A parent's guide
What to consider when you're choosing child care
When you're comparing programs, it's usually easiest to start with the practicalities — hours, location, group size, languages — and then weigh the program's philosophy. A program right next door might be the right price and the right hours, but if it isn't an educational fit with your family's values, it's unlikely to be a happy match.
Every participating program lists these basics on its own page, so you can compare before you ever visit:
- Hours
- Ratios & group size
- Ages accepted
- Location
- Which funding it accepts, or whether it's a $10-a-day program
- Whether meals or transport are offered
- Languages offered
- The language children are taught in
- How to register or join the waitlist
With that as your baseline, here are questions to understand whether — and how — a program fits your family's values and learning goals. You won't get to all of them on one visit, and how openly they're answered tells you as much as the answers themselves.
Who works with my child?
- Are the staff certified Early Childhood Educators? Are any Infant/Toddler or Special Needs specialists?
- Who leads my child's room, and how long have they been here?
- Do you bring in consultants or specialist teachers?
- What happens when the regular educators are sick or on vacation?
- When did each educator first get certified? Certificates are posted in the room, so you can check each one and see how long that educator has worked in early education.
- How many staff hold valid first-aid certificates?
- What professional development do staff receive?
- How often do you hold whole-team meetings?
Ratios & group size
- Right now, what's your enrolled group size — how many children will be in my child's group based on current registration?
- How many children, and how many educators, are in my child's group?
- How are ratios kept during breaks — do additional staff come in to cover?
- Are there any support aides or out-of-ratio teachers in the classroom?
How do you keep children safe and healthy?
- What's your illness policy?
- Have staff been trained to administer specific medications (EpiPen, asthma inhaler)?
- What are your pickup, sign-in, and building-security practices?
- Does the facility have security cameras?
- Is there security footage that parents can access?
- Do you require nap times? What happens if my child doesn't sleep — or sleeps longer than the scheduled nap?
- How often are toys and materials sanitized?
- How is classroom cleaning handled at the facility?
What does a typical day look like?
- How much free-play time is there?
- What's your approach to screens?
- How do you guide behaviour and handle conflict between children?
- How do you support and evaluate learning?
Outdoor learning
- How much time do children spend outside each day? Are you outside in all weather?
- Do you stay onsite, or do you take offsite community field trips?
- How does the centre manage outdoor time during poor air quality (for example, wildfire-smoke ratings)?
- How does the centre manage outdoor time in extreme weather (below about −5 °C, or above about 26 °C)?
- What outdoor clothing or gear is required?
- How do you approach risk, exploration, and safety?
Quality assessment
- Do you use the ECERS (Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale) or ITERS (Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale) to evaluate program quality?
- Are those checklists available to share with parents?
- Do you use the BCQAS (BC Quality Assessment Standard) to evaluate program quality?
- Do you use the AQI (Assessment for Quality Improvement — a City of Toronto tool BC used to evaluate its $10-a-day prototype sites) to evaluate program quality?
- Do you use the BC Early Learning Framework?
What will it cost, beyond monthly tuition?
- What are the registration fees, if any?
- Is a security deposit required, and how much?
- What's included in the monthly fees (meals, supplies, field trips)?
- What “extras” are available for a fee (meals, transport, field trips, specialty classes)?
- Do you accept the Affordable Child Care Benefit (ACCB) if we're eligible?
- What's the deposit, waitlist, and withdrawal-notice policy?
- Do you offer extended hours before or after the core program for an additional fee?
How do parents and teachers communicate?
- How do teachers share what happened each day?
- How do parents raise a concern?
- How do you settle a new child in during the gradual-entry period?
- Can I visit or call during the day?
- How can parents take part in the program?
Meals
- Do you provide food for snacks or meals?
- If parents provide food, what isn't allowed?
- Can children's lunches be stored in the fridge?
- Can staff reheat meals or snacks in the microwave?
Inclusion & individual needs
- Do you accept children who aren't yet toilet trained?
- Do you help with potty training?
- How do educators adapt the program for children with differing abilities or needs?
- Do you allow external consultants to do program observations — for example a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP), Occupational Therapist (OT), Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA), Physiotherapist (PT), or Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC)?
- Do you allow parents to provide a behavioural interventionist or classroom support aide for a child with additional support needs?
Do you need to see the inspection records? They are publicly available.
In BC, licensing officers inspect every licensed facility for safety, staffing, care, nutrition, medication, and more. Richmond inspection reports are public — read a program's history before you visit at the VCH Child Care Facility Inspections page.
Where to get help
Your local Child Care Resource & Referral (CCRR) office is a free, neutral place to help you find licensed care, understand subsidies, and think through your options. If a program's answers don't add up, or you have a concern about a licensed facility, you can also contact Vancouver Coastal Health licensing.