Infant care in Northwest/North Central Austin - Bright Horizons? Children's Courtyard? Others? (2014)

[eirenecat]

We are having a second child in October 2014 and are beginning to consider child care for her. She will need full daytime care (husband and I both work full time) at a center or in-home beginning at 8 weeks of age.

We've looked at Hawthorne Montessori (which was an absolute non-starter) and Bright Horizons on Braker Lane, which I was impressed with. We are also going to look at Children's Courtyard on Metric. Anyone have good/bad experiences with Bright Horizons or Children's Courtyard? Any other suggestions of good infant care programs near the Arboretum/Domain area? I am open to in-home child care as well, but it seems very difficult to find.

[centralaustinite]

I'd start by looking at non-profit daycare and/or NAEYC accredited.
Accredited Program Search | National Association for the Education of Young Children | NAEYC Academy | Accreditation

[Trainwreck20]

I don't have any experience with that particular Bright Horizons, but we have had kids at the one down south for 7 years now and have been very happy with it. All BH locations should be NAEYC, and while that is not the end all/be all, it does indicate that there is a base level of competence. The lack of the accreditation does not mean they aren't competent, but look more closely. For one year of after school care we used a different (non-NAEYC) facility, and the difference in the teachers was markedly different. NAEYC ensures that the caregivers know (and have been trained in) the basics of childhood development - redirection, conflict resolution, development, etc. Six or seven years ago, I would not have realized how huge the a difference that training can make.

On the flip side, CC is NOT accredited, I don't think (maybe they are now), but used to have a sign that said "meets NAEYC standards" or something slightly vague. They ARE a good daycare chain, but it always irked me a bit that they kind of latched on to the accreditation initials without signing up for the NAEYC oversight.

We ended up with BH over CC solely because of the director at our local CC, not due to any issues with the corporation. Finally, we are currently using Primrose (NAEYC) for after school care and they are also an excellent option (albeit, they are a bit pricier than the others, I think).

One thing we did like about BH is that they had a full kitchen run by a child nutritionist that has greatly assisted our children's' eating choices. They serve breakfast and lunch, as well as snacks in between.

[gpurcell]

ECP at the Jewish Community Association of Austin. Amazing program.

[Salgal1113]

The place I work has an accredited facility that takes children from "outside" when space is available. Call 512-467-0222, ext. 3694 for more information. It's located on 183 at Riata Trace Parkway.

Both my kids grew up here; it's a wonderful place!