Daycare parent handbook template

1. Welcome

Welcome to Little Oaks Home Daycare. This handbook explains how Little Oaks Home Daycare runs so you know what to expect each day. Please read it, keep it at home, and sign the last page. Little Oaks Home Daycare is licensed or registered under the child care rules of Texas, and where those rules are stricter than this handbook, the rules apply.

2. Enrollment

Little Oaks Home Daycare cares for children 6 weeks to 5 years, up to 6 children. Before the first day, return the enrollment form, emergency contacts, the list of adults allowed to pick up your child, immunization records or a valid exemption, and any allergy or health care plan. Tell the provider right away when a phone number, address, pickup person or health need changes.

3. Hours and closures

Hours: Monday to Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m..

Little Oaks Home Daycare is closed on: New Year's Day; Memorial Day; Independence Day; Labor Day; Thanksgiving Day and the Friday after; December 24 to January 1; 5 provider vacation days, announced 30 days ahead.

The provider may also close for bad weather, a power or water outage, or illness. You will be told as early as possible by text or phone.

4. Tuition and fees

Full time (5 days): $260 a week

Part time (3 days): $180 a week

Registration fee: $75, once a year, not refundable

Tuition is due each Monday for that week. A $15 late fee applies after Wednesday.

Tuition is the same when your child is absent or sick.

Late pickup fee: $1 per minute after 5:30 p.m.. If you will be late, call as soon as you know.

If tuition is more than two weeks late, care may be paused until the account is current.

5. Drop-off and pickup

Bring your child inside and hand them to the provider; do not leave a child at the door or in the yard. Your child will be released only to a parent or to an adult on your written pickup list, and the provider will ask for photo ID from anyone not known. If a court order limits who may pick up your child, give the provider a copy. The provider will not release a child to an adult who appears impaired by alcohol or drugs and will call another authorized adult instead.

6. Health and illness

The provider checks each child at arrival. Keep your child home, or expect a call to pick them up within one hour, if your child has a fever, vomiting, diarrhea, a rash with fever, a contagious condition, or is too sick to take part in the day. Your child may return when they have been fever-free for 24 hours without fever-reducing medicine, or with a doctor's note when Texas licensing rules require one. Tell the provider if your child has a contagious illness so other families can be notified without naming your child.

7. Medication

The provider gives medication only with a signed medication authorization form for each medicine. Prescription medicine must be in the original container with the pharmacy label and your child's name. Over-the-counter medicine must be in the original package and is given only as the label or a doctor's written instruction says. Never leave medicine in your child's bag.

8. Meals, allergies and nutrition

Morning snack, lunch and afternoon snack. Parents provide formula, breast milk and baby food. Tell the provider in writing about every food allergy or diet restriction, with the doctor's allergy action plan if there is one. Bottles and food from home must be labeled with your child's name and the date.

9. Rest and safe sleep

Children rest after lunch. Infants are always put to sleep on their backs in a crib or play yard with a firm, flat mattress and a fitted sheet, with no blankets, pillows, bumpers or toys. Older children rest on a cot or mat with their own labeled sheet and blanket, which go home each week for washing.

10. Guidance and discipline

The provider guides behavior by setting clear and simple rules, redirecting children, praising good choices and helping children use words. Children are never spanked, shaken, slapped, yelled at, shamed, or denied food or rest as punishment. If a behavior problem continues, the provider will meet with you to make a plan together. If a child's behavior keeps putting other children at risk after that, care may end.

11. Emergencies and reporting

The provider practices fire and emergency drills, keeps a first aid kit and your emergency contacts on hand, and will call 911 first and then you in a medical emergency. Injuries are written up and shared with you the same day. The provider reports suspected child abuse or neglect to child protective services when state law requires it, and in most states the law requires child care providers to report.

12. Communication

You will get a short daily report on meals, naps, diapering or toileting, and activities. Call or text Taylor Kim, owner and provider with questions. Please raise concerns early and in private so they can be solved quickly. You are welcome to visit at any time while your child is in care.

13. Withdrawal

Give 2 weeks' written notice before your child's last day. Tuition is due for the notice period whether or not your child attends. The provider may end care with the same notice, or right away for unpaid tuition or safety reasons.

14. Outdoor play

Children play outside every day the weather allows. Send weather-appropriate clothes and a labeled change of clothes.

Parent acknowledgment

I have received and read the Little Oaks Home Daycare Parent Handbook effective November 1, 2026. I agree to follow its policies on tuition and fees, drop-off and pickup, illness, medication and withdrawal. I understand that Little Oaks Home Daycare may update these policies with written notice.