When looking at daycare centers, parents are often unaware of what questions they should be asking and what they should be looking for in such facilities. There are usually a lot of daycare preschool teachers that are working in the facility and the certifications that are required by the facility should be checked out before making a final decision to place the children there. There are some daycare preschool teachers that have graduated from high school but do not have any other degree. There are other daycare preschool teachers who have graduated from a four year school and may have even gone on to get a master's degree in early childhood education. Since there is such a range in requirements depending on the state and the facility, the parents need to do the legwork to find out what those requirements are and if they have been met by the facility.

Checking It Twice

A good suggestion for parents is to drop by the prospective daycare facilities at different times of the day to see what the daycare preschool teachers are doing with the children at those times. Doing these surprise visits should not be limited to the time before the children are placed in the facility, but should be done periodically afterward as well to ensure that all is well in that daycare. During the visits, the parents should note what the various daycare preschool teachers are doing. There should not be a group of teachers huddled together talking while the children are playing or watching television. The parents should also ask what the teacher to student ratios are in that daycare so that the ratios can be compared to what the parents see when visiting and to other daycares being visited.

Another suggestion is to ask whether the daycare preschool teachers have to be licensed in order to work in that facility. If the teachers are in a state run facility, they are most likely all licensed. If the teachers are in a private facility, they may be licensed and they may not be, depending on what the owner of the facility requires. The rooms of the facility should be clean and should be brightly colored with pictures or painted walls so that it is inviting for the children to be in. There should also be obvious classrooms and stations where the children are able to work when in class time, as well as different learning play stations where they can pretend to be cooking or driving trucks in their leisure time.