‘God has taken care of me’: For Kids Only owner reflects on 31 years of ‘having fun with these kids

Ametaphorical Memory Lane runs parallel with Hillside Drive in Trussville, a short street with a long line of good times.

Just mentioning the name of the day care tucked away behind the Shell station on South Chalkville Road — For Kids Only — seems to affect folks in a way that’s akin to flipping open a dusty photo album. Memories are unlocked.

Justin Williamson remembers his son loving the playground at For Kids Only. Williamson would drive down Hillside Drive and into the parking lot after a long work day, and from there he’d see his son run to the fence yelling “Daddy!” as loud as he could. His son, who went to For Kids Only for three or four years, now recognizes kids from there at school, at baseball games, at church.

“What a trip down Memory Lane,” Williamson said. “It was definitely a community within itself.”

Williamson spoke in past tense because he had just learned that For Kids Only, which opened in Trussville on April 2, 1990, was closing its doors for good. The day care’s owner, Brenda Cross, said her plan was to retire in December and close permanently once all the kids had new day cares to enroll in.

“God has taken care of me,” Cross said. “He has watched over me, and I contribute everything to Him.”

The opening of For Kids Only is a miracle on its own. Cross was in nursing school with her oldest daughter when she encountered a 2-day-old baby needing adoption. Cross, who had three kids of her own already, adopted her and changed her course of study to child development. She asked her dad to find some property in Trussville for a future day care, which he did, and Cross’ husband, a contractor, built For Kids Only in four months. Why did Cross choose to open a day care in Trussville?

“Because we needed one,” she said. “So, we did.”

Simple as that. For Kids Only opened in 1990 with 65 children coming for day care. Two years after opening, three rooms were added, and a gymnasium with a basement was constructed. The highest the enrollment reached was 150 kids.

Trussville parents, whether their kids were ever enrolled at For Kids Only or not, are likely familiar with the day care. Its bus is yellow with a white top, with blue flames on the front. Its as recognizable as another train blocking South Chalkville Road over Pinchgut Creek.

“It’s fun,” Cross said. “That’s what it’s all about, having fun with these kids.”

One of those kids was Jessica Givens Roehrer, who attended For Kids Only from age 5 until sixth grade. She was close with Cross’s daughter, BreAnn, so she spent time at the Cross home and their farm growing up. Roehrer worked for Cross for about a year in college.

“She has a huge heart for all ‘her’ kids and is always willing to help out the parents and children that go through FKO,” Roehrer said. “She treats all of her employees, children and parents of children as her own family. She played a huge role in my childhood, and I have always loved her and her family. I hope she is able to enjoy her retirement to the fullest.”

Cross said the love is what’s kept her going all these years. The time of day, the activities the kids are participating in doesn’t matter. If she walks in the room, the kids run to her and hug her. A 4-year-old boy recently sang “God our Father” to her in her office, simply because he wanted to.

“It’s just love,” she said. “You just reach down and hug them. It doesn’t matter which room I go into. If I’ve got somebody with me, they’ll still just stop what they’re doing and they’ll just come and each one of them just hug. I think that’s the best feeling about day care.”

Williamson remembered his first interaction with Cross, a day he picked up his son. She firmly, yet politely, asked for his identification and matched it to his son’s records since she didn’t recognize him.

“I could tell in that moment that she is the kind of person you want protecting your child, and she proved it time and time again,” Williamson said. “It’s hard to feel comfortable leaving your children anywhere, but I had the utmost confidence in Brenda and the staff at FKO. As I’ve gotten older I’ve put more and more importance on how people treat children. I’ve realized the level of caring, patience, love required to work as a day care teacher is not something you can fake. Every teacher there treated him like he was their own. Not only did they make sure he was ready for kindergarten, but they also taught him life lessons like respect and kindness, which I think all points back to the leadership of Brenda Cross. I am forever grateful that FKO was a part of our ‘village.’”

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, not only did enrollment decrease, but so did staffing. Ten teachers became four. As society opened up in 2021, the teaching shortage remained, leaving her to turn down people wanting to enroll their kids. Only a specified number of kids can be enrolled per teacher. Cross has taught her own classes. She did what was necessary to keep the day care running.

“For the love of these kids, you just keep on truckin’,” she said.

She’s trying to sell the For Kids Only property. Past that, she is still determining her next move. Build a house in Trussville? Volunteer with the Department of Human Resources? Travel? It’s all on the table. Glancing at some notes because putting 31 years of passion into a single interview is impossible, Cross said she appreciated all the parents, teachers, kids and anyone else who supported For Kids Only. As Trussville grew in the 1990s and certainly the 2000s, more churches were planted, more day cares opened their doors. Yet, For Kids Only remained strong. Cross attributed that to a single prayer she said on her drive down Hillside Drive each morning.

“God, take care of all my children, of all my kids and their teachers,” she’d pray. “And I said that every morning. And He did. He did.”