Daycare ratios by state
Infant, preschool and school-age ratios and group sizes in eleven states, from each state's own rules.
9 min
Daycare guides for owners and directors
19 of them, grouped by the shelf they belong to.
Ratios & staffing
5 guides
Infant daycare ratio rules
Why the infant room carries the tightest ratio in childcare, and what that does to its economics.
7 min
Daycare teacher salary
What childcare workers and preschool teachers earn, and what a raise really costs.
8 min
Daycare teacher job description
A posting that names duties, ratios, credentials and pay without boilerplate.
6 min
Daycare director job description
Director duties, qualifying credentials and the licensing responsibility that comes with the title.
6 min
Licensing & compliance
6 guides
Daycare licensing requirements
What every state license has in common, and where the state-by-state differences bite.
10 min
Daycare sick policy
Exclusion and return rules built on the national health and safety standard, not guesswork.
7 min
Home daycare license
Licensed, registered or license-exempt — which one your home program needs.
9 min
How to get a daycare license
The application order that avoids a failed first inspection.
8 min
Daycare background check requirements
Fingerprints, registries and the federal floor every state must meet.
7 min
Daycare nap time rules
Safe sleep for infants, crib law, ratio at nap, cot spacing and whether a child must sleep.
8 min
Tuition & costs
5 guides
How much does daycare cost
What the federal price data says, why infant care costs most, and how to find your annual cost.
9 min
Daycare cost per week
Why care is priced by the week, the fees on top of the rate, and how to compare two quotes.
7 min
Why is daycare so expensive
Ratios, wages and occupancy — the three lines that set the price.
8 min
Daycare profit margin
Where the money goes in a childcare P&L and what a healthy margin looks like.
8 min
CACFP reimbursement rates
The food-program rates, the tiers, and what a center actually collects per child.
7 min
Enrollment & parent ops
3 guides
How to start a daycare
From license research to the first enrolled family, in the order it has to happen.
12 min
Daycare parent handbook
The sections a handbook needs, and the ones that prevent the arguments.
8 min
Best age to start daycare
Leave, minimum ages, infant waitlists and what the research says about when to start care.
7 min