Everything You Need
to Know, In One Place

Bright Kids accepts children from 12 months through 5 years of age, across three programs: Infant Care (12–19 months), Toddler Program (19 months–3 years), and Preschool (3–5 years). Children graduate to kindergarten after completing our Preschool program.

Yes, and we encourage it. Tours are free and available at all three Bright Kids locations. You'll walk through the rooms, meet educators, and get a real feel for how the environment works. There's no commitment or sales pressure. We'd rather you take your time and feel confident than rush into a decision.

Waitlist times vary significantly by program, location, and time of year. Infant Care spots are the most in demand and can have longer waits, which is why we strongly encourage families to register while pregnant or as early as possible. Toddler and Preschool spots tend to open more frequently. When you book a tour, we'll give you an honest estimate based on current waitlist status.

Yes. If your family moves or your needs change, we'll do our best to arrange a transfer to another Bright Kids location. This depends on availability at the destination location, we'll be transparent about timelines and never transfer your child without a smooth transition plan in place first.

We are committed to inclusive care and welcome children with a range of needs into our programs. We'd encourage you to reach out directly before enrollment so we can have an honest conversation about how we can best support your child. In some cases, we can connect families with Alberta's Inclusive Child Care (ICC) program, which provides additional funding and support resources for children with diverse needs.

Yes, we follow Alberta's guidelines for cold weather play. Children go outside when conditions are appropriate, and we ask families to ensure proper winter gear is labelled and packed each day: snowpants, insulated boots, mittens, and a hat. On days that are too cold or severe, we bring active movement indoors.

We use a positive guidance approach. When children are struggling with behaviour, our educators respond with calm co-regulation, clear language, and redirection. We believe children who are struggling behaviourally are communicating an unmet need, and our job is to help them find language and strategies for what they're feeling. Big behaviour is never punished, it's met with curiosity and support.

No. Children in the Infant Care and Toddler programs are not expected to be toilet-trained. We actively support the toilet training process in the Toddler room in partnership with families, following your lead, staying consistent with your approach, and never pressuring or shaming children around it. We ask families to bring extra clothing and pull-ups during the training phase.

Our Preschool uses an emergent curriculum model, meaning learning is driven by children's own interests and questions rather than a fixed lesson plan. This is evidence-based: children learn more deeply when they're genuinely curious. We build literacy, numeracy, science, and social-emotional skills throughout the day through play, projects, and guided exploration.

Yes, with written notice at enrollment. Please provide full details of any diagnosed allergies, intolerances, or dietary restrictions. Our kitchen prepares all meals on-site, which gives us significant flexibility. For severe or anaphylactic allergies, we'll develop an individual allergy action plan in coordination with your family and healthcare provider. We ask that any prescribed EpiPens or medications be provided and kept on file at the centre.

Generally, no, all meals are prepared in our licensed kitchen and included in your fee. Home food can create allergen cross-contamination risks in a shared environment. Exceptions can be made for specific cultural, religious, or medical dietary requirements that we are unable to accommodate in our kitchen. Please speak with us directly if this applies to your family.

Selective eating is extremely common, especially in toddlers, and we are experienced in supporting children through it. We use a division of responsibility approach: we decide what is offered; children decide whether and how much they eat. We never force, pressure, or coax. We do offer the same meal to all children (with allergen substitutes where needed) and believe that repeated, low-pressure exposure to a variety of foods is the most effective long-term strategy. We'll always tell you what your child ate at pickup.

All Bright Kids staff are First Aid and CPR certified. Minor bumps and scrapes are treated on-site and documented in an incident report, which you'll receive at pickup. For anything more significant, we'll contact you immediately. In a medical emergency, we call 911 first and then notify you right away. Incident reports are logged and kept on file.

Children should stay home if they have a fever of 38°C or higher, have vomited or had diarrhea in the past 24 hours, have a contagious illness (pink eye, strep throat, chickenpox, etc.), or are simply too unwell to participate comfortably in a group setting. We'll always contact you to pick up a child who becomes unwell during the day. We'll provide guidance on when it's safe to return.

Only individuals listed on your authorized pick-up list may collect your child. We'll ask anyone we don't recognize to show photo ID. If someone new will be picking up your child on a given day, please let us know in advance by phone or in writing. We take this seriously, when in doubt, your child stays with us until we reach you directly.