Moving your child from one daycare to another mid-year

Families switch daycares mid-year for ordinary reasons: a move, a schedule change, a centre that stopped being the right fit, or a spot finally opening somewhere worth the wait. Whatever the reason, the process has two parts: closing things out properly at the old centre, and helping your child through a second settling-in period they did not choose.

Start with what your current agreement actually says

Before anything else, find the enrolment agreement or handbook you were given when your child started at their current daycare. British Columbia does not set one standard notice period that applies to every licensed centre in the province. Each provider sets its own terms, so the number of days you owe depends on the agreement you signed with that specific centre.

If you cannot find the paperwork, or the wording is unclear, ask the centre directly. A short, direct question, "what is our notice period and what date would my last day of care be if I gave notice today," gets you a real answer faster than guessing. Our own comparing daycare options post covers how much terms like this vary between providers, and notice periods are one more thing worth asking about on any tour, even while you are still happy where you are.

Put your notice in writing, even if you also tell the director or your child's educator in person. An email or a short letter with the date you intend to leave gives both sides a clear record. It also protects you if there is ever a question later about when notice was actually given, which matters if a fee or a deposit is tied to the notice period in your agreement.

What a licensed centre keeps on file, and what does not follow your child

BC's Child Care Licensing Regulation sets out exactly what a licensed centre is required to record for every child in its care. Under section 57, a licensee must keep a current file that includes the child's name, sex, date of birth and immunization status, the date the child enrolled, a daily attendance record showing arrival and departure times, the name and phone number of a parent, medical practitioner and emergency contact, any allergy or medical condition disclosed, any medication administered, and the date the child stops attending the facility.

That last point matters for a family switching centres. When your child leaves, the old centre records the date they stopped attending and keeps that record on file, as required by the regulation. Each licensed centre's records exist to meet its own obligations under the regulation, and there is no general rule requiring one centre to send that file to the next.

In practice, this means a new centre will ask you to fill out its own enrolment paperwork from scratch: the same categories of information (allergies, emergency contacts, immunization record, routines) but collected fresh, through that centre's own intake process. This is how the regulation is written: each licensee is responsible for its own current record, collected directly from the family.

What you can do to make this faster is keep your own copy of the essentials. A note with your child's immunization dates, current allergy and medication information, and emergency contacts saves you from digging through old paperwork when a new centre asks for it on short notice.

A settling-in period, again

It is tempting to assume a child who already "does daycare" will slide into a new one easily. Many children take time to settle in again, and a rough first stretch is a normal part of the process.

A child who is comfortable at their current daycare has built that comfort around specifics: this room, these educators, this exact sequence of the day. A move changes all three at once. Even a confident, well-adjusted three-year-old can react to a new centre the way they reacted to their first day of care: some clinginess at drop-off, a change in appetite, disrupted naps, or more tiredness than usual in the first couple of weeks.

Ask the new centre what a settling-in period looks like there. Many licensed centres, including ours, take a flexible approach: shorter visits at first, building up gradually to a full day, rather than a fixed number of days that applies to every child the same way. If your family's schedule allows it, starting with shorter days in the first week, even if your child previously managed full days without trouble, can make the difference between a rough two weeks and a rough two months.

Bring what worked before. If a comfort item, a particular way of saying goodbye, or a specific reassurance helped your child settle at their old centre, tell the new educators about it on day one. That kind of detail lived in the old centre's staff room, not in any written record, so passing it along yourself is the only way it reaches the new one.

Talking to your child about the move

Keep the explanation short, honest, and age-appropriate, and expect to repeat it more than once before the actual first day.

For a toddler or young preschooler, something simple is enough: "We are going to a new place with new teachers and new friends, starting on Monday." You do not need to explain a scheduling conflict, a cost difference, or a disagreement with staff. A young child cannot use that kind of information, and adult reasons can sometimes make a child more anxious rather than more prepared, because it signals something is wrong without giving them anything concrete to hold on to.

If your child asks about their old daycare after the move, that is common, and it usually means the place mattered to them, which is worth feeling good about even while you are managing a transition. A plain, calm, repeated answer, "we don't go there anymore, we go to a new place now," tends to settle the question faster than a longer explanation would. Our post on why transitions are hard for young children goes into why a change like this asks more of a young child's brain than it looks like from the outside, and some of the same tools, like a consistent goodbye routine and naming what comes next, apply directly to a daycare switch.

If you can, visit the new centre with your child before the official start date. Ask directly whether that is something the centre offers. Meeting one educator and seeing the room, even briefly, gives a child something concrete to picture instead of walking into a completely unfamiliar building on the first real day.

Moving because a preferred spot finally opened

Sometimes a mid-year move happens because a family gets an offer from a centre they preferred all along, one that had a waitlist when they first needed care. If that is your situation, the notice and transition steps above still apply exactly the same way. Our post on how daycare waitlists work in BC explains why staying on a waitlist you preferred while your child attends somewhere else is common, and moving when that spot finally opens is a normal outcome of that approach.

What to have ready for the first day at the new centre

Most licensed centres will ask for the same general categories of information, though the exact list varies by provider. Expect to be asked for a couple of complete changes of clothes kept at the centre, a labelled water bottle, and any comfort item your child uses to settle for rest or nap. Confirm the specific list with the new centre directly rather than assuming it matches your old one, since packing requirements are not standardized across providers.

It also helps to write down, before the first day, anything about your child's current routine that a new educator would not otherwise know: nap timing, recent changes in eating or sleeping, words your child uses for the bathroom, and anything that reliably helps them calm down. You know these details. The new centre does not yet, and no regulation requires the old one to have written them down in a form that transfers.

Give it real time before judging how it is going

A rough first week or two at a new centre, after a child was previously settled somewhere else, is common enough that it should not be treated as evidence the move was a mistake. Give it the same runway you would give a first-ever start: at least a couple of weeks of the actual new routine before deciding whether something needs to change.

If your child is still struggling well past that point, or something feels off, raise it directly with the new centre. Ask what they are noticing during the day, since a child who is having a hard time at drop-off can still have a settled rest of the day. A real conversation with the people who spent the day with your child tells you more than their mood in the doorway does.

Frequently asked questions

How much notice do I need to give my current daycare before I leave?

It depends on the centre, since BC does not set one province-wide notice period for licensed child care, and this varies by provider and by what your own enrolment agreement says. Check the written agreement you signed when you started, and ask the centre directly if it is not clear. Giving notice in writing, even if you also say it in person, gives both sides a clean record of the date.

Will my child need to settle in again at the new daycare, even though they already know how daycare works?

Most children do need a real settling-in period again, though it is often shorter than the first time. A child who is comfortable at daycare is comfortable with a specific room, specific adults and a specific routine, and all three change at once in a move. Expect some of the same adjustment as a first start: possible clinginess, tiredness, or a change in appetite for the first couple of weeks.

How do I talk to my toddler about leaving their old daycare?

Keep it simple, honest, and repeated more than once before the move. "We are going to a new place with new teachers and new friends" is enough for a toddler. Avoid reasons that belong to the adults in the room, such as cost or a disagreement with staff, since a young child cannot use that information and it can make them anxious rather than informed.

Should I tell my child's new daycare why we left the old one?

You are not required to, and a new centre does not need the full story to care for your child well. What is useful to share is anything practical: your child's current routine, any recent changes in mood or sleep, and what helped or did not help during the last transition. That gives the new educators something to work with, without needing details about the old centre.

What information does a licensed BC daycare have to keep on file for my child?

BC's Child Care Licensing Regulation requires a licensee to keep a current record for every child, including their name, date of birth and immunization status, the date they enrolled, a daily attendance record, emergency contact information, any allergy or medical condition, any medication given, and the date the child stops attending. A new centre will ask you for most of this information again as part of its own enrolment, since your old centre's file does not automatically transfer.

Does my old daycare have to send records to the new one?

There is no general requirement for one licensed centre to send a child's file directly to another. Each licensed centre keeps its own record under the Child Care Licensing Regulation and closes it with the date your child stopped attending. In practice, most of what a new centre needs, such as allergies, routines and emergency contacts, comes from the parent filling out that centre's own enrolment paperwork.

What should I pack or bring on my child's first day at the new daycare?

The same basics any centre would ask for: a couple of complete changes of clothes, a labelled water bottle, and any comfort item your child uses to settle. Ask the new centre directly for its specific list, since requirements vary by provider. If your child used a particular comfort item, blanket, or routine at the old centre, mention it to the new educators on day one rather than waiting for it to come up.

Is it normal for a toddler to ask about their old daycare after switching?

Yes, and it is a good sign rather than something to worry about, since it means the old place mattered to them. Answer plainly and briefly: "We don't go there anymore, we go to a new place now." Repeating the same short answer calmly, rather than a long explanation, tends to settle the question faster than elaborating on it.

How long does it usually take for a child to settle into a new daycare after switching?

It varies by child, but many families see the hardest part ease within the first two to three weeks. Some children settle faster the second time because they already understand what daycare generally is, while others take it harder because they are actively missing a specific room and specific adults they were attached to. A short settling-in period, with shorter days building up to full days, tends to help either way.

Can I visit the new daycare with my child before their official start date?

Most licensed centres will arrange this, and it is worth asking for directly. A short visit lets your child meet an educator and see the room before the actual first day, which softens a transition that is already asking a lot of them. Contact the new centre to ask what a pre-start visit looks like there.

Before you visit

If your family is somewhere in the middle of this, whether you are giving notice at a current centre or looking for the next one, we are glad to talk it through. Settling-in here is flexible: shorter visits at first, building toward a full day at your child's pace, and families are welcome to visit with their child before the official start date. Contact us to arrange a tour and ask any of the questions above in person.