October 23, 2024
8 Green Flags to Look For on Your Child Care Center Tour
Choosing a child care center for your little ones is an important decision. You want to make sure your child will be somewhere safe, with staff who will truly care for them, in a facility that is clean and stimulating. When your child isn’t in your care, you need to know that they’re still being nurtured.
Once you’ve found a center that has a convenient location and fits your child care budget, it’s time to schedule a walk through! This is your opportunity to assess what your child’s day-to-day will look like, and it’s an important step.
Here are some “green flags” to look for on your tour to help ensure you’re choosing a child care center that will encourage your child to thrive!
1. They welcome tours, during regular hours.
A center that encourages parents to do a walk through during the day, when there are children in their care, is a good sign that they have nothing to hide. They are confident in their staff, their facility and their policies.
2. The center has safety and security measures in place.
Child care centers should be prioritizing the safety of the children and staff above all else. Authorized access for all entrances and exits ensures strangers are not permitted to enter unaccompanied. Safety measures in the classrooms themselves should also be observed – what is the child:staff ratio? Are high chair straps being used? Are blinds and windows out of reach or secured? Are outlets covered? Are cleaning supplies kept out of reach of the children? Are the toys appropriate for the ages of the children in the room? Proper safety protocols vary based on the age of the children in the room, so be sure you’re checking out several classrooms and observing their sanitation and safety policies.
3. The center has stimulating environments.
Children’s brains are hard at work developing new connections. One of the advantages of a child care center is adding diversity of environment to their day-to-day lives. As you move through the facility, pay attention to the environment. Is it colorful? Are there varied toys covering a multitude of learning centers? Do the bulletin board displays look like they change frequently? Are most things in the classroom the right height for children to observe and interact with? Is the staff interacting with the children? Is there free-play happening? Are the non-classroom settings stimulating? You want your child to be able to make choices about what they experience, and feel comfortable being creative and curious as they explore.
4. Parents are kept in the loop.
Ask about the ways parents are engaged on a daily basis. Some centers have live cameras that allow for remote classroom observation (be sure to inquire about the security of those systems!), while others use real-time notification apps. You should expect to have an opportunity to receive some kind of daily report on your child’s day and interact with the staff or management, not just be notified when there is a problem.
5. Quality meals and snacks
When it’s time for breakfast, lunch or a snack, what will the children eat? A center should have safe and specific policies for handling food allergies, and should be able to provide accommodations for children with limited diets. A center with an on-site kitchen can likely provide hot meals, offering good variety and exposure to new foods. Parents should be able to view menus ahead of time, and ideally you’ll be able to see variety in the rotation of nutritious meals provided.
6. High-quality curriculum
While safety should always be the top priority, ensuring that your child is having a productive, enriching experience that is preparing them for school and developing age-appropriate skills is also important. Your child care center (or early learning center!) should have a planned and established curriculum. A quality curriculum will include a wide variety of lessons, learning experiences and activities across all the major learning centers. It will provide a solid structure for each classroom throughout the year, while leaving space for flexibility based on the children and their needs on any given day. At any age, a curriculum that prioritizes learning through play is far more likely to keep children engaged, curious and eager to learn!
7. They have great and abundant reviews
This is something you can check prior to booking the tour. Check out the reviews for the center or the company. Ideally, you’ll want to check places like Google where the center cannot manipulate the reviews shown. While it’s extremely common for any business to have some negative reviews, you can also look to see how those were responded to as a way to help determine how valid or widespread the complaint may be. A center that has an abundance of positive reviews praising things like safety, the staff, the curriculum, or their child’s experience there are a good sign. No one is better suited to assess the environment than the parents of children like yours!
8. Children are having FUN!
As all parents know, children are rarely happy all day every day. However, as you look around the classrooms and groups of children, are they generally having fun? Look for children playing in groups, as well as children happily playing independently. Staff should be facilitating play without creating too rigid a structure. Is there laughter? Smiling? If your child was in that classroom, would you feel confident that they were enjoying themselves? You need to know that your child is having a great experience while they’re in someone else’s care. Children who feel comfortable and safe at play will be creative and challenge themselves in exciting new ways each day.
Schedule a tour of the Doodle Bugs! center nearest you and see all the ways we prioritize safety, learning through play, and happiness!