21 Questions to Ask on a Daycare Tour (and the Red Flags)

Safety and staffing

Start here, because everything else is decoration if these answers are weak.

• ✓What is the ratio in my child's specific classroom, right now?
• ✓What training and certifications does your staff hold?
• ✓How long have the teachers in this room been here?
• ✓Who is allowed to pick up my child, and do you check ID?
• ✓What is your procedure if a child is injured?
• ✓How do you handle medication?
• ✓What happens during a lockdown or severe weather?

The daily reality

These questions tell you what your child's actual day feels like, which no brochure conveys.

• ✓Walk me through a typical day, hour by hour
• ✓How much time do children spend outside, and what happens when it rains?
• ✓How much screen time, if any?
• ✓What does discipline look like here?
• ✓How do you handle a child who is having a hard morning?
• ✓What is nap time like for a child who does not nap?
• ✓How will I hear about my child's day?

Money and logistics

Get the full financial picture before you fall in love with the place.

• ✓What is the all-in monthly cost, including every fee?
• ✓Are meals included, or do I pack them?
• ✓What are your hours, and what is the late pickup policy?
• ✓Do you charge for days my child is sick or on vacation?
• ✓What is your sick child policy, and when can they return?
• ✓Can I change my schedule later if work changes?
• ✓How much notice do you need if we leave?

Red flags worth acting on

Some things should end a tour early. If you are not allowed to see the classroom your child would actually be in, that is a problem. If you are only shown the building at a scheduled time and never allowed to drop in later, that is a bigger one. Any good center allows unannounced parent visits during operating hours.

Watch the adults, not the decor. Are teachers on the floor engaging with children, or standing along the wall talking to each other? Do children approach staff comfortably? Is anyone crying without an adult responding?

Notice how staff talk about other families and about their employer. Defensiveness about the state inspection record is another one. It is public information and a confident director will walk you through it.

Do this before you go

Look up the operation's inspection history on the Texas Health and Human Services child care site first, and bring anything you find to the tour. Asking about a specific finding is the single most informative question you can ask, because you learn how the place handles problems.

Then trust what you observed. Parents are usually right about the feeling of a room, and the checklist exists to make sure the feeling gets checked against facts.

Come ask us

We are Operation #1832784. Look us up before you visit, bring the list, and ask the hard ones. Tours take about twenty minutes and children are welcome.