The daycare tour checklist
What to look for and ask when you visit. Print it, bring it, check it off. Compiled from Ontario's child-care regulations (CCEYA), Canadian Paediatric Society guidance, and Ontario's How Does Learning Happen? pedagogy. No marketing sources.
Licensing, ratios & group sizes
These are legal minimums in Ontario; a licensed centre must meet them. Verify rather than assume.
- Licence is current and posted visibly (Ontario Ministry of Education)
- Ratios meet Ontario law: infants 1 adult : 3 children (max group 10), toddlers 1:5 (max 15), preschool 1:8 (max 24)
- Ask what happens at pickup/drop-off crunch times; ratios apply all day, not just mid-morning
- Educators hold current First Aid and CPR certification
Educators: the single biggest quality factor
Research consistently ties child outcomes to educator quality and stability more than to facilities.
- Lead educators are Registered Early Childhood Educators (RECE). Ask directly; absence of an answer is an answer
- Ask how many educators left in the past year; high turnover disrupts the attachment young children need
- Watch for educators at children's eye level, engaged in play, not supervising from the perimeter
- How does the centre communicate daily with parents (notes, photos, incident reports)?
Environment & safety
Safety is table stakes: necessary, but not the differentiator. Look for it working quietly.
- Childproofing in active use: outlet covers, anchored furniture, secured blind cords, gated stairs
- A quiet, cozy corner where a child can regulate emotions, not just open play space
- Fenced, shaded outdoor area; children go outside daily in all weather (ask what gear you provide)
- Strict pickup authorization list; exterior doors locked to entry
- Books visible, plentiful, reachable, and in good repair; a thin book corner predicts a thin literacy program
Program & screens
For under-5s the evidence favours play over drills, and little to no screen time.
- A stated play-based philosophy (play-based, Montessori, Reggio Emilia, Waldorf), and ask to see it in action
- Screen policy in writing: Canadian Paediatric Society guidance is no screens under age 2 and under 1 hour/day for ages 2–5; tablets in a toddler room are a red flag
- Daily read-alouds where educators ask children questions about the story (dialogic reading), not just page-turning
- Posted menus with real food; ask how allergies and food refusals are handled
Kindergarten readiness: what actually matters
Current thinking (and Ontario's own pedagogy) prioritizes self-regulation and independence over early academics.
- Children practice multi-step routines independently: coats, backpacks, hand-washing, tidy-up
- Turn-taking and losing gracefully are taught through games, not worksheets
- Children are encouraged to name feelings and solve small conflicts with words
- Fine-motor play everywhere: playdough, beads, scissors, blocks: the muscles behind pencil grip
- Ask how they handle a child who no longer naps, and toileting expectations for the preschool room
Money & logistics: get it in writing
The advertised fee is rarely the whole fee.
- Total monthly cost after CWELCC and/or subsidy, in writing, plus deposits, registration and supply fees
- Waitlist: how long for your child's age group, how offers are made, and whether the deposit is refundable
- Hours that actually fit your commute, including late-pickup fees
- Withdrawal notice period and what happens to prepaid amounts
Toured a centre? Record what you saw on its card in your saved list: each item above has a good / concern / didn't check answer with room for a note, and once two centres are filled you can compare them side by side. Capture is for after the visit; this page is the one to read before it.
Pair this with the data: every Toronto centre's page on KinderFinder shows the city's per-dimension quality scores, including Books and Electronic Media Usage, against the city average, so you can verify what you were told on the tour. Metro Vancouver pages link to health-authority inspection reports instead, and GTA (905) listings carry the provincial licence record; there, this checklist IS the quality signal, so lean on it. Browse Toronto by ward → · The GTA (905) by municipality → · Metro Vancouver by municipality →