By the time Katie returned to work after parental leave, her daughter had started attending a day care close to her apartment. But on days when the day care was closed or she needed childcare coverage, there was a childcare center conveniently located in her office.
The center was run by Bright Horizons, one of the largest and best-known childcare providers in the country. Because the center was accessible only to employees of the financial services company where she worked, availability was rarely an issue, and the cost of care was heavily subsidized. On days when her baby was at the center, she could drop by to breastfeed her, instead of pumping at the office as usual.
When Katie unexpectedly had to move her daughter to a new day care, this access to backup care—those alternate arrangements parents seek out when their usual childcare falls through—turned out to be essential.
“They didn’t have a spot for her until she was officially 1, and we were having some issues with our regular day care,” she says. “So I actually used [the Bright Horizons center] for a full month just to bridge the gap between the two places.”
Even with a significant disruption to her childcare—a predicament that puts many parents in a bind if they have to work while their child’s day care is closed—she was able to continue working without taking much time off.
“It was really, really valuable to me,” says Katie, who asked to use a pseudonym to speak freely. “If you were to have a conversation with my employer and really get down to it, it was valuable to them, too. I really didn’t miss any work, even though we were technically without regular childcare for a month.”
This is precisely the selling point that Bright Horizons offers employers, as the preferred purveyor of childcare benefits for more than 1,450 companies worldwide. Through Bright Horizons, more than 220 of the largest U.S. companies by revenue, including AT&T and JPMorgan Chase, provide subsidized childcare to their workforces—most notably, access to backup care via a vast network of day cares and in-home caregivers. Some employers invest in on-site facilities, like the one Katie used, while others grant their employees access to subsidized care at one of the 1,000+ facilities Bright Horizons operates across five countries.
In its most recent annual report, Bright Horizons, which is based in suburban Boston, claimed to have six times as many employer-sponsored childcare centers as its closest competitor, along with a backup care business that is four times as large. As demand for childcare benefits among American workers has exploded, so too has the company’s backup care footprint: In 2025, demand surged by 19%, with backup care now making up one-quarter of its overall revenue, or nearly $728 million. The backup care business is largely responsible for the company’s operating income, which crossed $314 million in 2025.
But a litany of recent allegations against Bright Horizons suggest the system is under strain, leading to inevitable and uncomfortable questions about large scale in a business like childcare, which has steep labor costs and fluctuations in enrollment. In interviews with Fast Company, working parents shared a range of experiences using Bright Horizons for subsidized care through their companies. Some of them were pleasantly surprised by the quality of care, while others felt misled by the reputation Bright Horizons boasted in the industry; multiple parents found that availability was an issue. Nearly all of them seemed frustrated by the compromises they had to make in pursuit of childcare that isn’t prohibitively expensive.
Child abuse charges at a Bright Horizons center in New York City last year drew intense scrutiny and ultimately led to the location’s being shut down. As part of its settlement with the city, the company was also restricted from opening any new locations until early 2027. But the incident revealed there were dozens of recent complaints involving Bright Horizons centers across the city, tapping into any working parent’s deepest fears. The complaints ranged from allegations of inappropriate discipline to claims that workers had lost track of children, according to a report in The New York Times. (One substantiated complaint described an incident in which a child was “aggressively” grabbed and “forcefully” made to sit down.)
As The Cut recently reported, the company allegedly cut corners when vetting and training staff at some of its New York locations, hiring people with minimal childcare experience. But these aren’t isolated incidents. There have been allegations of mistreatment across a number of states—and even abroad—pointing to a broader lack of oversight at Bright Horizons. (A Bright Horizons spokesperson said the company requires thorough background checks and five days of onboarding and training prior to an employee’s being placed in a classroom.) Other childcare chains like KinderCare have faced their own share of troubling allegations, which have prompted an investigation by Senator Jeff Merkley, an Oregon Democrat, probing the incursion of private equity into the childcare industry.
“There is not evidence to suggest that as a rule investor-backed, large for-profit childcare chains are dangerous,” says Elliot Haspel, a childcare policy expert and Fast Company contributor. “What we can say though—and where there’s an awful lot of evidence gathering both internationally and here domestically—is that there is a real profit motive in place that is arguably distinct. . . . It’s hard for me to imagine that a company where the CEO has to give quarterly earnings reports is only and solely focused on creating the best possible experience for kids and their families.”
In a statement to Fast Company, the spokesperson for Bright Horizons says, “While individual experiences can vary, the overwhelming majority of families tell us that backup care and full time care provides a trusted and valuable solution during moments when they need support most. We remain focused on delivering a high-quality experience and helping working families access reliable care when they need it. We recognize that no service supporting more than 1 million care sessions annually will result in a perfect experience every time. When any families with concerns shares their experiences with us we work one on one with them to address those concerns personally and individually.”
As soaring costs and supply issues put childcare increasingly out of reach, companies like Bright Horizons are perfectly situated to make their services indispensable. Employers, for their part, are incentivized to keep parents focused on work and not scrambling for childcare. Parents and families, on the other hand, are just looking for affordable, high-quality care.
But is employer-sponsored childcare really working for them?
How childcare benefits are serving working parents
In spite of the recent allegations, some parents have found that Bright Horizons has been a fairly reliable source of childcare and backup coverage.
Parents who sent their children to an on-site facility—like Lauren Stevens, who works in an administrative role at Washington University in St. Louis—seemed to have a better experience. Stevens chose a Bright Horizons center for a few reasons, none of which had to do with the actual cost of care, which she found shockingly high. (“I look at the cost and it doesn’t feel subsidized to me,” she quipped.) It was located on campus, and she was reassured by the standards and security measures when she toured the facility. The day care didn’t just offer convenience; it also catered solely to a certain population of parents—many of them doctors—who Stevens thought would demand a high level of oversight.
Though her experience has been largely positive, Stevens has noticed surprisingly high turnover at the day care in recent months; when she drops off her two children, she sometimes hears teachers talking about being “out of ratio” and calling in reinforcements. (Teacher-student ratios are mandated by the state and dictate how many children can be under the care of a single teacher at any given time.)
At one point, Stevens witnessed a teacher disciplining a child in a manner she found inappropriate, yanking a toy away that caused them to fall and then continuing to reprimand the child. When she reported the incident, she says, the day care took swift action. “I told the center director, and that was [the teacher’s] last day on site,” she recounts. “I definitely appreciated that they immediately took it very seriously.”
Katie, the parent who used a Bright Horizons center at her office for backup care, had no complaints about the quality of childcare. (As multiple parents pointed out, employer subsidies, Stevens’s quip aside, also make backup care at Bright Horizons quite affordable. Katie described her copay as a “really nominal” fee per day, while other parents who used in-home caregivers said they paid $6 to $8 an hour; it would usually cost three or four times that.) But she also suspected that was because the center was located in her office and catered solely to employees at her company.
“This is sad to say, but obviously the parents are probably going to hold the care to a higher standard because they’re literally in the building,” she says. “It has our employer’s name associated with it.” (Bright Horizons denies there was any variation in care. “We strive for and expect the highest standards of care from all our centers,” the spokesperson says.)
Location matters
The care provided by Bright Horizons seems to vary considerably depending on the childcare arrangement and location. In interviews with Fast Company, several parents—most of whom are based in New York state—repeatedly expressed concerns over using the day care centers that were open to the public. Multiple people said they steered clear of the centers after warnings from other parents, and some of them were also alarmed by the allegations over the last year.
A number of parents felt more comfortable using in-home backup care—nannies or sitters who provide childcare at your home—even though they described the service as unreliable, and felt the caregivers were not always trustworthy. Bright Horizons partners with a network of agencies to provide in-home backup care, and parents found there was a lot of variability depending on the agency. (The Bright Horizons spokesperson tells Fast Company the backup care program “consistently earns customer satisfaction ratings above 90%, based on feedback from nearly 60,000 users surveyed in 2026. Families enrolled full-time at our childcare centers report 96% satisfaction, feedback from over 18,000 families at 526 centers. Our employer clients also report a more than 90% satisfaction rate.”)
After Elise, a Brooklyn-based parent who asked to use a pseudonym, had a child, she heard from coworkers—particularly those with older children—who raved about the Bright Horizons backup care benefits offered by her employer. Parents of younger children, however, cautioned her against using the centers.
“I’ve been told by coworkers, primarily, and other moms in the neighborhood to stay far, far away,” she says.
Her son was enrolled in a boutique day care that she loved, but her family eventually needed additional coverage for holidays or sick days. For a while, she relied on her network and moms in her neighborhood for recommendations. In the past year, however, Elise and her husband had become “a little bit more desperate,” between an uptick in work travel and bouts of illness. When she turned to Bright Horizons for in-home childcare, she found that it was often challenging to find someone at the last minute.
“We’ve tried to get backup care through Bright Horizons morning-of, and I understand that’s tricky,” she says. “But in my mind, that’s the point of backup care.”
On one occasion, when she sought out backup care through Bright Horizons on late notice, she didn’t hear back for hours, and ended up staying home from work. When she tried booking it ahead of time, multiple caregivers canceled the day prior. Elise was ultimately able to find a replacement, but the sitter showed up 40 minutes later than the time they had agreed upon. In the few instances that she successfully found a caregiver, Elise felt she had to work from home and be reachable. (“We understand how frustrating and disruptive it can be when a family has a poor backup care experience, particularly when care is needed on short notice,” the Bright Horizons spokesperson says. “While no system can completely eliminate unexpected caregiver issues, we have robust processes, dedicated support resources, and ongoing monitoring in place to help ensure families receive reliable care and prompt assistance if a problem occurs.”)
Scott Klipper, another parent who used Bright Horizons backup care for years for both of his children, echoes that sentiment, and says it sometimes felt like he effectively had to be on call to help with childcare while working from home. At times, it seemed like the caregiver was more like an assistant. “I would be changing my daughter’s diaper, and they would be just standing there handing me the wipes,” he says. “So the quality varied significantly across different caretakers.”
Multiple parents say that when they did find someone they liked, it wasn’t always easy to request them again. Klipper also found that as his children got older, the coverage he needed before and after school was simply beyond the scope of what Bright Horizons could offer. “If it was a new caretaker, I couldn’t just say, ‘Go pick up my kid at school and watch him for the next few hours,’” he says. “I had to be there.”
Nina, a mother of a 5-month-old baby who asked to remain anonymous, tells Fast Company she was using in-home care regularly to allow her to work a few days a week, until she figured out a more permanent childcare arrangement. After testing out about 10 caregivers, she said she liked only two. One of the sitters she tried out had taken the baby outside during a heat wave—against Nina’s advice—while another did little to soothe the baby when he was crying. She tries to book her preferred caregivers, but doesn’t always have a choice due to limited availability.
Still, the Bright Horizons benefit has allowed Nina to access very affordable childcare as she eases back into work—and she feels more comfortable with it because she is usually home while the caretaker is there. As she mulls options for full-time childcare, however, Bright Horizons is simply not under consideration.
“I think if I were to choose a day care, I probably would stay away from theirs,” she says, “because it’s kind of tainted.”
Why employer benefits can be a trap
Critics of employer-sponsored childcare challenge the notion that the childcare crisis can be meaningfully addressed through private solutions.
“At the most fundamental level, I question whether childcare is a service we want to be connecting to the employer-employee relationship,” says Haspel, the policy expert. “‘Lose your job, lose your health insurance’ is bad enough. ‘Lose your job, lose your childcare’ is a crisis because there’s no COBRA; there’s no Affordable Care Act marketplace. You are just thrown into America’s wasteland of expensive and scarce childcare options.”
The other danger of tying childcare to employment is that companies can divest whenever they feel like it. Even as demand for childcare benefits grows—a Mercer study from 2025 found that more than one-third of large employers now provide backup care—there is plenty of evidence to suggest companies are willing to walk away from those commitments, leaving employees in the lurch.
In 2024, Google closed all four of its on-site childcare centers as part of a series of cost-cutting measures. General Mills made a similar call and shut down the center at its headquarters, citing low utilization. Earlier this year, when Siemens announced that its popular childcare facility was slated to close, parents started rallying to find ways to keep it open. Some employers, like Medtronic and Nike, decided not to reopen their centers after the COVID-19 pandemic, offering backup care benefits instead.
“The employers who really spend a lot of time on this—and maybe have even piloted things on their own—realize that it is very difficult to solve solely for their employees,” says Erica Phillips, the executive director of the National Association for Family Child Care, a nonprofit that helps support home-based childcare providers.
When employers partner with Bright Horizons to open a childcare center at their office, they absorb most of the upfront costs to build the facility. Bright Horizons oversees day-to-day operations, making it liable for the kind of reputational risk that could lead an employer to reevaluate its contracts.
In fact, Bright Horizons is explicit about this possibility in its 10-K filing from 2025, even referencing the recent allegations and warning that they could “result in decreased enrollment at our child care centers or use of backup care, termination of existing corporate relationships, inability to attract new corporate relationships, or increased insurance costs, all of which could adversely affect our operations.”
Advocates also argue that if Bright Horizons is the dominant solution pushed by employers, parents may not always be making the best choice for their family. Since employers tend to partner with childcare chains, parents with access to cheaper, subsidized care are often shuttled to those centers rather than home-based day cares or smaller childcare providers that might offer more personalized care.
“Families still need multiple options, and there are limits to the type of care that a large center would be able to provide,” Phillips says. “Often they’re not incentivized to go into rural communities or places where there’s just not a ton of demand. That’s where a small family childcare, or even a community center, is going to make more sense.”
The same might be true for a family that needs specialized care or atypical hours—or perhaps parents seeking childcare for an infant who would prefer to have them in a home-based environment rather than a large center.
As illustrated by the allegations that have surfaced across the Bright Horizons network, when parents have limited options, it can force them to tolerate inferior care. After a positive experience with backup care at a Bright Horizons center, Evette Stair—a lawyer and mother of three boys—decided to enroll her youngest son full-time. The center was conveniently down the street from her office, and her employer subsidized tuition by 10%, which made it more appealing. Stair was impressed by the look of the center, which featured an outdoor play area and brightly lit rooms.
Even with a subsidy, the monthly costs for full-time childcare are incredibly high, especially at a place like Bright Horizons—but she took that as a good sign. “It’s also expensive,” she adds. “So you’re like: Okay, I’m paying all this money. It’s got to be great.”
Not long after her son started, however, she started to receive concerning updates about his conduct. The teachers kept flagging what she felt was age-appropriate behavior for a 2-year-old—that he was getting out of his seat, for instance. He was the only Black child in the class, and one of just a couple of boys at the time. Stair started receiving “incident reports” documenting alleged issues with her son, and eventually, the director of the school informed her that he would be put on a performance improvement plan, mandating that he meet with an occupational therapist. (The Bright Horizons spokesperson says the company could not comment on the specifics of this case, noting that “we understand that relationships between teachers, children, and families are deeply personal, and experiences can vary.”)
Stair started dropping by the day care to observe her son, and found that other students were exhibiting the same behaviors that he did. “So then, my natural question to them was: ‘What are you measuring my child against?’” she recounts. “Because I’m seeing the same behaviors you’re complaining of in other children, but you’re only monitoring my child.” She also pointed out that her son was the only Black child in the class, but his teachers claimed it was “not a race thing.”
An incident this summer was the last straw and led her to pull her son out of the day care. One day, when she picked her son up earlier than expected, she discovered that he had blood all over him after a nap, along with a bruise on his face. But nobody could tell her what had happened and how he had gotten hurt. One of the administrators suggested that it might have been a nosebleed.
“I said, ‘You guys are overpolicing and underprotecting my child,’” Stair explained. “Because you can tell me if he got out of his seat six times in a day. But you can’t tell me why he’s bruised and bloody.”
Stair says she made assumptions about Bright Horizons because it was offered through her company. “I wouldn’t have known anything about Bright Horizons if it didn’t come from my employer,” she says. “You think of employee benefits as: You wouldn’t give me this thing if it wasn’t vetted.” In fact, before she enrolled her son, she didn’t look into whether the center had received complaints or violations.
“I was like, God, this place is too corporate to have any violations,” she says.
What the future holds for Bright Horizons
So far, the incidents at Bright Horizons have had little effect on its business, in part because there are few viable alternatives for employer-sponsored childcare. If anything, its backup care business has only become more lucrative for the company over the last few years.
It helps that Bright Horizons is not reliant on any one employer relationship. Its largest corporate client accounted for only 1% of total revenue in 2025, while the 10 biggest employers represented 8% of revenue. According to The Cut, at least one large New York-based employer sought out alternative backup care providers in the aftermath of the abuse allegations, to no avail. (In response, the Bright Horizons spokesperson points to the continued growth of its backup care business; the company also claims to meet with employers often to address concerns and “share reports on their employees’ experiences.”)
The truth is Bright Horizons has few formidable competitors when it comes to employer-sponsored childcare, and particularly backup care. KinderCare is actually much larger—operating more than 1,500 childcare centers in the U.S.—but it does not cater to nearly as many employers.
When reached by Fast Company, KinderCare would not comment directly on whether it had seen increased interest in the last year from employers who wanted to move away from Bright Horizons, though a spokesperson said its client base had continued to grow and some employers were looking to diversify their childcare offerings. KinderCare’s financial filings do indicate that its pool of employers ticked up from 900-plus in late 2024 to more than 1,000 as of early 2026; its on-site childcare centers also increased marginally from 70 to 77.
Wellthy, a caregiving benefits platform that launched backup care a few years ago, told Fast Company that demand has steadily increased for its childcare services, with dozens of employers adding those benefits in the last two years—though again, not necessarily because companies are switching from Bright Horizons. “We’ve seen an uptick in employers reaching out to Wellthy across the board on backup care,” a Wellthy spokesperson says. “That includes employers who work with Bright Horizons, but it also includes employers who have other backup care solutions.”
There are any number of reasons why employers may not be in a position to switch their childcare benefits or entirely disavow Bright Horizons, despite the seriousness of the allegations across its day care centers. But the claims of mistreatment at Bright Horizons do appear to have affected how some parents feel about its childcare offerings—and, perhaps, capture some of the limitations of employer-sponsored childcare.
The bigger question might be whether employers have a role to play in holding Bright Horizons accountable if they continue to use its services, though that might also depend on whether working parents feel comfortable speaking out about their experiences. Are they likely to raise concerns about the quality of their childcare benefits if they’re simply grateful to get any assistance at all?
When Elise, the Brooklyn-based parent, was frustrated by her inability to book a caregiver through Bright Horizons, her husband urged her to flag the issue to her employer. But she had no idea who to approach, and even if she did, she worried the benefit could be shelved if she protested too much or just stopped using it.
“I probably should at some point give them feedback, but I guess I have a little bit of a fear that they would just take it away. And that they would take it away secretly or silently, like many companies are doing with benefits or perks,” she says.
“I’m also of the mindset [that] if we don’t use this, it’s going to disappear.”
