Brighter Beginnings Learning Center - Meridian, Idaho

Mathew A.

Our boys have attended Brighter Beginnings for nearly 5 years. This evening we pulled them out upon hearing some disturbing news regarding child abuse allegations at the center. This did not directly impact our children (to our knowledge), but it was a last straw in a series of concerning events during their time attending BBLC - specifically in the last year. We no longer believe this is a safe environment for children.

We've overlooked "small" things for quite a while, like the movie Home Alone being played for kids as young as 4 yrs old, seeing kids unattended while teachers are glued to their phones, lack of booster seats for school transportation (our 5 yo without one specifically), extremely limited outdoor time, an older child playing the game "Among Us" in front of our children (can verify this part & fully believe the 1-star review from a year ago), questionable bathroom situations for younger kids, & witnessing "teachers" screaming at entire classrooms & individual children.

Twice before, we had considered leaving the center. Our oldest was getting dropped off at school & teachers from the elementary school reported to us that a driver was yelling at our child during drop off. The BBLC employee was not released at this time, but she was removed from being a drop off person. The other time was when a "teacher" threatened to call the cops on kids in our youngest boy's room. Then to "follow through" by calling a stranger & having them pretend to be a cop & telling my son, & at least one other, than they'd be arrested & put in jail if they didn't behave. This "teacher" was fired immediately. Only later did we find out she had been fired once before & rehired! In fact this is the second time that's happened as one of our boys' 3's "teacher" had quit in the middle of the day without notice, then was rehired back months later. These are just our experiences & we've heard different but similar stories from other parents.

The fact that potential abuse could have been covered up & ignored at this center isn't surprising given the decision making around hiring. We understand the difficulties in finding employees & serving the growing demand for childcare. However, it's clear that decisions are not made around finding & retaining solid workers. Recently BBLC has had extreme turnover. Only 1 employee remains from just 1-2 yrs ago, including the director. Multiple employees have quit or given notice this week as well. Employees do not introduce themselves, do not report on the child's day, & for the most part are simply not friendly. Which, besides being a yellow flag in itself, isn't really a problem for us if you're meeting the minimum criteria providing a safe environment for our children. Unfortunately that lowest bar, in our opinion, has not been met. It's clear there is little-to-no employee training, & little-to-no consideration on whether an employee will actually do well in the position.

All this to say, while it wasn't perfect, this is not how BBLC was run for the first few years after enrolling our boys. We are thankful to those who are now gone from BBLC who treated our boys with genuine love and respect.

If you have intuition that the childcare you've chosen isn't the right one, we suggest going with it. We wish we had done so about a year ago. Convenience, our children's friendships, and difficulty finding new childcare arrangements were roadblocks for us. If you can, don't let them be roadblocks for you.

We cannot speak for how children are cared for at the other facilities, but the owners have three other childcare centers, with one on the way: Ten Mile Academy, Boise Kid Co., Owl's Nest Daycare, and Avimore Academy opening this summer. We suggest asking questions about hiring, firing, and abuse disclosure if looking into those centers.

Tayler G.

This place is amazing. From the moment we toured, we knew it was the right place for our son. They truly care and love on your child, and I love that I get updates and pictures throughout the day while I’m at work. I feel so at ease knowing that he is in such good hands. Not to mention it is an extremely clean facility! We are excited to watch our son grow here.

Alexandria J.

Hands down best childcare facility! This was a first time for our family with putting my son into childcare! From the first phone call, I spoke to Whitney on the phone she answered all of my questions and was very friendly. I knew from that call that I didn’t need to look anywhere else! My son had a hard time transitioning which was to be expected. His teachers, Miss Taylor and Miss Kim are both AWESOME! I know my kiddo is in great hands and I couldn’t thank them enough for making this so easy and enjoyable for my son!

My review above was posted a couple months back! So I just want to again say THANK YOU TO BRIGHTER BEGINNINGS! The entire staff is friendly and caring! It truly reflects that management and the owners care about their staff members and the kiddos coming through the door each day! Hands down the best learning center!

Kelsey K.

So happy with everything they do at BBLC! They had some big changes in staffing this year but handled it seamlessly. This is my first experience with child care for my first child and I couldn’t be happier. My daughter has learned so much there and always seems so happy. The girls are great communicators and truly care about their kiddos, which has helped develop a really trusting relationship. Glad to be a part of the BBLC team!

Josh K.

We love brighter beginnings. Moved over to them at the start of the school year and they've been nothing short of sweet, organized, clean and communicative. I give this place my full endorsement. Ashlee the manager is amazing. Thanks y'all, you deserve 5 stars.

Holden B.

We enrolled our daughter at BBLC this fall and we were immediately blown away by the level of care this staff commits to. She had such a rough transition period, filled with lots and lots of crying, and we weren't really sure what to do. Miss April, Miss Whitney, Miss Sara, Miss Eryn and SO MANY others immediately jumped in to make her comfortable. They gave us tips on how to help, listened to what we thought, and meshed all the ideas together. Miss April dedicated extra bonding time (and babysat one weekend to strengthen the bond!), Miss Sara always gave her hugs at drop off to start the day strong. What started as us picking up a sad baby every afternoon pretty quickly culminated in a complete 180. I remember the first time I arrived at pickup to our daughter (a notorious baby hater) happily playing with ANOTHER BABY. The immediate rush of relief and weight that lifted off my shoulders was crazy. Our daughter is not the same anxious baby she was at the beginning; she's becoming a social butterfly!

We absolutely love this school and there aren't enough words in the human language to describe how happy we are. I wish Google would let me rate this 1 million stars, because they deserve it!!

Nichol M.

Started taking my daughter here when she was 3 months old, we’ve had nothing but a great experience! My daughter is always happy to see her teachers! As well as getting updates on how she’s doing!

Monica V.

This is our fourth year at Brighter Beginnings and my daughter is flourishing. She’s a social butterfly because of the great staff. I know she will be prepared for kindergarten this next school year.