Questions to Ask Child Care Providers
These are childcare questions to ask when you are comparing a daycare center, a home daycare and a nanny, and want the same answers from each. They run in the order the decision does: 60 questions from the first phone call, through the adults, the day, health and safety, settling in and updates, to the money and the contract. Put the first seven to each of the child care providers on your list by phone, and you will know which ones are worth a visit.
Want questions from the whole vault instead? Try the random question generator.
The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
First call
Do you have an opening for my child's age group, and if not, how does the waiting list work?
Why ask it
Openings are usually counted by age group, so give the birth date and the month you need to start. If the answer is a list, ask how many families are ahead of you and whether joining it costs anything you would not get back.
Are you licensed or registered, and who inspects you?
Why ask it
The rules differ by state and country, and a nanny or a very small home setup may sit outside them altogether, so ask which category this provider falls under where you live. If inspection reports are public there, read the latest one before you visit.
What hours and days do you offer, and is part-time possible?
Why ask it
Describe your real week, commute included. A provider that closes at 5:30 when your train gets in at 5:40 is not an option however good the room is, and part-time places are often tied to fixed days.
What is the rate for a child this age, and is it billed by the hour, the week or the month?
Why ask it
Baby places usually cost more than places for older children, so quote your child's age and ask when the rate changes. How it is billed matters too: a flat monthly fee stays the same in a month with two public holidays, and an hourly rate does not.
How many children would be in my child's group, and what ages are they?
Why ask it
Group size is a separate thing from ratio: eight toddlers with two adults is a different room from sixteen with four. In a home daycare or a nanny share, ask about the age spread, since one adult is looking after a baby and a four-year-old at once.
Who would look after my child day to day, and can I meet that person when I visit?
Why ask it
Whoever answers the phone is often an owner or director who is not in the room. Getting the caregiver's name now means the visit can be spent watching the adult your child would actually be with.
When can I visit, and will the children be there when I do?
Why ask it
A tour after closing shows you furniture. Ask for a slot when the room is in use, and if visits are only offered in the evening or during nap time, ask what the reason is.
The adults
How many children are there per adult in each room, and who counts as one of the adults?
Why ask it
The required ratio depends on the children's ages and on local rules, so ask what applies to this room. Then ask who is counted (a floating aide, the cook, the director) and what the number is at 8am and again at 5pm, when rooms are often combined.
How long have the teachers in that room been here?
Why ask it
Your child gets used to particular adults far more than to a building, so ask for names and years. Two teachers who have shared the room for three years is a steadier answer than a team that all started in September.
What training and background checks does every adult in the building complete?
Why ask it
Which checks are required depends on where you live, so ask what the rule is here and whether substitutes, kitchen staff and drivers go through the same ones as teachers. For first aid and CPR, ask whose certificate is current and whether one of those adults is on every shift.
Who covers when my child's caregiver is sick or on vacation?
Why ask it
At a center the answer should be a regular substitute or float the children already know. With a nanny or a provider working alone, the cover is often you, so ask how much warning you would get and line up your backup before you need it.
What does a new member of staff do in their first week, before they are left alone with children?
Why ask it
A good answer has shadowing in it, a named person who shows them the room, and a point where someone signs them off. This is how the next new face in your child's room will be introduced, so a vague answer matters.
How long have you worked with young children, and what do you like about this age?
Why ask it
Put it to the person who would have your child, and treat it as the heart of the interview if that person is a nanny or runs the program alone. Years count for less than whether they talk about children the age of yours with interest and detail.
How do staff take breaks, and who is with the children then?
Why ask it
Breaks are when numbers quietly slip, because somebody has to leave the room. Ask who steps in, whether the children know them, and for a nanny or a provider working alone, what the children are doing while that adult eats.
Is the person in charge here most days, and who makes decisions when they are away?
Why ask it
An owner with three sites may be in the building one day a week, while a director's desk may be by the front door. Whoever is second in charge decides whether to close early or call an ambulance when the boss is out, so get that name as well.
Is any adult ever alone with a child where no one else can see, and how is that handled?
Why ask it
Diaper changes, toilet trips and nap rooms are the moments to ask about. The reassuring answers are physical ones, such as half doors, windows and a second adult within earshot. A nanny is alone by design, so there the question becomes how you will know what the day was like.
What happens when a child hits, bites, or will not stop screaming?
Why ask it
An approach is easy to state, so ask about the last time it happened: what the adult did first, whether the child left the room, and what each family was told afterwards.
Is there anything an adult here is never allowed to do when a child misbehaves?
Why ask it
These are the hard limits, and a provider that has them can say them without thinking: no hitting, no shaming, no lost meals or outdoor time as punishment. Then ask how a brand new employee learns that list.
The day
Walk me through a typical day in my child's room, hour by hour.
Why ask it
A provider who can say when lunch actually lands and how long the stretch between nap and pickup runs is describing a real room. A recited schedule with no gaps in it is usually a laminated sheet.
What are the children doing at four in the afternoon?
Why ask it
Late afternoon is the hard stretch: tired children, and in many places fewer staff and merged groups. An answer with an order to it, snack, then outside, then stories on the rug, means someone plans that hour as carefully as the morning.
What is planned for the children each week, and how much of the day is free play?
Why ask it
Neither all structure nor all free play is the goal. You are checking that somebody has thought about the week: a story, something messy, something outdoors, and time when children choose for themselves.
What does outdoor time look like, and in what weather do you skip it?
Why ask it
The rain and temperature cutoffs are worth having as numbers, along with whether there is any covered space. Then ask what the children do on a day they stay in, because a week of bad weather is a week of whatever that answer is.
How much screen time do children get, and what for?
Why ask it
Get minutes and a purpose, because a yes or no hides the range: a short video while parents arrive and an hour every afternoon both get described as educational.
Who provides the food, and what was served for lunch today?
Why ask it
Today's lunch is harder to dress up than a sample menu. The answer also tells you whether meals are cooked there, delivered or packed by parents, which changes both your mornings and the bill.
Where do children nap, for how long, and what happens with one who will not sleep?
Why ask it
Have them show you where the cots or mats go. A child who has dropped the nap may be expected to lie still for the whole rest period, or may be given books in a quiet corner, and it helps to know which before yours stops sleeping.
Where do the babies sleep, and are they fed on their own schedule or the room's?
Why ask it
Safe sleep rules are set locally, so ask what this provider is required to do where you are, then look at the cribs yourself. On feeding, ask how breast milk and formula are labeled and stored, and what happens to a bottle that is not finished.
How do you handle potty training, and what do you need from us?
Why ask it
Some providers start when the child shows interest and others require it before a move to an older room. Find out which, and whether they will follow the method you use at home or expect you to follow theirs.
How are children grouped, and when would mine move up to the next group?
Why ask it
A move usually brings new adults, more children per adult and sometimes a different fee. Ask what triggers it, whether a birthday, readiness or simply a space opening up, and how much notice you would get.
How do you support a child who is behind or ahead of the group?
Why ask it
The revealing follow-up is whether they have ever raised a developmental concern with a family, and how that went. A provider who has never had that conversation may simply not be watching closely.
What should I send each day, and what do you provide?
Why ask it
Diapers, wipes, formula, sunscreen and spare clothes are either inside the fee or on your shopping list. Ask how things have to be labeled as well, since that rule tends to be strict for bottles and cups.
Health and safety
What is your illness policy, and what specifically gets us sent home?
Why ask it
Get the fever threshold, the wait after vomiting, and whether a doctor's note is needed to return. Loose policies get applied inconsistently and cost you unplanned days off work.
How do you handle allergies, medication and special diets?
Why ask it
Ask to see how an allergy is flagged at the table and not only in a file: a posted list, a labeled place setting. For medication, find out who is allowed to give it, what they need from you in writing, and where it is kept.
What do you do when a child gets hurt here?
Why ask it
The details to get are who gives first aid, who decides a child needs a doctor, and whether you get a written report the same day. A provider that only records injuries needing stitches cannot show you a pattern of small ones.
What is your plan for a fire, a lockdown, or severe weather?
Why ask it
Find out when they last practiced it, where the children are taken, and how parents hear where to collect them. A written plan nobody has rehearsed with actual toddlers tells you very little about what would happen.
How do you check that the person collecting my child is allowed to?
Why ask it
Try a case on them: a grandparent who is not on the list turns up at five. The answer tells you whether the list is enforced or gives way to whoever sounds most confident.
Do you take children off site, and who drives if a vehicle is involved?
Why ask it
A walk to the library and a ride in someone's car need different permissions. Ask about car seats and head counts, and whether you sign once for the year or each time. For a nanny, this is where you settle whether your child rides in a car at all.
How do you keep count of every child when the group goes outside or comes back from a walk?
Why ask it
Doorways, gates and the walk back are when a child can be missed. Listen for a count out and a count in, a named adult at the back, and a list that travels with the group.
Who can get into the building or the house while the children are there?
Why ask it
At a center, ask how the door is controlled and how visitors and contractors are signed in. In a home, ask who else lives there or drops by during the day, because those adults are around your child without being staff.
Is there anything in the house or yard I should know about: pets, water, smoking, weapons?
Why ask it
It is easier asked as one plain list than wondered about later. It applies to a home daycare and to a nanny who takes children to their own place, and the reassuring answers are specific: a fenced pool, a locked cabinet, a dog kept elsewhere during hours.
How do you clean toys, cots and surfaces, and how often?
Why ask it
The telling case is a toy a child has had in their mouth mid-morning. An end-of-day wipe-down is common; taking it out of circulation on the spot is the better sign.
What health forms and immunization records do you need from us, and by when?
Why ask it
What is required, and which exemptions exist, is decided by the state or country, so ask what applies to this provider. Getting the list now avoids a first day delayed by a missing form.
Settling and updates
How do you start a new child: a full day at once, or shorter visits first?
Why ask it
Some providers offer an hour with you in the room and then a few half days, and some start with a full day. Ask whether settling days are charged, and what they would do differently for a child who has never been left with anyone.
How do you handle drop-off when my child is crying and clinging to me?
Why ask it
This is the moment you will see most often. A fast handoff and a slow one can both work; what you want to hear is a practiced routine, and whether someone will message you once the crying has stopped.
How are naps, meals, diapering and toileting recorded, and what do I see at pickup?
Why ask it
A written or app log beats a verbal summary from whoever happens to be at the door. Gaps in the record are how a skipped bottle or an early fever goes unnoticed until evening.
What gets a phone call during the day, and what waits until pickup?
Why ask it
Settle the threshold now: a bump on the head, a bite, a refused lunch, a long cry. Parents differ on what they want to be called about, and a provider who writes down your preference is showing you how they work with families.
Do you photograph the children, and who gets to see the pictures?
Why ask it
A private app only parents can open is one thing and a public social media page is another. Ask whether you can agree to the first and refuse the second, and whether staff take pictures on their own phones.
Can I drop in unannounced during the day?
Why ask it
An easy yes is a good sign, and a request to avoid nap time is reasonable. A rule that parents wait at the door is worth asking about a second time, and in some places parent access is part of the licensing rules, so ask what applies here.
If I was unhappy with how something was handled, who would I talk to?
Why ask it
Ask for a name and what happens after you have spoken to them. With a nanny or a one-person home daycare the route is a direct conversation, so agree now on when you would have it: away from the children and not on the doorstep at pickup.
What did a family complain about this year, and what changed as a result?
Why ask it
A specific answer shows complaints are tracked and acted on. Nothing coming to mind, at a center with dozens of families, usually means feedback has nowhere to go.
Before you sign
What do families pay for on top of the rate?
Why ask it
Meals, diapers, a supply fee, outings and a yearly registration charge can all sit outside the rate, and each provider draws the line in a different place. A total for last year, for a family with your hours, is the number to put next to the other providers.
What happens if I am late for pickup, and what does it cost?
Why ask it
Some providers charge by the minute from closing time, so ask when the clock starts and whether a call from the road changes anything. It is also worth knowing who waits with your child, and how many late pickups they allow before it becomes a conversation.
How many weeks a year are you closed, and when do families get the dates?
Why ask it
Every closure is a day you need backup care or time off work, so ask to see last year's calendar. A solo provider's own vacation and sick days belong in that count too.
Do I pay when my child is sick or we are away?
Why ask it
Many providers charge for the place, not for attendance, and it is better heard plainly now than found on an invoice. Some allow a set number of unpaid vacation days a year, so ask whether that exists here.
Is there a deposit or registration fee, and in what circumstances is it returned?
Why ask it
Ask what happens to it if you withdraw before the start date, if they cannot offer the place after all, and when you eventually leave. The answers are often different for each, and only the written one counts.
When did your fees last go up, and how are increases announced?
Why ask it
The last increase and the notice that came with it are the best guide to the next one. Ask which month it usually falls in so you can budget for it.
Do you accept childcare subsidies, vouchers or employer schemes, and can you give receipts?
Why ask it
Help with childcare costs works differently in every country and state, and sometimes by employer, so ask which schemes this provider is registered for and confirm the rules with the scheme itself. Receipts matter if you expect to claim anything back.
Is there a trial period before either side commits?
Why ask it
A few weeks in which either of you can end it at short notice takes pressure off the decision. With a nanny, a paid trial day while you are home does the same job.
How much notice do I give to leave, and what would make you end our place?
Why ask it
Notice periods vary a lot, and you usually pay through them whether or not your child attends. The second half is about fit: ask what has led them to end an arrangement before, and how much warning that family had.
Can I take the contract and the parent handbook home before I sign?
Why ask it
Reading it at your own table is how you catch the clause on notice or fee changes. With a nanny there may be no document yet, and offering to write one together is a reasonable next step.
Can I speak with two families whose children left recently?
Why ask it
Current families are mostly happy, or they would have gone. Families who moved on will tell you what finally decided them, which is the information a reference list is built to avoid.
Choosing Care Without Guessing
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Asking Across Kinds of Childcare
A center
Several adults share the work, so the questions that matter most are about consistency: who is in the room at each end of the day, how long they have stayed, and who covers a break. Policies usually exist on paper, and your job is checking that the room follows them.
A home daycare
One person usually opens the door, cooks the lunch and plans the week. Ask more about the house, the other people in it and what happens when that person is ill, and less about handbooks. The age spread in the group shapes the whole day.
A nanny or a nanny share
Here the family is usually the employer, and the rules on contracts, tax and insurance depend on where you live, so ask locally how that works before you agree pay. One adult for one or two children is the attraction, and the trade is that nobody else sees the day, which is why references and a trial matter more.
One sheet for all of them
Put the same seven first-call questions to every provider and write the answers in columns. A center, a home daycare and a nanny look impossible to compare until the hours, the yearly cost, the closures and the backup plan sit side by side.
On the Tour
Go at the hard hour, not the easy one
Ask to visit between 4pm and 5:30pm rather than mid-morning. Late afternoon is when staff have gone home, rooms are combined, children are tired and the real staffing picture is visible.
Watch the adults, not the equipment
New toys and fresh paint are the cheapest things to fix. Count how many times an adult is at a child's eye level, whether they narrate what they are doing, and whether crying gets a response or a wait.
Ask the teacher, not just the director
The director sells; the teacher lives there. Ask the person who would have your child how long they have worked there, how many children they had yesterday, and what they would change about the room.
Get the policies in writing before you pay a deposit
Handbook, illness policy, fee schedule and incident procedure. If a policy only exists as a verbal explanation, it will be interpreted differently by whoever is on shift when you need it.
What to Watch Rather Than Ask
- How a child who is upset gets handled while you are standing there, and whether anyone notices you watching.
- Whether children's names are used, and whether staff use each other's names in front of the children.
- Where the food is prepared and what is actually on the plates today rather than on the posted menu.
- Whether the diaper change or toilet area is visible to other adults, which matters more for safeguarding than any policy document.
- Whether the outdoor space has anything a child can climb, dig or carry, or only fixed equipment.
- Whether staff talk to you over the children's heads about the children, which is a habit that does not switch off when parents leave.
Common Pitfalls
Choosing on warmth alone
The warmest person on the tour may not be in the room, and warm centers with weak systems still lose paperwork, miss allergies and fail to tell you about injuries. You need both.
Accepting the licensed ratio as the working ratio
Licensing sets a floor, not a target. Ask what the ratio is in practice, at the times of day when it is worst, and whether the center has ever been cited.
Deciding before you have seen the fees in full
Registration, supply fees, late pickup charges, paid closure days and annual increases add up to a materially different number. Ask what a family with your hours paid in total last year.
Skipping the reference calls once you like the place
Liking a center is exactly when the calls get skipped, and it is when they matter most. Two conversations with departed families take twenty minutes and change decisions.
What to Ask For at Pickup
- 1What they ate and how much of it.
- 2Whether they slept, and for how long.
- 3Mood across the day, not just in the last ten minutes.
- 4One specific thing they did or said.
- 5Anything the room wants you to follow up at home.