Most childcare tours start with the basics – what are your fees?, what are your open hours?, what’s your ratio of teachers to children?, what’s your curriculum?. And while these are the correct basic questions that everyone wants to know, they’re the easy ones – and the questions that every childcare center has a polished response to.
These are the questions that help to show parents what the childcare is really about; and the ones that parents rarely ask themselves until after they’ve already signed up. At that point, they may discover that the way the center does its daily routines, communicates, and approaches education doesn’t quite line up with what they were expecting. While some of these discoveries may be wonderful surprises, many will be frustrating; and they would have been avoidable had the parents asked some additional questions prior to enrolling.
What Happens When a Young Child is Having a Very Bad Day?
Every child has bad days. They wake up grumpy, they have a bug brewing, they just aren’t themselves, etc. The question isn’t whether the bad days exist, but how the caregivers react to the child when he/she is in a terrible mood.
While neither of the two above-mentioned philosophies is right/wrong, parents need to know which philosophy the center uses when caring for their child.
In addition to how the center reacts when the child is in a terrible mood, the communication process between the caregiver(s) and the parents is equally important. How does the center keep parents informed about the child’s bad day? Do they send a quick note to parents when they pick up their child? Or, do the caregivers provide a detailed account of what happened, why it happened, and how they reacted to the child’s actions?
As parents attempt to assist their child through the struggles they are experiencing, having the complete story allows them to better help their child and to develop strategies to help their child manage his/her moods.
How Do You Handle Conflicts Between the Children?
Young children are still learning how to deal with social situations. They grab toys; they hit/push when they are frustrated; they say hurtful words and they usually don’t realize the hurt they are causing. These behaviors are typical for developing children, but how the center manages the conflicts affects how children will resolve conflicts in the future.
Some centers use time-outs as the standard disciplinary action. Other centers are focused on using restorative justice techniques and helping the children solve problems and apologize. Many quality centers, such as Just Kidz Childcare Auckland, teach children how to identify and express their emotions and work through disagreements with guidance rather than punishment alone.
The method used by the center is reflective of their overall philosophy regarding discipline and emotional development.
Parents should also ask how the center addresses conflicts that occur repeatedly between children. If one child is consistently aggressive, and/or another child is consistently being excluded, what are the steps the center will take to address the repeated behavior? Will the center include parents in the resolution process? Repeated conflicts between children will occur; therefore, parents should know ahead of time how the center will address these issues.
How Do You Manage Transitions?
Transitions between activities are typically the times when a lot of childcare chaos occurs. Transitions from outdoor play to lunch; from free time to group activities; from nap time to the afternoon activity period, etc. These transitions can be smooth and peaceful, or chaotic and frantic; and they are dependent upon how the center manages the transitions.
Parents should ask how much time is allocated for transitions in the center’s schedule. Do the children receive warnings before the next activity begins? Is there consistency in how the children move from one activity to the next? What happens when a child is not ready to transition to the next activity?
The manner in which a center allocates time for transitions is indicative of whether the center’s schedule is developed based upon the children’s needs and abilities, or based upon the center’s administrative requirements. Those centers that understand child development allocate extra time for transitions, since they recognize that children cannot instantaneously shift from one task to another.
Who Will Be Caring for My Child If the Center’s Regular Teachers Are Not There?
Teachers get sick, go on vacation, and sometimes quit their job. This is inevitable. What is not inevitable is whether the center has a contingency plan in place to maintain consistency in the care provided to the children.
Some centers have a pool of regular substitute teachers that the children are familiar with. Other centers bring in whoever is available to provide care on that particular day. As a result, children may have caregivers that are entirely new to them.
For young children, especially those who struggle with changes in their environment, having unfamiliar people constantly enter and exit the classroom can be very distressing.
Additionally, parents should inquire about the staff turnover rate at the center. A high staff turnover rate is often indicative of underlying issues within the workplace; and ultimately, these issues directly affect the quality of care that children receive. Centres with a stable and happy team generally provide more consistent and nurturing environments.
How Flexible Are You Regarding Routines?
Centers often state that they will adapt to meet the unique needs of each child. However, in reality, it is often challenging for centers to tailor the daily routines of each child, particularly for babies and young toddlers.
Parents should specifically ask how the center will accommodate children that require differing naps and/or eating schedules. What happens if a baby is tired before the scheduled naptime? Can toddlers eat lunch at an earlier time if they are hungry, or do they have to wait for the group meal?
While finding a center that meets each child’s preferences is unrealistic in a group setting, parents should understand the areas of flexibility that exist within the center, and those that are simply idealistic.
What is Your Policy on Screen Time?
With the increasing popularity of tablets and other interactive screens as educational tools in childcare settings, this is an increasingly important area of inquiry. Some centers utilize them regularly as a tool for learning activities. Other centers have a strict “no screens” policy. Many centers fall somewhere in between.
While there is no single “right” approach to screen time, parents should know what to expect from their center. If families believe strongly in avoiding screen time altogether, or if parents believe that educational technology is beneficial, the center’s policies should reflect these beliefs.
Parents should also pay close attention to the rationale behind the center’s screen time policy. Those centers that have carefully considered their screen time policies, and can articulate them to parents, are likely to be more thoughtful and deliberate in their decision-making processes.
How Do You Keep Me Informed When Something Goes Wrong?
Every childcare center will experience an incident involving the children. A child bites another child; a child falls and needs ice; a child has an accident requiring a diaper change, etc. These events are a natural part of the life of a childcare center.
However, the manner in which the center keeps parents informed about these incidents is highly variable. Some centers send parents detailed incident reports immediately after the event. Other centers only mention the incidents briefly to parents when they drop off or pick up their child. Some centers proactively call parents when an incident occurs outside of the ordinary range of acceptable childhood bumps and scrapes. Other centers only contact parents under extreme circumstances.
Parents should know what type of communication to expect from the center, and for what type of incidents. This will prevent parents from receiving surprise communications about incidents that they wish they had received earlier, and/or from receiving excessive and unnecessary communications about normal childhood accidents.
What Does "Educational Program" Mean to You?
Almost every childcare center advertises that it provides an "educational program." However, the definition of what constitutes an educational program is extremely varied. For some centers, an educational program consists of structured activities for pre-academic skills (e.g., reading readiness). For other centers, an educational program is centered on play-based learning, where the child learns through exploration and discovery. Most centers use a combination of the two approaches.
Parents should ask for examples of what an average day would look like in terms of the educational program. How much time does the center spend providing teacher-directed activities versus allowing children to engage in child-initiated play? How does the center document and share evidence of learning with parents? What is the role of outdoor play in the educational program?
The answers should mirror the parents’ priorities. If parents are looking for a center that will prepare their children academically for formal schooling, they need a different type of environment than if their priority is social-emotional development and creative exploration.
Getting Beyond the Rehearsed Responses
The challenge with all of these questions is that experienced childcare directors know exactly how to provide reassuring answers that sound good on paper. The real insight comes from asking follow-up questions and paying close attention during center tours.
When visiting a center, watch how staff interact with children during unstructured moments. Notice whether children seem comfortable approaching adults when they have problems or questions. Pay attention to the tone staff use when redirecting behavior or managing conflicts. These observations often reveal more about a center’s true approach than any carefully worded answer to a direct question.
Trust parental instinct as well. If something feels off during a tour, even if all the answers sound perfect, that intuition deserves serious consideration. Finding the right childcare fit isn’t simply about ticking boxes on a checklist. It’s about finding a place where both parent and child genuinely feel comfortable, supported, and aligned with the center’s philosophy and daily practices.
The questions parents forget to ask are often the ones that matter most in determining whether a childcare center will be the right fit for their family. Taking the time to dig deeper beyond the standard tour questions can save families from discovering misalignments only after enrollment, when switching centers becomes much more complicated and disruptive for everyone involved.