| Cover | 12 Months Ended |
| Dec. 31, 2022 | |
| Document Information [Line Items] | |
| Document Type | DEF 14A |
| Amendment Flag | false |
| Entity Information [Line Items] | |
| Entity Registrant Name | BRIGHT HORIZONS FAMILY SOLUTIONS INC. |
| Entity Central Index Key | 0001437578 |
| Pay vs Performance Disclosure - USD ($) | 12 Months Ended | ||
| Dec. 31, 2022 | Dec. 31, 2021 | Dec. 31, 2020 | |
| Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table] | |||
| Pay vs Performance [Table Text Block] | Pay versus Performance Table The following table sets forth additional compensation information for our principal executive officer (“PEO”), Mr. Kramer, and our NEOs other than Mr. Kramer (“Non-PEO Year Summary (1) Compensation (2) Average Non-PEO (3) Average Non-PEO (2)(3) Value of Initial Fixed $100 Net (5) Company (6) Total (4) Peer Group (4) (in thousands) 2022 (*) 3,258,891 (3,276,385 ) 1,437,903 (519,387 ) $ 41.97 $ 112.00 80,641 316,994 2021 4,237,306 (70,237 ) 1,507,741 88,941 $ 83.74 $ 152.84 70,459 272,068 2020 2,895,627 4,888,039 1,052,320 1,872,690 $ 115.09 $ 135.59 26,992 224,396 (*) Amounts included for 2022 include amounts reported for Ms. Marshall converted from British pounds to U.S. dollars using an exchange rate of 1.2374 U.S. dollars per 1.00 British pound, which was the average exchange rate for fiscal year 2022. (1) Reflects the total compensation reported for our PEO, Mr. Kramer, in the Summary Compensation Table for fiscal years 2022, 2021 and 2020. Mr. Kramer served as PEO for each of the covered fiscal years presented. (2) See below for calculation of “compensation actually paid” or “CAP” to the PEO and Non-PEO Non-PEO (3) Reflects the average total compensation reported for our Non-PEO (4) Reflects cumulative total shareholder return if $100 was invested as of December 31, 2019. Reflects the total shareholder return of the Russell Midcap Growth Index, as of December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively, weighted according to the constituent companies’ market capitalization at the beginning of each period for which a return is indicated. The constituent companies of the Russell Midcap Growth Index are attached to this Proxy Statement on Appendix A S-K price-to-book Source: Zacks Investment Research, Inc. Used with permission. All rights reserved. Copyright 1980-2023. (5) Reflects “Net Income” in the Company’s Consolidated Statement of Income included in the Company’s Annual Reports on Form 10-K (6) The Company-selected measure is Adjusted EBITDA which is further described under Pay versus Performance: Most Important Measures below. Please see “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition—Non-GAAP 10-K non-GAAP To calculate the amounts in the “Compensation Actually Paid to PEO” column in the table above, the following amounts were deducted from or added to (as applicable) our PEO’s “Total” compensation as reported in the Summary Compensation Year Summary (1) Summary (2)(3) Fair Value of ($) (3)(4)(5) Change in Fair (5) Change in Fair (5) Compensation 2022 3,258,891 (2,300,203 ) 179,157 (4,458,298 ) 44,068 (3,276,385 ) 2021 4,237,306 (3,009,591 ) 1,736,085 (3,033,614 ) (422 ) (70,237 ) 2020 2,895,627 (2,259,271 ) 2,342,263 1,590,266 319,154 4,888,039 (1) Reflects the total compensation reported for our PEO, Mr. Kramer (2) Represents the grant date fair value of the equity awards to our PEO as reported in the “Stock Awards” and “Option Awards” columns in the Summary Compensation Table for years 2022, 2021 and 2020. (3) The amounts included related to purchased restricted stock awards represent the grant date fair value or measurement date fair value as of the end of the covered fiscal year, as applicable, of all restricted stock awards granted in 2022, 2021, and 2020 less the 50% purchase price paid by Mr. Kramer for such awards. The following amounts were paid in cash on the grant date by Mr. Kramer upon each award of purchased restricted stock and are excluded from the respective columns consistent with the determination of fair value in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718: Year Purchase Price Paid by PEO ($) Shares of Restricted Stock (#) 2022 1,210,814 18,800 2021 3,009,591 37,700 2020 2,259,271 26,600 (4) Represents the year-end (5) Stock option fair values are calculated based on the Black-Scholes option pricing model. The stock option fair values and purchased restricted stock fair values are calculated using the stock price as of the applicable measurement date. The change in fair value is calculated using the fair value as of the prior year-end and as of each measurement date in the applicable covered year. The application of the underlying assumptions used in calculating the fair value of the stock option awards did not differ in any material respect from that used to calculate the grant date fair value of the awards as reported in the Summary Compensation Table for the applicable year. To calculate the amounts in the “Average Compensation Actually Paid to Non-PEO Year Average Summary Non-PEO (1) Average Summary Awards for Non- PEO NEOs ($) (2)(3) Average Fair Value (3)(4)(5) Average Change in (5) Average Change in (5) Average Non-PEO 2022 1,437,903 (913,202 ) 180,437 (1,242,662 ) 18,136 (519,387 ) 2021 1,507,741 (956,084 ) 683,432 (1,055,642 ) (90,506 ) 88,941 2020 1,052,320 (664,946 ) 841,424 418,422 225,470 1,872,690 (1) Reflects the average total compensation reported for our Non-PEO (2) Represents the average of the grant date fair value of the equity awards to our Non-PEO (3) The amounts included related to purchased restricted stock awards represent the average grant date fair value or measurement date fair value as of the end of the covered fiscal year, as applicable, of all restricted stock awards granted in 2022, 2021, and 2020 to our Non-PEO Non-PEO Year Total Purchase Price Paid by Non-PEO NEOs ($) Total Shares of Restricted Stock (#) 2022 981,210 15,235 2021 2,196,922 27,520 2020 2,057,126 24,220 (4) Represents the average year-end Non-PEO (5) Stock option fair values are calculated based on the Black-Scholes option pricing model. The stock option fair values, the purchased restricted stock fair values and the RSU fair values are calculated using the stock price as of the applicable measurement date. The change in fair value is calculated using the fair value as of the prior year-end and as of each measurement date in the applicable covered year. The application of the underlying assumptions used in calculating the fair value of the stock option awards did not differ in any material respect from that used to calculate the grant date fair value of the awards as reported in the Summary Compensation Table for the applicable year. | ||
| Company Selected Measure Name | Adjusted EBITDA | ||
| Named Executive Officers, Footnote [Text Block] | Reflects the average total compensation reported for our Non-PEO | ||
| Peer Group Issuers, Footnote [Text Block] | (4) Reflects cumulative total shareholder return if $100 was invested as of December 31, 2019. Reflects the total shareholder return of the Russell Midcap Growth Index, as of December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively, weighted according to the constituent companies’ market capitalization at the beginning of each period for which a return is indicated. The constituent companies of the Russell Midcap Growth Index are attached to this Proxy Statement on Appendix A S-K price-to-book Source: Zacks Investment Research, Inc. Used with permission. All rights reserved. Copyright 1980-2023. | ||
| PEO Total Compensation Amount | $ 3,258,891 | $ 4,237,306 | $ 2,895,627 |
| PEO Actually Paid Compensation Amount | $ (3,276,385) | (70,237) | 4,888,039 |
| Adjustment To PEO Compensation, Footnote [Text Block] | To calculate the amounts in the “Compensation Actually Paid to PEO” column in the table above, the following amounts were deducted from or added to (as applicable) our PEO’s “Total” compensation as reported in the Summary Compensation Year Summary (1) Summary (2)(3) Fair Value of ($) (3)(4)(5) Change in Fair (5) Change in Fair (5) Compensation 2022 3,258,891 (2,300,203 ) 179,157 (4,458,298 ) 44,068 (3,276,385 ) 2021 4,237,306 (3,009,591 ) 1,736,085 (3,033,614 ) (422 ) (70,237 ) 2020 2,895,627 (2,259,271 ) 2,342,263 1,590,266 319,154 4,888,039 | ||
| Non-PEO NEO Average Total Compensation Amount | $ 1,437,903 | 1,507,741 | 1,052,320 |
| Non-PEO NEO Average Compensation Actually Paid Amount | $ (519,387) | 88,941 | 1,872,690 |
| Adjustment to Non-PEO NEO Compensation Footnote [Text Block] | To calculate the amounts in the “Average Compensation Actually Paid to Non-PEO Year Average Summary Non-PEO (1) Average Summary Awards for Non- PEO NEOs ($) (2)(3) Average Fair Value (3)(4)(5) Average Change in (5) Average Change in (5) Average Non-PEO 2022 1,437,903 (913,202 ) 180,437 (1,242,662 ) 18,136 (519,387 ) 2021 1,507,741 (956,084 ) 683,432 (1,055,642 ) (90,506 ) 88,941 2020 1,052,320 (664,946 ) 841,424 418,422 225,470 1,872,690 | ||
| Compensation Actually Paid vs. Total Shareholder Return [Text Block] | Relationship between Pay and Total Shareholder Return. | ||
| Compensation Actually Paid vs. Net Income [Text Block] | Relationship between Pay and Net Income. Non-PEO | ||
| Compensation Actually Paid vs. Company Selected Measure [Text Block] | Relationship between Pay and Adjusted EBITDA. Non-PEO | ||
| Total Shareholder Return Vs Peer Group [Text Block] | Relationship between Pay and Total Shareholder Return. | ||
| Tabular List [Table Text Block] | Pay versus Performance: Most Important Measures The following table identifies the three most important financial performance measures to link the CAP to our PEO and Non-PEO Measure Nature Explanation Adjusted EBITDA (*) Financial Measure A non-GAAP non-recurring Adjusted EPS (*) Financial Measure A non-GAAP non-cash non-recurring Revenue Growth Financial Measure A financial measure that consists of our revenue growth year over year. (*) Please see “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition—Non-GAAP non-GAAP | ||
| Total Shareholder Return Amount | $ 41.97 | 83.74 | 115.09 |
| Peer Group Total Shareholder Return Amount | 112 | 152.84 | 135.59 |
| Net Income (Loss) | $ 80,641,000 | $ 70,459,000 | $ 26,992,000 |
| Company Selected Measure Amount | 316,994,000 | 272,068,000 | 224,396,000 |
| PEO Name | Mr. Kramer | ||
| Measure [Axis]: 1 | |||
| Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table] | |||
| Measure Name | Adjusted EBITDA | ||
| Non-GAAP Measure Description [Text Block] | The Company-selected measure is Adjusted EBITDA which is further described under Pay versus Performance: Most Important Measures below. Please see “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition—Non-GAAP 10-K non-GAAP | ||
| Measure [Axis]: 2 | |||
| Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table] | |||
| Measure Name | Adjusted EPS | ||
| Measure [Axis]: 3 | |||
| Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table] | |||
| Measure Name | Revenue Growth | ||
| PEO [Member] | |||
| Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table] | |||
| Purchase Price | $ 1,210,814 | $ 3,009,591 | $ 2,259,271 |
| Shares of Restricted Stock | 18,800 | 37,700 | 26,600 |
| PEO [Member] | Reported Value of Equity Awards [Member] | |||
| Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table] | |||
| Adjustment to Compensation Amount | $ (2,300,203) | $ (3,009,591) | $ (2,259,271) |
| PEO [Member] | Fair Value of Equity Awards Granted in the Covered Year [Member] | |||
| Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table] | |||
| Adjustment to Compensation Amount | 179,157 | 1,736,085 | 2,342,263 |
| PEO [Member] | Change in Fair Value of Unvested Equity Awards Granted in Prior Years [Member] | |||
| Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table] | |||
| Adjustment to Compensation Amount | (4,458,298) | (3,033,614) | 1,590,266 |
| PEO [Member] | Change in Fair Value of Equity Awards from Prior Years that Vested in Covered Year [Member] | |||
| Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table] | |||
| Adjustment to Compensation Amount | 44,068 | (422) | 319,154 |
| Non-PEO NEO [Member] | |||
| Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table] | |||
| Purchase Price | $ 981,210 | $ 2,196,922 | $ 2,057,126 |
| Shares of Restricted Stock | 15,235 | 27,520 | 24,220 |
| Non-PEO NEO [Member] | Reported Value of Equity Awards [Member] | |||
| Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table] | |||
| Adjustment to Compensation Amount | $ (913,202) | $ (956,084) | $ (664,946) |
| Non-PEO NEO [Member] | Fair Value of Equity Awards Granted in the Covered Year [Member] | |||
| Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table] | |||
| Adjustment to Compensation Amount | 180,437 | 683,432 | 841,424 |
| Non-PEO NEO [Member] | Change in Fair Value of Unvested Equity Awards Granted in Prior Years [Member] | |||
| Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table] | |||
| Adjustment to Compensation Amount | (1,242,662) | (1,055,642) | 418,422 |
| Non-PEO NEO [Member] | Change in Fair Value of Equity Awards from Prior Years that Vested in Covered Year [Member] | |||
| Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table] | |||
| Adjustment to Compensation Amount | $ 18,136 | $ (90,506) | $ 225,470 |
