Questions to Ask a New Daycare
Questions for a daycare tour and the follow-up conversation, covering ratios and staff turnover, licensing history, sickness and closure policy, how they handle biting and hitting, fees, and the daily routine. Written for parents comparing centres for an infant, toddler or preschooler.
The questions
Open any question for the note
Can you walk me through a full day for a child my child's age?
Why ask it
Start here because it gets you a description rather than a policy, and everything else can be asked against it. Listen for how much of the day is unstructured play, and how long children spend waiting between activities.
What is the ratio in this room right now, and who covers breaks and sickness?
Why ask it
Ratios are usually quoted as licensed minimums and are hardest to hold at lunch, nap and the end of the day. Ask who steps in when a teacher is off, since floating staff are where continuity breaks down.
How long have the staff in this room been here?
Why ask it
Turnover matters more than qualifications for young children, who need familiar adults to settle. A room where nobody has been there a year is the clearest warning sign on a tour, and it usually points to pay or management.
Who would be my child's main person, and what happens when they leave?
Why ask it
Ask whether a primary caregiver is assigned or whether care is shared across the room. Centres with no answer here tend to be the ones where a child's preferences and cues have to be relearned repeatedly.
What is your licensing history, and can I see your last inspection report?
Why ask it
Reports are public in most jurisdictions and often list specific citations. A director who offers it before being asked is confident; hesitation, or an offer to summarise it for you, is worth following up independently.
When would you send my child home, and when do you exclude for illness?
Why ask it
The thresholds for fever, vomiting and rashes decide how many days of work you lose, and they vary a lot between centres. Ask about the return rule too, since twenty-four hours symptom-free is very different from a doctor's note.
How many days were you closed last year, and how much notice did parents get?
Why ask it
Staff training days, holidays and weather closures add up, and fees are usually still charged. A specific number lets you compare centres honestly; an answer about occasional closures does not.
What do you do when a child bites or hits?
Why ask it
This will happen, so the answer describes real practice rather than philosophy. You want to hear how both children are handled, what the parents of each are told, and at what point a child would be asked to leave.
What is your policy on restraint and on separating a child from the group?
Why ask it
Ask it plainly, because the vocabulary here can hide a lot. Reasonable answers involve staying with an upset child rather than removing them alone, and any mention of a separate space should be followed up with where and for how long.
How do you handle a child who will not nap?
Why ask it
Many centres require non-sleeping children to stay on a mat for hours, which older toddlers find intolerable and parents rarely think to ask about. The answer also indicates how rigid the room is generally.
How is food handled, and how do you manage allergies in a shared room?
Why ask it
Ask who prepares it, whether menus repeat, and what happens with a child who refuses. For allergies, ask about the specific mechanics of table separation, hand washing and staff training on adrenaline injectors.
How much time do children spend outside, and what happens in bad weather?
Why ask it
Outdoor access varies enormously and is often the first thing cut when staffing is tight. Ask to see the outdoor space and whether every room gets it daily or on a rota.
How would I hear about my child's day, and would I be told about a small injury?
Why ask it
Look for a specific mechanism and a stated threshold for contacting you. Centres that only report incidents requiring first aid leave you finding out about the rest from your own child, or not at all.
How do you settle a child in the first two weeks?
Why ask it
Good centres have a staged plan with short days and a parent present at first. A suggestion that children are fine once the parent leaves quickly is a real approach, but you should know it is theirs before the first morning.
Where do children go from this room, and when?
Why ask it
Transitions between rooms are usually driven by age or by space rather than readiness, and they can happen with little notice. Ask how much warning parents get and whether a familiar adult moves with the group.
What is the full cost, including deposits, late fees and everything charged separately?
Why ask it
Registration, supplies, nappies, meals and holiday retainers are often quoted outside the headline weekly rate. Ask for the annual total and for the notice period on fee increases.
What are your hours, and what happens if I am late?
Why ask it
Late fees are frequently charged per minute and enforced strictly, since staff are paid overtime. Also ask the earliest and latest times a child can realistically be dropped off and collected.
How do you handle a child who needs extra support?
Why ask it
Ask whether they have had children with speech delays, additional needs or behaviour plans, and what happened. Centres that describe working with an outside therapist have done it; those that say all children are welcome may never have been tested.
Can I speak to two parents who have children in this room?
Why ask it
Current parents in the same room, rather than a list of general referees, will tell you about staff changes and communication. Reluctance to connect you with anyone is worth taking seriously.
Can I come back unannounced at a busy time, like late afternoon?
Why ask it
The end of the day, when staff are thinnest and children are tired, shows you the centre at its hardest. A director who welcomes a drop-in visit is telling you something that no scheduled tour can.
Touring and comparing daycare centres
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
On the tour
Watch the children, not the room
Equipment and displays are easy to arrange for a visit. Look at whether children are engaged or drifting, whether crying gets a quick response, and whether staff are talking to children or to each other.
Go at the difficult hour
Mid-morning shows a centre at its best. Ask to visit around four in the afternoon, when rooms are combined and staff numbers are lowest, because that is the version your child will experience daily.
Ask the room staff, not only the director
The director sells the centre; the teacher in the room describes it. One question to the person who would care for your child, such as what is hardest about this room, is often the most revealing minute of the visit.
Check the licensing record yourself
Inspection reports and complaint histories are public in most places and take minutes to look up. Do this before the tour so you can ask about anything specific you find.
Comparing centres afterwards
Write down the numbers you were given
- Ratio in your child's room, and who covers breaks.
- How long the room's staff have been there.
- Days closed last year, and notice given.
- Sickness exclusion thresholds and the return rule.
- Annual cost including all extras, plus the late collection fee.
- Outdoor time per day, and what happens when it rains.
- Nap policy for a child who does not sleep.
Then compare what you saw
- How quickly an upset child was comforted, and by whom.
- Whether staff crouched to children's height or directed from standing.
- Whether the room smelled and looked cared for at the end of the day.
- How the director reacted to your harder questions.
Common mistakes
Deciding on the building
New premises and a well-stocked art wall have little to do with quality of care. Staff turnover, ratios at the hardest hours and how upset children are handled are what your child will actually experience.
Accepting the licensed minimum as the answer
Legal ratios are a floor, not a description of the room. Ask what the ratio is at nap, at lunch and after four in the afternoon, and whether it has ever been out of compliance.
Not asking about closures and sick-day rules
These determine how much work you will miss and are almost never volunteered on a tour. Two centres with identical fees can differ by weeks of cover a year.
Only visiting once, by appointment
A single scheduled tour shows a prepared version of the centre. A second, shorter visit at a different time of day is the cheapest way to check whether what you saw holds.