Questions to Ask Daycare Provider for Infants
Questions for a home based or small provider who would care for your baby: how many children she has at once, what happens when she is ill, how the house is set up, and how a baby fits around older children.
The questions
Open any question for the note
How many children are here at once, and how many of them are under two?
Why ask it
One adult with a baby and three preschoolers is a different job from one adult with three babies. The mix matters more than the total, because infants need hands and toddlers need eyes.
Are you licensed or registered, and what does that cover where we live?
Why ask it
Rules differ by state and country, and some home providers legitimately operate below the threshold that requires a licence. Either way you want the answer plainly, along with what inspections she does or does not get.
Who else is in the house during the day?
Why ask it
A spouse working from home, an adult child, a lodger, a relative helping out. Anyone regularly present around the children is someone whose background you are entitled to ask about.
What happens when you are ill or have an appointment?
Why ask it
A single provider has no cover unless she has arranged some. Find out now whether that means a named substitute you can meet, or a closed door and a workday you have to solve.
Where would my baby sleep, and what is in the crib?
Why ask it
Homes vary: a separate bedroom, a corner of the living room, a travel cot. What you need is a firm flat surface, on her back, nothing soft in with her, and a room she is checked in regularly.
How do you keep the older children away from a baby who is on the floor?
Why ask it
This is the main daily hazard in mixed-age home care, and good providers have a physical answer: a gate, a playpen, floor time while the older ones are outside or at nap.
Talk me through a normal day here, starting at eight in the morning.
Why ask it
You are listening for a shape that includes the baby: when she is held, when she sleeps, what happens during the school run or lunch. A day narrated entirely around the older children tells you where she will fit.
How do you store and prepare bottles and breast milk?
Why ask it
In a home kitchen the answer should still involve dated labels, a designated shelf and warm water rather than a microwave. Confident detail here is a good sign about the rest of the food handling.
Are there pets, and where are they when the babies are on the floor?
Why ask it
Most family pets are fine and some are not, and the answer you want is about arrangement rather than temperament. A dog that is separated during floor time is a provider who has thought about it.
Is anyone here trained in infant CPR and choking response, and when was it last renewed?
Why ask it
Infant technique is not the same as child technique, so a general certificate is a different answer. Ask for the date, because these expire and home providers have nobody reminding them.
Do you drive the children anywhere during the day?
Why ask it
School runs and errands are common in home care and are rarely mentioned upfront. If she does drive, you need to know about the car seat, who is left where, and whether you consented to any of it.
Is there a pool, a trampoline, a wood stove, or any firearms in the house?
Why ask it
Awkward to ask and worth asking. What you are checking is not whether these exist but whether they are secured, fenced or locked, and whether she answers directly or gets defensive.
What did you change in the house to make it safe for a baby?
Why ask it
Gates, cupboard latches, cords tied up, a fireplace screen. A provider who can list the changes has done them; one who says the house has always been fine may be relying on watching closely.
What are your hours, and what happens if I am running late?
Why ask it
Home providers have their own evenings, and a late collection lands directly on her family rather than on a rota. Get the charge and the limit, and find out what happens if it is a habit.
What do you charge, what does it include, and do I pay when we are away?
Why ask it
Most home providers charge for your holidays as well as their own, since the place is being held. Ask about diapers, formula, meals, and how much notice a rate increase gets.
What do you do when a baby will not settle and four other children need you?
Why ask it
The honest answers, wearing her in a carrier, bringing everyone into the same room, calling a parent, all describe a real strategy. This is the question where experience shows most clearly.
How will you tell me about her day?
Why ask it
Home providers vary from a written sheet to a two-minute chat at the door. Either can work, but agree on it now, particularly what you want written down: feeds, naps, and anything she refused.
How long do families usually stay with you, and why do they move on?
Why ask it
Long stays with children leaving for school is the pattern you want to hear. A run of short stays is worth a gentle follow-up, and worth asking a current parent about.
What ages do you take, and could she stay with you past her first birthday?
Why ask it
One of the real advantages of home care is not being moved between rooms, so it is worth confirming. Also ask what happens if her own circumstances change, since a home business can close quickly.
Can I speak to a parent whose baby is with you now?
Why ask it
Every provider should be able to offer one. Ask that parent about illness cover, late collection and how a disagreement went, since those are the parts of home care that strain first.
Home based infant care
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
What home care gives you, and what it costs you
The gain is consistency
The same adult, the same house, no room changes, a small group, and often longer hours and lower fees than a centre. For a baby, one steady caregiver is a real advantage.
The cost is fragility
One person means no built-in cover for illness, holidays, family emergencies or a decision to stop. Assume at least a few unplanned closures a year and have a backup plan before you need it.
There is less oversight
A centre has managers, colleagues who see each other work, and regular inspections. A home has none of that, so your own attention, and talking to other parents, is doing more of the work.
What to look at in the house
- The room where the children actually spend the day, not the front room you are shown into.
- Where the baby would sleep, and whether you can hear that room from where the provider sits.
- Stairs, gates, cords, the kitchen, and where cleaning products are kept.
- The garden gate and the fence, plus any pool, pond or trampoline.
- How the older children behave with her, which tells you what the ordinary day is like.
- Whether the television is on, and whether anyone is watching it.
Get these in writing
- Hours, fees, the late collection charge, and what you pay during her holidays and yours.
- Notice period on both sides, and what happens if she stops taking children.
- Her illness policy for the children, and her own plan for the days she cannot work.
- Permission for any driving, plus who else may collect your baby.
- Sleep arrangements, feeding instructions, and what she does with unfinished milk.
In the first month
Vary your arrival time once or twice
Coming a little early on an ordinary day shows you the house as it usually is. What you see should look roughly like what you were told.
Compare what you hear with what you see
A baby who arrives home dirty, hungry or in yesterday's outfit is telling you something the daily summary is not. Ask about it directly and early, while it is still a small conversation.
Keep the relationship businesslike as well as warm
Home care becomes personal quickly, which makes problems harder to raise. Fixing the small ones plainly in month one is what keeps you able to raise anything later.