Starting Your Daycare Journey: 4 Steps for a Smooth Enrollment
Finding child care is a unique journey for every parent or guardian. This is a significant decision, but like most big decisions, it helps to have a plan. Wonderschool is here to help. Below, you’ll learn important information regarding daycare enrollment and a checklist to help streamline the process.
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Step One: Starting Your Daycare Search
Every journey begins with a single step. Here are some things to consider as you start your search.
When considering the basics, ask yourself what hours you need child care, how far you’re willing to travel for the program, and your educational philosophy. A clear understanding of what you’re looking for can expedite the process.
To find trustworthy child care programs, you can tap your local network and digital neighborhood using Wonderschool’s Parenthoods community. This online forum helps you connect with parents who offer their experiences looking for child care.
Step Two: Visiting Potential Daycares
Once you’ve got a list of options, it’s time to check out the facilities in person.
You can set up an appointment online or over the phone. Screening daycare centers with a phone interview before the in-person visit can also help. That way, you’ll know they meet your essential needs.
Keep an eye out for cleanliness, attentiveness, child-proof features, and the number of caregivers. Observing daily routines and outdoor play facilities is also a good idea. At the end of the tour, trust your gut feeling—your instincts are often correct.
Essential Questions to Ask During Your Visit
Understanding Daycare Policies
Before beginning the enrollment process in a daycare, you should have a clear understanding of their policies.
A licensed daycare facility must follow health and safety regulations determined by the state. Make sure the center you’re interested in is licensed or registered, whichever is required by the state. Take it a step further and inquire about their cleaning routines. You should also ask about protocols for sick children, cold and flu measures, and vaccination rules.
You’ll want to learn the program's pick-up and drop-off times, flexibility, and lateness policy. Also, confirm how they verify who has permission to pick up or drop off a child, especially if the parent isn’t present.
Step Three: Preparing Your Child for Daycare
Child care enrollment isn’t just a big change for you — it’s an adjustment for your child, too. Consider these tips for how to prepare your child for the transition to daycare.
After touring a program, schedule another visit with your child to introduce them to the environment.
A program might allow a potential family to steadily increase how much time a child spends at daycare.
Children are in tune with how you feel, so speak often and enthusiastically about daycare.
Step Four: Finalizing Enrollment
At this point, you’re so close to the end of your enrollment journey. Learn how to be prepared so you can wrap up the process with ease.
Make a list when touring programs of the needed paperwork and medical records to complete your enrollment. They might provide you with a checklist in an enrollment packet. Wonderschool helps to streamline this process.
Ask the daycare program how payment works, when payments are due, if they offer payment plans, and their policy regarding late payments. Some programs could have an enrollment fee and they might also offer financial assistance.
How Wonderschool Can Help With Daycare Enrollment
Wonderschool is here to help you complete your daycare enrollment checklist. With tools and capabilities to streamline your search, there’s no task you can’t accomplish.
Using Wonderschool’s child care finder, you can search for daycare centers in your area. Plus, you can customize the search filters to find your perfect match. Wonderschool is committed to quality child care, so each program is licensed and complies with health and safety regulations.
With programs listed on Wonderschool, you can enroll easily and online via the program’s website listing. If you are looking for more ideas and information on how to make a decision, you can connect with parents and guardians in the Parenthoods community, as well as our podcast, blog, and program resources.
Make Your Daycare Selection with Confidence
Finding the right daycare and completing the enrollment process is a big step for your family, so be thorough in your quest. A checklist that incorporates the key questions and the above steps can help make the process smoother.
With Wonderschool, daycare enrollment is easy because you can access quality programs and support in a few clicks. Discover the daycare program that checks all your boxes with our child care finder tool and get support at every step.
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