Some parents have had their daycare chosen since their baby was just a glimmer in their eye, but what about the rest of us? What should you look for in a daycare and where should you even start?
Here are all the things you need to know when “shopping” for a daycare. (Note that these tips are primarily regarding child-care centres rather than home child-care providers. See a note in Resouces regarding home daycares.)
The Basics
1. Start your search as early as possible. As in, during your pregnancy, and in many cases, as early as your first trimester. You can still find quality child care at a later date, but it makes your search more difficult. Do a search to find the daycare centres near you and ask about tours and open house dates.
>>See a list of Toronto Daycare & Child Care Centres
2. Opt for licensed daycares. Only licensed daycares and child care facilities must comply with provincial regulations with regard to staff certifications and qualifications, caregiver-to-child ratios, criminal record checks, space and equipment, activities, food quality and handling, smoking, discipline, and emergency procedures.
3. Be extra-vigilant with home daycares. Home-based child care can be an excellent option, but not all are as rigorously evaluated as licensed child-care centres. Consulting an umbrella agency like Wee Watch that monitors its member home daycares, can give you some peace of mind.
That said, don’t completely rule out independent home daycares. Some home daycare providers that aren’t with an agency are still excellent. They may just be so in demand that they don’t see a need to pay a membership to an agency. What’s most important is doing your homework.
4. Ask for references. Daycares (especially home daycares) should give you contact info for current or past parents so you can ask them about their experience.
5. Register with at least three facilities. Some daycares have fees to be put on a waiting list, so you may not want to be on every list. But it makes sense to have at least three options.
Ask about the length of the waiting list and how likely your child will be to get a spot. This will give you an idea of how many facilities you should register with.
Environment
6. Evaluate cleanliness and safety. Does it appear to be clean and safe? Is the room child-proofed? Are there smoke detectors and fire exits? Ask about cleaning and sanitization schedules for diaper station, toys, and play area. Do caregivers wear gloves to change diapers? Are toys in a good state of repair? What about cots and cribs for naptime?
See a handy, interactive guide to health and safety standards as per the Ontario Day Nurseries Act.
7. Consider the indoor and outdoor environments. Do they seem welcoming and well-lit? Large enough for the number of children? Do you get a good “vibe”?
Care and Programming
8. Get a sense of the routine. When and where do kids eat? When and where do they nap? What’s the process for getting children to nap (especially if they have trouble)? How is the room prepped for naptime? (Lights dimmed, music?) Are children allowed a soother, toy, blanket, etc.? Are infants allowed any pillows, blankets, or toys in the crib? (They should not be, without parental consent at least.)
9. Ask about weekly and daily activities as well as special outings and programs for children. Do kids watch TV? (It happens at some home daycares.) How much outdoor time do they get? is there a good mix of free play and organized activities? A mix of physical activities, thoughtful play (e.g. puzzles and building), and creative time with music, drawing, etc.?
10. Discuss discipline. How are behavioural issues dealth with? What happens when a child acts out? What if another child strikes your child? What if your child strikes another child? What is the procedure for excessive crying? Tantrums?
11. Look into the food. When you begin your daycare research, your baby may still be on a liquid diet, but food will soon be an important part of daily life.
Ask to see a menu and ask specific questions like: What is your philosophy for kids’ meal plans? (Translation: Is the seemingly healthy menu due to the current chef, and may change with a staff overturn? Or is it an integral part of the daycare’s mission?) How often do kids get sugary treats? What types of yogurt/bread/granola bars do kids get? How will allergies or food sensitivities be accommodated? For babies, how is breastmilk handled?
Logistics and Communication
12. Review pick-up and drop-off times and holidays. Opening hours and holidays aren’t uniform for all daycares. Be realistic. Even if you love the daycare, if it doesn’t work with your family’s schedule, it just won’t work.
13. Know how and when communication happens. Do they provide daily or weekly reports for parents? How can parents get involved? (Some daycares have parent-run boards; home providers may ask parents for feedback periodically.)
You don’t really need to know all of this at this point, but it’s a good indicator of how open and communicative care centres are with parents and how well (or poorly) they’ll receive questions or concerns later on.
14. Ultimately, go with your gut. If the caregiver seems lovely but the space gives you a bad feeling, don’t talk yourself into it. If you get a “weird vibe” from a staff member, pay heed. You may be picking up on something that will return to haunt you if you ignore it now.
As when searching for a home or making any other major life decision, you’ll get a “feeling” from the right place(s). Don’t let your feeling take precedence over common sense. (By paying for a more expensive daycare than you can afford, for example.) But do trust yourself—you are your child’s number-one advocate and you know best!
Resources
Finding Quality Child Care is a helpful resource for Canadian parents. You can find regulations for each province and search for child care by postal code.
The Ontario Ministry of Education maintains a helpful interactive online tool outlining health and safety requirements in the Day Nurseries Act.
Daycare Bear is a national website with parent reviews of daycares. (As with any anonymous, review-based website, all evaluations should be taken with a grain of salt.)
The City of Toronto maintains a database of more than 900 licensed child-care centres.
Wee Watch is a licensing agency that matches parents and guardians with home-based child care within its network of approved home daycares and caregivers.
IMAGE: PHILLIPA WILL/FLICKR CC
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I appreciate that you advised us to ask about the food menu when choosing a childcare centre for our children. My wife and I are looking for a childcare centre to send our younger children too. I like that you pointed out that some healthy menu may be due to the chef and I will ask how their menus are decided before sending my kids to a childcare centre.
It makes sense that you should consider how often a child care service will provide reports so that you can gauge their ability to communicate with parents. My wife and I need to find a service that will take care of our child since we go to work during the day, and we need to ensure that our daughter gets along with other children since she is shy around strangers. Maybe we should find a service that will maintain communication with us.
It’s interesting to know that a good daycare will have good references from past and current parents to ask them about their experience. My husband and I are looking for a daycare in our new town, and we are looking for information. I will let him know about your recommendations to help him find the best daycare for our kid.
Thanks for suggesting that we visit the child care centers we are considering to make sure that they are very nice and engaged with the kids under their care. It’s about time for my wife to go back to work so we are wondering how to find the best center to leave our son with for the day. We will start our search for child care by actually visiting the program to make sure that they will be really nice and be engaging with my own kid.
Thanks for mentioning to start searching early like during pregnancy and in most cases, in your first trimester. My wife is thinking about looking into child care soon because she’s pregnant and due within a couple of months. I think it’s a good investment to take our child to a reputable place that is both clean and safe if we decide to take them there.
Thank you for your checklist on what to look for in a daycare. My husband and I are trying to find one. I think this list will help with that.
I appreciated that you explained that you should ask how much outdoor time the children would get at the childcare centers you are planning to check-out. One of my cousins has a toddler girl, and because she is a single mom she needs to finally go back to working full-time. She asked me for help finding a place where she can leave her daughter for the day and feel confident she will be in a healthy environment.
It makes sense why you would want to find one that is safe and clean. In a couple of weeks, I will start working at my new job and I won’t be able to stay home to watch my 4-year-old daughter, so I need to find a daycare as soon as possible. I’ll make sure to keep these tips in mind as I search for a daycare for my daughter.
I like your tip about how not all daycares have the same opening and closing hours. That would definitely be important to look into for holidays. I’ll have to consider your tips if my husband and I ever decide to go out of town.
Thanks for pointing out that when choosing a daycare for your child it can be smart to ask them about their weekly activities and how much outdoor time your child will get. I am trying to look into daycares in my area because I have to go back to work soon, and I would like to have found the right one by then. I think it would be smart to ask them about how much they are outdoors with the kids because I would like my son to have a lot of outdoor time because I think that that is really important to his learning and growth.
Thank you so much for posting this. This is a great informational post about child care service
Thanks for mentioning how you should only choose daycares that are licensed. It is important to understand that choosing someone with the proper training can help you get the best results. We need to send our son to daycare, so I wanted to look into it before choosing one.
I liked that you talked about knowing how they communicate with and involve parents. I never would have thought to bring this up before. We’ll be sure to ask them just to get a feel for the various daycare centers we’re considering. Thank you for the advice!
My husband has been staying at home with my daughter since she was born three years ago and he is thinking about going back to work, so we want to find a quality daycare center for a daughter to go to during the day. You make a great point that you should visit potential centers because this way I can observe the interactions between the teachers and the children and see if the environment is friendly and welcoming. Also, it is very important to me that the daycare we choose only hires teachers who have education in child development and are experienced because this way I can trust that they will take good care of my daughter.
It got me when you said that a child care center should be able to give me some contacts of other parents so that I can ask them about their experience. If that is the case, then I will get my phone ready since I would also like to contact them. If it will help ensure that my daughter will be enrolled in a school that other parents recommend, I am willing to do make calls.
I like the tip about asking for references. This can help you talk directly with past parents, like you said. You can probably find out a lot of information about the center this way.
I never would’ve thought to look at how clean the toys are, and how that would be a good indicator of how clean the daycare is on the whole! My sister has been looking for a daycare for her son before she goes back to work, and she is known to be a bit of a clean freak. I will definitely tell her the tip about keeping an eye out for how clean the toys in the daycare are kept!