Questions That Put an Infant Care Promise to Work

Before enrolment, use EduNanny’s stated care commitments to ask specific questions about the setting, daily routine, staffing and terms your family can check.

When you are about to choose care for your baby, a solemn promise about safety and dignity can bring some comfort. It can also leave you with a practical question: what will care look like for your child on an ordinary Tuesday?

The EduNanny® Oath gives families a clear starting point. At EduNanny, we present it as a shared commitment to safety, wellbeing, dignity, best interests, trust, confidentiality and accountability. You can use those values to guide questions about the setting, daily routine and care agreement you are considering.

A stated value can help organise your questions, but you still need practical details about the daily arrangements and current agreement. A programme description also cannot tell you how your own baby will respond or develop.

Begin with the child’s ordinary day

A visit is most useful when you begin with your baby’s age, feeding pattern, sleep, comfort habits and the care hours your family needs. Share what helps your child settle, as well as anything that may cause distress. Then ask how the childminder would recognise a change in those needs and respond.

The Oath’s emphasis on safety, dignity and sound judgement gives these conversations a useful structure. You could ask where your baby will rest, how belongings and food are managed, what information is recorded and how an ordinary handover works. A short visit cannot show you an entire day, so the purpose is to understand the routine rather than reach a conclusion from a brief look around.

Safety, dignity and communication

Notice how the childminder speaks with you about infants and explains the arrangements in the room. Ask what everyday interactions might look like. Would the childminder name familiar objects, sing or read? How would they respond when your baby looks towards, reaches for or turns away from something?

At EduNanny, our ECDA Childminding Pilot sets out language, movement and sensory opportunities guided by each infant’s readiness. During your visit, ask how these opportunities fit around feeding, rest and your baby’s current cues. See whether the answer explains how the stated approach fits the care block your family is considering.

Information and trust

Ask who records feeding and rest, how concerns are passed to you and which matters should be discussed at each handover. Our pilot information also describes daily updates, routine communication and a nap camera above the cot. Ask how updates are given, when you can expect them and how access to the camera is arranged.

A general promise does not tell you how the arrangements work in practice. Listen for a clear explanation, then ask how it would work at the next handover and check it against the current agreement.

Test the answers against the arrangement

Illustration of a parent and childminder checking a clear cot and play area with an awake baby nearby

Now connect the care you heard about with the staffing and preparation behind it. The Ministry of Social and Family Development states that each pilot childminder will care for one to three infants at any one time (read the official announcement). At EduNanny, our ECDA Childminding Pilot describes care in a small group. The stated group size gives you a clear starting point for asking how feeding, rest, movement and transitions are organised.

Ask which childminder will care for your child, whether the placement is in a home or at Tampines East Community Club, and how the team manages a sudden change in availability. Find out what happens if your baby needs a quieter space, continued support with feeding or a particular handover arrangement. These questions show how the stated group size relates to your baby’s needs without assuming how every moment will unfold.

Preparation matters too. EduNanny describes background checks and predeployment medical checks, infant first aid, basic infant care and food hygiene training for pilot childminders. Ask which checks and training apply to the childminder you are considering, and confirm the relevant details in writing.

Read before you commit

Confirm the pilot details that affect whether the arrangement is available to your family. EduNanny’s Frequently Asked Questions states that the pilot is for Singapore Citizen infants aged 2 to 18 months who are not concurrently enrolled in a centre licensed by ECDA, and that it runs from 1 December 2024 to 31 December 2027. Our ECDA Childminding Pilot information also states that places are subject to availability.

EduNanny encourages parents to meet the childminder and visit the setting. Under the pilot terms, a trial lasting five days can be arranged after the visit, subject to availability. If a trial is possible, ask how your baby will be introduced, what information you will receive and how you can discuss the child’s settling in after the trial.

Read the current agreement before enrolment. Check the care location, agreed care block, fees, deposit, withdrawal terms, communication arrangements and any agreed changes to the care plan. Keep a short note of the points you want to raise at the first handover.

Before you sign, ask one final practical question: if the care arrangement were to change, who should your family contact, and what would happen next? A clear written answer will tell you more about fit than a broad assurance alone. Take the time you need, then choose an arrangement that fits your family’s needs and matches what you have confirmed in writing.