A Guide to Daycare Selection

Baby’s on the way – yay!

  • Add yourself to a variety of waiting lists – you can visit and evaluate the daycares later
  • Visit your preferred daycares unannounced or schedule tours if needed.

Your child has a spot – evaluating your choices:

  • Consider the commute and make the drive during your usual transit time before committing
  • Determine the daycare’s exact hours and specific holidays and breaks. Also find out if there are any days on which the facility may close early (right before holidays, for example)
  • If the daycare is not year-round and runs a “camp” in the summer, ask how the camp is staffed
  • Ask lots of specific questions related to your personal parenting choices:
    • Can you provide food from home? What does the daycare provide specifically?
    • Will you be allowed to bring organic milk/yogurt, if desired? Or would the daycare purchase?
    • How are nursing mothers accommodated? Is there a place to nurse, and it is available all day?
    • How/where is breast milk stored? Do bottles have to be pre-made?
    • Does the daycare provide wipes, sunscreen, diaper cream, bug spray or other products and if they do, would they be willing to use yours instead, if desired?
  • Meet the teachers and ask questions – we recommend spending time in your child’s potential room
    • How long have the teachers been there? How long have they been in the profession?
    • How much experience do the teachers have with that specific age group?
    • Does the daycare follow a specific curriculum?
    • Are there extracurricular activities (music, art, etc)?
    • Is there a set routine?
    • Are all babies put on one schedule, or does baby dictate?
    • What are the teachers’ credentials (degrees/education and/or First Aid and CPR)?
  • Understand how decisions are made
    • Be sure that you understand what the teacher to child ratio is in each room (and at each age)
    • How does the daycare determine when it is time for a child to move rooms?
  • Read the policies and procedures
    • How often does the daycare practice fire drills?
    • What happens in emergencies like tornado watches?
    • What are the security measures for visitors and individuals who come to the daycare for drop-off and pick-up?
    • For what incidents will the daycare call parents?
    • Can you leave the infant carrier at school if mom drops off and dad picks up, for example?
    • Are the teachers required to get vaccinated for things like the flu and whooping cough?

Daycare supply list

  • In addition to following the daycare’s supply list, send extras of everything
    • Daily necessities: diapers, wipes, diaper cream, pacifiers, sippy cups and clothes
    • Food and drink: be sure to send extra food, if needed, as well as formula/milk
    • Comforts for baby: an extra lovey, a portable Sleep Sheep & their favorite blanket
    • Seasonal items: hat, sunscreen, bathing suit/swim diapers, coat, bug spray, etc
  • Purchase labels from a website like InchBug, Name Bubbles or Baby Face Band
  • Invest in a BUILT Neoprene 6-pack tote for transporting bottles and consider a formula dispenser for easy formula transportation

We thank you for considering Dallas Day School as an early childhood education center for your child.  Choosing to entrust a school with your loved one is often a difficult decision.  We understand and strive, on a daily basis, to honor that trust.  We recommend, although we’re partial to Dallas Day School, that you and your family tour at least two or three other schools/daycares. When looking, here are some questions to ask. Our responses follow. 

  • Will each child have their own crib?
    • Yes. At Dallas Day School your child will have their own crib.
  • How is the spread of germs prevented?
    • Although it is impossible to completely prevent “germ-sharing”, daily (more frequent for teething children/children with colds or allergies, etc.) sanitizing is performed.
  • Is there an open door policy?
    • This is a state requirement and all centers should welcome visitation.  However, this doesn’t mean that the teachers have time to visit or conduct “child-specific” conferences. These are best conducted by via scheduled appointments.
  • Will your baby get tummy time daily?
    • Tummy time is critical to development. Dallas Day School provides multiple opportunities throughout the day for tummy time.
  • What qualifications/training do the teachers have?
    • Dallas Day School teachers have a wide array of professional training.  Some have Masters degrees, other have Bachelor’s degrees, and some have completed their Child Development Associate’s degree (a national child care credential). 
    • All of our teachers are CPR/First Aid certified.
  • Does the school offer some type of web-viewing so that you can check on your child throughout the day?
  • What curriculum is used?
  • Are developmental assessments conducted routinely?
    • Dallas Day School conducts these assessments at least twice annually.
  • What, if any, enhancements are provided and is there a separate charge for these enhancements?
    • Dallas Day School provides Spanish language instruction beginning in the infant rooms.
    • Beginning at about 2.5 years, we provide small group pull-out session in literacy as well as math and science.
    • There is no additional charge as our philosophy is that children should not be penalized because of a parent’s income level.
  • What is the field trip policy?
    • Dallas Day School does not offer external field trips.  However, the Perot Museum and the Dallas Arboretum come twice year. Other interesting and educational groups occasionally visit the school as well.
  • What is the policy for summer attendance when one, or both, parents are educators?
    • Although some schools require the family to formally withdraw the child or continuing paying full tuition, Dallas Day School offers educator families a steep discount (summer weekly tuition is $100 per week). 
    • We also encourage the family to bring the child in a day or two a week so that the routine isn’t too disrupted and the transition in the fall isn’t too difficult.