One sunny afternoon, I joined my sister Elizabeth in picking up her three-year-old daughter, Crystal, from preschool. When we entered the classroom, Crystal was all smiles as she came barreling toward us, hugs and kisses for us both. She then grabbed her belongings from her cubby, said goodbye to her friends, and quickly ushered us toward the door. We strapped her in her car seat and headed toward the ice cream parlor.

“How was your day, Crystal?” asked Elizabeth. After a long pause, we heard a soft little voice from the backseat say, “It wasn’t me, Mommy. It was Sarah.”

I giggled, knowing that a curious tale involving preschool manners would follow. My sister was not amused. “What did Sarah do?” she asked.

“She ‘singed’ a bad song to me, Mommy. It had bad words in it!” said Crystal.

“Did you tell Miss Jackie?”

“Sarah said bad words!” maintained Crystal.

Elizabeth became incensed and said quietly to me, “I am going to call her teacher when we get home and complain about this!” 

Later, Elizabeth did just that. It turns out that both girls were caught teaching the class an inappropriate song and had been reprimanded for it. The teacher said she had planned to discuss this with Elizabeth, but because Crystal had been so eager to escape at pickup, she hadn’t had a chance.

When I heard this, I pointed out that if there had been a daily report in Crystal’s cubby, my sister would have been on top of the situation. She would have been aware that Crystal was fibbing and not misplaced her disappointment. Crystal, on the other hand, deflected blame and punishment, ate a rather large ice cream sundae, and continued on with her afternoon.

Daily reports are an important tool for both parents and child care providers. While these briefs don’t necessarily tell you everything that goes on in a day, they should include some of the following:

  • The time the child was dropped off and picked up (and by whom).
  • Some indication of the child’s disposition that day. It should describe her behavior or mood: Was she cheerful, tired, talkative, or mischievous?
  • Mealtime details. It should briefly state what the child ate for breakfast, lunch, and snacks. For infants, the report should detail bottle feeding times and ounces consumed.
  • Any activities or events they enjoyed that day.
  • Nap schedule and any relevant comments about nap time.
  • Diapers and potty times. This might detail the times the provider checked or changed the child’s diaper and notes indicating whether your child was wet or dry.
  • Notes about special activities such as art and crafts. This section may also point out special things a child did for herself: tying her shoes, sharing, or following directions.
  • Notes about any concerns or behavioral issues such as biting, fighting, anxiety, or withdrawal.
  • Reminders for parents to bring any supplies that the child is missing, including wipes, diapers, and clean clothes, or supplies for an upcoming project.

Preschool teachers and child care providers are extremely busy, but an excellent daily report will contain most of these items. For parents, the daily report helps open the lines of communication with the child care provider. It gives insight into how your child is behaving when you are not around. In addition, daily reports allow parents to become aware of behavioral issues and help them work on relevant issues at home in conjunction with the child care provider.

The daily report has been a lifesaver for me personally, working in the preschool environment. It helps me keep track of the ups and downs of the day and alerts me to issues that may have otherwise been overlooked.

For example, when I was working with three year olds, I had a particularly spirited child in class whose misbehavior was inconsistent. I kept careful notes about her behavior on daily reports. After looking over a month’s worth of reports, I realized that the bad behavior always took place when her mother picked her up and her father dropped her off. I talked with the parents and found out that they had recently separated and had joint custody. This little girl probably was having trouble transitioning into the new arrangement and it was making her anxious. Knowing that their arrangement was affecting their daughter’s classroom behavior, the parents worked on things at home to ease her school day.

From this experience, I learned a valuable lesson about how critical daily reports can be. They not only satisfy my own recordkeeping needs, but they are one of the best tools for communicating with parents in a hectic world.


Carla Snuggs is a freelance writer from Southern California. She is the day care feature writer for Suite101.com and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Family and Consumer Science with an emphasis in early childhood education.