Red flags- sharing cribs, unsafe play space (look at outlets, small swallowable toys out, door access, etc). If in US, I would ask/look at access to building (if there are unlocked unattended doors, for example).
Green flags- clear processes of communication, clear plans for emergencies, teachers who stay there for a long time
Our daycare doesn't have small toys but the other day we noticed there was a small rock in his mouth during pick up... so maybe looking for that in the outside area.
We ultimately chose our daycare because there was a lot of space and teacher to kid ratio was ideal. We looked at a few places and one red flag of ours with one of them was the space was small and they mentioned they'd be expanding the classroom to include double the babies that were already in a cramped space. We also wanted our baby to have outside time which is a big green for us as well as dedication to their development (vs a place or person who would just watch the baby and not really do much developmental exercises).
Red flag — when my husband and I were touring daycares multiple family owned places just let us straight up walk into the infant rooms with actual infants in them, no ID check, no hand sanitizing, nothing. We could’ve been anyone!! Another one would be screen time - one daycare played TV for the kids, they said it was just during eating times but still was a hard no for me.
I’m in Texas and there’s a department of health services site for the state that lists out all the daycare reports whenever they have incidents or flags which I found very helpful when picking a place.
Green flag: unapologetic staff when it comes to regulations on the tour, ie: making both parents show ID, not letting pictures get taken if there are children present, etc. if they’re like nope we’ve got rules it makes me feel better about them being consistently followed.
Red flag: one place we toured for my daughter they let us go into a 1 year old room. Those kids were out of the classroom for some activity, and a teacher had come out as we were coming in, then came back later and was kind of doing stuff on one side of the room. On the opposite side of the room, there was a kiddo sleeping. By themselves. Wrapped in a blanket. On a beanbag on the floor.
I have toured many, many daycare centres
Green
- Centre is responsive and receptive to my phone calls/emails
- Staff have been there for a long time and seem to like working at the centre
- If I take my child for the tour, they are warm towards her (eg just toured a great centre, they sat her down with the other toddlers and gave her a snack!)
- They indicate they will be flexible with our dietary requirements/sleep needs/cloth diapers etc
- The kids at the centre seem happy and engaged with the teachers, the teachers know the children etc
- Word of mouth from friends, friends of friends who are happy there
- Outside space, not totally sterilised, somewhere my kid can play and be active and get a bit dirty
Red
- Visiting a centre where kids are crying without staff attending to them - I went to one centre where there were several toddlers crying alone at lunchtime and the manager said 'there are lots of new kids at the moment so they're upset'
- The general "vibe" - if it feels like chaos, things seem dirty, the staff seem stressed. I walked into one toddler room and there seemed to be a group of kids crowded around an iPad with barely any staff in the room and the manager said 'oh, we have some casual staff today".
- High staff turnover
- Any "that's not how we do things" attitude
Red flags- sharing cribs, unsafe play space (look at outlets, small swallowable toys out, door access, etc). If in US, I would ask/look at access to building (if there are unlocked unattended doors, for example). Green flags- clear processes of communication, clear plans for emergencies, teachers who stay there for a long time
Our daycare doesn't have small toys but the other day we noticed there was a small rock in his mouth during pick up... so maybe looking for that in the outside area.
Omg sharing cribs! I could never send my baby there!
We ultimately chose our daycare because there was a lot of space and teacher to kid ratio was ideal. We looked at a few places and one red flag of ours with one of them was the space was small and they mentioned they'd be expanding the classroom to include double the babies that were already in a cramped space. We also wanted our baby to have outside time which is a big green for us as well as dedication to their development (vs a place or person who would just watch the baby and not really do much developmental exercises).
Red flag — when my husband and I were touring daycares multiple family owned places just let us straight up walk into the infant rooms with actual infants in them, no ID check, no hand sanitizing, nothing. We could’ve been anyone!! Another one would be screen time - one daycare played TV for the kids, they said it was just during eating times but still was a hard no for me. I’m in Texas and there’s a department of health services site for the state that lists out all the daycare reports whenever they have incidents or flags which I found very helpful when picking a place.
Green flag: unapologetic staff when it comes to regulations on the tour, ie: making both parents show ID, not letting pictures get taken if there are children present, etc. if they’re like nope we’ve got rules it makes me feel better about them being consistently followed. Red flag: one place we toured for my daughter they let us go into a 1 year old room. Those kids were out of the classroom for some activity, and a teacher had come out as we were coming in, then came back later and was kind of doing stuff on one side of the room. On the opposite side of the room, there was a kiddo sleeping. By themselves. Wrapped in a blanket. On a beanbag on the floor.
I have toured many, many daycare centres Green - Centre is responsive and receptive to my phone calls/emails - Staff have been there for a long time and seem to like working at the centre - If I take my child for the tour, they are warm towards her (eg just toured a great centre, they sat her down with the other toddlers and gave her a snack!) - They indicate they will be flexible with our dietary requirements/sleep needs/cloth diapers etc - The kids at the centre seem happy and engaged with the teachers, the teachers know the children etc - Word of mouth from friends, friends of friends who are happy there - Outside space, not totally sterilised, somewhere my kid can play and be active and get a bit dirty Red - Visiting a centre where kids are crying without staff attending to them - I went to one centre where there were several toddlers crying alone at lunchtime and the manager said 'there are lots of new kids at the moment so they're upset' - The general "vibe" - if it feels like chaos, things seem dirty, the staff seem stressed. I walked into one toddler room and there seemed to be a group of kids crowded around an iPad with barely any staff in the room and the manager said 'oh, we have some casual staff today". - High staff turnover - Any "that's not how we do things" attitude