Questions to Ask at the End of a Daycare Interview
For a parent choosing a daycare, not someone applying to work in one: these are the interview questions to ask in a daycare once the director has shown you round and says, any questions? The 53 questions follow the order the meeting tends to take: the staff, the daily routine, health and safety, how parents are kept in touch, then fees and the contract. The last group is for the closing minutes of a daycare interview, when the place, the paperwork and the next step get settled.
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The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
Staff
How many children will be in my child's group, and who is with them each day?
Why ask it
Names and the weekly pattern are what you want, not the licensed maximum. It sometimes turns out that the person who showed you round covers three rooms, and that the carer your child would have is someone you have not met.
What is the adult-to-child ratio in that room, and does it hold through staff breaks and nap time?
Why ask it
The legal ratio depends on where you live and on the age group, so ask what the rule is here and then what the room really runs at. Lunch breaks and nap time are when one adult can be left with the whole group, and the rules in some places allow fewer adults while the children sleep.
How many of your staff have been here more than two years?
Why ask it
Turnover matters more to an infant or toddler than curriculum does, because attachment is the service you are buying. A director who will not give a number is giving you one.
Who covers when my child's main carer is sick or on leave?
Why ask it
The answer to hope for is a named float the children already know. If cover comes from an agency or from merging two rooms, ask how many days last month that happened.
What checks does every adult in the building go through before being alone with children?
Why ask it
Which background checks are required is set by the state or country, so ask what applies here and how often they are repeated. The gaps tend to be substitutes, kitchen staff, students on placement and regular volunteers.
What training do your staff get beyond the licensing minimum?
Why ask it
Which courses are compulsory differs by place, so find out what the minimum is here first. Then listen for anything on top of it: the subject of the last session, and whether the room staff went or only the managers.
Could I meet the person who would actually look after my child before I leave today?
Why ask it
A daycare interview is usually with a director, and your child will spend the day with someone else. Five minutes in the room, watching how that person speaks to a child who interrupts, answers things the office cannot.
The day
What does the day look like for a child my child's age, and how much of it is fixed?
Why ask it
For a baby you want to know how much runs on the child's own rhythm; for a toddler, how much of the day is spent waiting for the group. Rigidity is not automatically bad, but it should be deliberate rather than accidental.
What did the children in that room do yesterday morning?
Why ask it
Yesterday cannot be answered from the brochure. If the person interviewing you has to go and ask, you have also learned how far the office is from the room.
Where and how do the children sleep?
Why ask it
Have them show you the sleep room, not describe it. For a baby, ask which safe-sleep guidance the staff follow and whether an adult stays in the room; for an older child, what happens when the nap does not match the schedule.
How do feeding and bottles work, including anything I send in?
Why ask it
Storage, labeling, warming, and who decides when a baby has had enough are the points where it goes wrong. If you send breast milk or a particular formula, ask what happens to what is left in the bottle and whether any of it comes home.
What do the older children eat here, and what happens when a child refuses a meal?
Why ask it
This week's menu, and whether the food is cooked on site or delivered, is the easy half. The second half is the telling one: some rooms offer an alternative, some wait for snack, and a few keep a child at the table until the plate is clear.
How do diaper changes and potty training work here?
Why ask it
Find out how often diapers are changed and who does it, then whether potty training starts when you say your child is ready or when the room does it as a group. Some older rooms only take children who are out of diapers, which matters when the move up comes.
What do you do when a young child cries for a long time?
Why ask it
Listen for whether the child gets picked up, how long they are left, and whether the answer is about what the child needs or what the room's routine allows. With one adult and several babies there is a real limit, and an honest carer will tell you what it is.
How do staff respond when a toddler has a tantrum or flatly refuses?
Why ask it
Get the words the adult would use, as near to exact as they can give them. Staying close and naming the feeling is one kind of room; shouting, shaming or sending a child out of sight is another. Much of what is ruled out is written into licensing rules, which differ by place, so ask what the rule is here.
How much time do the children spend outside, and what happens in bad weather?
Why ask it
Outdoor time is often the first thing to go on a day when a room is one adult short. Find out where the line is for rain, heat and cold, and whether the babies go out or only the children who can walk.
What is your policy on screens?
Why ask it
The written policy and the practice can differ, so make it concrete: is a television or a tablet ever on in that room, for how long, and what for? A song for a dance session and a cartoon during the wait for pickup are not the same thing.
What happens before nine and after five, when fewer children are here?
Why ask it
Early drop-off and late pickup are often run in one combined room with whoever is on shift. If those are your hours they are a real share of your child's week, so ask which room, which adults and what the children do.
When does a child move up to the next room, and how much warning do parents get?
Why ask it
Moves are often set off by a birthday or by a space opening up, not by the child. Ask whether there are visits to the new room first, and whether the carer your child is attached to moves up too or stays behind.
Health and safety
What is your sick policy, and when do you call me?
Why ask it
Exclusion rules for fever and stomach illness will shape your working year. Ask how quickly they expect a parent to arrive, since some contracts specify an hour.
What illnesses have gone around this room in the last couple of months, and how were parents told?
Why ask it
Every room of small children passes colds around, so this is not a trap. It shows whether families get a notice the day something contagious is confirmed, and whether the room changed anything while it lasted.
What happens if my child is hurt?
Why ask it
You are asking about thresholds: what gets a note, a phone call, or an ambulance, and who is trained to make that judgment. Ask whether someone with pediatric first-aid training is always in the building.
How do you handle allergies and medication?
Why ask it
The details that count are who gives a medicine, where it is kept, and how a serious allergy is handled at a shared table. If your child has one, ask who in the room is trained to respond and what happens on the days that person is off.
How do you handle biting or hitting between children?
Why ask it
Biting is common enough among toddlers that the last real incident is a fair thing to ask about. You want to hear how the adults watched for the next one, not only what happened to the child who bit, and what each family was told.
Who is allowed to collect my child, and what happens if someone not on the list turns up?
Why ask it
The test case is a grandparent or a friend sent at short notice. A sound answer has a phone call to you and a look at identification in it, and nobody released because a child says they know the person.
How does a visitor get into the building during the day?
Why ask it
Compare the answer with how you were let in for this interview. A door code every family has had for years, or a door held open in the pickup rush, is the real policy whatever the handbook says.
What is the plan for a fire or an evacuation, and where would I collect my child?
Why ask it
Babies who cannot walk are the hard part, so ask how they are moved and when the last drill was. Write down the meeting point and how parents would be contacted while you are sitting there.
Do the children ever leave the premises for walks or trips, and how do you keep track of them?
Why ask it
A walk to the park needs a head count at the gate, at the park and on the way back, and enough adults for the strollers. If a vehicle is ever involved, ask who drives and how car seats are handled, since those rules depend on where you live.
Parents
How do you settle a new child in during the first couple of weeks?
Why ask it
A real answer describes shortened days, a comfort object, and who holds your child while you leave. No answer means you will improvise through the hardest two weeks alone.
What will I know about my child's day when I collect them?
Why ask it
Answers range from a written log of sleeps, feeds and diapers to a friendly sentence at the door. Ask who tells you when something small has gone wrong, and whether that person is there at pickup.
Can I call or message during the day, and who answers?
Why ask it
In the first weeks you will want to know whether the crying stopped after you left. Find out whether the room has a phone or an app the carers can check themselves, or whether messages go through an office that passes them on later.
Can I come by during the day without arranging it first?
Why ask it
Parents of enrolled children are usually welcome at any time, and in some places the rules require it, so ask how it works here. Staying away at nap time is a sensible request. A rule that every visit is booked in advance deserves a question about why.
If I am unhappy with something, who do I talk to and what happens after that?
Why ask it
You are after a person and a timescale: the room lead first, then the director, with a reply inside a few days. Ask too where a complaint goes when the director is the subject of it, such as an owner, a board or the licensing body.
If you were worried about my child's speech or development, how and when would you tell me?
Why ask it
Carers see many children of the same age, so they are often the first to notice. A careful answer describes notes kept over a few weeks and a sit-down conversation, not a remark at the door and not a diagnosis.
Do you take photos or video of the children, and where do they end up?
Why ask it
A private app for parents and a public page that advertises the center are different things, and one signature on the consent form sometimes covers both. Ask whether you can agree to the first and refuse the second.
What would you like to know about my child that the forms do not ask?
Why ask it
Turning the interview around shows how the room thinks about one child at a time. A carer who asks how your child falls asleep, what the comfort toy is called and what a bad morning looks like is already planning the first day.
Fees and contract
What is the full cost, including deposits, closure days, and late fees?
Why ask it
The annual total in writing is more use than the weekly rate. Count the days the center is closed but still charges for, and find out how the late pickup fee is worked out, since some run by the minute.
What do I need to send in each day, and what do you provide?
Why ask it
Diapers, wipes, formula, meals, sunscreen and bedding are included in the fee at some centers and sent from home or billed as extras at others. Over a year that changes what the place costs, and the list is also what you will be labeling the night before the first morning.
Do I pay for days my child is ill or we are away?
Why ask it
Many centers charge for the place whether or not the child is in it. Some allow a week or two a year at a reduced rate, so ask whether that exists here and how far ahead it has to be claimed.
When did fees last go up, and how much notice did families get?
Why ask it
The last increase is the best guide you will get to the next one. Ask as well whether the rate changes when a child moves to an older room, and in which direction.
Which childcare subsidies, vouchers or employer schemes do you accept, and what paperwork do you give parents?
Why ask it
These schemes differ by country, state and employer, so the useful answer is which ones this center is set up for and what receipts or forms it issues. Settle it before the first invoice; untangling it afterwards is slow.
Is the deposit refundable, and what would I lose if we withdrew before the start date?
Why ask it
A deposit can be refundable, credited against the final month, or a registration fee that is neither. Take the wording from the contract and not from the conversation, above all if you are holding places at two centers.
What notice do I need to give to leave or to change days?
Why ask it
Notice periods of a month or more are common, and so are rules that make dropping a day harder than adding one. This clause matters most on the day your circumstances change.
Is there a trial period, and what happens if it is not working after a month?
Why ask it
Some contracts give both sides a few weeks to walk away without the full notice period. Ask what 'not working' has looked like here, and whether you would still owe the fees for those weeks or the deposit.
What would make you ask a family to leave?
Why ask it
An unusual question that gets you the center's real limits: unpaid fees, repeated late pickup, or behavior they cannot support. It also tells you whether they part with families abruptly or with a conversation.
Closing
Is a place actually available for my start date, or am I joining a list?
Why ask it
Interviews are sometimes held to fill a waiting list and not a room. Ask for your position, who is placed ahead of you (siblings and staff children often are), and how many places came up in that age group last year.
May I see the current license and the most recent inspection report?
Why ask it
This is easier to ask at the end of an interview than at the front door, and a director who is proud of the report goes and fetches it. What the documents are called, and whether the results are published, depends on where you are; if they are online, read them at home as well. A finding that was fixed and dated is ordinary; the same finding two reports running is not.
Could I speak to two families with children in that room now?
Why ask it
Ask for one family that joined in the last few months, because they remember the settling-in weeks you are about to have. A center that offers only its longest-standing parents has chosen its references with care.
Can I take the contract and the parent handbook home before I pay anything?
Why ask it
The clauses on notice, closures and fee rises read differently at a kitchen table than across a director's desk. Being pressed to sign today because the place will go is a reason to slow down, even when it is true.
Can I come back with my child for an hour before we decide?
Why ask it
You get to see how the carers greet a child they do not know, and your child sees the room once with you in it. Pick late afternoon if that is when you would be collecting.
What paperwork and records do you need from me before the first day?
Why ask it
Health forms, vaccination records and emergency contacts can take weeks to gather, and what is required depends on local rules. Having the list now keeps one missing form from pushing back the start date.
Is there anything about this center that parents should know and I have not asked?
Why ask it
Few directors expect to be invited to volunteer a weakness. Building work next term, a room lead about to go on leave or a change of owner tends to come out here or not at all.
What happens next, and when will I hear from you?
Why ask it
Leave with a date and a name: when the decision is made, who rings whom, and how long an offer is held before it goes to the next family. If nobody can say, the place is less settled than the meeting made it sound.
Closing a daycare interview well
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
What to cover in the last ten minutes
With five minutes left, take one from each group
The first question under each heading is the one to ask if there is only time for one: who is in the room, the shape of the day, the sick policy, settling in, the full cost, and whether a place really exists. Send the others by email afterwards and ask for the answers in writing.
Care first, logistics second
Sleep, feeding, crying, and who is in the room are the things you cannot change later. Fees and forms can be read at home, so spend your remaining time on the questions only a person can answer.
Ask about the specific room, not the center
Policies are written centrally and practice is local. Every question is more useful when phrased as "in my child's room, with the staff who will be there".
Ask for one recent example
Whatever the topic, ask when it last happened and what they did. Descriptions of actual events are much harder to smooth over than descriptions of policy.
What to watch while you ask
- Whether staff in the room are engaged with children or talking to each other over their heads.
- How an adult responds to a crying child while you are standing there.
- Whether the director interrupts a carer to answer for them.
- The state of the bathrooms, the changing area and the outdoor space, which are harder to tidy for a visit than the room you are shown first.
- Whether anyone asks you questions about your child, which is a sign they are thinking about the individual rather than the enrollment.
Common pitfalls
Being reassured instead of informed
Warm answers feel good and tell you nothing. If you leave without a number, a name, or a description of an actual event, you have been reassured rather than answered.
Signing before reading the contract
Notice periods, fee increases, closure days, and late charges are all in the paperwork and rarely discussed out loud. Take it home and read it before you pay a deposit.
Not asking about the afternoon
Most visits happen mid-morning when the center is at its best. Ask what happens after three o'clock, when groups merge and the most experienced staff have often gone home.
Taking a place because it is free
Accepting a place you are unsure about because it is available is how families end up moving a child twice. If your first choice has a waiting list, ask how long it really is before you settle for the second.
Before you sign
- Ask to see the current license and the most recent inspection report, and read the findings rather than the summary.
- Call two current families and ask what they would change.
- Get the annual cost, closure dates, and notice period in writing.
- Visit once more unannounced at the end of a day if the center allows it.