Name: brightwheel: Child Care App
Rating: 4.86965 (34624 reviews)

User Reviews for brightwheel: Child Care App

4.87 out of 5

34.6K Ratings

3 years ago, Miss Cheryl H

This app has made my life as a teacher so much easier!

Where should I start? The instant messaging between my parents and I is the best thing ever! I don't have to call each Parent over simple questions throughout the day. I can address the parents questions or concerns about Anything and everything. I can even message back and fourth after school hours if needed to be helpful to my parents. When a child in my class seems sad or missing their parents I help them by posting a picture or video to their parents letting them feel connected in the child's time of need. I've just recently started using the lesson planning feature and it is so awesome! Especially because my plan can be shared with my Parents as a way for them to spark up conversation in the evening with their children instead of asking what they did at school and the child responding with "I don't know" everyday. I also love the note section so I can ask the parents to donate supplies or anything else needed for the classroom. Posting notes, pictures, videos and sending messages couldn't be any easier. I also participate in a health screening before entering the classroom to help my center stay open and safe for all the families.

2 years ago, Schisue

Best TikTok Ad

I began using Brightwheel for my in-home daycare after seeing it on a TikTok ad by another provider. I don’t mean to sound dramatic, but it has been life changing! Okay, okay, at least business changing. It is so easy to set up and use. The mobile app means I can keep track of what’s going on every minute of my very hectic day and keep families in the know. The families in my care love it too and that it gives them the ability to see pictures and updates all day long. I also love being able to utilize the messaging on the app because it keeps business with business instead of using regular texts which doesn’t seem (to me) as professional. Brightwheel has thought of everything you could want as an administrator (things I didn’t even think about, that I’m now implementing!). And their customer service? TOP NOTCH! There was an issue with my account and they caught it before I did and fixed it with a few simple questions. Brandon in payments - literally the best. I cannot rave about this app enough. Save yourself the hassle and download it today!

5 years ago, Calliegoodwin348

Revolutionary!

We have been one of Brightwheel’s longest customers. We started off when the app was small and had just a few features, and we stayed because of the product they have built and we fully believe In Brightwheel & their mission! They have proven over and over that they are listening to us as caregivers and parents as they add all of our requested features. When we were told we would need to move to a paid version earlier this year, there was no hesitation because this has revolutionized our work and our ability to communicate with families. This app helped us immediately contact a parent for a child that was having a seizure, helped us to identify food allergies through the daily food log (that didn’t get lost because it was paper!), and is a selling point for our school because everyone likes having access to know what their child is doing each day! It saves us money on paper, time it takes to write out each activity for each child, and our parents LOVE it! We love brightwheel and I will never have enough positive things to say. Thank you Dave, Jen and team! 💙

3 years ago, meg xyz

Easy and informative!

Our daycare started using this app after the pandemic began - it’s an excellent way to keep parents informed while contact is limited. I love that all info is shared with my spouse, and cuts down on paper for the environment! We have switched classes and see that each teacher has flexibility to use as much or as little as they want. We love the updates throughout the day while working - one item I would mention as feedback is the notifications. I see the notification pop up but if I don’t look at it right away there is nothing on the app icon to alert that I have a notification. I’d love to see something similar to red dots with a number, like when you get a text message or email. I’d also love to be able to “like” an activity log or message item to quickly acknowledge that it was seen (both for parent and teacher). I feel sometimes a thumbs up can cover a response in the activity log that I wouldn’t need to go to the messages to reply.

5 years ago, Wrawr!!

Default payment isn’t a default payment

If my daughter’s school didn’t require I use this app for payments, I wouldn’t. I had a temporary payment method set up when I first enrolled her. When I was able to set my actual bank account, I set it as the default method. Seems easy enough, right? Wrong. It kept charging my back up for three consecutive weeks. What the app does when this happens is it will “pay” her school automatically and I have to go in and pay them in cash or cashiers check PLUS an additional $20. I even tried deleting the secondary account myself but the app doesn’t allow me to. I had to have someone from the brightwheel app do it for me. Oh, and the whole “we’ll get back to you within 30 minutes thing... it took almost an hour and half for them to get back to me. So on top of the $2/month I pay in service fees, I’ve paid an additional $60 this month all because the app doesn’t actually acknowledge a default payment method as just that AND the fees my back up payment institution charged me for bouncing payments. So unfortunately, because I love my daughters teachers and school, I am forced to continue giving this company my money every month. Never mind how embarrassing it is to constantly have your payments bounce even though you have the money to cover it. I would give zero stars if I could.

5 years ago, #1BrightwheelFanSchool

#1 App for Providers and Schools

I’m a daycare and preschool owner and also have a child in grade school (which uses a different app). I LOVE Brightwheel and wish my daughters school will switch over. Brightwheel is a time-saver on the admin side, an added bonus on the parent-side, and great tool for the teacher side. Teachers use it to update parents and track children’s progress. Parents rave about it and are always “in the know” of their child’s day, making pick up seamless. When we give tours, we always mention that we use Brightwheel and potential clients are in awe when they learn about what this app can do. I also have a little one at my preschool and use this app on the Parent-end. Look no further... coming from someone that uses it on back and front end, and also have experience with other school apps, this is it!!

4 years ago, Em0319

App works well

I use this app for my two kids who attend daycare. It’s great to see real-time what they are up to during the day and to communicate with daycare. I love that photos and videos can be posted in here!! This really helps me to feel more connected to daycare, especially when pick up and drop off can be busy and doesn’t leave time for much discussion with the daycare staff. It’s also super convenient for making daycare payments. Improvement Ideas - 1) Can you add a lost & found section that all parents can have access to? We have lost clothes at daycare and also had clothes sent home with us that aren’t ours. It would be awesome to have a spot to post photos of lost items or ISO posts that can be seen by other parents. 2) When I’m messaging about vacation days, early pick ups, etc. it would be nice to have an area to do that for both kids instead of having to post twice under each child’s tab.

10 months ago, Tori Pakos

AWFUL Update

I’ve never felt so strongly about any app to leave a review but this new update is absolutely horrendous. Paying ahead of time is a super long process that unless you ask their support, you will never figure out. You cannot pay more than the current invoice unless it’s two separate payments which in turn has two separate fees from this company. If you’re going to make updates, maybe it should be to better the app not to make it extremely frustrating. Or at least provide instructions/help without the need to wait for support to answer in 3-5 business days. You need a new developer. Update - the instructions the company sent back in their reply below NO LONGER WORKS. You described how it used to work, not how it does now. It used to work great. Now you click make a payment now and if there is no balance due, it doesn’t let you click or pay anything. The fees aren’t the issue, the issue is your update has taken the app backwards and made it more difficult and less convenient.

4 years ago, Cute.Witch

Best app for Childcare!

We aren’t currently using the app, only because my daughter isn’t in daycare at the moment. When she is in daycare again, we’re only choosing somewhere that uses this app! I can’t say enough good things about this. It made me feel so secure trusting a daycare with her. Getting cute little photos of her that I wouldn’t have gotten otherwise was so wonderful. I loved that I could talk with her age group caregiver and send them notifications when I wasn’t feeling like I got enough updates on her. Just knowing that she’s eating and being notified how much made me feel so good. We just started potty training her at the time too so knowing when she went and when she got a diaper changed instead helped start up conversations.

2 years ago, CBrownSig

Checking In/Out

I’ve been advised by our daycare provider that Brightwheel no longer allows staff to check children in and out, only parents. The problem is, my dad drops my daughter off and isn’t tech savvy, so he’s not able to. I like to know when my daughter has been dropped off and picked up with the convenience of the app. He takes her because of my working hours, so calling him isn’t always convenient (or safe if he’s on the road). ***Also, this is an extra check during the summer months when children are left in hot cars accidentally. Why not make this feature available for providers and thwart any accidental occurrences? If a dad is used to seeing those notifications at work and doesn’t get one, he can text mom and a crisis can possibly be avoided early… just because of a simple check in notification. It also helps the daycare providers keep tabs on everyone. Please reconsider including this feature again!

6 months ago, zphillips

Overall solid experience, just fix notifications

Overall this is a great tool for communicating with my child’s school staff and getting updates on their day. I only ask that you please fix the notifications. Right now if the school posts 10 pictures with my child tagged, I get 10 consecutive notifications back to back. It would be great if, before pushing the notifications, you were to consolidate them and just send one notification stating “You were tagged in X number of pictures”. It happens in the app as well, where I’ll open up brightwheel to look at the pictures, and then a few seconds later, I’ll get 10 in-app pop ups that I have to click “dismiss” on in order to continue scrolling and checking out the pics/updates. This is in desperate need of a fix, please.

5 years ago, mstamell

Bad for teachers! Bad for kids!

Would you rather your child’s teacher have their focus on a tablet, entering information, or would you rather they were with your children, 100% focused, playing and giving them learning experiences? The problem with this app, and similar apps, is that it pulls too much of a teacher’s focus. As a former teacher and current administrator, I have seen how much of a distraction and interruption Brighthwheel is. I get that parents, especially new parents, like to stay informed, but part of sending your child to daycare is learning how to let go. Brightwheel implies no trust between parents and teachers, and it’s insulting. It doesn’t surprise me that a parent, not a teacher, developed this app. Bottom line- a teacher texting their friend vs a teacher entering in what the kids are for lunch; to the children it’s all the same! Their teacher is looking at a screen, not them, and what kind of lesson does that teach?

6 years ago, Ash.zlee

Amazing App

Brightwheel is a lifesaver! We have been using this app for our summer camp and I have to to say that it has truly been a gift from above. This app has not only enhanced our communication with parents but allowed them to be interactive and provides full transparency into their child’s day to day. Brightwheel is definitely a must have and favorite of all of our staff members as it has helped them with becoming super organized with their breakdown of the various groups, activities, child info, etc. All in all, we couldn’t be happier with our decision to integrate this amazing app to ensure a successful summer! A huge thank you goes to Jamie for your awesome customer service; you truly went above and beyond — thank you. Ashley

3 months ago, stylehelp!

Staff & Parent user- unsatisfied

Where to start… not satisfied being a staff member AND parent trying to use the app at the same time. If you are trying to use as a parent and a staff member, you have to have 2 separate accounts. You can only be signed into one account at a time and you DON’T get notifications for the one your not signed into. With that being said, you miss up to date information/ messages. From a staff member account, there is no where to add sign up sheets for parties or parent teacher conferences. If Bright Wheels can fix these two major issues, I would be highly satisfied with them because they do honesty offer a lot on the app. So now I’m stuck choosing do I stay logged onto my staff account or do I stay logged onto my parent account for up to date info from my children’s school?!? It’s a loose loose situation. PLEASE FIX THIS BRIGHT WHEELS!!

4 years ago, Foxy3ls

Badges do not work

I've had multiple conversations with the developers and they have "taken feedback" and yet no one had addressed the badge issue. "That's the way it works" unfortunately does not work for users of this application. In case developers need clarification: "The iPhone uses badges to indicate that a new message, email, push notification, or voicemail is waiting. Each app with new unread information has a white number with a red background in the upper right hand corner of the appicon. This is a badge." This IS NOT how Brightwheel (looking more like ReinventingWheel) works.. The technicians say that the push notifications on lock screen are the only notification you get and that's the way it is. Once this app comes into some recent century and starts using badges correctly this app would be amazing. But for now it just sits unused and not letting me know about my child so it's a waste of funding and developers time.

5 years ago, TheSavvyApple

Preschool Necessity!

I own and operate a small preschool in South Carolina. From our opening 5 years ago, we incorporated many different apps and ideas in order to communicate with our parents and keep them connected to their children. Brightwheel by far has been the best tool for this! We have never had an issue using Brightwheel in our three years of use. Parents rave about this app and many have actually said they chose our preschool over others because of the app. The value it adds to our staff’s day (making communication a breeze) and to our parents’ days (seeing their little ones when they can’t be with them) is priceless.

5 years ago, asmith7769

Horrible

We have had brightwheel for 3 months. They have undercharged customers 2 out of 3 months and then sent an apology email both times asking for us to please bear with them. A business can not pay its bills on apologies. They also misrepresented the features of the billing section of this app, one can not send out an invoice immediately or go back and add late charges or extra day charges to customers. They again asked us to bear with them as they fix this glitch and promised a discount until it’s fixed.....no discount. The customers get confused because we have to tell them that brightwheel is undercharging them for some reason that we can’t explain because brightwheel has yet to explain the problem to us. Also customer service is nonexistent after the 1st month. We are currently looking for better quality services and there are many that do the same things and hopefully better!!!

4 years ago, Untrustworthy source

This app is really bad.

I have a lot of complaints with this app! 1. It looks bad to parents. It is set up so that categories can only be entered weekly, not monthly. This means that on the daily plans, if you use different days for different target areas like we do, it looks to parents like there’s lots of missing areas each day. 2. No sense of community. There is no place for posts to the whole school, or the whole class. Parent engagement with pictures and lesson plans has dropped to almost nothing since we switched to this app. Disappointing! 3. Pictures are incredibly difficult to post, and the appearances of the posts are messy. You must tag each child in the picture, which takes a very long time. The pictures are posted to the child’s profile as an individual post each. This means that the caption you put is repeatedly posted with each photo. It looks so awful and unprofessional! 4. You can’t enter lesson plans from your phone. This is so inconvenient! Additionally, the entire system of entering lesson plans takes so long. My prep time isn’t enough anymore because of all the hoops you have to jump through just to post an activity. TL;DR I sincerely recommend choosing a different platform if you care about professionalism, parent engagement, or completing lesson plans efficiently.

6 years ago, User since 2014

Best. App. Ever!

4 weeks ago I hadn’t heard of this app and now I love it. Check-in and check-out notifications give peace of mind. Activity updates confirm that all is well. And pictures taken by the staff let us see him having fun. I know the staff gets credit for the updates during the day, but Brightwheel helps us know that we chose a great pre-school with a terrific staff. I’ve thanked the staff for their use of brightwheel. Now I thank Brightwheel for a simple to use interface that was intuitive to set up and provides a great service that I hadn’t even thought about. You know it is a great app when it goes straight from “what’s this” to “indispensable”. Awesome!

7 years ago, AmberGee1993

USED to LOVE brightwheel......

We used to LOVE brightwheel. We have been using it for almost 2 years now. It was free, and they priced themselves on ALWAYS being free, but that changed when they asked us to try the premium version, which had lots of cool new features, such as videos, or assessment tools! All awesome features, but the owner would not pay for prices they were asking for so we couldn’t use brightwheel premium anymore... When we went back to the free version.. so many of our beloved free features such as parent messaging, incident reports, name to face, etc. are no longer available for free users. :( We have worked so hard to get our parents on board, and they all LOVE brightwheel so much and how much we are able to communicate through it. Makes us sad we will no longer be able to use brightwheel anymore. It also brings a lot of confusion that we will have to explain to our parents. 😔

6 years ago, Froggiefire

Love getting real time updates and photos

As a parent I love that my child’s daycare uses this app. It allows me to know how much he ate, what he ate, when his diaper was changed, what activities they have been doing as well as getting pictures. I do wish there was a way to “like” the pictures so that I could let the teachers know that I appreciated getting the picture without having to send them a message, which is another awesome feature of the app. I would and have recommended this app to friends who have their kids in daycares that are not yet using brightwheel.

6 months ago, NazB2

Good info, but push notifications don’t work

My son is in preschool and they use this app for pretty much everything. I log into it every few days, and I see I have messages from days ago. The notification badge shows up in-app (next to “Messages” at the top of the page), but the push notifications for the app itself are not displaying. I have them all turned on in-app, as well as on my iPhone settings for the app, and no badge shows up for the app when there is account activity. When expecting invoices for payments due (for example), I need a push notification so I don’t have to log in every day for no reason. Please fix this.

5 years ago, S303606

Great communication

As a parent, this app has been easy to use and a great way to communicate with my child’s teachers, see exactly when his activities are happening etc. I loved the recent addition of being able to “like” or “heart” photos and videos but I would love to see the ability to add comments to any of the logged activities (feedings, diaper changes, photos/vids, etc), so that I don’t have to message the teachers with a question or comment about a specific event and a note or comment can be threaded to it instead. Otherwise, I’d readily recommend this to any of my friends whose childcare providers don’t have a good, automated way to communicate.

5 years ago, BobBirk

Daycare now unable to accommodate schedule due to brightwheel

Noticed my bill for daughters daycare service was more money then usual. So I contacted the manager at children’s first and was told through the new app she would be unable to accommodate my wife and myself’s work schedule . Some weeks we need only part Time care, and other weeks we full time care. I would always be sure to give daycare our schedule months In advance. (Knowing how they are running a business and trying to maximize profits) We were told from the manager the app was to blame and furthermore we can only keep our daughter enrolled and was forced to choose to be “full time” or “part-time” with very very short notice to do so. We are cash paying parents with a 2nd child coming soon. So if I could give bright wheel “0” stars I would.

5 years ago, SBFCC

Love it!

I am a daycare provider and this app is absolutely amazing! Not only can I let parents know what’s happening throughout the day but it also allows us to communicate with one another through the messaging feature. I also love that parents can pay me and that I am able to generate reports, through the app! This is my favorite app; it is everything you need wrapped it one pretty bow. Every parent at my childcare has complimented the app and how much they love it! If you are a childcare provider, I highly recommend this app. You will not be disappointed!

3 years ago, travis2x

Badges would make this app 5 stars

Great app. Great for communication between childcare and parents. However, the no badges part is a bit frustrating. I know they show up on your Notification Center. However, I don’t always see them if a notification comes through and then I get a call or FaceTime shortly after or have to check an email/text. Once you go back to your Notification Center after checking something else, the notification won’t show up. I remember regularly to check anyways but a badge would be much better so I don’t have to rely upon memory. I think most agree 100% on this.

5 years ago, MsPrinny

LOVE IT & SO CONVENIENT!!!!

Brightwheel is so ridiculously easy to use & a great way to update & communicate with parents throughout the day about what’s going on with their little ones. For example the other day one of my little toddlers in my class had a couple of red marks on her cheek...she hadn’t gotten hurt or anything & I was concerned & messaged mom right away & sent her a picture. The parents love the fact that we’re able update them throughout the day & it makes it easier at pick up time to talk to them about how their child’s day had been.

3 years ago, ECE teach/parent

Updated! (Lack of) Notifications

Update! They finally, finally, finally added badge notifications for messages! It has been so amazingly helpful. Badge notifications helped me know that there was a big fire next door to the childcare center, that there was no danger to the center, but to seek an alternate route at pick up time. Now I won’t miss messages. If you don’t have them turned on, do it now! ——————————————————————- I am so over this app not having badge notifications. I’ve missed some important information from my provider, because there are only banner notifications. I’ve emailed customer support twice, about 6 months apart, and they say they will ‘pass on’ the request. I feel like badge notifications is app writing 101. If you can auto debit my credit card to pay tuition, you can surely figure out how to put a number in a red circle. Other than that, the app is great.

5 years ago, Victoriasaesthetica

Genius App!

This app is pure genius. My toddlers daycare recently started using it and I feel so much more connected to her. I know what she has had to eat and how much, her nap schedule, and any “incidents” that may have occurred. I can message her teachers to check in or ask questions anytime and they always get right back to me and this app also allows daycare payments to be automatically debited from my account. This app has made my busy Mom life just a little bit easier and that means so so much to me. So thank you, thank you, thank you!

6 years ago, CherryBlossomLuv

Review

We use this app for my daughter‘s daycare. I really like it it’s very helpful I can login anytime and as long as the daycare updates everything with her day I can know restrooms breaks what she had for snack and lunch. You can also make your payments online I really like that. However I do not like that when you bring Brightwheel up online on my computer you cannot send or receive the messages. That really needs to be updated some people are not allowed to have their cell phones and you need to be able to communicate about your child through the Internet as well.

6 years ago, Caitlin_Lena

Small Iowa Center Loves Brightwheel

Brightwheel has been an amazing addition to the many tools we use throughout our center. Parent teacher communication is encouraged and has improved tremendously since we started using this app! We have been apart of the Brightwheel family for two years and we wouldn’t change it for the world! When asking our parents, they are huge fans of the app and the way it lets them see a glimpse of their child’s day when they are away! Highly recommend this system in every aspect!!! LHBD LOVES BRIGHTWHEEL! 💚💙❤️

5 years ago, j.e.b.89

Couldn’t love this product more

A thoughtfully designed application for directors, teachers, and families. It is easy to use and intuitive. It helps solve the more complicated aspects of running a childcare center, teaching and tracking within the classroom, maintaining records and reports, and truly helps families and staff work together to help little ones develop and grow. On top of all of that their team listens to feedback in order to build new features that keep their platform evolving and relevant.

7 years ago, Adam V.

No Touch ID Support?

Overall, I like the Brightwheel app. It gets the job done and allows my wife and I to stay in touch with what’s going on during our son’s day at daycare. However, one thing that’s baffled me since we started using this app about a year ago is that it doesn’t support Touch ID or a passcode to access the app. If your phone is unlocked and someone picks it up, they can get right into this app. I keep thinking that Touch ID/passcode support will be incorporated in a future release, but after several releases now, I have yet to see the feature added.

6 years ago, M_Princess

Good start, some key features still needed

This app is fairly reliable, intuitive to navigate and has a clean, appealing UI. Adding a few key features for parents would take it to the next level: 1. Display who sent a message. Currently, I only know if a note is from my child’s teacher, preschool director or an assistant if she/he remembers to sign their name. 2. Allow message threads. I need to be able to reply back to a specific message (this is compounded by not knowing who wrote a message). 3. Badge notifications. I want to be able to see quickly whether there are new notifications without opening the app and scrolling. 4. Enable payments. I should be able to view and pay an invoice from within the app. With these 4 features, this app would be a solid five stars. A bonus feature would be the ability to customize notifications by child (e.g. I have two kids and want to receive food notifications for one child but not the other).

7 years ago, Jets14NY

Very Disappointed with this Co

We have been using the app regularly since our daughter joined daycare over a year ago. The school just informed us that the messaging function will no longer be available starting next week due to it becoming a ‘premium’ feature. This is horrible, taking something away that was included before and that as parents we rely on heavily on a daily basis when we need to communicate with the teacher. If you’re going to have a premium package, make it for new features coming out not for features that your customers have been using for years. I’m sure now other features will follow this path eventually making the whole app useless. Corporate greed at its finest, thanks a lot.

2 years ago, klarastan

Recent changes - boooooo

Recently - within the last week or so - Brightwheel eliminated the check in and check out notifications in this app. We have been using this app with our daycare for nearly four years and have LOVED IT, but this particular change drops it from 5 stars to 3 stars. As my husband and I sometimes have to trade off drop off and pick up at the last minute, having that drop off/pick up notification really gave us both peace of mind that the kids were safe and where they were supposed to be. PLEASE CHANGE IT BACK.

4 years ago, Rileys Nan-nan

Routine and consistency are so important along with learning adventures and La Petite is the best!

I’m so thankful we decided to try them and they had room for us. The staff are so good with Riley. He looks forward to going to his school every morning. They instill self confidence and independence. I absolutely love getting updates about his day. It makes being away from him much easier. And the photos of their activities are a bonus! I really appreciate them taking the time to share their activities with us.

6 years ago, JessScarat12

All-time favorite App!

Brightwheel is an amazing tool that allows parents to feel apart of their child’s day and alleviates some of the “working mom woes.” I love being able to open my app anytime and see what my son ate for lunch, how long he took a nap for, and most days a picture or video is waiting for me to show me his daily activities. I can easily pay tuition now as well instead of trying to remember to bring my checkbook once a week. No complaints! Id give it 6 stars if I could!

2 years ago, honor mclaughlin

Best Ap ever

This is best ap EVER .I wish it was in all public schools as well . I feel very safe when my children are not with us because of this ap . 5 star review always . I recently met one of your employees, Brandon McKenna and I expressed my feelings and he stated what a great company you are to work for and how proud of the company he is as well . What a great thing for an employee to say !! Congratulations on being one the best in world where no one cares a lot hear days .

5 years ago, BH216

Great until recently

I have been using Brightwheel for my in home daycare since the very beginning when it first premiered on Shark Tank. It has always been a useful tool for me, and my daycare parents have enjoyed it too. Recently, however, the app itself has been extremely, painfully sluggish, making check-in very inconvenient for parents and activity updates throughout the day very burdensome for me. I emailed customer service about the issue and have received no response, which has added to my frustration. I hope this can be remedied so I can get back to loving this app as much as I used to!

2 years ago, sarai o

Nice app butttttt

Definitely room for improvement. As a mom obsessed with my kid I demand 1. Bulk-save option for parents to download photos at least on the web ( currently we have to download each picture everyday or you may forget a day and lose those precious memories) 2. Downloading photo from app should be easier 3. Your most recent update should have always existed because it doesn’t the entire daycare doesn’t need to know about conversations you have with directors and admins regarding your child’s development or account/billing

6 years ago, JuliedotJohnson

How could I go without ?

I can’t imagine having my kid at any other daycare that doesn’t have Brightwheel. This app makes me feel so much better because I can see the updates on him everyday. Pictures, notes, what he ate etc all important to keep up on his day to day milestones and well being. I love that I can pay right through the app as well. I wish you could do split payments like two cards or two accounts but I still love it.

2 years ago, njhchung

Lags severely

It works well when it decides to work. However, when it doesn’t, it’s incredibly frustrating. Several parents, my coworkers, and I have encountered issues with the app freezing, lagging, and forced logouts. When you restart the app after force quitting, it gets stuck on the loading page with the Brightwheel logo. It’s really disappointing because when it works, it’s fantastic and is a great way to streamline communication with the families of children in our care. But when it doesn’t work, it’s like being thrown back 20 years back technologically speaking.

6 years ago, Fonzy1984

Brightwheel

I have used Brightwheel since my daughter began attending La Petite Academy almost four months ago. Moreover, I have always been able to use the APP without any issues. The messages and other updates made by the educators are uploaded very quickly, and I am always up to speed with how my daughter is doing at school. Lastly, this APP has never malfunctioned since I began using it, and that gives me great peace of mind as it relates to my daughter’s well-being.

6 years ago, loving hands

Absolutely love this app

My father in law referred me to this app and it has been one of the best decisions I’ve made for my business. I used to have a family journal for each family that I wrote in everyday which took up so much time but now that I have brightwheel I can keep my parents in touch throughout the day. It’s so easy to use I even use it for my toddler so his grandparents get to see him daily. I tell anybody who asks about this app because it’s amazing!!

6 years ago, Jbell110

#1 parent approved app

This app has been a time saver for both staff and parents when communicating and sharing daily information about each child. SOOOOO MANY pics or videos that the teachers have uploaded have been saved by parents and then posted on parents Facebook page. ILOVE the lesson plan option. I can review from home when I want to remember what the upcoming lesson will be or to share w/others if I’m out sick or on vacation.

5 years ago, Wassssup7

Great app

As a parent, I love getting updates throughout the day on my child. The ability to now get videos has been wonderful. There could be improvement in the lag time between when the teacher posts and when we get the notification. I would also suggest adding teacher profiles or pictures so that the parents can see which teacher is posting the updates. As someone who struggles with names, the faces would be extremely helpful.

6 years ago, Gina OUAT

AWESOME!

My center has been using Brightwheel for almost 2 years. Parents LOVE the information and pictures of their child’s day that they get straight to their phones or computers. They no longer have to wait until they pick their child up to know how their day was. My staff and I love the ease in which we can do daily reports and the billing features save me tons of time and it is much easier to manage payments. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND BRIGHTWHEEL!!

2 years ago, lishamook

Love!

My sons been sick the last few days. Congested, no fever. The daycare was able to keep me updated throughout the whole day. However, one feature this app needs, is the ability for parents to send the teachers pictures of their babies, when they are home sick! We decided to keep him home today and they asked how he was, and I would love to be able to send them pictures of him in better spirits today ❤️

4 years ago, Mrs. Nka

Confusing to use

As a teacher, I am saddened my work switched to Brightwheel. First of all, when you are posting or messaging someone, the send button is right above the keyboard. I type fast and amounts of times I have accidentally pressed the send button half way through my message is ridiculous. It wouldn’t be half as bad if you could edit or delete, but to edit or delete the post you have to manually do it for EACH child, you can’t even select multiple kids. There’s no such a thing as a timeline for the whole class, each kid has its own profile that you have to edit. Horrible interface needs major work.

Description

Brightwheel is the #1 software solution for preschools, child care providers, camps, and after school programs. Brightwheel is the only app that integrates everything you need: sign in/out, messaging, learning assessments, daily sheet reports, photos, videos, calendars, scheduling, attendance, online bill pay for parents, and much more. Brightwheel lets you manage your center, streamline workflows, and engage with parents, so you can save time and money, make life easier for your staff, and improvement satisfaction for your parents. Join tens of thousands of preschools, child care centers, and daycare programs across the globe that have fallen in love with brightwheel! PRESCHOOLS / CHILD CARE / DAYCARE / CAMPS: Manage your students and classrooms, track attendance, schedule, and room ratios, share photos and videos, assess learning milestones, communicate with parents, send paperless invoices and payments, review daily sheets, and manage staff. Brightwheel is your all-in-one preschool and child care management app! PARENTS: Engage in your child’s day with a real-time feed of photos, videos, schedules, reminders, and updates. Use brightwheel’s digital check-in to securely sign in and out, pay tuition online, and even invite grandparents, nannies, and friends to join in the fun! Features include: • Central Database: Store everything related to kids and families in one secure place. • Student Check-In: Multiple digital check-in options available including digital signatures, 4 digit check-in codes, and a kiosk mode - all aligned with child care licensing requirements. • Staff Check-In & Ratios: Make administrative tasks easier by managing staff check-in to see your ratios across all your rooms in real time. • Attendance: Easily log attendance and absences for your school-age students, infants, and toddlers. Use our attendance tracking system to keep track of your toddlers. • Photo and video sharing: Snap photos, record videos and tag students with one click. Automatically saved to your account and shared with parents (with no extra work!). • Daily Sheet Reports & Schedules: Log naps, meals, bathroom, and other activities. Parents get a feed and daily summary. Daily sheet reports are a breeze with brightwheel. • Assessment & Observations: Make note of progress, achievements, and activities with pre-loaded state standards and a DRDP tool. Share with parents or privately amongst teachers. • Student Feed: Parents get a personalized feed throughout the day. Save time – no more paper tracking sheets or sending individual photos. • Parent Communication: Manage parent communication from one central hub (notices, calls, texts, etc.). • Calendar: Share schedules, events, holidays, and important dates with both families and staff. • Paperless Billing: Seamless electronic billing and payments for tuition and fees. Use brightwheel for all your child care accounting needs. • Reporting: Detailed reports of every brightwheel feature for billing and licensing requirements. • Seamless Sync: Brightwheel stays up to date across all phones and tablets – so teachers can use their own device or a school device. • Web Portal: Easy management and great functionality available on the web, too. • Affordable. Both free and premium plans available to fit your needs. And... much more coming! Brightwheel is the #1 early education platform for preschools, child care providers, and daycares, and we’re always committed to innovation with frequent improvements and new features.