Picking out a daycare is an important task for a new parent (or any parent switching daycares). Make the most of your daycare tour with these key questions to ask when choosing a daycare.
Some daycares may even offer a parent handbook that might answer some of these questions ahead of time.
General Questions to Ask When Choosing a Daycare
What is the general childcare philosophy?
This question is important because you’ll want to make sure that it aligns well enough with your own thoughts. More specifically you might want to ask about how they handle behavioral situations such as hitting, biting, and tantrums.
How many children attend the daycare?
Depending on what size daycare you had in mind, this could impact whether you want to send your child there. Some parents prefer a smaller setting for their child whereas others might prefer a larger group.
You can also ask about the child to caregiver ratio in this category. Typically, this is mandated by state standards, so it should be pretty similar across all centers. However, parents with children that have additional needs, may be interested in a daycare that has a smaller ratio.
How does the daycare handle feeding?
If you have a newborn going into daycare, you may want to ask specific questions about feeding such as:
- How do you handle breast milk/formula?
- How do you warm the milk up?
- Do you require the milk to be marked in a certain way?
- Is there a certain kind of bottle that is required?
- Do you allow drop-ins if you wanted to breastfeed there during the day?
For older children, you’d ask about what kind of meals and snacks are served. Some daycares will provide all the food you’ll need and others may require you to bring in snacks or meals. If you want to provide your own meals for your children, ask if that is okay to do.
What kind of activities are done with the children?
Asking this question can give you an idea of what a typical day might look like for your child.
As the child ages, the activities will change with them. You might want to learn about all ranges if you have a newborn you are enrolling.
Some daycares might have field trips for your children. If so, you might want to ask about what kind of transportation is used and whether there are car seats available for the younger children to use.
When they are school-aged do busses pick up at the daycare?
If a daycare is located in a specific district, they may have busses that pick up right at the daycare to transport your child to school.
Other daycares may provide their own busses to transport children to school.
What type of “stuff” are parents required to provide for the child?
This will change as your child ages. In the newborn years, it may be a certain number of diapers, extra clothes, or formula.
As they age, it could be things such as sunscreen and sleeping equipment.
Are they licensed?
This is a good question to make sure that they are at a minimum, following the policies set by the state for licensed daycare providers.
Daycare Policies
What is the pick-up/drop-off policy?
You’ll want to get a feel for what time the daycare opens and closes to make sure it aligns with your work schedule. If your schedule fluctuates make sure you ask about whether the pick-up and drop-off times have to remain the same all of the time.
Also, ask what happens if you’re late for pick up. Many centers have a policy for how many late pick-ups are allowed and may also charge you extra for late pick-ups.
Another question to ask relating to pick-up and drop-off is who is all allowed to pick up and drop off your child. Many daycares will allow you to assign certain other family members to pick up or drop off your child in your absence.
If the daycare does allow for others to pick up your child, ask them what sort of checks they do to verify that the person picking up or dropping off is on your approved list.
What is the policy for sick children?
This policy is good to know about for when your child inevitably falls sick (and for those first few years, it will be A LOT).
Many daycares will have certain symptoms that they don’t allow the children to come into the daycare with. Along with this, the daycare may require the child to be symptom-free for a certain amount of time before they can return to the center.
You’ll also want to ask how they want to be notified that your child will not be attending daycare that day. Some might prefer a call, others might have email or another method that can be used.
Along with this, you’ll also want to ask about their Covid-19 policy. Each daycare will be different in its approach. Some will require everyone to be masked whereas others may be more lenient. It is important for you to feel comfortable with your daycare’s option.
How often is the center cleaned and toys sanitized?
This will give you an idea about the overall cleanliness of the center. Cleanliness is also something you can just get an overall feel for as you’re walking through the center for your tour.
What is the vacation policy?
Some daycares will give you “free” days off called vacation days. Each daycare will have a different policy as to the amount that is given and how they can be used. Make sure you understand the method used at your potential daycare.
What is your snow day / inclement weather policy?
For those of us up north, it is important to know what the daycare does in the case of large snowfalls. Some daycares will close along with the school district whereas others will stay open no matter what.
You’ll also want to ask how you will be notified if the daycare is closing down for a day.
For general other inclement weather, you may want to ask things like what do you do with the children in the case of a tornado (or other bad weather)?
What is the cost of tuition and is there a waitlist?
Many daycares will have a waitlist in order to get into the center, which is why it is important to start your search early on. If they do have an opening for when you need, you’ll likely have to give a deposit to hold your child’s spot.
You’ll want to make sure that the cost of the daycare is within a price range that is affordable for you.
At this same time, you can ask about hourly, part-time, and full-time rates (and whether they are available). Some daycares might even offer discounts for things such as multiple children or paying a full month at a time.
How do you handle potty training?
You’ll want to get a feel for how they handle potty training in their center. Do they have little toilets available right in the room? How close are the bathrooms to the room? Is there a specific age that they start potty training at?
How do they handle medicine or emergencies?
In case of a medical incident for your child, this information will be good to know. Most daycares will have a slip that needs to be filled out if your child does need medicine administered while they are at the center.
You’ll also want to know what they do in case of a medical emergency.
Employees
What is the turnover rate of the employees?
This will be good to know to make sure that your child is receiving consistent care from a fairly consistent group of people. Low turnover is a good sign.
You could also ask how long the current employees have been with the facility? Or how long the employees have been in the child care profession.
Typically, while you are going through the facility, you’ll get to meet some of the teachers, so you will be able to get a feel for the employees.
What training or certifications do the staff have?
You’ll want to ask this to make sure that you are comfortable with the overall background of the employees who will be taking care of your children. Most daycares will have certain requirements they look for in their teachers, so they should be able to give you a high-level overview of this.
Safety
What are the security and safety measures for the facility?
This will let you know how people can get into the center and how they check who is entering.
Communication Questions to Ask When Choosing a Daycare
How are parents kept up to date on their child’s activities or behavior?
Communication at daycares varies greatly from facility to facility. Some centers will offer nice apps that post pictures and updates throughout the day.
Others might provide a slip with your child’s activities for the day on them. Some might just be more of a verbal chat at pick-up or drop-off to give you a high-level overview.
These questions to ask while choosing a daycare and the daycare’s response to them will give you a good feel for how well your communication styles will work together.
What is the best method for the parent to reach out and to whom if they have something they want to discuss?
This will be good in case something does come up that you’d like to talk through with the daycare once your children are there.
Decision Time!
As you start to tour facilities and ask the questions, you’ll get a better idea of which daycare you might prefer.
You don’t have to ask all the questions above when choosing a daycare. If you prefer, you can hone in on the ones most important to you.
These are just suggestions of things you may want to consider and you can tailor them to your own situation.
In addition to the questions to ask when choosing a daycare above, make sure you take into account your own general feel as you tour the daycare and talk to the director and teachers.
Sometimes, the general feel of the daycare can give you a better idea than asking all the questions in the world.
Best of luck with your daycare decision!
