Daycare Near Me: Cost, Hours, and What’s Included

1. Finding a great childcare fit rarely starts with glossy brochures. It starts with a question typed with one hand while the other holds a toddler’s snack cup: daycare near me. The search brings up a dozen tabs, a few waitlist forms, and a spreadsheet you swore you wouldn’t make. I’ve toured centres that smelled like fresh paint and optimism, and others where the director knew every child’s favorite book. The trick is learning to decode the practical details, because cost, hours, and what’s actually included vary more than most parents expect. This guide walks through what you’ll really pay, how schedules work, what licensed daycare typically includes, and how to compare a childcare centre to a home program. It also covers after school care, toddler care, and the crossover with preschool near me searches. Along the way I’ll share what I ask directors, and the small signs that told me a local daycare would fit our family’s rhythm. What drives the cost at a local daycare Families trade cost talk like weather: unavoidable, sometimes surprising, occasionally stormy. Prices depend on age group, staffing ratios, location, and what’s bundled into tuition. Infant rooms need more teachers per child, so they cost more than preschool rooms. A downtown early learning centre with a chef and a gym will charge differently than a neighborhood daycare centre in a church basement. If you want ranges you can plan around, here’s a snapshot based on common rates in mid to large cities in the United States and Canada, with suburban and smaller towns running lower. Infant care often ranges from 1,200 to 2,500 dollars per month. Toddler care runs 1,000 to 2,200. Preschool care lands roughly between 800 and 1,800. After school care is usually priced hourly or monthly, often 200 to 600 per month depending on hours and transport. These are broad bands, not promises. If the building sits near a business district or has extended hours, expect the top of the range or higher. If you’re searching childcare centre near me in a lower cost-of-living area, the floor can be several hundred less. There are two helpful ways centres present price: a flat monthly tuition regardless of how many weekdays the month holds, or a weekly tuition figure. Flat monthly is simpler and usually covers closure days listed on an annual calendar. Weekly tuition can sound cheaper, but thirty-one day months and holidays can shift the bill. When a centre quotes daily rates, ask if those are only for drop-in or part-time schedules, and whether a minimum number of days applies. Subsidies and tax credits change the picture. In the U.S., families can use dependent care FSAs to set aside pre-tax dollars. Some states offer vouchers tied to income. Canada’s federal-provincial agreements have reduced fee schedules in many licensed programs, but availability and enrollment rules depend on the province. In the U.K., funded hours lower costs for children over certain ages, but only during term time and often not the full day, so wraparound fees still apply. Directors at a licensed daycare usually know local funding options and can walk you through paperwork, though they won’t complete it for you. One last line item that catches people off guard: annual registration fees, typically 50 to 300 dollars, plus a materials or activity fee that can be charged yearly or per semester. Supply lists for diapers, wipes, and extra clothes are common in infant and toddler rooms. Some centres include diapers and wipes in tuition, others do not. It sounds small until you realize wipes add up over months. Understanding hours, schedules, and what “full time” really means

2. The clock matters as much as price. Most centre-based programs open around 7:00 or 7:30 a.m. and close between 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. The exact time reflects staffing and licensing rules. If the doors close at 6:00, you’re expected out by 6:00, not jogging up the sidewalk at 6:03. Late pick-up fees are real, immediate, and charged in five or fifteen minute blocks. I’ve paid them twice and learned to add a buffer. Full-time usually means five days a week during open hours, but that doesn’t equal guaranteed care for twelve hours. Teachers change shifts, classrooms transition, and naps and meals run on predictable schedules. If your child regularly arrives at 10:30 and leaves at 3:00, ask the director whether that overlaps with the quietest parts of the day, because it can affect your child’s experience. Part-time options vary. Some centres offer half-days, usually morning blocks that include lunch pickup at noon or rest time pickup at 2:00. Others allow two or three full days a week. A few operate a flexible package with a minimum number of days per month. Flex sounds great until you try to reserve days during peak weeks when everyone wants them. If your work schedule is uneven, confirm how far in advance you can book and what happens when you need to swap a day. Several directors I’ve worked with allowed occasional swaps within the same week if ratios permitted, but only if requested early. Holiday calendars can be longer than you expect. Licensed programs close on federal holidays, a few professional development days, and often for a week in late summer or December. Ask for the annual calendar when you tour. If the centre aligns with a school district, after school care follows that district’s closures and early release days. On snow days, policies range from fully closed to delayed opening. It is worth asking how they handle weather calls and whether tuition is adjusted during prolonged closures. Most do not discount for short closures. What’s actually included in tuition The phrase “all-inclusive” means different things at different childcare centres. To parse an offer, focus on three buckets: care essentials, learning program, and family support. Care essentials cover meals, diapers, naps, and hygiene. Meals can be prepared on site or catered. The better programs post menus in advance and list allergens clearly. Breakfast might be simple grains and fruit, lunch a protein with vegetables, and afternoon snack a mix of dairy, fruit, or whole grains. If a centre calls itself an early learning centre with a nutrition program, ask whether they follow national food program guidelines. When meals are not provided, you’ll pack lunch and possibly breakfast and snacks, and you’ll need insulated containers that teachers can open quickly. Diapers and wipes are a line that splits centres. Some include them and stock common brands. Others ask families to bring labeled supplies that the room team tracks. Either can work. In the first case you save time, in the second your child stays on a familiar product. In toddler care rooms that start potty training, look for a written approach. The best programs keep it positive, consistent, and aligned with what you’re doing at home, and they have small toilets or step stools that make it less intimidating. Naps sound simple but tell you a lot about how a centre runs. Infants sleep on their own schedule in a crib until around 12 to 15 months. Many require sleep sacks, no blankets, with eyes-on checks every 10 to 15 minutes. Toddlers and preschoolers usually have a midday rest on cots. If your child rarely naps, ask how they handle quiet time and whether

3. quiet activities are offered after a rest period. A rigid approach can backfire. A flexible one respects those who need sleep and those who are done after twenty minutes. The learning program is where “what’s included” meets “what’s promised.” A licensed daycare will have a daily rhythm anchored by free play, circle time, sensory activities, outdoor play, and small group work. A strong early child care program chooses themes and books intentionally and includes music and movement. Curriculum labels vary, from play- based and emergent to Montessori-inspired or Reggio Emilia influenced. Labels aren’t the point. Watch a class. If teachers get on the floor, ask open questions, and tie activities to children’s interests, you’re in good hands. If art looks identical on a bulletin board, the process probably mattered less than the product. Family support sits in the edges: how they communicate, how they handle transitions, and how they involve you. Many centres now use an app to share photos, nap times, diaper changes, and daily notes. It’s not a dealbreaker if they don’t, but timely communication should be. Ask how they handle biting incidents, fever calls, and medication administration. Look for discipline policies that emphasize redirection, natural consequences, and relationship building. If a centre offers parent-teacher conferences twice a year, take advantage. They can flag fine-motor, language, or sensory issues early, saving months of worry. How to read the tuition sheet without being surprised later When you request a tuition sheet, don’t stop at the bold numbers. Hidden costs live in the footnotes and policies. One centre I toured charged a modest tuition but added annual re-enrollment, supply, and special event fees that together equaled a month of care. Another offered a sibling discount of ten percent for the older child only, not the younger. A few charged a summer activity fee that seemed optional until I learned it covered staffing for field trips the children adored. Vacations and illnesses are the other swing factor. Most programs do not pro-rate for your vacations unless you give notice and take a Great post to read full week. Some offer one or two vacation weeks at a discount after a certain tenure. Illnesses rarely trigger refunds. That can sting during flu season, but it is how they pay teachers consistently. If your budget is tight, ask about a paid spot on the substitute list so you can offer your days when you travel. A handful of centres allow this, though it’s not common. There’s also the enrollment deposit, typically one or two weeks of tuition credited to your first bill. If you leave before a certain time, you might forfeit it. Pay attention to notice requirements. Thirty days is standard. Forty-five is not unusual in popular programs, especially for infant rooms that keep long waitlists. What “licensed” really means and why ratios matter Licensed daycare sounds like a checkbox. It isn’t. Licensing sets baseline standards for safety, staffing, and space. Inspectors review things like staff background checks, classroom square footage per child, safe sleep practices, and how medications are stored. They pop in unannounced, and their reports are public in many places. If a centre proudly states they are a licensed daycare, ask to see the most recent inspection report and how they addressed any corrective actions. What you want to hear is a specific response, not defensiveness. Ratios dictate how many children each teacher can supervise. The numbers vary by jurisdiction, but think in this ballpark. Infants often run at 1 to 3 or 1 to 4. Young toddlers at 1 to 4 or 1 to 5. Older toddlers at 1 to 6. Preschoolers around 1 to 8 or 1 to 10. Smaller ratios usually mean higher tuition, but they also mean calmer rooms, more conversation, and quicker responses during conflicts. Watch transitions like handwashing before lunch. High-quality programs move children smoothly without chaos, a sign they plan with ratios in mind rather than improvising. Credentials are worth a look too. A childcare centre that invests in staff professional development tends to keep teachers longer. Ask about turnover. If the director sidesteps, probe gently. Eighteen months is a decent average for new teachers. Lead teachers often stay several years when they feel respected and supported. If you hear that the director has been there for a decade, that’s a stabilizing sign. The difference between a daycare centre, preschool, and early learning centre Families often search preschool near me and discover a spectrum of programs with similar photos and very different schedules. A preschool is typically a part-day program for ages three to five, with two to five mornings per week, usually aligned with school-year calendars. Some preschools offer wraparound care. A daycare centre offers full-day care for

4. infants through preschoolers year-round, with a learning program embedded. An early learning centre is often a daycare centre that emphasizes curriculum, teacher training, and developmental goals. The label matters less than the hours and the approach. If your child is two and a half and you’re weighing a half-day preschool with flexible afternoons at home versus a full- day early learning centre, think about your work patterns and your child’s temperament. A child who loves routine may thrive in a full day with predictable rhythms. A child who crashes after lunch may do better with quiet afternoons at home. You can also mix approaches: enroll in a part-time preschool and use a local daycare for two full days per week to give yourself work blocks and your child a longer social day. After school care and why pickup windows matter Once children enter kindergarten, the equation shifts. After school care becomes about safe transport, homework support, and a space to decompress. If your elementary school has on-site aftercare, start there. If not, a childcare centre nearby may offer school pickup with their own bus or van, or they may be a stop on the district route. Costs for after school care are a fraction of full-day tuition, but coverage is limited to school days. Early release Wednesdays, staff development days, and school breaks are the exceptions that can blow up a calendar if you don’t plan ahead. Ask whether the program runs camps during breaks and whether your child gets priority. A warm, busy aftercare room will have areas for reading, building, art, and outdoor play, plus a calm corner for kids who need quiet. Good programs post the bus roster and check off children as they arrive. Staff trained on allergies and medication administration is non-negotiable. Pickup windows matter. If your workday ends at 5:30 and the centre is fifteen minutes away in normal traffic, one wreck on the highway puts you into late pickup fees. Some families solve this with a grandparent or neighbor on the pickup list. Others pay for a thirty-minute buffer a couple days a week and use the time to avoid rushing. If you’re applying to a waitlisted after school program, ask whether they’ll accept mid-year when a spot opens and how they handle bus route changes. What to look for on a tour beyond the brochure You can tell a lot in the first five minutes of a tour. Not from the lobby murals, but from the way the front desk greets you and how teachers respond when a child needs help. Here’s a quick tour-day checklist that keeps the focus on real care rather than marketing language: Watch the teachers, not the toys. Do they kneel to talk to children at eye level? Are they narrating play and introducing new words naturally? Ask to see the bathroom and the fridge. Clean, organized, and safe storage beat any curriculum binder. Check the outdoor space. Shade, trikes with working wheels, and a plan for rainy or very hot days matter more than brand-new turf. Ask how they transition children between rooms. A child doesn’t age into a new room on a birthday alone. You want overlap visits and a familiar teacher bridging the move. Listen for laughter and conversation. A quiet room isn’t automatically better. A harmonious hum where children feel free to talk and ask is a good sign. I’ve visited centres that dazzled on paper but rushed children through activities like a conveyor belt. The rooms that stuck with us had a lived-in quality: well-loved books, labeled shelves, and art that looked like a child made it. If the director knows each teacher’s strengths, that culture usually extends to children and families too. Toddler care: where routines and patience pay off Toddler rooms are famously busy. This is the age of big feelings, fast legs, and words arriving faster than childcare centre coordination. High-quality toddler care hinges on routines and language modeling. Look for visual schedules at child height, short, repeated songs for transitions, and low open shelves with a limited number of choices. If a toddler bites, you want a direct, calm response that protects the other child, comforts both, and communicates with families honestly. Programs that shame toddlers for developmentally typical behaviors create more problems later. Meals and potty training can make or break a toddler room experience. Furniture at toddler scale, utensils with easy grips, and staff who see the meal as a chance for conversation all matter. For potty learning, ask what signs they look for before starting, how frequently they take children to the bathroom, and how they handle accidents. Shaming has no place here. Spare clothes labeled and stocked in the cubby save everyone.

5. When a local daycare is the right fit versus an in-home provider In-home providers can be wonderful. The days feel cozy, siblings stay together, and costs often run lower. A centre offers longer hours, coverage across vacations, and a larger peer group. The choice tends to hinge on your child’s temperament and your work predictability. If your child flourishes in small groups and you can handle provider vacations with relative ease, an in-home program can be a great first step, especially for infants. If your job demands steady hours and your child thrives on a structured day, a daycare centre might be the better match. License status matters in both settings. A licensed in-home program meets safety and training standards as surely as a centre does. If a friend recommends an unlicensed option, ask yourself whether the savings outweigh the risk in emergencies. I’ve seen unlicensed care work well for short stints with a known caregiver, but when you need reliable, year-round coverage, licensed tends to be safer and more predictable. Making the waitlist work for you Waitlists are a fact of life for infant rooms and popular centres. You can put your name down while still pregnant in many areas. The game changer is staying in friendly, periodic contact. Check in monthly, remind the director of your target start date, and share any flexibility. If you can start a week early, say so. If you can accept a temporary older infant room with a scheduled move, consider it. Centres juggle multiple families and room transitions. Being responsive and pleasant can bump you up when a spot opens suddenly because another family moved or changed plans. If you’re on multiple lists, keep your spreadsheet tight: deposit amount, notice period, tuition, hours, and any special notes. When you get an offer, ask how long you have to decide. Some centres will hold a spot for seventy-two hours, others for twenty-four. It helps to have your partner or another decision-maker available during that window, because spots rarely line up neatly across programs. Questions that reveal more than the brochure answers You’ll get more out of a tour when you ask questions that prompt real examples rather than policy quotes. Try a few of these and listen for specifics. Tell me about a child who needed extra support this year. What did you try, and what worked? How do you help a new toddler who cries at drop-off? Walk me through the first week. What does professional development look like here? When did teachers last have training on sensory needs or social-emotional learning? How do you handle a day when two teachers call out? What does coverage look like and what gets postponed? If my child has a food allergy, how do you manage cross-contact during snack time? I’ve had directors smile and give polished answers to policy questions, then light up when asked for a real story. Those are the moments you learn how they think under pressure. Crunching the numbers without losing sleep You’ll likely compare at least three options: a licensed daycare with great hours a little farther away, a smaller childcare centre near me with a shorter day, and a boutique early learning centre with a top-tier price. Beyond straight tuition, calculate commute time, late pickup risk, and how often closures force a backup plan. If a centre saves you twenty minutes each way, that’s more than three hours a week back in your life. If the pricier option includes meals and supplies, subtract your current grocery and diaper costs for a fair comparison. The intangible factor is how you feel leaving your child there. The centre that cost a bit more but gave me daily notes that read like a teacher actually knew my child, rather than a template, bought peace I didn’t know I could have. That said, I’ve also seen smaller local daycare programs do this beautifully at lower cost. It comes down to leadership and staff culture more than logos. Red flags worth heeding A messy art table doesn’t worry me. These do. If the director resists showing you a classroom during normal hours, or you notice frequent yelling from staff, keep walking. If the outdoor space is an afterthought with broken equipment, ask why. If policies lean on punishment instead of teaching, expect escalations in behavior. If you never see the same teacher

6. twice during multiple visits, turnover might be high. And if the program won’t provide a parent handbook or balks at questions about licensing, that’s your sign to move on. How to prepare your child and yourself for the first weeks Transitions go smoother when you stage them. Do a short visit with you in the room, then a longer one where you step out for fifteen minutes. Pack familiar items within policy: a small blanket for older toddlers, a family photo in the cubby, a stuffed animal if allowed. Practice the goodbye ritual at home. Short, warm, clear, and consistent beats long and tearful. Teachers know how to help a child through separation, but your calm sets the tone. Expect a tired child in the first month. Even preschoolers who have been home full time can struggle with the sensory load of a centre. Keep evenings simple. Build in an early bedtime and a protein-rich snack after pickup. If your child regresses in toilet use or sleep, talk to the teacher. Most kids settle within two to four weeks once routines take hold. Where to start if you need a spot soon If you’re under time pressure, focus on three steps that move the needle quickly. Call within a tight radius and ask one question first: do you have an opening in my child’s age group for my target start date? If yes, tour immediately. If no, ask about the waitlist length and deposit rules. Verify hours and closures before touring to avoid wasting time on poor fits. If you need care until 6:30 and they close at 5:30, it won’t work unless your schedule changes. Request the parent handbook and tuition sheet before you visit. Read them, mark questions, and use the tour to fill gaps rather than gather basics. I’ve had luck with this approach when a move or job change forced a fast decision. It keeps you from getting attached to a program you can’t use. Bringing it all together The right childcare fit feels like an extension of your family’s values, not a perfect place on paper. Cost matters. Hours matter. What’s included matters. But the everyday moments carry the weight. A teacher who spots your child’s fascination with trucks and sets out wheels and ramps. A director who calls to check on your toddler after a tough day. A classroom that smells like crayons and orange slices rather than bleach. Whether you end up at a neighborhood daycare centre, a larger early learning centre, a preschool with wraparound hours, or a mix of after school care and camps once your child hits kindergarten, trust what you see, what you hear, and how you feel walking to the car after the tour. Your child will do a lot of growing in these rooms. The best programs make room for you to grow as a parent too.

7. The Learning Circle Childcare Centre - South Surrey Campus Pacific Building, 12761 16 Ave, Surrey, BC V4A 1N3 (604) 385-5890 24JJ+JJ Surrey, British Columbia We are a different kind of early learning facility, delivering a unique and holistic approach to childcare since 1992. Our curriculum is built around our respect for children, nurturing their individual strengths and allowing them to learn and discover in their own way. We're creating a community where children, teachers, and parents fit together like puzzle pieces. Our unique and holistic approach to early learning and childcare sets us apart, fosters individual strengths and promotes balance between education, physical fitness, nutrition, and care. We stand apart as a different, unique, and truly special kind of early learning facility in South Surrey/Ocean Park, just like the children.