What Should a Parent Handbook be About for Daycare Centers?
by Christine Groth
This article is mainly suited for parents who are looking for childcare and daycare owners
who are constructing policies on what their daycare center rules should be.
The main objective of a parent handbook in the daycare setting is to establish rules and
boundaries for the parent and daycare provider. Without boundaries and rules many issues
erupt which could have been avoided in the first place. It is extremely important for you
the parent to understand what your provider expects. As well as the provider, it is important
for you to lay down the ground work so that no confusion lies between you and the parent.
Below will be a guideline that you may wish to follow regarding rules and standards
established for your daycare center.
A parent handbook about daycare centers should have the following information:
1. Sick policy: What are the guidelines that the center will use when a child becomes ill?
When will the parent be called, how high does the temperature need to be for a parent to
be asked to come pick-up the child? What if the child has an unexplained rash? Loose bowel
movements? Falls and hits his/her head?
What is the policy for re-entering childcare after being home with illness? What contagious
diseases are not allowed in your center? Will you allow sick children to be in your center?
These are all very important questions that need to be addressed by the parent and the daycare
provider as well.
2. Pick-Up Child Policy: Issues should be addressed on who is picking up the child, and
what if someone else shows up to pick up that child and you don't know about it. Are both
parents together or divorced and what is the arrangement with custody. If there is a
situation that a parent is not allowed to pick up a child it would be wise to have legal
documents on file stating the arrangement by court. If a child is walking from school or
being picked up by your center there should be paper work on file stating these arrangements.
3. Tuition: A contract stating price and payment should be filled out by both the parent
and the daycare center. There should be a clear understanding of how many days the child
will attend and what the charge will be. There should also be an understanding of what
charges there will be when a child is not attending childcare.
4. Vacations and Time Off: Will the daycare provider be taking off for a vacation and will
the parents still need to pay for childcare? What about emergency closings, what are the
policies regarding this. What holiday's will the center be closed and are they paid
holiday's or not.
5. Punishment and disorderly behavior: What are the rules of the daycare center regarding
punishment? What ages and what ways does the center try to correct behavior? What are the
daycare centers grounds for termination? What are the guidelines established when talking
to parents about problems.
These are the fundamentals of a day care parent handbook. Remember that all concerns
should be addressed in this handbook; it is there to help the parent and the daycare
center and especially to protect the safety of the child.
©CG Groth Inc 2007 The "Daycare Diva", Christine G. Groth, is the creator of "The Guide
to Instant Daycare Profits". To learn more about this step-by-step program and to sign-up
for her FREE "How to Start a Daycare" tips and articles, visit
Experts at Daycare
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