How to Choose a Daycare or Preschool: A Parent's Checklist

Last updated: November 11, 2026

To choose a daycare, start with three checks you can do from home: confirm the program is licensed, read its inspection history, and make sure its hours fit your workday. Then tour your shortlist and ask the same questions everywhere. Choose the place where the adults know your child's name by the end of the visit.

This checklist comes from WorldKids® School, a Spanish and Mandarin immersion preschool and child care program with schools in Washington and California. It works for any program you're considering, immersion or not.

"Our industry is highly regulated, as it should be. You're working with young children," said Nicole Chaudry, founder and CEO of WorldKids® School. That's why the checklist starts with the license.

How do I choose a daycare for my child?

1. Decide what you need. Write down the days, drop-off and pickup times, your child's age, and your budget. A program that closes at 5 p.m. won't work if you can't get there before 5:30.
2. Check the license. Every child care center in Washington must be licensed by the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF). In California, centers are licensed by the Department of Social Services. Look up the license yourself.
3. Read the inspection and complaint history. In Washington, DCYF's Child Care Check tool shows licensing inspections and valid complaint findings from the last three years.
4. Compare cost and what's included. See how preschool and daycare tuition works.
5. Tour your top two or three. Bring the questions below.
6. Ask about the waitlist early. Popular programs fill well in advance, especially for infants.

What are the signs of a high quality preschool?

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), which accredits early childhood programs, tells parents to look for teaching based on each child's age and stage of development, goals that are "just right" for each child, and a program that values each child's family, language and culture. For babies, NAEYC recommends a primary caregiver who works with the same few infants.

On a tour, you can see most of these within 20 minutes of walking in:

• Teachers are on the floor with children, talking with them, not supervising from the edge of the room.
• Children are busy and mostly calm. Some noise is normal. Kids wandering with nothing to do is not.
• The day has a visible rhythm, with a posted schedule, predictable routines, and time for play, meals, rest and outdoor time.
• Learning happens through play. At this age, children learn through hands-on activities, not worksheets at desks.
• Staff have been there a while. Ask how long the lead teachers have worked at the school. Turnover is one of the biggest challenges in early childhood education, and a stable team matters to young children.
• Parents hear from the school daily, not just at pickup.
• The program participates in a quality rating system, such as Early Achievers in Washington.

What teacher-to-child ratio should I look for in a daycare?

Look for a program that meets your state's required ratio at all times, including at drop-off, at pickup and during naps. In Washington, the licensing rules (WAC 110-300-0356) set these maximums for child care centers:

Washington also allows an alternative of 1:3 (group of 9) for infants and 1:5 (group of 15) for toddlers. Ratios differ by state, so check your own state's rules if you live elsewhere. On a tour, count the adults and children in the room yourself and compare.

What questions should I ask on a daycare tour?

• What are your hours, and what happens if I'm late for pickup?
• How long have the lead teachers in my child's classroom worked here?
• What does a typical day look like for my child's age group?
• How do you handle naps, meals, allergies and potty training?
• How do you communicate with parents during the day?
• How do you handle discipline and conflicts between children?
• What happens when a teacher is out sick?
• Is your license current, and can I see your most recent inspection?
• How does your waitlist work?
• At an immersion or bilingual school: How much of the day is in the second language? Are teachers fluent or native speakers?

What safety red flags should I look for when touring a daycare or preschool?

• The school won't let you see the classrooms, or only during a narrow window.
• Doors to the outside or the parking lot are propped open or unlocked.
• There are more children per adult than your state allows.
• Cleaning products, medications or adult bags are within children's reach.
• There's no clear sign-in and sign-out process, or staff don't ask who you are.
• The staff can't tell you their emergency, illness or allergy procedures.
• The inspection history shows repeated violations of the same rule.
• Staff seem rushed, distracted or unkind to children while you're watching.

Look for patterns. A single red flag with a good explanation may be fine.

Which daycares in Seattle have a high Early Achievers rating?

Washington's Child Care Check tool (findchildcarewa.org) shows whether a licensed program participates in Early Achievers and what rating it holds. Search by city or ZIP code, and use the Early Achievers filter to show rated programs. Levels 3 to 5 are rated levels, which DCYF describes as having "reached a high level of quality" through an on-site assessment of the learning environment and teacher-child interactions. Programs that have joined but haven't been rated yet show as "Participating."

All of WorldKids® School's Washington schools participate in Early Achievers. As of October 2026, seven hold a Quality Level 3 rating, including schools in Seattle, Burien, Bellevue and Edmonds. Each school's current rating is on its Child Care Check profile.

How do daycare waitlists work?

Most centers keep a waitlist for each age group. When a spot opens in your child's classroom, the school offers it to the next family on the list.

• Get on lists early, especially for infant care, where spots are limited by state ratio rules.
• Ask how the list is ordered. It may be by sign-up date, or priority may go to siblings of current students and to staff.
• Ask whether there's a fee to join the list and whether it's refundable.
• Ask how often you should check in. Some schools want families to confirm their interest periodically.
• Ask what age-group transitions look like. A spot in the toddler room may open sooner than one in the infant room.

How do I find a daycare for a child who needs extra attention?

Be upfront on the first call. Describe what your child needs and ask directly how the program supports children like yours: staffing, classroom size, and whether teachers have worked with outside specialists such as speech or occupational therapists. Ask whether you can visit with your child before you enroll.

If your child has an identified developmental delay or disability, your local school district or early intervention program can also help. In Washington, early intervention for children under 3 is provided through DCYF's Early Support for Infants and Toddlers (ESIT) program.

Where does language immersion fit in?

For many families, immersion is the second question, not the first. Start with the basics: licensing, hours, ratios and how the room feels. If two programs pass all of those and one also teaches your child Spanish or Mandarin all day, that's a real difference.

At WorldKids® School, that full day happens in Spanish or Mandarin. Learn more about our approach, or read the difference between preschool and daycare.

Sources

• NAEYC, What to look for in a program; preschool; infants
• WAC 110-300-0356, ratios and group sizes
• DCYF, Child Care Check
• DCYF, Early Achievers rating system
• CDSS Community Care Licensing facility search
• DCYF, Early Support for Infants and Toddlers (ESIT)