Childcare in GTA and Waitlists
Show your support
Sorry I meant TOUR the daycares to get a feel 😊
I put myself on probably 10 waitlists in my second trimester. I think the staff is the most important thing. I started following up monthly about 3 months before I wanted my daughter to start daycare. The first place that called with a spot, we went to see. It does not have as fancy facilities as other places, but my daughter took to the teachers in the baby room immediately and didn't even notice when my husband and I left to talk to the administrator for a few mins. That made us feel comfortable with the place. 1 year later, no regrets!
Another thing I feel great about is low staff turnover. In the year since my daughter started, the only teacher change is one teacher left toddler room to go to baby and was replaced with a new teacher (who my daughter loves). I think it must be a good place to work if everybody is sticking around, as I know lots of daycares have high staff turnover.
There’s a list for Toronto with registered daycares that need to follow specific guidelines I would check there first, my daughters daycare also has an app they update me with pictures, daily routines, meals, etc & I definitely enjoy the feature!! I’d also recommend applying for daycare subsidy as it can get pretty expensive & it’s definitely helpful to have :) It’s also good to look into their staff to child ratio, my daughter’ss infant room only holds about 10 babies with 5 staff so it’s great hands on!! good luck https://www.toronto.ca/community-people/children-parenting/children-programs-activities/licensed-child-care/child-care-locator/#location=&lat=&lng=&zoom=
I applied to maybe 8 in January 2024 and got a spot in March for an April 1st start. I think I was very lucky honestly. My biggest thing was timing and location. I needed somewhere open at 7:30am or earlier and was located within a relative distance to my college.
@Nikki how old was your baby when they started?
@Katheryn 4 months old she’s now almost 14 months and is still in the same daycare
You can ask in local Facebook groups and your the daycares to get a feel. Your top 3-4 choices, follow up every 2-3 months to show your interest. High turnover is usually a red flag. Proximity is important.