What a toddler daily report should include, and how to fill it in quickly
A toddler daily report should include meals with amounts, nap start and end times, diaper or toilet changes, mood, and one line about the child's work. To fill it in without losing the morning, record each entry when it happens. Staff log each one in FutureNerds.
What to include
Families read the daily report to plan the evening: dinner, bath and bedtime. Each field should answer a question a parent has at pickup.
| Field | What to write | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Meals and snacks | Which meal, how much was eaten, what was on the plate | "Lunch: rice, beans, banana. Most." |
| Nap | The time the child fell asleep and the time they woke | "12:40 to 2:05" |
| Diapers or toilet | The time, and wet, soiled or dry | "10:15 wet. 1:30 soiled." |
| Mood | One word from an agreed list, morning and afternoon | "Morning: calm. Afternoon: tired." |
| Work or activity | One thing the child chose or did | "Poured water at the practical life shelf, many times." |
| Notes | Anything the family must know today | "Small rash noticed at the 1:30 change. Cream applied." |
Use a short scale for amounts (all, most, some, none) and an agreed list of mood words.
What to leave out
- Judgment words such as "naughty", "difficult" or "a little angel". Describe what happened.
- Other children's names. "Had a disagreement over the pouring tray" is enough.
- Guesses about health. Record what you saw, such as a temperature or a rash, and call the family if your illness policy says to.
- Anything that needs a conversation. A daily report is a record, and a worry about development goes to a meeting.
Start the report at drop-off
The day's record starts before the child is in the room. Ask at drop-off about the night's sleep, breakfast and anything unusual, and write it at the top of the report. A child who woke at 4am will nap early, and the staff need to know that at 9.
Who writes what
Give each field one owner. The adult who changes diapers records diapers. The adult at the lunch table records meals. The adult with the nappers records naps.
Half an hour before pickup, one adult reads every child's report for gaps while the staff who saw the day are still there.
How to fill in toddler daily reports during the day
- Agree as a team on the fields, the meal scale and the mood words.
- Put a recording tool, such as a clipboard or a tablet, where each entry happens: at the changing table and near the lunch tables.
- Give each field one owner.
- Write the family's drop-off notes at the top of each report.
- Record diapers, meals and naps right after each one happens.
- Record mood at two fixed points, such as after snack and after nap.
- Add one line about the child's work when there's time.
- Half an hour before pickup, check every report for gaps and fill them in.
Keeping toddler daily records without losing the morning has a sample daily rhythm for each of these steps.
Doing this in FutureNerds
FutureNerds has a Daily Tracking page for each classroom, on the web, iPhone, iPad and Android. Staff log entries for each child as the day goes, from that page or from Quick Record, and can log one entry for several children at once with batch entry.
| Entry | What staff record |
|---|---|
| Nap | Start and end time. Active naps show at the top of the page until they're ended. |
| Meal | Breakfast, morning snack, lunch or afternoon snack. Amount: all, most, some or none. The items. |
| Diaper | Wet, soiled, both or dry, and whether cream was applied |
| Activity | The activity name and the minutes |
| Mood | Happy, calm, fussy, upset or sleepy |
The entry types follow the room's age level. Infant and toddler rooms get all five. Primary rooms get activity and mood, plus naps if the youngest child is under 48 months. Elementary and adolescent rooms get none.
At the end of the day, staff write one Daily Summary for the classroom. "Generate draft" fills the text from the day's attendance, observations and lesson plans, and staff edit it before publishing. Parents see entries in the app as they're logged, "Today's summary" on the Today screen, and the last 3 daily reports. A school can also send families an evening digest email at a time it chooses. The digest starts off.
FutureNerds is free for your first 10 students, then $0.50 per child per month with no setup fee, and standard Stripe fees plus 1% apply if you collect family payments through it (pricing). See toddler daily records.
Questions and answers
What should be on a toddler daily sheet?
Meals with amounts, nap start and end times, diaper or toilet changes, mood, one line about the child's work, and any note the family needs today.
When should toddler daily reports be filled in?
Record each entry right after it happens, then check every report for gaps half an hour before pickup. Writing the whole report at the end of the day takes longer and loses detail.
Can parents see the daily report before pickup?
In FutureNerds, yes. Parents see each entry in the app once a staff member logs it, so the day's record is there during the day and at pickup.
Does FutureNerds write the daily summary for me?
FutureNerds fills a draft from the day's attendance, observations and lesson plans when you press "Generate draft". You edit it and publish it.
Do primary classrooms get daily tracking too?
Yes, in part. In FutureNerds, primary rooms record activity and mood, plus naps when the youngest child is under 48 months. Infant and toddler rooms get all five entry types.
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