A daycare tour is not a sales presentation. It’s your interview of the people who will care for your child. The centers worth enrolling in welcome hard questions. Here are the fifteen we’d want asked if we were the parents, what a good answer sounds like, and what should give you pause. (This list is adapted from the checklist in our free Parent’s Guide, which you can take with you to any tour, including our competitors’.)
Safety and licensing
1. Are you licensed, and can I see the license?
Good answer: a current NJ child care license, shown without hesitation. Ours is license #CCC120680. Pause if: the answer is vague or the license is "being renewed" with no paperwork.
2. How do children get in and out of the building?
Good answer: a controlled entry system and a clear sign-in/sign-out routine. At Magical Palace, entry is by fingerprint sensor, and the center is covered by security cameras. Pause if: the door is propped open or anyone can walk in.
3. What are the teacher-to-child ratios in my child’s room?
Good answer: specific numbers by age group, within state requirements. Ratios are lowest for infants and rise as children grow. Pause if: the answer changes depending on who’s asked.
The teachers
4. What are the teachers’ qualifications, and how long have they been here?
Good answer: degrees or credentials in early education, CPR certification, background checks, and honest tenure numbers. Teacher turnover is a common hidden problem in child care; a center that keeps its teachers can say so. Pause if: nobody can tell you how long the lead teacher in your child’s room has worked there.
5. How will I know what my child did today?
Good answer: a system, not a shrug. We use the Procare parent app for updates through the day. Pause if: "just ask at pickup" is the whole answer.
Daily life
6. What does a typical day look like in this room?
Good answer: a real schedule, with structured learning balanced with play, outdoor time, naps, and meals. Ask to see the actual classroom your child would be in, not just the nicest one.
7. What do you serve for meals, and how do you handle allergies?
Good answer: menus you can look at (ours are published monthly on our Menu page), a clear allergy policy, and honesty about what’s included. At Magical Palace the lunch and dinner program is optional and starts at 12 months; we’re a nut-free facility, and we don’t provide food or formula for infants. Parents send it, which many prefer. Pause if: a center can’t explain its allergy procedure in one sentence.
8. What is your illness policy?
Good answer: specific temperature and symptom rules for staying home and returning. Every center has sick days; the good ones have the policy in writing.
Fit for your family
9. What languages do the teachers speak?
If your child hears another language at home, this matters more than almost anything on this list. Our teachers speak English, Russian, Spanish, Polish, Ukrainian, Bulgarian and Georgian, and we run a Russian language program room for ages 3 and up. Whatever your family’s language, ask the question at every center.
10. How do you handle discipline and conflicts between children?
Good answer: redirection, calm-down time, and coaching, described confidently and consistently by everyone you ask.
11. What happens after kindergarten?
If a center offers aftercare for school-age children (ours runs to age 13), you won’t have to start this whole search over in two years.
Money and logistics
12. What does tuition depend on, and what help exists?
Good answer: a straight explanation of what drives the rate (age and schedule, mainly), plus the help available: whether the center participates in the 4Cs of Passaic County subsidy program (we do; here’s our guide to how it works) and whether sibling discounts apply (ours do). For the numbers behind it, see what daycare costs in Wayne, NJ.
13. What are the hours, and what happens if I’m late?
Our hours are Monday to Friday, 7 AM to 6 PM. Every family runs late sometimes; ask how each center handles it before you need to know.
14. Can I see the center before I commit to visiting?
A center confident in its space makes this easy. Our photo tour walks through every room, and you can book an in-person or virtual tour online.
15. What do I need to register, and when?
Good answer: a checklist and a timeline, and no pressure to sign on the spot. If you’ve toured with us, registration is online here. Any center that pushes you to decide before you’ve seen at least one other center is telling you something.
Take the checklist with you
Our free Parent’s Guide includes this checklist in printable form, plus our programs for ages 6 weeks to 13, a look at a day at Magical Palace, our safety and Procare communication setup, and help with the cost of care. Download it from our Programs page, and use it at every tour you take, ours included.
When you’re ready, book a tour or call us at 973-638-1800. Ask us all fifteen.
