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Email templates · Daycare

Email template to ask a daycare about availability and tuition

You need child care starting on a certain date and you are trying to find out which centers have room and what they charge. Daycare centers group children by age, and each group has a fixed number of spots, so "do you have space" really means "do you have a spot in the infant room in March." Many centers keep a waitlist, and some charge a fee just to be on it. Tuition is usually quoted weekly or monthly, and it often leaves out the registration fee, a supply fee, and charges for late pickup. Emailing a handful of centers with the same question, on the same day, is the fastest way to build a real list, and the written replies are what you will compare when it comes time to decide.

Before you send

  • Your child's birth date, or due date if you are expecting. The age on the start date decides which room they would be in.
  • The date you need care to begin, and the days and hours you need. Full time and part time are often priced and waitlisted separately.
  • Your rough budget per month, so you can tell at a glance whether a center is realistic.
  • The things that matter to you: nap policy, meals provided, outdoor time, cloth diapers, a specific approach such as Montessori, or a location near work or home.
  • A list of five or six centers to ask. The good ones fill up, so ask more than you think you need.
Subject Availability and tuition for a [age at start] starting [month and year] 
Hi [center name] team,

I'm looking for care for my [son / daughter], who will be [age, for example "9 months old"] when we'd like to start in [month and year]. We'd need [full-time / part-time, and the days] from about [drop-off time] to [pickup time].

Could you let me know:

- Whether you'd have a spot in the right age group for that start date, and if not, how your waitlist works and how long it currently runs
- Your tuition for that schedule, and any registration, supply, or waitlist fees
- Your hours, and what happens with pickup after closing
- Whether meals and diapers are provided or brought from home

If you offer tours, I'd be glad to come see the center. I'm hoping to settle on a place by [date].

Thank you,
[Your name]
[Your phone number]

Everything in brackets is yours to fill in. Keep the rest as it is or change the tone to match how you write.

After you send

  • A good reply says yes or no on the spot, gives a tuition figure with the fees listed, and offers a tour. A vague "we'll add you to our list" with no numbers means you should ask again for the tuition and the waitlist length.
  • Ask what the waitlist fee buys. A refundable deposit that comes off your first month is fine; a non-refundable fee with no idea of your place in line is a poor deal.
  • Check licensing. Every state licenses child care centers and most publish inspection reports online, so look up each center before you tour.
  • Take a spot you like when it is offered, even if it starts a few weeks early. Centers usually will not hold a spot without payment, and the next one may be months away.

Or don't send it yourself

Forward the job to myagent@standinfor.me and let StandIn run the whole thread.

StandIn is an email assistant that handles conversations with businesses for you. You write it one email saying what you need. It writes to the business, waits for the answer, follows up when they go quiet, pushes back on the number when it should, and brings the results back to your inbox for you to decide. You don't need to install an app or sign up. The first email you send is already the start of the task.

Hand this to StandIn opens an email to myagent@standinfor.me with the job already written out

To myagent@standinfor.me Subject Find daycare availability and tuition for my child 
Hi StandIn,

Please find out which daycares near me have a spot for my child and what each one charges.

My child: [age on the start date, or due date].
Start date: [month and year].
Schedule: [full-time / part-time, days, drop-off and pickup times].
Area: [neighborhood, zip code, or an address to stay near].
Budget: about [amount] per month.
What matters to me: [meals provided, outdoor time, approach, and so on].
Centers I already know of: [names, if any].

Email each center with the same questions, find more if my list is short, follow up with any that do not reply within a few days, and bring me a comparison showing availability, waitlist length, tuition and fees for each.

Thanks,
[Your name]

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