What are some good questions to ask a daycare?

Question

I am putting my son into daycare and I just want to make sure I ask good questions so that I make an appropriate decision for him.

Answer 1

What is the curriculum?
What kind of discipline do they use?
Do they charge you when you're on vacation?
What is the sick policy for children?

This one may sound stupid...but ...
How do they screen their employees?

Go there unannounced and see how the workers interact with the children. Sit outside and see if the employees all stand in a corner and watch the children or if they actually supervise the children on the playground.

Answer 2

Make sure you ask the teachers and aides themselves what kind of education and experience they have don't take the supervisors word on it. Also ask about the discipline policy, the number of children enrolled in the program as a whole not just the number in attendance that day.
Some other questions are:
What is the different age groups of the children?
How do the different age groups interact ? What I mean is if the program is say ages 2-5 then do the 2 year olds play with the 5 year old , in the same area as the 5 year olds or in another space altogether.
Are the teachers assigned to one group of kids or do the teachers move among the different groups?
What is the schedule and how strict is it?
Also how much time is spent outside and how are the different ages split up outside or are they even split up ? And what is there for the children to play with outside and do you think that it is age appropriate?

Answer 3

First, a good day care offers everything a good preschool does, with the added time for meals, naps etc. So don't worry about what the program is called. Visit, do some research and make a decision based on what is right for your child.

Ask to see the program's license. Most states have a way to check with the licensing authority to see if there have been problems. Ask how many children there are in a group, and how many adults. Ask how long , on average, the staff has been there. Low turnover is a very good sign. Ask what will happen if a staff member is absent. Do they have subs or will your child be sent to another room? Some of the big chains combine kids if attendance is low and send staff members home, unpaid. This is a terrible thing to do to kids. particularly young ones.

Ask for a parent handbook to take home and read. You can learn a lot about how a program operates that way. If the center is providing meals ask to see a menu Also ask what is offered to children who dislike what is on the menu.

Ask about the daily schedule. Is there lots of time to play? Do children have a choice of what and where to play. Arrange to visit during Free Play-some call it by other names. Are the adults involved with the children or or they standing around talking to each other? There ought to be at least one hour of uninterupted free play in a full day program. The same goes on the playground.

Ask about discipline. Don't settle for generalities-ask specific questions. "What will happen iff my child and another are fighting over a toy?" You want to hear that they will be encouraged to find ways to work it out.

Look at the artwork on the walls. Does everyone's project look like everyone else's? That's called cookie cutter art and it's a bad thing. Would your child have access to art materials to use independantly? What would they do if your child does not want to do the planned art activity? Kids should not ne forced to participate.

Ask their philosophy about how kids learn. What is the ccurriculum? How flexible is it? If they plan to talk about dinosaurs and a child brings in a birds' nest do they spend time looking at it and talking about birds? Avoid workbooks and dittos.
Look for a program which is accredited by the National Associaition for the Education of Young Children. It's not an absolute guarantee of high quality but it is one good sign. Most of all, trust your instincts.

Answer 4

Asking people you know who have children in the school is a good start. Some schools have to abide by confidentiality rules and cannot give out contact information on parents. Some schools are highly structured to the point of stifling creativity and self discovery in the child. Some neglect basic academic learning and are more custodial care. Either extreme should be avoided. There are guidelines on what to look for available. An open door policy is a good sign (you and your child are welcome to visit and observe). Passing a pre-entrance test requirement may indicate high performance demand will be made on the child. Signs to look for would be how happy do the children appear to be? Are they clinging to the fence by the end of the day wanting to be picked up? Or are they happily engaged in activities and play at the end of the day? Is quiet demanded at all times or is happy chaos allowed? Are there self directed interest centers to choose from? Or are the children directed through each activity in one group?
You know your child better then anyone else. Which will suit his needs the best can best be determined by you.

Answer 5

What are the teacher-student ratios (make sure they match or improve upon the state guidelines)? How are the teachers educated? What are they doing to further their education? What is the center doing to assist them (funding, training opportunities, etc.)?

What is the discipline policy? WIll your child be spanked, put in time out, or redirected and taught about how his actions affect others? Will he be protected from others who might be overly agressive? How will you be informed about any incidents/accidents he has throughout the day?

What will your child do each day? How much time will be spend in teacher directed activitites? How often will he get to choose his own activities? What will his choices be? How often will he engage in art, science, math, reading opportunities?

One caveat - a preschool/child care environment is more likely, just be reputation, to give your child the kind of rich experiences he needs to flourish later in life. Sometimes it's just semantics, but in general, a daycare environment focuses on maintaining safety - and that's it. A preschool/child care environment, at any age, is generally a better environment for a little. Look into it, if you have the option. Good luck, and above all remember that, no matter how much time he spends in daycare, YOU are the foremost teacher in his life. You've got the potential to help him grow into an amazing man someday.

Answer 6

I am a preschool teacher who started off in a day care. In day care the main concern was safety (which is important) but there was no structure. Young children need structure in order to feel safe.

From an educational standpoint, I would recommend that you look into an early childhood school rather than a daycare. This will allow your child to build friendships and learn some basic skills to prepare him for preschool and kindergarten.

Either way, you need to ask about teacher-child ratio, discipline, philosophy of teaching, and most importantly, what they will do for your child.

I would also ask to meet and speak with other parents who currently have children in their program.

Answer 7

I would make sure there is some kind of security system to get into the building. You don't want just anybody to be able to walk in off the street. Also I would check to see if they have a fire alarm system that is monitored by an alarm company or do they have to take the time to dial 911, you don't what them taking the time to call 911 before they your child out. They should leave the calling to the alarm company so you can put your attention to getting the children out of the building. The best thing for me when my daughter went to daycare was the ones that provided food for them, that was one last thing I had to do in the morning.

Answer 8

I'd ask the typical questions about staff/child ratio, educational qualifications for the director, teachers, assistants, daily schedule/programming, maximum group size, whether staff is fingerprinted, look at the state license, and ask if the center is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), which by the way has good inexpensive or free resources for choosing a child care center at www.NAEYC.org. There are also a couple other accrediting bodies for Early Childhood Education, one based in Atlanta, GA. You can usually get information about licensing standards from the web sites of the state agency in your state that is responsible for Licensing Child Care Centers.

Then many states also have a Child Care Information line that can give you information on whether a center has had complaints and what categories the violations might be under. Some states have the center post violations for a certain amount of time, or until they are corrected. Make sure you look at the things posted on the walls beside the children's "art." Look to see that the children's papers posted on the wall have "process" as well as "product." By that I mean, if the children's papers are all alike with a right or wrong way and the teacher cut out all the parts and had the children glue them...that's "product." "Process" is when the children were given materials and were permitted to use their creativity and imaginations to create whatever they wanted. Some of the better schools, whether called day care, child care, or preschool, will also "mount" the pictures like we would a good pice of art or poster and write what the child said while creating.

Another question I would definitely ask is how long has each staff person been at the center and how many different staff have left the center in the last year. Along with that question ask, are the staff assigned to a particular room so children can form primary bonds with as few staff as possible and not have to adapt every couple hours. Don't necessarily rely on the answer from the Director, but ask each staff in the rooms how long they have been at the center and what is the best thing about the center from their perspective. You don't want your child to have to make multiple adaptations to staff in his or her classroom. It would be like getting divorced several times a year to the child, if staff leave frequently and depending on the age of your child could have a grreat impact on his or her development.

Most good centers will give you a copy of their parent handbook, with all the policies, including tuition and plan for payment, philosophy, discipline policy, late pick up fees and policies, and other things like extra clothes to bring. Look at how the handbook is written. Is it mainly "you can't" or your child "can't", or is it positive with good concise information and encourages you to go to either the director or owner or higher corporate representative if the director or teachers don't answer to your satisfaction?

If you want more contact me at [e-mail]. I've been in Early Childhood Education for 35 years as a teacher, director and other positions and have worked on taskforces for improvement of early childhood education centers in my state. I can also send you a pamphlet used in my state for questions to ask and how to evaluate answers, if you give me an address to send it to. Don't hesitate to contact me if you have more questions.

Good luck. There really are good places in each area, we just have to look and "feel right" in a particular enviornment. Go with you "gut" feeling after all your research. Where do you "feel right" and would be "right" for your son. You know him better than anyone else!

Answer 9

What are their discipline policies? What do they serve the children for lunch and snack, who much outside time do they have.

Also, check out your local/state regulations. Most have a web site where you can check out the latest inspections of the center. Be aware that most right ups are nit picky, out of ratio (it can be because they sent one child to a class that wasnt age appropiate but was child appropriate) the day care usually knows what is best for a child the state doesnt, so get a copy of the lastest review and ask the director about the inspection.

You will get a feel for a center go at difficult times of the day for centers. Transition time like before/during/after lunch, after nap but also go during the middle of the day and see what type of learning activities they have. visit more than once and at different times. Don't call ahead. We allow people at any time of day. If a child is having a bad day so be it. At least you will see how it is handled. You can ask for the parent roster for your childs age group, so you can contact parents and get their reactions to that center.

Answer 10

onumber one questions of questions can you give me references please and call them all. Also ask if all teachers and aids have proper training and ask to see the particular teachers credits that your child will be with make sure there is a open door policy if not walk away. Ask how often toys are cleaned and how surfaces are cleaned . ask to see the first aid kit and medicine box. Both should be locked and medicines should be in original pharmacy containers. also call your local child welfare's office and ask about any Wittie up center has. dint sweat the small stuff look for the big problems