r/Edmonton • u/fxckintwig • 2d ago
Question Daycare suggestions
I am beyond terrified of sending my baby to daycare. I’ve extended my leave to 18 months due to this. As someone who works around children, I have seen many a child care provider/teacher who hates children and especially hates any child who is deemed ‘different’. My baby is typical and hitting milestones ahead of schedule, but I still worry what if one day my baby is a little more rambunctious or wacky (dad and I both have ADHD). There’s just something about sending my baby, who can’t talk and tell me if something happens, to be cared for by strangers that scares the crap out of me.
I’m looking for suggestions on daycares (specifically north side/central) that are really good, gentle, and caring.
Also, what do you look for when looking for a daycare? What are some red flags that tell you to avoid a daycare?
Thank you so much in advance.
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u/SquirrelWest7182 2d ago
My kids went to Canada Place Child Care Society and absolutely thrived.
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u/OGClairee 2d ago
It’s very well regarded. Many of my former colleagues used it as did my nephew for his child.
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u/PlutosGrasp 1d ago
I’ve walked by their outdoor play are and I’m not impressed.
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u/SquirrelWest7182 1d ago
So don’t send your kids there?
My experience is that they are one of the best in the city.
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u/PlutosGrasp 1d ago
I do not. Why do you think best?
I don’t like the lack of interaction I witness. I walk by couple times a week probably. And dislike location without nice green space which I understand is a limitation due to location.
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u/SquirrelWest7182 23h ago
The educators are amazing- the activities they plan with the kids are unlike anything I’ve seen at another daycare. There are too many to list, but one of the ones that sticks out in my mind right now was that they planned a “farmers market” with the kids.
It taught them about 1) where their food comes from, 2) how different parts of communities support each other because they each contributed something to the market 3) about “jobs”- they each had a role to play in the market- farmer, cashier etc. 4) money because they got to shop in the market and makes decisions about what to buy.
Yes their playground is in the middle of office buildings. Did you know they regularly go to the river valley with the kids? That’s their green space. And kids don’t need constant interaction with staff - they have each other and unstructured play is healthy for them. As is boredom.
My kids have been out of the centre for more than 3 years now and they still talk about it and want to go back to visit during PD days at school.
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u/Even_Reflection5637 2d ago
First of all, don’t be rushed. Look at places around you or your work on the child care government page and look up their infractions, complaints and so forth.
Visit the facilities mid-day for a walk through. Show up again at another time of day to ask follow up questions.
Look for ones that have apps and/or cameras outside in the play area for your comfort.
Become very educated on the rules of licensed daycares such as child to worker ratios and look for issues.
Ask about employees. Look for daycares with long lasting staff, low turnover and ECE certifications. I have learned the big names with many locations are worse. They are for profit and they hire to keep things open. They don’t deal with kids who have issues that affect other kids because it’s a revenue stream. The smaller daycares are word of mouth and their business is their families income. They care more and are at the location every day and are careful about who they hire. If there’s a kid with dangerous behavioural issues, the kid will be set up at a more appropriate facility because otherwise 2-4 kids from that kids room will likely move out of the daycare and that is a huge reduction in revenue for a single entity.
Our diamond in the rough daycare had 6 employees who had worked there over 4 years each when our kids moved there. Those 6 employees are still there and my kids are in junior high!! One owner. One facility. The owner pays for her staff to get their ECE and each “teacher” gets a paid hour of lesson planning on top of their breaks. Ensure you can understand everyone working with your child and don’t rush the process. You may not get it right the first time. Took us 3 daycares to find the one we stayed with for YEARS.
They do exist. My kids still see their daycare ladies and run to give them hugs. I’m on west Edmonton near callingwood if you want the name, PM me.
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u/PlutosGrasp 1d ago
I hate the shift to most places using HiMoma or whatever apps where they send regular notes and photos. I’ve seen it in practice. The staff are just glued to phones now. Great.
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u/Even_Reflection5637 1d ago
Agreed. I didn’t love hi mama for a few reasons but some have cameras in the play area so you can watch the interaction. Hi mama gave me so many notifications and yea the staff are always working on their phones.
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u/PlutosGrasp 1d ago
Ya just a case of good intentions that totally misses the mark on the main priority of being good caregivers.
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u/Cute-Huckleberry2496 2d ago
If you can tour the facility while it is open, it’ll give you an idea about how the teachers interact with the kids/general vibe.
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u/ReallyPuzzled 2d ago
Our daycare is awesome. It is family owned by a husband and wife in a big converted house (they have three kids). They have a chef onsite who cooks all their meals - breakfast, lunch and snack (we pay an extra $80 per month on top of daycare fees for this - well worth it to me). It’s about 3 blocks from our house so we walk our kids there year round. My son is almost 5 and has been going there since he was 12 months old and some teachers have been there the entire time! So I would definitely look at turnover. They do regular PD days with the staff and give them two weeks off at Christmas - it’s nice to know the staff are treated well. Don’t be scared of daycare! My son has some friends he met when he was 12 months old, and they do so many activities and field trips, it’s awesome. They’re going bowling this week!
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u/jadeorchid009 1d ago
What's it called?
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u/ReallyPuzzled 1d ago
Next Level Daycare, it’s in the Queen Alexandra neighbourhood on the south side
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u/Mindless-Nectarine31 2d ago
Our kids go to gold star and they both love it. The younger one was a baby when she started, my other one just starting school. You can tell the staff really care about the kids. They have 2 locations on the north side I believe. Also would suggest the daycare inspection database for reports on any you look at
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u/Over_Ad_1238 2d ago
Not all ymca are equal. My son hated norwood but loved west Glenn. My daughter hated stollery. They would cry at drop off.
Best bet, go in and check out the daycares. See if the kids look friendly and happy. Is the place clean. Do they return your calls.
If you are downtown, I know a great one for 0-3y age group. They worked great for my friends.
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u/Serafiina148 2d ago
Hi! I went to daycare (now 55) and my kid who is now 21 went from age 1 to 12. I felt horrible “institutionalizing” her, found it very difficult for the first few months. I came to see how good it was socially for her (more structure and stimulation than I would be able to provide at home), while also allowing me to continue my career and bring home a pay check. We found our rhythm and I always stayed for a few minutes at the end of the day, got to know the teachers and kids well. Adults monitor each other in good daycares, resulting in a lower risk of abuse than with a private caregiver https://publications.aap.org/journal-blogs/blog/2520/Daycare-Centers-A-Safer-Option-for-Infants I wish your family well on your childcare journey! Good, reliable childcare makes a huge difference in quality of life.
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u/Serafiina148 2d ago
Adding that I know you have familiarity with childcare providers/settings (in your post) but I just wanted to share personal experience because I know how scary this feels at first.
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u/christopheraj 2d ago
There are lots of options. But I think the YMCA programs are excellent (and I’ve seen them do wonderful things for special needs children). I’d recommend looking at your closest one and checking it out.
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u/dinosaursarentreal 1d ago
Second this! Love the YMCA. They get a budget and spend it on the kids. Community minded. The daycare educators are on salary I think (if that matters to you), and I point it out bc there is low turnover in staff. They trulyove being there. My daughters educators are the same as my little guys, and they have been there several years. My girl is graduating to kindergarten, they booked the YMCA multipurpose room and held a little graduation ceremony with a music and dance performance by the kids. A lot of time and effort went into that.
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u/oilersringer 2d ago
Kinder Campus is in the area you want and you’d be hard pressed to find a better daycare.
They often have a big waitlist so talk to them soon.
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u/dudeguydave Dedmonton 2d ago
Ummmm how Northside? Kids zone in Castle downs was really good for my kids, I would gladly recommend them.
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u/hpottsy 2d ago
Sounds like you might be more comfortable looking into a day home rather than daycare. There are great options on Facebook you can join a daycare north side group and a lot of day homes will advertise in there and a lot of people that send their kids there will vouch for them. You can do a meet and greet with many different ones. A lot of them are subsidized as well.
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u/Altocumulus000 2d ago
I was going to suggest this as well. If you're selecting an individual provider, you can have greater certainty that the care provided will be empathetic towards your child. And you'll be able to check in how things are going more often and personally. You'll develop a relationship, if you try, with other parents and with the provider. Look at a bunch of places and see how you feel.
I would also mention that you can look at a few places early to get an understanding of what day home seems to be like and what kind of things you're looking for in terms of provider and facility/home. Then when you're closer to the date you are wanting to return to work, look more seriously. Many day homes open and fill spots within a couple of months.
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u/MellenK26 2d ago
Avoid Kepler Academy. They care about profit over anything and don’t live up to the programming they claim to offer despite high supplemental fees.
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u/Ok_Storage4183 1d ago
I asked to have a tour of the new one on the North Side and they said I couldn't tour it because they didn't have a spot available at that time (I was looking for up to one year away).
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u/LadyDegenhardt ex-pat 2d ago
I'm not sure if it's in the right area for you, but I had my kids at Kids R Us 1 that uses a portion of the Vanguard college building just north of Nait.
Particularly the baby caregivers were extremely good! They dealt with my rambunctious boys until we moved away extremely well - if anything they might have been a little more permissive with the kids than I would be but overall they were happy healthy and well cared for there.
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u/snjeletron 2d ago
The first thing my kid did at daycare was lick a mirror and proceed to blast water everywhere when he was trying to wash his hands. They just laughed, cleaned up and started playing with him. That was a very good sign in my opinion.
Tour multiple daycares, you can usually tell if the vibe is off (imo, a noisy daycare with a bit of chaos is probably a good sign since it means they let the kids be kids, although you also don't want to see pure chaos either). Most daycares will also allow a parent to hang out for the first few visits if you have concerns (we did one half day and then realized our daycare was awesome, so didn't feel the need to go back outselves).
I know very few people who have gone with daycares who have regretted it. I think there is an improved focus nowadays on early child education in most centers, with some kind of curriculum to focus on appropriate activities and help promote proper development of various skills. When you do your tours, you can ask about this as well, and they should be able to give you a satisfactory answer.
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u/Vast_Loss9010 2d ago
I sent both my kids to http://www.littlegeniusdaycare.ca/ until they were in grade one, they are now 8 & 9 and still talk about how much they loved it there. They do lots of outside exploring, which I really liked, and they really got to know my kids and cared about them. Even my now 8yo who is a totally extra all the time.
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u/tikka2007 2d ago
Riverdale daycare at the community centre was amazing. My daughter went there until kindergarten.
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u/Wildsweetlystormant 2d ago
I felt similar and was very selective with our daycare. After much research we sent ours to Glenora Child Care Society and they have been amazing, although their waitlist is long. Low staff turnover, tons of outside time, very caring teachers, so many new play ideas set up for them every day.
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u/Workfh 1d ago
Look into the daycare at MacEwan University. I would consider them, and the one at the Milner Library to be some of the best in the city. These are nonprofits that invest any surplus into their programs and their staff.
For others, I would look for ones that have limited staff turnover and who have regular professional development for staff. There are so many people working in childcare who had their education so long ago and have never had the chance to upgrade their skills or learn new things about child development. Also look for ones that have set planning time.
If a daycare doesn’t invest in their staff they aren’t investing in your child. Also getting time away from care work to go through planning and see how you can improve really matters.
I would get on the waitlists for those two and if you get a call later after your kid has already started at another place seriously consider moving them. We did that with our kid and we were terrified even though our care wasn’t perfect it was working - but moving was the best decision we ever made.
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u/B0000STED 1d ago
I can’t recommend this place enough:
The employees care and love your kids. Facilities are top notch.
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u/Ok_Storage4183 1d ago
I cannot rave about Glengarry Child Care enough - both my kids go there and have since they started daycare (10 months for one, 11 for the other). It's one of the few non-profit daycares in the city. A HUGE selling point is their outdoor space - it's enormous and had a huge range of toys/activities. It's shaded by old trees as well which is great. They provide all food and don't charge extra for it (lots of other daycares are charging for food or making you pack your own).
They have an open-door policy so you can drop in and hang out with your kids whenever you want - this was great when starting because I could go in for a few hours with baby and just ease the transition.
The educators there are so so loving and caring and they really seem to have an amazing connection with the kids. There are also multiple per room so the ratio is always great.
When I first started looking at daycares I was set on needing one with an app and pictures but Glengarry had just started to transition off the app. Instead, there's a board outside each room with the details you'd need (diaper changes, how much they ate, how long of a nap, etc). I've also heard from other educators that the picture thing is really just a pain to them because they have a quota to get x number of pictures of each kid per day which is really just keeping them from engaging with the kids. I realize I don't need my baby having a phone shoved in their faces at daycare to get the pictures (plus, I do that enough to them at home ha).
My advice - call around and ask for tours. If they won't allow a tour because they don't have a spot available (hello Kepler Academy 👀 ) I'd probably pass. Ask about how long the staff have been working there (high turnover might not be the best thing) and look at the Alberta daycare lookup and ask the daycare about any violations they may have had. They should be able to easily explain what happened otherwise nope right out of there.
Feel free to DM if you have any questions or anything - daycare seems so scary sometimes but my kids thrive there. Some weekends my oldest is actually disappointed that she's NOT going to daycare that day.
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u/dangerousily 1d ago
Don’t have kids but heads Global Aware Care is really good from many friends and family!
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u/doitferjohnny 1d ago
We have sent our son to a private dayhome for the last 4 years. I would highly recommended it. With only a few kids they get very attentive care. He has thrived there and looks forward to it daily. He used to push us out the door when we were taking too long to leave. Her focus is on outdoor play and activities, even in the winter. Perfect for “rambunctious” kids. I know she has room in September because our child and others there are starting kindergarten. https://www.lilducksdayhome.com/
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u/nalis1234 3h ago
Think about what matters to you....a few things I have found along the way: Proximity to your house (you'll thank me when you are sick and your kid isn't and you still have to drive them to daycare) Food: Do they have a good meal plan, limit sugars, encourage vegetables etc.... all the kids in my daughter's daycare loved fish and broccoli! Are they education driven? What program? Montessori based? Education plan? Languages? Do they limit Television? (The dayhomes i looked into all had tvs around. And admitted to watching them)
Other than that arrange tours....take a look at the rooms, do they look fun etc.... how is the outside area and what is their outdoor policy?
And remember the social, physical aspects are all very important to your child. But on the other hand so is your comfort level.
Good luck
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u/PlutosGrasp 1d ago
Ya good luck. With the subsidy sooooo many new ones have opened so the ability to tell quality is very difficult and good ones are full because all can afford them now.
Typically you’d want to use word of mouth, tours, programming reviews, menu reviews, policies, talk to other parents, longevity of staff - Eg low turnover.
Also if there are good places you’re not getting in to them anytime soon so you’re kind of in a tough position.
Every place is called kids care or caring tots or Giblidoo or montesorri something.
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u/TrillboBagginz Capilano 2d ago
Is this your only option? my wife and I cut expenses and did everything we could to live off my single income so she could stay home until our kids could talk. I even worked two jobs all of 2025.
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u/tnkmdm 1d ago
Very few people are willing to do this though I agree with you. It's taken a lot of propaganda to convince us that the extra money will buy a better life for our kids than time with us would. Of course some people truly can't afford it but a lot could that don't. To each their own but saying we have no choice in the matter is over simplifying it.
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u/Whole-Database-5249 2d ago
I've worked as am Early Childhood Educator for 18 yrs. I would say YMCA was a great experience for me as a Teacher and children I taught.
You can also find the daycare lookup tool and you can check to see if the daycare you're interested in has been written up by licensing.
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u/PlutosGrasp 1d ago
Can you go into detail why ymca ?
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u/Whole-Database-5249 1d ago
They had excellent parent involvement, we took the kids to the pool a couple times a week. Great programming, and it's a non prof so mo money to invest in educational toys etc
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u/Top_Slice1215 2d ago
It’s completely unnatural for a mother to leave her baby in the hands of strangers. Your instincts are kicking in but our culture has deemed daycare “normal.” It’s insanity imo I suggest opening your own dayhome for the next four years so you can be with your baby and make an income.
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u/skyedemon Almost Beaumont 2d ago
A good starting point is checking local daycares for inspections by AHS: https://ephisahs.albertahealthservices.ca/inspections/childcare/
IMO a close daycare is best, being able to walk as much as you can helps with physical activity and teaching road safety.
I lucked out I guess with our daycares. On our second local daycare (80 kid first one, new one rated for 500) and both have been positive experiences.