This page is a resource of suggested items to pack and bring to daycare for your child.
A daycare packing PDF checklist with all the items on this page is available for download as well.
Daycare items for non-potty trained children
Diaper bag
Also known as a baby bag or changing bag.
A diaper bag or baby bag is the bag that you use to pack and carry all your child’s care essentials. These include diapers, baby bottles, wipes, clothes, etc.
Your diaper bag comes with you when you drop off your child at daycare and stays at the daycare until you return to pick up your child.
Below are qualities a good diaper bag or baby bag should have:
- Good storage capacity: You should be able to pack a full change of clothes, some diapers, wipes, baby bottles, and formula in one diaper bag.
- Multiple compartments and pockets: These help you to separate items that spill (such as milk and water) or items like dirty clothes from other items in your diaper bag.
- Easy to clean: If something spills in your diaper bag, you should be able to wipe it clean without the walls of your bag getting stained or soaked.
- Water-proof or water resistant: You should be able to carry your diaper bag in the rain or snow without the contents of your diaper bag getting wet.
- Padded straps: Padding on the straps of your diaper bag helps you carry your diaper bag for long periods of time comfortably.
- Durability: Buy a diaper bag that will not flake after extended use. Meaning the inner or outer material of the bag should not peel away with time.
- Multiple carry options: Buy a diaper bag with straps that give you the option to either carry the bag over your shoulder, hang it from a stroller, or hold it in your hand.
- Unisex design (optional): Consider buying a diaper bag that your partner can carry without feeling self conscious.
Disposable diapers
Diapers are undergarments that absorb urine and hold poop until a child is cleaned up. Diapers can be separated into two types:
- Disposable diapers
- Reusable diapers
Disposable diapers
Disposable diapers are single-use diapers that are designed to be disposed of after a single use.
When children are in the process of potty training, they at times wear pull-up diapers. Pull-up diapers are a type of disposable diaper that is designed to be easy for a child to pull up and down on their own.
When you pack disposable diapers for daycare, label them with your child’s name. This helps to distinguish them from other children’s products.
Reusable diapers
Reusable diapers are not suitable for daycare use.
Cloth diapers, also known as reusable diapers, are made of fabric and can be washed and reused multiple times.
Most daycare providers will not wash your child’s cloth diapers or nappies for you.
Some daycare providers are also unwilling to keep dirty cloth diapers in your child’s diaper bag for you to take home. This practice is generally unsanitary in practice and contributes to bad odour in the daycare.
Baby wipes
Baby wipes are absorbent, soft, moist, disposable cloths infused with a gentle cleaning solution.
Wiping your child’s butt, cleaning their groin area, hands, and skin are some of the things that baby wipes are used for in a daycare.
You can buy baby wipes in different kinds of packaging.
However, pop-top packs and push button packs are preferred because they take up less space than other kinds of packing such as tubs, dispensers, and containers.
When you pack baby wipes for daycare, label them with your child’s name. This helps to distinguish them from other children’s products.
Diaper cream
Also known as diaper rash cream or baby butt cream.
Diaper cream may be applied to your child’s butt and thighs after wiping them clean after a diaper change.
Diaper cream protects your child’s skin from irritation that can arise due to prolonged contact with urine and feces.
When you pack diaper cream for daycare, label it with your child’s name. This helps to distinguish it from other children’s products.
Daycare items for infants
Skin-safe baby powder
Baby powder may be applied to your child’s butt and thighs after wiping them clean after a diaper change.
Applying skin-safe baby powder helps prevent skin irritation by reducing friction from the rubbing of diapers on your child’s skin.
Baby powder may also help to absorb excess moisture around your child’s groin area.
When you pack baby powder for daycare, label it with your child’s name. This helps to distinguish it from other children’s products.
Milk, baby formula, or alternatives
You may need to pack breast milk, baby formula, or other alternatives for your infant.
Baby bottles
Pack baby bottles in a separate compartment in your child’s diaper bag. This ensures that any accidental spills from your baby bottles do not soak other items such as diapers or clothes in your child’s bag.
However, it is bad etiquette to bring dirty baby bottles to daycare with the expectation that your daycare provider will wash them for you.
You may fill your baby bottles with mixed infant formula, breast milk, your own special nutritional blend, or simply pack empty baby bottles for your child.
A good baby bottle should be:
- Dishwasher safe
- Microwave safe
- Durable (your child will frequently chew on the nipple of their baby bottle. If your baby bottle is not durable, the bottle nipple will break down due to regular chewing)
- Easy to clean
Baby bibs
Baby bibs protect your child’s clothing from food and drink stains, drooling saliva, and vomit.
Pack practical baby bibs for your child. Do not pack bibs that look fashionable or stylish but fail to protect your child’s clothes from stains, messes, and drool.
- Pack silicone baby bibs if your child makes a mess while eating
- Pack multiple, high quality, absorbent cloth bibs in addition to silicone baby bibs if your child drools
Daycare items for toddlers and older children
Water bottle
If your child no longer uses baby bottles, pack a water bottle for your child.
Bringing some water in a water bottle helps ensure that your child remains hydrated throughout the day.
Buy a child-sized water bottle for children 3 and above.
If your child is below the age of 3 but no longer uses baby bottles, either a child-sized water bottle or a sippie cup will work.
Daycare items for all ages
Sunscreen
Sunscreen protects your child’s delicate skin from harmful ultraviolet light when your child is exposed to direct sunlight.
When sunscreen is applied to your child’s skin, it reduces the risk of sunburn during outdoor play.
You can buy sunscreen in a variety of forms such as lotions, creams, and sprays.
However, sunscreen lotions are generally preferred over sprays.
Sunscreen lotions are easier to apply to a child’s face than spray products.
Sunscreen sprays can easily get into a child’s eyes and they could easily inhale it while its being applied to their face.
Spray products also run out faster than lotions and therefore have to be purchased more frequently.
When you pack sunscreen for daycare, label it with your child’s name. This helps to distinguish it from other children’s products.
Insect repellent
Insect repellent keeps your child safe from insects such as mosquitoes during outdoor play.
When insect repellent is applied to your child’s clothes or skin, it releases chemicals that insects find unpleasant.
This keeps insects away from your child and helps prevent insect bites and stings.
You can buy insect repellent in a variety of forms including lotions, creams, sprays, or wipes.
Insect repellent lotions and creams are generally preferred over spray repellents.
Lotion repellents tend to protect your child from bugs for longer than spray repellents after being applied. That’s because spray repellents tend to evaporate faster than lotions after being applied.
When you pack insect repellent for daycare, label it with your child’s name. This helps to distinguish it from other children’s products.
A full change of clothes
Always pack a full change of clean clothes (including underwear and socks) in your child’s bag.
If your child vomits on their clothes, spills food or drink, or gets urine or poop on their clothes, your daycare provider will change them into the clean clothes that you pack for such emergencies.
A small blanket
Some daycare providers require each parent to bring a nap time blanket for their child. This prevents the sharing of bedding items among children and reduces the spread of disease and infections.
Pack a small blanket in your child’s bag to keep them warm during nap time.
Meals and snacks
Below are a few examples of situations in which you may need to prepare and pack meals or snacks for your child:
- Your child doesn’t eat the food that the daycare serves.
- Your daycare provider requires each parent to bring prepared meals for their child.
- You prefer to prepare your child’s meals.
When packing meals for your child, below are some packaging options that you may use:
- A lunch box
- Small container
Medication
Always discuss your child’s health and medication requirements with your daycare provider before packing medication for your child. Never assume that your daycare provider will medicate your child simply because you packed medication for your child.
What not to pack for daycare
Below is a list of items that are generally not recommended to bring to daycare.
- Pacifiers. Children frequently share pacifiers, drop pacifiers on the ground, step on them, and identical pacifiers are frequently mixed up. Therefore, some daycare providers have a “no pacifier” policy due to the risk of infection and contamination.
- Toys and stuffed animals. It may seem like sending your child to daycare with their favourite toy is a good idea. But what happens when other children feel it’s their turn to play with your child’s toy? In such cases, your child often feels like the toy is their personal property and they do not “owe” anyone else a turn. This often leads to fights that could easily be avoided by not bringing personal items to daycare.
- Valuable or precious items. Do not bring any item to daycare that you deem too valuable to incur damage. For example, do not dress your child in clothes that you deem too valuable to get stained or damaged.
- Do not bring anything that is against the child care policies of your daycare.