Show your child how to use it first. For several days, replace drinking from a bottle during feeding with drinking from a sippy cup. Today, use a drinking cup for breakfast, and a bottle for other meals. Tomorrow, let's have it in two meals. But if it’s so difficult for a child, it’s better to immediately switch to a drinking bowl.

What else will help:

Tell your baby that he has grown up and does not need a bottle.
Praise him when he drinks from a bowl or cup.
If the child is old enough, let him choose his own cup.

How to feed a baby without a high chair

The high chair is associated in children with eating. It is recommended to use up to 3 years. What if the baby does not sit in one place without a high chair and it is impossible to feed him?

Our recommendation: