Bright Horizions Corporate Child Care – 125 Broad St. Manhattan – NYC

Overall I was extremely pleased with the center and would highly recommend the downtown Bright Horizons to anyone who has emergency care needs. Bright Horizons has over 600 centers in the country including both full time and back up care. I had the opportunity to view a back up center in downtown Manhattan.

The first thing I noticed was the security. There was building security I had to pass before entering the building and then was impressed at how difficult it is to find the place! There is no sign or notice on the door that would indicate this is a childcare center. When you enter you are met by the office manager and he looks at sign in sheets and photos to ensure that you are in fact supposed to be there. He then has to let you in to the child care setting. Other security measures are video tapes and cameras that run all day and open spacing of the classrooms so that teachers can see across the center at all times. The center takes ages 3mos through 12 years old and are broken up into 4 classrooms. These age ranges are Infants (3mos- 12 mos and walking), Toddlers (12mos walking to 3yrs) Preschool (3years to 6 years) and School Age (6yrs- 12 years). This is emergency care (when the nanny is sick or school is closed) so on one hand I can understand the broad age ranges, but on the other hand, I am confused as to how a 3 year old can get the same educational value that a 6 year old can in the same classroom, the same for a 6 year old and 12 year old. The teacher to child ratios seemed great in the toddler room (1:4) preschool room (1:8) and School Age (1:10), but I did have some concerns about the infant room which holds a total of 6 infants and has a ratio of 1:3.

I don?t see how 1 teacher can provide optimal care for three small children without one being neglected. When I send my baby to a center I want to feel certain that her needs will be met and she will not be waiting in a poopy diaper while the teacher is feeding a child and has a third baby who is fussy. This said, I must comment on the teaching staff. The people that work at the center seemed upbeat and friendly. They were engaged with the children and extremely hands on. In the toddler room their were children going through extreme separation anxiety and the teacher in the room was patient and soothing allowing the child to express herself and learn to trust her. This made me feel that these were people I could trust with my child. I also must point out how beautiful the center itself was. Their was colorful displays on the walls, the rooms were clean, and all of the toys seemed clean and new. They have a sanitizing machine on state and each room is equipped with soap and water, and bleach spray bottles that are used throughout the day. Each classroom has its own separate bathroom or changing area and teachers ensure that all food items are labeled with first name last name and date. Teachers prepare foods with gloved hands and snack is provided.

Overall I was extremely pleased with the center and would highly recommend the downtown Bright Horizons to anyone who has emergency care needs.