Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/early-care-and-education-in-six-countries/5024222/
In the early childhood community, there is consensus that good child care is based on both the principles of developmentally appropriate practice and the understanding of each child as an individual. Take this concept to a larger audience and it still holds true. Providing employer-sponsored care for corporations, hospitals, and universities necessitates another level of individualization. From the start of Bright Horizons Family Solutions in 1986, it became clear that employers’ needs could be as different from one another as the children in care. The size of the center, the pricing of care, the hours of operation, and the ages of children served all had to support the goals that each employer set. Even the kind of care could be modified to meet the needs of workers or a work site. For example, while many employers opted to provide full-service care, others—especially in urban locations—chose back-up care with employees using those sites when their primary care broke down. Often back-up care could be made available to school-age children, expanding the number of employees who would benefit.
From 1986 until 2000, Bright Horizons grew to operate 345 child care centers in the United States. In 34 states plus the District of ...