Daycare, preschool, or both?

The words get used loosely, and plenty of places are both. Here is what they usually mean, and how to decide which one your family actually needs.

What the labels usually mean

• Daycare is built around your working day. Full-day, year-round, often from infancy through age five, sometimes with before-school and after-school care for older children. Learning happens, but the organising principle is care while you work.
• Preschool is built around a school year and a curriculum. Typically ages three to five, often part-day or school-day hours, with breaks that follow the school calendar. The organising principle is readiness for kindergarten.
• Many providers are both. A full-day center with a preschool classroom for its three and four year olds is the most common arrangement, and it is often the easiest fit for working parents.

How they are licensed

In most states, including Texas, both are licensed and inspected under the same childcare rules when they care for children for a set number of hours a day. A “preschool” that runs full days is, for licensing purposes, a childcare center. Some short-day preschools and programs run by schools or churches fall under different rules or are exempt. On a provider’s page you can see the permit type and what ages it covers.

Deciding

• Start with hours. If you need care from 7:30 to 5:30 all year, a part-day preschool alone will not work, however good it is. Filter by hours first.
• Then ages. If you have a baby and a four year old, one provider that covers both simplifies your life enormously.
• Then program. Ask what a four year old’s day looks like. You are listening for a mix of guided activity, free play, outdoor time and rest, whatever the sign on the door says.
• Then cost and assistance. Some providers accept childcare assistance and some do not. Filter for it if you use it.

A simple test

If the answer to “what happens if I am late” is a fee schedule, it is daycare. If it is “the school day ends at 2:30”, it is preschool. Both can be excellent. Pick the one whose shape matches your week.