The under-an-hour review checklist for a daycare with fewer than ten reviews

By Steven Von · 2026-10-10 · 4 min read

Most daycares have only a handful of Google reviews, and parents notice. A checklist you can finish in under an hour to start getting reviews from your families.

A parent searching for child care reads reviews more carefully than almost any other customer. If your center has four reviews and the one down the road has thirty, she will call them first, even if your classrooms are better. The good news is that daycares sit on one of the easiest review sources of any business: families who walk through the door twice a day.

In our data on 64,363 child care listings, the median has 6 reviews, and 58.6% have fewer than ten. The top quarter starts at 19. That is a low bar. You do not need hundreds. You need a steady handful from real families, and a system so it keeps happening.

Here is the checklist. Set a timer. Most centers can finish it in 45 to 60 minutes.

Part 1: get the link ready (10 minutes)

• [ ] Open your Google Business Profile and find the "Ask for reviews" or "Get more reviews" button. Copy the short link.
• [ ] Test the link on your own phone. It should open the review box directly.
• [ ] Shorten nothing and add nothing. Use the link Google gives you.
• [ ] Save the link in three places: your phone's notes, your parent communication app's saved replies, and the office computer.

If you are not sure your profile is set up correctly, the Google Business Profile guide walks through it.

Part 2: write the ask (10 minutes)

Write one message you will send to parents. Keep it short and specific. Here is a starting point:

"Hi [parent name], it's [your name] at [center]. We love having [child's first name] in the [classroom name] room. If you have a minute, would you share what your family's experience has been like on Google? It helps other parents in [town] find us. Here is the link: [link]. Thank you."

A few things that make this work:

• Use the child's name and room. It shows the message came from a person who knows the family.
• Say why it matters. "Helps other parents find us" is true and parents respond to it.
• Do not offer anything in return. No tuition credits, no gift cards. Google's rules prohibit incentives for reviews, and it also makes the reviews look bought.
• Do not ask only the happy families. Ask everyone in good standing. Asking selectively is also against Google's rules, and a few honest four-star reviews make the five-stars more believable.

Part 3: pick who to ask first (10 minutes)

• [ ] List 10 families who have been with you at least three months.
• [ ] Put the ones who have recently said something kind at the top: a thank-you note, a comment at pickup, a nice message in the app.
• [ ] Add any family who just had a milestone with you: a child moving up a room, a first birthday at the center, a graduation to kindergarten.

Milestone moments are when parents feel the most grateful. Ask then.

Part 4: send the first batch (10 minutes)

• [ ] Send your message to the first five families today. Personalize each one.
• [ ] Send the other five next week. Spreading them out looks natural and keeps your review dates fresh.
• [ ] At pickup, mention it in person to one or two parents: "I sent you a quick note about a Google review. No pressure at all, but it really helps us."

The in-person mention is the step most directors skip, and it is often the one that gets the review written.

Part 5: make it a habit (10 minutes)

• [ ] Add a review ask to your enrollment anniversary messages. When a family hits six months or a year, send the note.
• [ ] Add a line to your monthly parent newsletter with the link.
• [ ] Put a small sign with a QR code at the sign-in station. "Love it here? Tell other parents on Google."
• [ ] Set a calendar reminder for the first Monday of each month: send five asks.

Five asks a month, with a reasonable share of parents following through, adds up over a year. A center that starts at the median can be well into the top quarter by next fall.

Part 6: answer every review (5 minutes, ongoing)

• [ ] Reply to every new review within two days.
• [ ] Never name the child or share any detail about the family in your reply. Thank them for trusting you and stop there.
• [ ] If a negative review comes in, reply calmly, once, and offer to talk directly. Never argue in public.

Parents read the replies as closely as the reviews. A warm, short, private-minded reply tells a new parent how you will treat her.

Why it is worth the hour

Reviews feed everything else. They help your Google ranking, they show up in AI answers when a parent asks for "the best daycare near me," and they make every tour request more likely. The reviews guide goes deeper on timing and wording, and the benchmark report shows how your center compares on reviews, ratings and website.

If you want someone to set up the review asks and replies for you, the free 14-day trial covers any one service, no card: text or call (385) 213-2802.

Steven Von, Editor
Steven has spent the last several years running growth campaigns for local service businesses, child care centers and daycares among them, and builds the benchmark datasets on this site from public Google listings. About the editor