A Personal Reflection on Visiting Bright Horizons Family Solutions, a United States-Based Child-Care Provider

Visiting Bright Horizons is always a fun, and important experience that is vital when it comes to this career path. Having first hand experience with the children is helpful when it comes to applying the information learned in class. Upon my prior visits to Bright Horizons, I've witnessed a lot of what we've covered in class.

I've visited Bright Horizons in the past with another class, last semester. Both that time and the most recent visit with this class, I've been in preschool aged rooms. It's very interesting to see how the children interact with not only the teacher and each other, but with us students that are visiting. Stranger wariness is something that usually applies to infants, but I've noticed a lot of the children at this age are still very hesitant when it comes to strangers or newcomers in their classroom. But eventually, they warm up.

Which I find interesting. Once they warm up, they either act like they've known you for their entire lives, or they're still very timid but won't completely shy away from you. These opposing personalities make me wonder whether it has to do with the environment in their home, or if it has something to do with the way the parents are raising them. At my most current visit to Bright Horizons, I experienced this firsthand.

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One little girl was unsure about our presence at first, but once we started to talk to them and interact, she warmed up immediately, and began handing me toys and started doing things that would garner a reaction from me. For example, she'd throw a toy pig, and in a futile attempt to get her under control, I told her that wasn't nice and that the poor pig didn't like to be thrown. She just giggled devilishly, and while she stopped throwing it, she proceeded to do things she thought was funny, such as put the pig in a pan on the fake stovetop, and wait for my reaction.

Meanwhile, there was another little girl who was playing with the clothes in the dress up corner. I had sat near her, along with a few other students, and the entire time we were in the classroom, she just shyly stood in the corner and watched us. Sometimes she'd speak, mainly to her talkative friend who was busy playing with one of the students visiting as well. I found it interesting that she felt more comfortable talking to her classmate, someone more similar to her. The classmate of hers was extremely talkative, but also patient and didn't appear annoyed that she clung to his side for the majority of our visit. If anything, he was more than willing to help her.

More than once did he offer us students information about her, whether it be him telling us her name, or the fact that "the dress up corner is her favorite spot to play in!", while she quietly stood behind him and nodded in agreement. If one of us had asked her a question, she'd answer quietly, usually with a finger in her mouth, so we'd ask her to repeat herself. She would comply, although she'd still speak very quietly. She never appeared distressed or upset, however. This little girl just looked perplexed, as if she was trying to understand something. Often times she'd offer a small, timid smile, as well. The entire time she didn't play; she just observed us, which again, makes me wonder if this is just simply a difference in personality, or if it's more related to how the parents raise them and the environment in their home.

Overall, the learning experience we get from Bright Horizons is extremely valuable. It's an opportunity to see everything we've talked about in class actually be applied, which is rare. Children are erratic, unpredictable things, so it's very helpful to be able to observe and witness. Not every child fits the textbook definition of development, so it's important to be able to see how different each child is and how they interact.

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