We started my daughter here at 9 months and pulled her out after 3 weeks. I just found this daycare to be described best as benign neglect. Now I am referring to the Infant room, so this is not a review based on their toddler care. -They have live video streaming which was one of the reasons we liked this daycare. Well unfortunately it showed us reason to take her out. On numerous occasions she was left in a bouncer or seat by the table for over an hour without any interaction with the providers. Even at times when she showed signs of exhaustion, they left her there, i'm not sure if it was in hopes she'd pass out that way?? I even provided them with her schedule prior to starting which they never even looked at it. Had they done so, they would have known it was nap time for her and put her in a crib. -When we asked that she get more play time on the rug, they would leave her there to play alone and the caretakers would go talk amongst themselves over by the kitchen area without turning to check on the kids. The play area is safe but there is no barrier between there and the dirty kitchen or doorway. I had to watch helpless as my daughter started to crawl out towards the kitchen and proceeded to pick up an unknown object from the floor and put it into her mouth. I called immediately and then they picked her up and put her into a swing. This was probably only a few minutes but that's all it takes for a baby to get themselves into trouble, choke on something, etc.. -If the caretaker she was assigned to was not in the room, no one else seemed to be responsible for her. Another reason why she would be left in a bouncer for a long period of time. Her caretaker was there from 8-4pm, so by the time we picked her up around 5/5:30pm, the two staff members left would be absolutely clueless to the schedule of her day so at times she'd miss her 5pm dinner meal or be napping much later than she should've been. -A strange thing happened - they didn't inform us that she threw up one day. Instead we found out when we came home and found a plastic bag which contained her soiled pants with food/puke stains all over. I would normally have thought it was just spilled food or poop that seeped out, but there was no mention of poop in her daily log and she threw up several more times that evening and ended up with an ear infection shortly after. -They provide you with a folder with their "curriculum" as well as paperwork for you to provide to the caretaker once they start so they can get to know your child better. Don't bother filling it out as they didn't even look it over. It was filed away and when we brought her to the infant room, they asked me what her schedule was and wrote it on a piece of paper. This wasn't just on the first day, they did this everyday when we brought her in! And their curriculum is a load of BS. They do not do story time and they barely play with the kids (maybe 1 hour tops for the day). Overall it was a horrible experience for us. read more

I am so sorry to see the not so great reviews here. My son is now 4 and has been at Rainbow Cranford since he has been 6 weeks. We love them I have an would highly recommend them to anyone. Specifically as for the infant room, Pink Elephants, quite simply, Martha is amazing. As a working mother of a baby born with a broken heart it was, I believe, harder for me to leave my baby in day care than it is for other mothers. Eddie was 6 weeks old and his incision from his open heart surgery was 4 weeks old. He wasn't tiny but he was still healing. From the time I brought him in for a "test" visit the week before we started full time I knew she was going to be wonderful, and love and care for my baby. That is what happened, Martha fell in love with Eddie, as his primary at Rainbow she not only put up with my over protectiveness she helped us both through that first year. She experienced so many firsts with our family; moving from formula to baby food, baby food to solid food, sitting up for the first time, first real play, and the list goes on. Even though is Eddie is now 4 he still loves his Martha and so do we, she will always be a part of our family and memories of Eddie's first year. We have had great experiences will staff in general, everyone knows my son and calls him by name. There are 2 staff members that moved on to go back to school and we still keep in touch. Earlier this year my son had some behavior issues, pushing his boundaries and the teaching and administrative staff were great, we worked to together to get him to where he should be. He is back on the straight and narrow, listening to his teachers. :) read more

The school is clean and secure. The teachers are kind and well educated. we love this daycare.

I have 2 children that have gone through Lightbridge (rainbow academy) both starting at 5 months. Any issues we had were always addressed immediately and professionally. I felt the teachers were beyond invested in the well being and growth of my children and feel they have become a part of my family and partners in raising my children. I am amazed with the curriculum. My daughter is beginning to read at 4, has learned sign language, math skills, Spanish, and best of all Manners and how to be kind to others. The tadpoles program is great. In addition to daily emails that tells the daily activities, food eaten, diaper changes, etc., I'm also sent numerous pictures and videos throughout the day. This place is an A+ in my book.... read more

Our daughter is 3 1/2 and has been attending since she was 1, for 2 days a week. She's loved all of her teachers and she's learned so much in the time she's been there. I would highly recommend it for a great learning experience where the teachers are also caring and knowledgeable. read more

My son is currently at Rainbow in the Infant room and will be transitioning to the young toddler room any day now. I'm shocked and saddened to read the above reviewers poor experience, because it could not be further from our experience with Rainbow Academy and particularly the Infant room since my son started daycare at 11 weeks old. With any transition to someone else caring for our young infant we had to work through how to adjust his schedule for a new environment. However, I feel that the caregivers in the Infant room were very responsive to our initial concerns (how do we regulate his naps? How do we ensure his eating schedule is on track for his dinner/evening meals? How do we make sure he's being engaged?) and in fact provided us great feedback when they thought trying new things would help him learn skills. My son was later on some gross motor skills and the staff was very engaged with helping him practice rolling/crawling/standing skills. Anytime we have asked the caregivers to adjust his schedule they have done so immediately. They are very communicative to us - with lots of updates in the morning at drop-off and in the evening at pick-up (my husband or I typically get a good 5-10 minute chat on either end of the day) - we've not experienced any issue with the shift changeover as far as getting a full report on his day. We also get lots of pictures and videos through the Tadpoles communication service throughout the day to let us know what our son is up to - music, art, messy play, etc. We have countless pieces of his painted "art" up on our fridge now, thanks to Rainbow. I used to watch the video streaming service constantly - as I imagine many parents do when first leaving their child in someone else's care - but find myself going days without checking because I'm so confident in the care he's receiving. However, as an example, the list of things my son was doing the last couple times I checked the video before writing this review: Being spun around and played with by his primary caregiver Being read to by his afternoon primary caregiver Clapping along to music class When we walk into school, my son is greeted by name by office staff and teachers in older rooms along the whole way - which reassures me that the staff is committed to growing easing his transition as he grows into older group rooms. I am repeatedly touched by how much his primary caregiver truly cares about his welfare. My son is absolutely thriving at Rainbow and I consider his teachers and the administrative staff part of our "village" in raising him. It is our default position that, barring any change in either my or my husband's work schedule that would allow us to be home with our son, he will be continuing at Rainbow until Kindergarten. read more

We started our child at Rainbow Academy at three months old. Very difficult to leave a baby at such a young age, but the level of care provided has reassured us that it was the right decision. We chose Rainbow because a good friend of ours recommended them, and has two children currently enrolled (about three and five years old now, both started as babies). The friendly staff and planned activities (our son loves the weekly hour with the guitar playing "Music Man Carl") make it worth the money. I feel comfortable and reassured that our child is in good hands. The social and educational benefits that he receives are already paying huge dividends in his development. Thanks Rainbow! read more

We had a wonderful experience at the Lightbridge Academy - Cranford with our infant daughter. Their infant room has fabulous teachers and they were wonderful with her. Highly recommend. read more

Staff A+ Curriculum A+ Lightbridge Academy of Cranford A+++++ I would not think of sending my 2 year old anywhere else!. I want all parents to know that Lightbridge utilizes the best curriculum available for a daycare. (I am quoting an early intervention therapist) read more

I have visited the daycare when I was in need of care for my daughter. I love the spacing. I love how they have student ratio numbers more to my liking. I believe this will be a great fit my child. read more

I love this daycare!! My son started at 4 months in the infant classroom and I wouldn't bring him into any other daycare. The teachers are the most genuine people and they take care of my son like he was their own child. I never felt so comforted going back to work knowing that he was in great care. The monitors are great so that I can watch him day to day and each day I receive a report. I would recommend this daycare to everyone!!! read more

If you are looking for an outstanding and affordable daycare for your child, this is the place for you!! My husband Ray and I had our baby boy, Ryan, on 8/10/16 and three months later, we were both back to work full time. We spent the first month he was born looking at 3-4 daycares in our area (Clark, Westfield and Cranford) all with reputable reputations. Everyone told me that when I found the right place, I would "just know". The second I met Ashely of the Lightbridge Academy in Cranford and saw their facility, I knew exactly what they meant. During my tour, I Instantly fell in love with the cleanliness, adorable atmosphere, different learning environments, the up to date technology, fantastic outdoor play area, and video cameras set up in every room! I knew Ryan would be safe, well taken care of, get a great education and I could even log in online from work at any time just to see Ryan's face when I missed him. But Ashley sealed the deal!! Her professionalism, knowledge of the facility, and friendly disposition towards me and all of the Lightbridge children is what got us enrolled that very week! The Lightbridge Academy quickly became part of our family. From the administrators to the teachers, you WILL NOT find a better team for your child. Every morning when I drop Ryan off, I am greeted by the Director, Liz, her Assistant Director, Tara and now Erin, and teachers, Ashely and Brittney. They all say good morning and take a few minutes to hug and snuggle with Ryan. It makes my day no matter what kind of morning I just had. Then I walk the halls back to the Pink Elephants Infant Classroom. Martha, one of Ryan's teachers who has literally become my second mom, comes running over every day with a huge smile on her face and happily takes Ryan from me so I can get his stuff put away and organized for the day. Martha is the love of my son's life and she reciprocates that same love and adoration. All of the morning Pink Elephants teachers, Ebony, Paige, Fiona...they are all such wonderful ladies and have taught my son so much and have given him the best experience we could have ever hoped for. Ryan is now on a schedule, sleeps through the night, and even started walking at 11 months because of them!! My husband, Ray, does the pick-ups and is treated just the same. His go-to is Luz, Ryan's primary teacher. She is our other class mom and always gives Ray a professional and informational daily report of how Ryan did that day, what he learned, and what he will need to be prepared for the following day. My family honestly can't say enough good things about this daycare and will recommend their staff and services to anyone who will listen!! Thank you Lightbridge Academy of Cranford for all of your hard work, dedication, professionalism, friendship, and for keeping our son happy, healthy and safe! Lindsay, Ray, and Ryan M. read more

The center would not provide pricing or put my child on the wait-list unless I toured the property. When I explained that we live out of town and couldn't get out there to tour until late September, but needed to have childcare starting Oct. 1st, they told me that they would be at capacity at that point anyways, so it would be pointless to even go onto the wait-list. When I asked to just be put on the wait-list just in case, they told me that they could do that, but would not provide pricing over the phone. I spoke to 12 other centers in the area, and this is the only center where I experienced a policy like this. It make things very difficult for out of town working parent's that need to find a caring place to leave their child. read more

Great daycare and programs but I don't understand the 2.5 hr nap time. Flat out unnecessary. My 3 yr. old son goes to bed at 11 every night!