When choosing a daycare center for your baby, consider the following:
General
Are you licensed and accredited? By whom?
What is your availability?
Do I need to join a wait list?
How much does it cost to join the wait list?
Are there any discounts available?
What is your teacher/baby ratio?
What is the cost?
Which payment methods do you accept (credit card, debit card, check, etc.)?
Do you require full time for infants, or can I do part time? If I do part time, do I still have to pay for full time?
Will you change cloth diapers, or do we need to use disposable?
What is the policy if we are running late?
What is your sick-child policy?
Do you have any policies related to immunizations?
Will you ever take my baby off site (e.g. walk to a park or a field trip)? If so, what stroller or vehicle would you use?
Can you share a reference?
What is your policy on posting photos of the children on social media and/or in promotional material?
Enrichment
What activities do you perform with my baby?
0-3m
3-6m
6-9m
9-12m
What ages of other babies will mine be with?
What temperatures do you take babies outside in vs. stay in the classroom?
Will I be informed of my child’s daily activities, feedings, naps?
Feeding
What protocols do you have in place for safely storing/serving breast milk?
Once my baby is ready for solids, will you help baby do BLW or is spoon feeding required?
Do I have to send the solid food in with my baby or are any provided?
How are allergies handled?
Naps
Are naps scheduled or will you work around our schedule?
Will my baby always use the same/assigned crib, or are the cribs shared for different babies throughout the day/week?
Employees
Does the staff have certifications or degrees?
What type of training have they had?
Have all employees passed a background check?
What is the employee turnover rate?
How long have my baby’s teachers been employed here?
What is the protocol in case of a medical emergency? Do you have a nurse on site who can administer medicine or allergy treatments?
Security
Who can I designate to pick up my baby?
What “steps” does someone have to go through in order to pick up my baby?
Do you have cameras on the entrance?
Do you have cameras in the rooms?
What is your visitation policy for parents vs. others? Can I swing by at any point?
Covid-19
What precautions are you taking?
Have there been any positive cases since March 2020? If so, when were the most recent cases?
How often do you sanitize the toys, surfaces, etc.?
What happens if a staff member becomes infected?
What happens if a child becomes infected?
If you close due to a lock down, am I still expected to pay?
