As a daycare provider, you need to put your best foot forward with the families you serve. Parents have high expectations for those in charge of their little ones — and with today’s competitive market, there’s little room for error.

Delivering this first-rate child care starts with better efficiency. 

But from contracts and authorization forms to allergy lists and payment records, there’s a lot of information flying around at your center on any given day. 

Keeping all of these pieces organized not only makes your business run more smoothly. It also shows parents your professionalism, which builds credibility and trust. 

Happy parents are your greatest asset — they’re the fuel that powers your word-of-mouth marketing. Parents spend a lot of time choosing a daycare center, but Nielsen says that they’re 83% more likely to trust a recommendation from someone they know. 

Without efficient ways to collect the information you need, you’re not just risking administrative burnout, but you might be missing out on opportunities, as well.

Easy access to this data ensures you’re prioritizing children’s safety and best interests, communicating more effectively with parents, and complying with necessary state regulations.  

This guide lays outs:

• The benefits of digital daycare forms
• An easier way to collect the information you need
• Questions to include in your digital child care forms
• How better surveys improve your program

The benefits of digital daycare forms

Effective daycare management starts with a better, faster way to collect the information you need.

But today, too many childcare businesses rely on pen and paper forms to manage everything from approved guardians to necessary medical information. If you want to organize this information digitally — and keep it updated — that means entering data form-by-form, one-by-one.  

Or worse, everything’s stuffed into an old cabinet in the back, under that filing system you’ve meant to update. Taking form processes digital helps ensure:

• Better, faster access to parents 
• More secure data collection, relaxing parents’ privacy concerns
• On-the-fly access to what parents need you to know
• Easier updates as children grow under your care 
• Informed, strategic, and engaging marketing efforts that bring in new enrollment

An easier way to collect the information you need

With a digital form survey tool like Constant Contact’s, you collect the information you need in a consistent way — tailored specifically to your daycare.  

Keep these things in mind when creating your forms: 

• Straightforward, clear, and organized
• Match your branding, setting a professional tone
• Have customized data fields, tailoring each for the information you need
• Promote through your website, via email, and on social media

Because this tool can integrate into your email marketing strategy, it’s even easier to manage every child’s profile. You can automate emails to reach the right parents at the right time — whether you need to: 

• Update their kid’s information
• Onboard new enrollees
• Ask for evaluation feedback
• Renew contracts
• Confirm, add, or change authorizations

This means you spend less time managing information gaps — so you can run the program parents expect. 

Questions to include in your digital child care forms 

Having access to comprehensive, current information means you can provide the best care. 

But digital forms also encourage more parental involvement, building their confidence in your program. Engaged parents lead to better communication, satisfaction, and ultimately, retention and referrals. 

This guide shows you how to write clear, focused questions so you get the responses you’re looking for. In general, daycare forms can include:

• Closed-ended questions for key information or yes/no responses
• Multiple choice or dropdown questions with a predetermined list of choices
• Scale questions that measure feelings, preferences, and opinions
• Open-ended questions that offer more detail and meaningful insights 

Application form

The application form is often the first communication you have with potential enrollees. Crafting yours with care can go a long way in establishing a great, long-term relationship. 

Make sure this form:

• Is accessible and easy to find, like on your website and linked in emails
• Details what parents should expect, like application timelines
• Uses inclusive, welcoming language

When a new form is submitted, you can even prompt an automated email series to give parents clarity on what to expect next. This engagement signals your attentiveness — boosting faith that their child is in good hands before they’re even through the front door. 

Start with fielding basic information on your daycare application form, like:

• Who are the guardians?
• Which guardian should be contacted first?
• Does the child have siblings? 
• Any allergies or existing medical conditions?
• Are there dietary restrictions?

Then include behavior-based questions to understand parents’ expectations, like:

• Does your child prefer to play in a group or on their own?
• What’s your child’s general daily schedule?
• What helps calm your child down when they’re upset?
• Does he or she have any fears?
• Have there been any recent changes in the child’s life?
• What is their favorite activity?
• What language is spoken at home? 
• Why did you choose our daycare center?

Don’t forget about the specifics that ease enrollment management, like:

• What days will you require childcare? 
• Is this requirement set or flexible?
• What time will you drop-off and pick-up?
• How do you prefer to be contacted?
• Anything else we should know? 

Expression of interest form

Not all parents will be ready to apply right away — but you can use digital forms to track what interest is out there. 

This gives you a ton of insight about who is looking at your center, which can optimize your marketing efforts so you’re speaking to the right crowd. Or you might uncover what keeps parents on the fence — and make the right changes to drive enrollment. 

You can also engage these parents with extra resources to guide their decision, like:

• A tour invitation
• Answers to FAQs
• Curriculum details

Ask for necessary details about interested parents and their child, like contact details, care requirements, and program preferences. Then tease out extra insight with questions like:

• Why do you need childcare?
• What is most important to you about your child’s daycare center?
• What activities does your child most enjoy?
• How do you feel about our caretaker-to-child ratio?
• What attracts you to our daycare center?

Daycare enrollment forms

You’re ready to welcome a new child into your program. The more detailed information you collect at this stage, the better care you can provide — while winning parents’ confidence. 

You need to get a lot of data in one go — simplify it with categorized enrollment forms. This keeps parents from getting too overwhelmed while making it easier for you to collect updates as needed. 

Putting these forms on your website helps parents make updates on their own. With a digital survey tool, you can see gaps in these updates — and email the right form to the right parents, keeping all information current. 

Use medical forms that ask about:

• Immunization history
• Pediatrician contact details and insurance information
• Their preferred hospital
• Allergy, medical condition, and disability updates
• Who to contact if their child is sick

Authorization forms ensure you know:

• What medical care and treatment you can administer
• Approved guardians and babysitters
• Any special custody arrangements 
• If you have parental permission for photographs, outdoor play, and participation in all daycare activities   

A behavior form improves your childcare management with questions about:

• Eating habits, like their schedule and preferred foods
• Toilet habits, like regularity and level of potty training
• Social relationships, like fears, reactions, and ability to play alone
• Developmental history, like when the child began sitting, crawling, and speaking

Feedback Forms

Parent feedback is one of the best ways to evaluate your daycare center. You can get access to powerful information about your program and its processes, helping to:

• Identify areas of improvement
• Guide better planning and budgeting
• Provide parents more opportunity to feel involved in their child’s care

They can also show you what you’re doing right — boosting your team’s confidence and motivation. 

Engage parents with surveys or polls about:

• Milestones families are working towards at home
• New activities their child expresses interest in
• Parental satisfaction in your curriculum
• Staff and program evaluation
• Your level of communication
• Opinions about your policies 
• What you can do better

Better surveys improve your program

Your forms help you maintain comprehensive, up-to-date information to provide better child care.

But it goes beyond that. Customized surveys can integrate right into your communication with families, opening up a two-way street that keeps parents engaged. 

What you ask — and learn — can guide everything from:

• Blog posts that answer parents’ concerns and fears
• Email marketing ideas based on what parents want to know
• What works to convert prospective enrollees
• How to ease the enrollment process

Get started with your first survey to start working smarter — and with more satisfied parents. 

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