Choosing a place to drop your child off everyday is a very scary endeavor. There are many choices that include Nannies, in-home, Montessori, traditional, private, chains etc. Along with the choices come the many questions and fears that all parents have. These are rational fears that you should pay attention to. After all, this is your baby. My son started daycare at three months old. He is now five and has been in four different places.

One of the biggest issues with Daycare centers and Preschools is that they do not pay their teachers well, so there tends to be a very high turnover rate and a very inexperienced staff. Before you choose where to send your child, not only should you make calls and get references, but you should also do a site visit. Below are a list of questions that you should ask when considering where to go:

1. How long have they been open?

2. What is the Director’s background and how long has she/he been the Director?

3. What is the cost?

4. Do they serve meals and snacks and what do they serve? Is it delivered or does the school have to shop for supplies?

5. Do the children always have water available?

6. What is the child to teacher ratio?

7. What is the curriculum?

8. How long have the teachers been there and are they experienced (in the class your child will be attending)?

9. What type of training do the teachers receive?

10. Are their teachers first aid and CPR certified?

11. Do they have the same substitute teachers all of the time?

12. How do they discipline the children?

13. Do they they sanitize the room and toys each day?

14. How do they deal with biting?

15. How do they deal with hitting?

16. How do you communicate with your child’s teachers?

17. What are the teacher’s schedules? Are there different teachers after a certain time?

18. Do they follow the head injury protocol? (they are required to call if your child bumps their head, even if it is a minor bump)

19. What is the sick child policy?

20. Do they have an open door policy where you can just drop in and visit?

21. Are there cameras in all of the rooms?

22. Are they toys age appropriate?

23. Is there a fire exit in the room and is it posted?

24. Does the school have extracurricular specialists come in?(music, dance, fire truck, ice cream man, Curious George)

25. What are the protocols that have been put in place to protect the staff and children during the pandemic?

26. Does the school have nice curb appeal?

27. What are their security measures for keeping the kid’s safe? (locked doors, parent pass code, no one can pick up that is not a list)

Make sure when you do a site visit that you use your senses and your gut. If it smells, then they are not doing a very good job cleaning. I have been to many places that in the morning when you get there it smells good and then in the afternoon it smells like a bunch of dirty diapers…yuck!

Listen to hear if teachers are yelling at the top of their lungs at the kids, meaning they have trouble controlling the kids, and are not teaching very good lessons on how to handle issues.

Watch and see how the teachers handle the classes – are the kids out of control, are they sitting nicely and learning, are the teachers interacting with the kids or are they sitting and playing on their phones. Also, look to see if the teachers are dressed professionally.

Talk to the teachers and get to know them.

You can also ask if you can talk to other parents who have children there.

After the site visit, drop by unexpectedly before you register.

Make sure to look at online reviews.

Overall, trust your gut. Do you feel comfortable? Would you feel comfortable leaving your child there everyday? If you are not comfortable, even if you do not know why, trust your gut and look elsewhere. Parent’s have great intuition.

Good luck. Remember there are no dumb questions when it comes to the safety of your child.