Infant Daycare Daily Checklist

A one-page-per-child daily record for an infant’s day in care (roughly 0–18 months) — feeding, diapering, sleep, wellbeing, and anything the next caregiver or the parent needs to know. Complete it as the day happens and send or hand it home at pickup. It is a daily communication record, not a substitute for the child’s enrollment file, an incident report, or a medication-authorization form — those stay separate documents.

This daycare checklist — infant classrooms especially — works best printed fresh every morning.

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1. Child & Day Information

• Child’s full name: [CHILD FULL NAME]
• Date: [DATE]
• Room / group: [ROOM OR GROUP NAME]
• Caregiver(s) on duty: [CAREGIVER NAME(S)]
• Arrival time: [ARRIVAL TIME]
• Departure time: [DEPARTURE TIME]

One sheet per child per day. If two caregivers cover a shift, list both — the log below doesn’t say who wrote which entry unless you initial it.

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2. Allergy / Medical Alert (if any)

• Known allergies or medical alerts for today: [ALLERGY OR MEDICAL ALERT, OR “NONE ON FILE”]

This is a quick-reference flag, not the authoritative record — pull it from the child’s enrollment file each morning rather than re-deciding it here. Leave the section out of a printed pack for a child with nothing on file.

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3. Feeding Log

Time	Type (breastmilk / formula / solid food)	Amount	Notes

Log every feeding as it happens — time, what, how much. Many centers discard any bottle left unfinished after a feeding and refrigerate unused prepared formula or breastmilk promptly rather than leaving it at room temperature; follow your center’s own food-safety policy for the exact times it allows.

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4. Diapering Log

Time	Wet / BM / Dry	Notes (rash, consistency, etc.)

• Diaper rash or skin concern noted today: [ ] Yes [ ] No

A pre-verbal infant can’t report discomfort, so this log is often the first place a rash, loose stool, or constipation pattern gets caught — by a caregiver or by the parent reading it at home.

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5. Sleep / Nap Log

Time down	Time up	Notes

• Every sleep placed on the back, on a firm flat surface, in the child’s own crib with no loose bedding, bumpers, pillows, or soft toys: [ ] Yes [ ] No

Reflects widely-published safe-sleep guidance for infants under 12 months (place on the back for every sleep, firm flat surface, own separate sleep space, nothing soft in the crib). Confirm this matches your own center’s written sleep policy — it is not a substitute for it.

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6. Mood & Wellbeing Notes

• General mood, behaviour, or anything a parent should know about today: [MOOD AND WELLBEING NOTES]

Plain language, not a clinical note — “fussier than usual after lunch,” “seemed extra tired,” “big smiles all morning” is exactly the right level of detail.

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7. Topical Applications (if applicable today)

• Sunscreen, diaper cream, or other topical applied today: [ ] Yes [ ] No
• Product and time applied: [TOPICAL PRODUCT AND TIME]

Skip this section on a day nothing was applied. Only apply a product with standing parental consent on file — this line logs that it happened, it does not grant the consent.

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8. Medication Given Today (if any)

• Medication given today: [ ] Yes [ ] No
• Medication name, dose, and time given: [MEDICATION NAME, DOSE, AND TIME]
• Given by: [STAFF NAME WHO ADMINISTERED]
• Signed parental authorization on file for this medication: [ ] Yes [ ] No

This log records that a dose was given against an authorization that already exists — it is not itself the authorization form. If the “authorization on file” box would be “No,” stop and get one before giving anything.

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9. Developmental Note (optional)

• New skill, milestone, or activity worth mentioning today: [DEVELOPMENTAL NOTE]

Nice to include when there is something worth telling a parent — a first roll-over, new babble sounds, reaching for a toy. Leave blank on an ordinary day; this is not a milestone-tracking form.

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10. Supplies Needed From Home

• Supplies for this child: [ ] Stocked [ ] Running low [ ] Out
• Items to send tomorrow (diapers, wipes, formula, spare clothing, etc.): [ITEMS NEEDED FROM HOME]

A quick flag for the parent, not a full inventory count — the “items to send” line is what turns this into something they’ll actually act on.

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11. Incident Note

• Any incident today that needs a separate incident report: [ ] Yes [ ] No
• Reference (incident report number or “see attached”): [INCIDENT REFERENCE, OR “N/A”]

A “Yes” here is a pointer, not the report itself — file your center’s actual incident report and reference it in this line.

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12. Caregiver Sign-Off

• Caregiver signature and time: [CAREGIVER SIGNATURE AND TIME]
• Second caregiver initials, if a shift changed hands (optional): [SECOND CAREGIVER INITIALS]

One signature is enough for a single-caregiver day — add the second line only when a shift handoff means more than one person completed this sheet.

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13. Parent Acknowledgment at Pickup (optional)

• Parent/guardian initials confirming this report was received: [PARENT INITIALS]

Some centers collect this, some don’t — include it if your pickup routine already involves a signature or initial for other paperwork; skip it otherwise.

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How to use this template

• Complete Sections 1–2 at drop-off, log Sections 3–10 through the day as they happen, and complete Sections 11–13 at pickup or closing.
• Skip Sections 2, 7, 8, and 9 entirely on a day they don’t apply — they are marked optional for exactly that reason.
• This is a daily communication record, not an incident report, a medication-authorization form, or the child’s enrollment file — keep those as separate documents and just reference them here (Sections 8, 11) when something happens.
• Hand or send the completed sheet home at pickup; file your own copy the way you already retain other daily child-care records.
• If your program serves infants across a wider age range, adapt the sleep-log wording once a child ages out of formal nap-safety tracking — this template is written for the under-12-months safe-sleep window specifically.