12 Questions You Should Be Asking on Your Daycare Tour

For working moms, daycare is a part of life. Whether you decide to get a babysitter or enroll your baby in a daycare program, finding the right caregiver is a pretty big, and often stressful, deal. It’s important to start your search early — like when you’re still in the early to mid-months of being pregnant, as many daycares have long waitlists. Once you’ve narrowed down your list of places to visit, consider asking these 12 questions to get a better sense of what each daycare has to offer.

It’s worth asking a couple of key questions before getting a tour on the books. After all, your time for window shopping is limited and, depending on how big of a city you live in, the options may need to be narrowed down to save your sanity.

1. Are you currently enrolling new students and do you have space for my child? The big thing you’re looking for here is whether or not there’s a wait list. If there is, ask for the best estimate of when there would be room for your child and if there’s a fee to get on the list. If it’s not looking like they’ll be able to enroll your kiddo by the date you need them to start, it may be worth skipping the tour so you can focus on other options.

2. What’s the monthly tuition? Some may share this in the initial phone call, while others won’t, in the hope that they can get you into the daycare to dazzle you with how amazing the program is (before you can gawk at the price). Here’s the thing — daycare is expensive. And the really awesome places are probably on par with college tuition. What you can afford is a super personal choice, and it’s totally worth getting some costs upfront before touring a daycare, falling in love and then finding out it’s totally out of your budget.

During the Tour

3. What are your accreditations? The bigger daycare facilities will have this info for you right up front, but some smaller operations may forget to offer the info. The national accreditations typically have higher standards than local and state accreditations, and some states may be stricter than others in how they rate daycares. To get a grip on some of this, check out this list of national accreditations and bone up on what it all means before you ask.

4. Is there an open-door policy? If not, why? An open-door policy is when a daycare welcomes parents to visit whenever their kid is in daycare. This is particularly important for nursing moms looking for a daycare they can pop into for a lunchtime nursing sesh. If the daycare frowns on parental visiting, ask why. This could be a red flag, as there shouldn’t be a time of the day when you don’t have access to your baby. It could also be completely reasonable, but you won’t know until you ask.

5. How do you hire staff and what are their qualifications? Get to know more about who’s going to be spending time with your little one all day. Why do they work there? What’s their caregiving style? Are they experienced? Have they worked with your child’s age group for very long? Dig in and don’t be shy to get the low down. After all, the quality of your child’s care is only as good as the people providing it.

6. What’s staff turnover like? Here you’re checking to see if there’s a high turnover rate. If the staff doesn’t stick around for long, ask why. Maybe it’s because there are a lot of younger people on staff who are studying to become teachers and leave when they graduate. Maybe it’s because the daycare provider doesn’t provide adequate support for the staff. This is important, because consistency in your child’s care is important — and so is a happy roster of staff who are excited and motivated to give your child the best care possible.

7. What’s the ratio for each classroom (by age group)? Every state has its own standards for this. For infants, it’s typically five students for each teacher. If the daycare mixes age groups in one room, ask how they account for the correct ratios. To learn more, check out this guide to what your state’s ratio and overall childcare licensing requirements are.

8. What’s the curriculum and how do they communicate with parents? You may be wondering, curriculum for infants? But, yeah, that exists! For the itty bitty babies, this is usually sensory-type activities that are created around a month’s theme. Having a curriculum in the school shows that the teachers are planning for the day and engaging in activities with your child as she develops each week and month. The other part of this question gives you a sense of how the caregiver will be co-parenting with you. Will they talk to you about observed milestones or something they think your baby may be ready to try (like solid foods)? The daycare will quickly become part of your child-raising village, so look for a daycare that prides itself on daily communication.

9. What are the emergency procedures for my child’s room? Has the daycare thought about how to keep the children, of all ages, safe in the event of an emergency? For the infant room, this can be a getaway crib that they put all the babies in and roll out the emergency door. Whatever the method, make sure there is one.

10. What holidays or other dates are you closed? You might be expecting daycare to close on federal holidays, like President’s Day, but there may also be days when the daycare closes for training or administrative tasks. By knowing this going in, you’ll be able to have a better idea of how many times you’ll need to take PTO, work from home or find alternate childcare.

11. Can I come back for an observation day? This is like asking to take the daycare for a child-free test run. It’s basically an opportunity for you to come in and watch your child’s potential class in action before you enroll. This is a great way to get an idea of how the teacher runs her class, how well the daycare is organized and if they really practice what they pitched to you on the tour.

12. What’s your sick child policy? When you ask this question, you’ll get info on when the center considers a child too sick to come in, when a child is sick enough to be sent home, if medicine can be given at the daycare and what the doctor’s note policy is. Some daycares are very strict with sick policies to keep the healthiest environment possible, while others are a little more relaxed — which is great for working moms — but could be a breeding ground for illness.

Tweet us your best questions to ask a potential daycare provider and what other mamas should look out for @BritandCo!

I always get excited when I think about how many celebrity couples we don't know about yet. Glen Powell & Lily James generated some buzz when they hopped into a car together ahead of the BAFTAs, and Outer Banks star Madelyn Cline & Austin Butler (yes, Elvis himself) were just spotted out and about together. Let's dive in, shall we?

Here's everything we know about those Madelyn Cline & Austin Butler dating rumors.

Madelyn Cline & Austin Butler were allegedly spotted grabbing a meal.

"Seriously just saw Madelyn Cline and Austin Butler" at a celebrity-frequented restaurant in Los Angeles, a DeuxMoi source said at the end of January. One Instagram user commented that since Madelyn and Austin's exes (Pete Davidson and Kaia Gerber) are exes, "dating in Hollywood is 3 degrees of separation."

However, according to another DeuxMoi source, fans have been paying attention to Madelyn's Instagram activity. The actress previously dated her Outer Banks costar Chase Stokes, and has allegedly been liking posts about "the one that got away," and even posted on her Instagram story that she deserves happiness.

"The timing of Chase's relationship doing so great and her having a string of failed relationships, people are just assuming she's crashing out," the second source continues. Yikes, y'all.

I think it's so fascinating how fans allegedly jump to the conclusion that Madelyn is crashing out, and assume Austin (who is also recently single) is totally fine post-breakup. Listen, a girl can go on a few dates without spiraling, dating really doesn't have to be that serious. It's supposed to be fun!

It's also totally in the realm of possibility that they were having a business meeting. For now, we don't really know. But what I do know? Madelyn Cline and Austin Butler would make a cute couple, and even if they don't end up in a relationship, a delicious dinner and maybe a smooch or two never hurt anybody ;).

Stay tuned for more news on these Madelyn Cline & Austin Butler dating rumors, and while we're on all things lovey-dovey, check out the latest news on Madelyn Cline's New Romance The Map That Leads To You.

Not only is Blake Lively speaking out about the "sexist" commentary on her legal battle with Justin Baldoni, she's also enlisting the help of...the CIA? Yes, you read that right. The actress just recruited an ex-CIA advisor to help with her case ahead of the March 2026 trial. Wow.

Here's what we know about Blake Lively's latest move in her legal battle with Justin Baldoni.

Blake Lively just involved an ex-CIA advisor in her case.

Blake Lively has enlisted Nick Shapiro, former CIA deputy chief of staff and senior advisor John Brennan (the former director), to help with her case, according to Page Six and Variety.

“The litigation team for Ms. Lively retained Mr. Shapiro to advise on the legal communications strategy for the ongoing sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit occurring in the Southern District of New York,” Blake Lively's lawyers said in a statement.

This proves more than anything else that Blake is taking the trial really seriously because this is a major move on her part.

Recently, Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni actually agreed on something when they spoke out against the "violent" messages Blake and her loved ones have been receiving.

Blake's legal team requested a stronger protection order (PO), considering Blake, "her family, other members of the cast, various fact witnesses, and individuals that have spoken out publicly in support of Ms. Lively have received violent, profane, sexist, and threatening communications" (as the request states), "good cause exists for the Court to adopt the Proposed PO."

And Justin's legal team went on the record, saying they "do not condone dangerous rhetoric targeted toward anyone no matter the situation. Anyone receiving violent messages by anonymous parties is abhorrent."

“When private parties were wrongfully accused by Lively and her paid team of wrongdoing, they received continuous death threats and visits to private homes where young children reside after their addresses were leaked on her initial complaints," they continue. "No one should have to face that, especially private parties who do not have means for security detail. We do not condone dangerous rhetoric targeted toward anyone no matter the situation.”

Stay tuned for more news on Blake Lively & Justin Baldoni's legal battle.

Look out Bridgerton fans — Simone Ashley is giving love another chance in her new rom-com movie Picture This! We'll always love her inspiring take on Kate Sharma, but it's nice to see her spreading her acting wings. Just don't expect the two worlds to collide!

Picture This has a modern feel that explores the life of a single woman who's more concerned about having a lucrative career than putting all of her eggs in one basket. It's an accurate depiction of dating in 2025 and takes outdated relationship rules to task! Let's dig into all the exciting details!

Keep scrolling to learn everything you need to know about Simone Ashley's rom-com, Picture This!

What is 'Picture This' about?

Amazon MGM Studios

Picture This is about a photographer Pia's (Simone Ashley) journey to living life on her terms, but she gets the surprise of a lifetime when she's given dating tasks. In order to truly have the life she wants, she has to go on a few dates which is the opposite of what she's trying to focus on.

Adding even more turmoil to the mix is the reappearance of an ex that sends Pia down of path of self-discovery that may or may not end with her falling in love.

Who's starring in 'Picture This'?

Amazon MGM Studios

Picture This will star:

  • Simone Ashley
  • Hero Fiennes Tiffin
  • Sindhu Vee
  • Luke Fetherson
  • Nikesh Patel
  • Adil Ray
  • Anoushka Chadha
  • Eben Figueiredo
  • Kulvinder Ghir
  • Asim Chaudhry
  • Phil Dunster
And the film will be directed by Prarthana Mohan (Christmas Canceled).

When will it premiere?

Amazon MGM Studios

Picture This is set to premiere March 6, 2025 on Amazon Prime.

What The Trailer For 'Picture This' Here!

www.youtube.com

- YouTube

Picture This appears to be full of hilarious moments from a best friend who has witty one-liners to a family who's good intentions feel invasive. The only thing we'll have to wait to see is whether Pia and her ex will get a second chance at love or not.

Are you excited to see Picture This? Let us know on Facebook!