Child care tours can feel intimidating at first. How could one meeting and a walk-through help you decide whether or not an environment is an ideal place for your child to learn and grow? How can you cover all of your concerns, from safety to school readiness, in such a short time frame?
But by doing some of the prep work ahead of time, you can arrive prepared, knowing exactly what to ask on your child care tour.
Click here to get the consolidated list of questions and observances to look for at your next tour. Copy or screenshot the list so you have it handy!
Below, we’ll walk through some of the most important questions to ask, moving through nine different areas of concern. We’ve collected all these questions at the bottom to make it easy to copy or screenshot. Bring this list with you on your child care tour to make sure you remember to ask these. We often hear from parents that it’s easy to get distracted and forget key questions to ask on the day of the tour.
Safety is a top concern when attending a child care tour. Some specific questions to write down and ask include:
Some of what you need to know will be visible without even asking a question. Put on your “safety” viewpoint while walking through the facility and look out for:
Wonderschool works with providers to meet high quality standards. You can learn more about these quality and safety standards here.
All providers should also have an open-door policy. Make sure you can visit to see how your child is doing during their care. Even if you don’t think it’s a good idea to visit during the day because of your child’s separation anxiety, it’s important to know that you are able to. This open-door policy shows that the same level of care is being provided whether or not parents are watching.
While discussing safety with the provider, keep in mind that it should be one of their top focuses. Answers to these questions should come easily. If several of your questions lead to long response times or unclear answers, safety may not be a priority in the provider’s environment.
It’s a given that children will get sick more often at daycare than they would if they were staying home. This isn’t always a bad thing, as it helps to build strong immune systems early in life. However, the constant illnesses can, and should, be minimized with the help of the provider’s illness prevention procedures. Some questions to ask on a child care tour that can tell parents a lot about illness prevention are:
“How do you handle hygiene practices to prevent illnesses, such as handwashing?”
When it comes to handwashing policies, the provider should prioritize teaching proper hand hygiene practices to the children in their care. This involves demonstrating and guiding children through the correct way to wash their hands. The provider should encourage regular handwashing at key times, such as when the children arrive, before meals, after using the restroom, and after outdoor play.
“Can you tell me about your cleaning schedule?”
This question seems simple, but the way the provider responds can give you a goldmine of information. Each child care center should have a dedicated cleaning schedule that they follow each day. They may need to have their schedule written down and posted for licensing standards, though this isn’t always the case. Whether the provider shows you a daily checklist or clearly shares each of the cleaning steps they take each day, you can trust that the environment will be tidy. If they don’t have specifics in their answer, it could mean that they don’t spend as much time cleaning and sanitizing as they could.
“What is your sick policy?”
Another important piece of illness prevention is the provider’s illness policy. Children should be required to stay home while sick, as well as for a period of time after having a contagious illness, to prevent spreading germs. This can feel like an inconvenience to parents, but in the long run, the policy will play a role in your child getting sick less often. In addition, you can ask what the communication policy is to notify parents of contagious illnesses.
This isn’t to say that you will never see a sick child when you pick up your little one from care. Sometimes it can be out of the provider’s control. But, the policies should be put in place to prevent as much illness spreading as possible.
This question can also help you to understand the types of absent days that you will still be required to pay tuition for. Most child care providers charge for sick days, since they need reliable income in their business. However, some will provide discounts for extended illnesses or other extreme circumstances.
Other questions to consider:
Along with safety and illness prevention, you want to make sure your child is eating well and participating in healthy activities during the day.
Not all caregivers have been in business for decades, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t capable of providing the best environment for your child to learn and grow in. However, all providers should have some type of experience working with children. This may include teaching experience, working in another daycare center, or even simply being a parent themselves.
It’s not necessary for every family to contact references, but it can add peace of mind for those who are feeling extra nervous about their child’s transition to child care.
Ratios are one of the most important questions to ask on a child care tour. Every provider should have a set number of children that they can care for. The number should also be broken down by age group.
On your tour, simply ask:
What is your ratio?
For example, they may be able to care for one infant, two toddlers, and four preschoolers. Before your tour, you can look up your state’s guidelines on child care ratios to make sure the provider’s answer matches the standard.
If you have a baby at home, you know how important infant schedules can be. Some providers will match your family schedule as much as possible, while others will have set nap and feeding times for all infants. Decide which option works best for your family and ask the following questions to determine if the provider that you are touring with is a good fit:
And of course, feel free to add in any questions that are important to you regarding your baby’s at-home routine.
When you first begin your child care tour, it should be obvious that the provider holds a heavy focus on children’s development. Look for toys that suit all age groups, children’s artwork hung on the walls, a library full of books, and circle time props such as calendars.
As far as questions go, here are a few that can give you a better picture of how the provider handles development:
Enrichment opportunities aren’t offered everywhere, but they can be fun and educational add-ons for kids. Common enrichment options for child care include yoga, second languages, nature exploration, soccer or other sports, and field trips.
You can ask on your child care tour if these opportunities are offered and if your child will be able to participate in any of these.
It’s important that you receive updates on your child’s day, whether that be through afternoon notes or a child care communication app. It’s nice to see pictures of your child playing happily throughout the day, but it’s even more important that you hear about how often their diaper is being changed, how long they are napping, how much they are eating, etc. If they do not use an app or text message method of keeping in touch throughout the day, that is okay. Many providers want to stay focused on your child’s care and prefer to give in-person updates at pick-up.
The following questions can help you gauge communication efforts on your child care tour:
As mentioned above, not all of the information you learn on a child care tour will come from asking questions. Some visual signs you can seek out include:
A few things that may make you want to stay away from a particular provider include:
Even though child care tours can feel overwhelming, they’re a helpful tool in finding the right place for your little one to learn and grow. By creating a personalized list of questions with the help of the guide above, you can feel fully prepared to get the most out of your tour. And don't forget to rely on your intuition as well - this can guide you to the right care option, as told by a parent who tells her child care finding experience.
If you need help finding quality preschools or child cares to tour, check out Wonderschool search today. Our directory makes it easy to find and contact high quality providers from all over the country.
Copy or screenshot this list of questions and observances for your next tour.
Safety
Illness prevention
Health and wellness
Level of expertise
Ratio
Infant schedule accommodation
Children's development
Enrichment opportunities
Communication
Things to observe while you're on the tour
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