Choosing a Daycare or Preschool in San Francisco Once you know that you’re looking to send your child to a daycare or preschool, the next step is to find one! With over 600 daycares and preschools within San Francisco city limits, we are lucky to have many great options available. Here are some of the factors to consider when finding the one that is right for you. Safety — First things first. You’ll want to make sure your provider has been licensed and has a legal ratio of adults to children. You’ll want to make sure the providers all have CPR and first-aid training and that the environment is safe, sanitary, and properly child-proofed. Quality — In addition to meeting the minimum requirements to be considered legal and safe, you’ll want to check on things like low staff turnover rates, age appropriate activities and toys, space for outdoor play and physical activity, comfortable space for napping, and whether they have a supportive, loving environment and lots of patience for working with children. Policies — Check the provider’s policies for things like vaccinations, discipline, illness and potty training. See what accommodations your provider will make for any special needs your child has, like food allergies. These policies are often non-negotiable so you’ll want to make sure you’re on the same page with your provider from the get go. Communication — Make sure you’re on the same page with the school about frequency and type of communication you’ll have with them. Some daycares and preschools just communicate things verbally at pickup and dropoff while others may update you throughout the day with photos and messages or put together daily logs of all activity. Some schools encourage parents to actively participate while others don’t allow parents in the classroom during the school day. Logistics — Cost, proximity to home or work, and hours/schedule are some of the make or break factors for whether you can send your child to a certain provider. Some daycares, especially home-based daycares, have the ability to be more flexible on hours and but child care centers and preschool centers typically do not. ---- Tell us in the comments: what was most important to you when choosing a daycare or preschool?

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