WATERTOWN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 9, 2001--Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NASDAQ: BFAM) clients were notified today that the company has suspended its partnership with Kids Online America and will not be offering KOLA, a family Internet service, to clients, families or in its child care centers in the foreseeable future. Kids Online America, which has put the development of KOLA on hold due to a current lack of funding, had not yet made the service available through its partnership with Bright Horizons, and there will be no impact on Bright Horizons' clients or families. Bright Horizons remains committed to helping parents and clients secure access to the Internet in ways that are appropriate, safe, and educational for young children, and will continue to look for partnerships to bring services of this kind to the families it serves.

In July 2000, Kids Online America launched KOLA, a secure family-friendly Internet service with content tailored for education, entertainment and the evolution of sustainable on-line communities. Although Kids Online America continues to explore its funding options, the current investing climate is very challenging for similar early-stage ventures; as a result, Bright Horizons' financial investment in Kids Online America may not be recoverable. In connection with these events, Bright Horizons expects to take an asset impairment charge to its fourth quarter 2000 earnings amounting to approximately $400,000 post tax.

Bright Horizons continues to implement many exciting technology-based innovations in its child care centers. Computer-based "Imagination Stations" will integrate technology into the daily curriculum for children in Bright Horizons Family Centers. "Classroom conferencing" technology has also been integrated into selected centers, enabling children across the country to share educational experiences with the use of real-time video and audio connections. In addition, high-speed Internet access, personalized electronic student portfolios for academic assessment and on-line teacher training and distance learning to enable teachers to apply technology to classroom experiences are a few of the initiatives currently underway as part of Bright Horizons' comprehensive strategy to incorporate technology into the early education experience.

The public is invited to listen to our fourth quarter 2000 earnings release conference call on February 15, 2001 at 4:30 EST by dialing 973-633-1010. The earnings release will be available on our Web site after the market closes at 4:00 p.m. EST.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (www.brighthorizons.com) is the world's leading provider of employer-sponsored child care, back-up care, early education and work/life solutions. The company operates more than 340 Family Centers across the U.S., in Europe and the Pacific Rim. Bright Horizons serves more than 250 clients worldwide, including 77 of the Fortune 500. Bright Horizons clients include Motorola, Cisco Systems, Chase Manhattan Bank, Pfizer, the PGA Tour, Sun Microsystems, Citigroup, Boeing, Johnson & Johnson, and Universal Studios. The company was recently named one of Fortune magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work For in America."

This press release contains forward-looking statements, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Bright Horizons Family Solutions' actual results may vary significantly from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including the ability of the Company to execute contracts relating to new commitments and to expand and operate effectively and profitably in the international market, as well as other factors that are discussed in detail in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the "Risk Factors" section in the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ending September 30, 2000 and Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1999.

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