Daycare tour checklist

Before you go

Before the tour

• Look up the daycare's license and inspection record before the tour.
• Ask for a tour while children are there, not only after hours.
• Bring this list and write the answers down; compare daycares the same evening.

Ask and look

Who watches the children

• How many adults are in my child's room, and how many children?
• How do staff keep track of every child during outdoor play, nap and pick-up?
• Who may pick up my child, and how do you check?
• How many staff hold current CPR and first aid training?
• What training does a new teacher get before working alone with children?
• How long have the teachers in my child's room worked here?
• Has every staff member and volunteer cleared the state background check?
• Who else is in the building during the day, and are they checked too?
• In a home daycare: are the adults who live in the home checked?

Ask and look

Health, safety and sleep

• How do you store and give medication, and who signs the log?
• What is your plan for a child with a food allergy?
• When must a sick child stay home, and when can they come back?
• Where are cleaning products and medicines kept?
• How often do you hold fire drills, and where would the children go?
• What is your plan for a lockdown or a weather emergency?
• Where do babies sleep, and is the crib bare except for a fitted sheet?
• Are babies always put down on their backs?
• How often do staff check on sleeping children?

Ask and look

Food, play and the day

• Can I see this week's menu?
• How do you label and store bottles and breast milk?
• Who prepares the food, and where?
• Can I see the playground and the rooms my child would use?
• What is under the climbing equipment outside?
• How do you check toys and equipment for damage?
• What do teachers do when a child hits or bites?
• Is time-out used, and for how long?
• Can I see a typical daily schedule for my child's age?
• What does a normal day look like for my child's age?
• How will you tell me about my child's day?
• What are your hours, and what happens if I am late?
• Can I visit or call during the day?

Ask and look

Getting there

• Does my child ride in a vehicle for school pick-up or field trips?
• Who drives, and what car seats do you use?
• How do you make sure no child is left in a vehicle?

Ask and look

Paperwork and the license

• Can I see your parent handbook and your policies in writing?
• How do you keep my emergency contacts up to date?
• Where is your license posted?
• Has the daycare had any cited rules in recent inspections? What changed after them?
• Is the license current, and for how many children?
• Who do I talk to if I have a concern?

Money

Cost and the contract

• What is the weekly or monthly rate for my child's age, and what does it include?
• Is there a registration fee, a supply fee or a deposit?
• Do you charge for holidays, sick days or our vacation weeks?
• Do you accept child care assistance?
• How much notice do I need to give before leaving?

What daycare costs: daycare cost by state.

Why ask in person

What daycare websites rarely say

post a staff-to-child ratio

3.8%

give a class size

4%

mention cameras or live video

3.3%

describe a secure entry

5.2%

Share of the 40,114 daycare websites we read, across the US, that state each fact. A website that does not say it is not a daycare that does not do it: ask.