Calling for reviews of Bright Horizons in Crystal City
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Anonymous
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Has anyone had any experience or heard of any experiences with Bright Horizons in Crystal City?
A friend who has an infant at the BHCC told me that she noticed infants crying for long periods of time and not being attended to, which she found very disturbing. Does anyone else have any positive or negative reviews about the infant classrooms at BHCC? |
Anonymous
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I have an infant at BHCC and we've been pleased. My child seems to be well cared for...obviously he can't speak to tell me otherwise, but we've noticed him to be in good mood (generally - we all have bad days!) when we pick up. I have never had a concern about the care he has received, and he's been there since he was 12 weeks, now almost 1 year old.
The teachers in his room are warm and caring, and always have some tidbit of info about his day to share when I pick up. I have never witnessed a child left unattended during the times that I have picked up, dropped off, or stopped by. I have witnessed a somewhat chaotic atmosphere at times during pickup, with multiple child crying or whining. However, I assume that happens in any infant room where there is a ratio of 3:1. I always see the teachers running around trying to attend to kids as best they can though... My only gripe thus far has been that we have tried to communicate different schedules or requests on several occasions, and it has sometimes taken a few days for the teachers to adapt those changes. Therefore, I would say communication could be improved. The cost is certainly high, but my company subsidizes so I can't really complain. Overall, I had hestitation about the program because I did not love some of the violations on VA licensing site. But we've been very pleased thus far and I anticipate we will continue to send our son there through preschool. |
Anonymous
| *adopt those changes. |
Anonymous
| BHCC was the first DC to call us with an opening for our infant, and despite the cost it was closest to work and we were impressed with the center layout, bright, cheerful, lots of toys, etc. The primary teachers were very loving and friendly, and that was the best part. Unfortunately, we were disturbed by the security -or lack thereof. People would regularly enter right behind us without using a password, and there was rarely anyone sitting up front. We really didn't like that. We kept him there for about 10 weeks before we received a call from another BH that is near our home and less expensive. |
Anonymous
| Read the recent VA inspection reports. They raised red flags for me. |
Anonymous
If your friend had such a disturbing view of the place, why does she "have" rather than "had" an infant there? |
Anonymous
| The director is awful. She barely communicates with the parents and is not warm or kind. |
Anonymous
| We had our child there for 2yrs, more than we should have! Out of the rest day cares in the area BHCC we thoight it was the best choice in terms of the facilities (very clean) and location. Extremely expensive for the care provided, some of the teachers are loving others not so much (quite witches and rude!) I suggest if you have your kid there to show unnanounced, observe and get your own conclusions. Also, they do not supervise 3yr-preschool meal times, do not make them seat to eat snacks or lunch, they just place the food on the table and let the kids know the food is there, so if your kid decides to keep playing he/she will not eat while there! Once your kid is preschool age< I really recommend you change them to an actual preschool/school otherwise your kid will be left behind (learning)...all they do is cut and paste, play with blocks and crazy "science" projects such as melting soap on a microwave (to explain heat conduction?!!! They will not emphasize on writing/reading skills. The administrative staff is the same...half good, the other half not so good, often times they get upset if parents bring something to their teir attention or are unresponsive to requests. It is definately more a business than a care center. If you have another option, go for it...I would not place another child of mine there, that is for sure!! |
Anonymous
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We had our child in the infant room there very briefly last year. We removed our child after a number of occasions in just a week, including coming in one day and finding one of the teachers sleeping sitting up behind the wall not visible from the main hallway, and another day where I arrived early to find three children laying on the ground crying while two teachers sat within feet, neither holding a child, chatting.
Clearly this is not representative of all experiences, nor of all of the infant classrooms (I believe they have more than one), but it didn't seem consistent with the high cost of care, plus we did not find center staff to be at all responsive to the issues we raised. Again though, we were not there all that long, so other parents will have a better perspective. But since this fits with what others have experienced, thought I'd share. |
Anonymous
| The crystal city day cares are bad. Just avoid both BH and the other one Sparkles. IMO the McDonalds daycares are focused on money at the expense for good care for the children and development and training for the workers. |
Anonymous
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We've had a great experience there, and even decided to keep oldest in there when second is born even though a nanny would be cheaper. We have not had a bad experience with any teacher, maybe we lucked out. I visited my oldest almost daily when I first returned to my job (in the same building), and while the teachers at times appeared busy...like in any infant room...they were always attentive and loving, never witnessed any sleeping, ignoring kids on purpose, whatever. Things just got better and better in toddler, twos and now pre. Some of that is probably because daycare is more fun for kids as they get older/develop friendships...
Oh and I like the science focus in the pre program. My kid is happy, independent, well spoken, reads, writes, and loves his pals. Director be more responsive, but there is at least one ass't director/admin who is on top of it and who I now bring issues to...... |
Anonymous
| I toured the facility but I did not like it at all. I saw a boy humping a little girl and took me saying something to a teacher to get them to stop him! Needless to say, I was not impressed. And I didn't like the director at all either. |
Anonymous
I'm sure the teachers appreciated informing them of what is generally considered normal kid behavior 
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Anonymous
humping is normal kid behavior? |
Anonymous
it's not abnormal |