Free tools
BC child care subsidy calculator
Estimate your CCFRI fee reduction, the $10-a-day cap and Affordable Child Care Benefit eligibility — and what you’ll actually pay each month. Free, no signup.
Free toolCF2798 Child Care Arrangement form helper
The form you submit with your Affordable Child Care Benefit application. Fill it in below and download a clean, ready-to-sign copy. Free, no signup.
Free toolDaycare profitability calculator
Enter your numbers — see monthly profit, margin, per-child profit and break-even. Free, no signup.
Free toolAI lesson plan generator for daycares
A play-based, multi-day plan in ~20 seconds. Free, no signup — built by the Mitten team.
Free toolBC daycare staff ratio calculator
Pick your licence type, enter enrolment — see the staff required and your group maximum.
Free toolOntario daycare ratio calculator
Pick your age group, enter enrolment — see the educators required and your maximum group size under Ontario’s CCEYA.
Free toolAlberta daycare ratio calculator
Pick your age group, enter enrolment — see the educators required and your maximum group size under Alberta’s ratios.
Find a daycare near you
North Vancouver daycares
Live openings · 5 centres
BC · BoardSurrey daycares
Live openings · 14 centres
BC · BoardVancouver daycares
Live openings · 5 centres
BC · BoardVernon daycares
Live openings · 4 centres
BC · BoardComox Valley daycares
Live openings · 3 centres
BC · BoardBurnaby daycares
Live openings · 7 centres
BC · BoardRichmond daycares
Live openings · 5 centres
BC · BoardLangley daycares
Live openings · 9 centres
BC · BoardCoquitlam daycares
Live openings · 6 centres
BC · BoardVictoria daycares
Live openings · 6 centres
BC · BoardAbbotsford daycares
Live openings · 5 centres
BC · BoardKelowna daycares
Live openings · 5 centres
BC · BoardNanaimo daycares
Live openings · 5 centres
BC · BoardNew Westminster daycares
Live openings · 6 centres
BC · BoardMaple Ridge daycares
Live openings · 6 centres
Research, in plain English
Risky outdoor play: what the research actually says
Canada's position statement on active outdoor play, the UBC research behind it, and what 'as safe as necessary…
Research briefScreen time under 5: what the Canadian guidelines actually say
The Canadian Paediatric Society's screen-time position for children under 5 — the limits, the four M's, and wh…
Research paperNaps & sleep: how much young children actually need
Canada's 24-Hour Movement Guidelines on sleep for ages 0–4 — the hour ranges, why naps count, what consistent …
Research briefBiting: what the research actually says
Biting is developmentally normal: most children under 3 bite at least once, and physical aggression peaks arou…
TakeWe padded everything and called it progress
A short opinion on risk-free childhoods — and why Canada's own researchers concluded the padding has a cost.…
TakeThe screen-time number was never the point
A short opinion on the hour-counting wars — and what the Canadian guidance actually asks of parents.…
Guides for daycare owners
Free daycare management software (Canada)
An honest look at free daycare and childcare management software in Canada — what’s genuinely free vs a trial,…
Free templateFree daycare bookkeeping template
A free downloadable daycare bookkeeping spreadsheet for Canadian providers — log income and expenses, track mi…
SubsidiesHow to apply for the Affordable Child Care Benefit (BC)
A step-by-step guide to applying for the BC Affordable Child Care Benefit (ACCB): who qualifies, the income li…
SubsidiesCCFRI explained for parents
What CCFRI is, the 2025–26 fee reduction amounts by age, why you don’t apply, and how it stacks with the Affor…
Money & taxesDaycare taxes in Canada: what you can deduct
What Canadian daycare and home childcare providers can deduct, how GST applies to childcare, payroll obligatio…
Starting upHow to start a daycare in BC
The step-by-step path to opening a licensed daycare in British Columbia — licence types, health authority appr…
Licensing & complianceBC daycare staff ratios, explained
Staff-to-child ratios for BC licensed child care — group child care by age, multi-age, family child care and s…
ProgrammingHow to write daycare lesson plans (without losing your evenings)
A practical system for writing weekly daycare lesson plans: developmental domains, play-based structure, a reu…
Parent experienceDaycare daily reports that parents actually love
What belongs in a daycare daily report — meals, naps, activities, photos — with samples, timing tips, and the …
Money & taxesSetting (and raising) your daycare tuition
How to set daycare tuition in BC — market benchmarks, the $10-a-day and CCFRI funding context, cost-based pric…
Money & taxesDaycare profit margins: what’s normal, what moves them
Typical daycare profit margins, why staffing ratios dominate the math, and seven practical levers — occupancy,…
Money & taxesDaycare payroll, demystified
A practical payroll guide for daycare owners in BC — source deductions (CPP, EI, income tax), vacation pay, st…
Parent experienceParent communication that builds trust (and boundaries)
How daycares communicate with parents well — choosing channels, setting healthy boundaries, handling hard conv…
GrowthHow to fill your daycare (and keep a waitlist)
A practical marketing playbook for daycares — Google Business Profile, local SEO, referral engines, tours that…
$10-a-day & CWELCCCWELCC & $10-a-day child care, explained
What the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) program is, what fees look like in each province i…
$10-a-day & CWELCC$10-a-day child care in Ontario: where it actually stands
Ontario CWELCC in 2026: fees average about $19/day under the one-year extension to December 31, 2026. What par…
$10-a-day & CWELCCIs my daycare part of CWELCC? How to check
Three ways to confirm whether a daycare participates in the $10-a-day CWELCC program — what to ask, where the …
$10-a-day & CWELCCCWELCC for operators: the practical guide
A plain-English operator guide to CWELCC: whether to enrol, how fee caps work, what cost-based funding means i…
Starting upHow to start a daycare in Ontario
The step-by-step path to opening a licensed child care centre in Ontario — CCEYA licensing, the application pr…
Starting upHow to start a home daycare in Ontario
Ontario home daycare rules in plain English: the five-child unlicensed limit, what counts toward it, joining a…
Rules & ratiosOntario daycare ratios & group sizes
Ontario staff-to-child ratios and maximum group sizes under O. Reg. 137/15 — infant 3:10, toddler 1:5, prescho…
Software helpHow to export your data from Brightwheel
A practical guide to getting your roster, attendance, billing history and photos out of Brightwheel — what exp…
Software helpHow to cancel Brightwheel (without losing anything)
How to cancel a Brightwheel subscription cleanly: who can cancel, contract timing, the data to export first, h…
Software helpBrightwheel not working? The practical fix list
Practical fixes when Brightwheel misbehaves: parents not getting notifications or photos, check-in/QR problems…
Software helpHow to export your data from Lillio (HiMama)
Getting your roster, daily reports, billing history and photos out of Lillio (formerly HiMama) — what exports …
Software helpLillio (HiMama) not working? The practical fix list
Practical fixes when Lillio (HiMama) misbehaves: daily reports not sending, parents missing photos or notifica…
Software helpSwitching daycare software: the no-data-loss playbook
The complete playbook for switching childcare platforms: export checklists for Brightwheel/Lillio/Procare, the…
Starting upHow to start a daycare in Alberta
Opening child care in Alberta: facility-based licence vs family day home, the licensing steps under the Early …
Rules & ratiosAlberta daycare ratios & group sizes
Alberta staff-to-child ratios and maximum group sizes for licensed facility-based child care — infants 1:3/1:4…
Money & taxesDaycare tax receipts: exactly what CRA expects
Exactly what a Canadian child care receipt must include — when a SIN is required, what corporations include in…
Money & taxesThe child care expenses deduction, explained
How the Canadian child care expenses deduction works: who must claim it, the $8,000/$5,000 limits, eligible ex…
Software guideDoes Brightwheel work in Canada?
Brightwheel works in Canada — but CWELCC reporting, CRA receipts, provincial ratios and CAD billing are where …
Costs & dataWhat daycare costs in Ontario (2026)
What daycare actually costs in Ontario in 2026: about $19/day average at CWELCC programs for under-6s, full ma…
Software helpHiMama is now Lillio: what changed
HiMama rebranded to Lillio in November 2023 — same Toronto company, same app and login. What changed, what Lil…
Childcare software guides & comparisons
Brightwheel: pricing & setup
What Brightwheel costs, how setup works, what it does well, where owners get frustrated — and a cheaper, simpl…
Software guideLillio (HiMama): pricing & setup
What Lillio (formerly HiMama) costs, how setup works, its strengths in documentation, common complaints — and …
Software guideProcare: pricing & setup
What Procare costs, how setup works, its strength in centre administration and billing, common complaints — an…
Software guideFamly: pricing & setup
What Famly costs, how setup works, its modern design strengths, trade-offs for North American programs — and a…
Software guideKangarootime: pricing & setup
What Kangarootime costs, how setup works, its automation strengths for larger centres, trade-offs — and a simp…
ComparisonBest Brightwheel alternatives
Looking for a Brightwheel alternative? An honest comparison of Mitten, Lillio (HiMama), Procare, Famly, Kangar…
Run your daycare on Mitten — free to start
Everything these guides recommend — daily reports, billing, payroll prep, parent messaging — is one app.
Start free — no card needed → See the live demo