From the TinyGuard blog
Practical, founder-honest writing on running childcare and elder care facilities — and on building one box that replaces the vendor pile.
Licensing, state by state
Rule-cited, plain-English guides to each state's ratios, training hours, and inspections.
- July 10, 2026
Who can pick up your child from daycare — and how good centers actually verify it
A parent's guide to daycare pickup security — how authorized-pickup lists work, what good verification looks like, the role of check-in systems, and the red flags that mean a center isn't taking it seriously.
Read → - July 10, 2026
How to choose a daycare: 7 things worth checking beyond the tour
A parent's guide to choosing a daycare — ratios and licensing, staff turnover, safety, how they communicate, the software they use as a signal, cost transparency, and what happens when you leave. What to actually check, past the friendly tour.
Read → - July 10, 2026
How to choose an assisted living facility: 7 things to check beyond the tour
A family's guide to choosing assisted living for a parent — licensing and survey history, staffing and turnover, levels of care, safety, how families stay informed, cost transparency, and what happens as needs change. What to actually check, past the polished tour.
Read → - July 10, 2026
Licensed vs. unlicensed daycare: what the difference actually means
A parent's plain-English guide to licensed vs. unlicensed daycare — what a license actually requires (ratios, background checks, inspections), what 'unlicensed' can and can't mean, and how to check any center's license yourself.
Read → - July 8, 2026
What your daycare's app knows about your child — a plain-English data guide
A parent's guide to childcare app data — what these apps collect about your child, the biometric red flag to watch for, what COPPA gives you, and the questions to ask about your child's information.
Read → - July 8, 2026
Daycare cameras and your child's privacy: the 5 questions every parent should ask
A parent's guide to daycare cameras — who can see the feed, facial recognition, audio recording law, where footage lives, and your deletion rights. The five questions that separate a camera system that respects your child from one that doesn't.
Read → - July 8, 2026
Can I watch my child at daycare? What live camera access actually looks like
A parent's guide to live daycare cameras — what live access really is, what it isn't, what comes with it, and why some daycares offer it and some don't. Plus how to ask your center for it.
Read → - July 6, 2026
Massachusetts childcare licensing: the 1:3 infant rule, EEC certifications, and the parent's right to walk in
A founder's plain-English guide to Massachusetts large-group child care requirements — the 606 CMR 7.10 ratios (tightest in the country), the EEC educator certification tiers, hours-scaled PD, the 3-year BRC cycle, and the 5-year records rule — with citations.
Read → - July 6, 2026
Michigan childcare licensing: the May 2025 rule rewrite, MiLEAP, and the new group-size caps
A founder's plain-English guide to Michigan child care center requirements — the rewritten R 400.8222 ratios and brand-new group sizes, the MiLEAP handoff from LARA, 16 training hours, the two-year license, and the 2-year records rule — with citations.
Read → - July 6, 2026
New Jersey childcare licensing: the 3A:52 Manual, the decimal mixed-age rule, and the 3-year license
A founder's plain-English guide to New Jersey child care center requirements — the Manual of Requirements ratios and group rules, the fractional mixed-age math, 12/20 training hours, CARI + CHRI checks, and the 1-year records rule — with citations.
Read → - July 6, 2026
North Carolina childcare licensing: the star-rated license, the new Pathways rules, and the 75% rule
A founder's plain-English guide to North Carolina child care center requirements — the 10A NCAC 09 ratios, the 1-to-5-star license (and the July 2025 Pathways to the Stars rebuild), education-scaled training hours, the 5-year background cycle, and the compliance-history floor — with citations.
Read → - July 6, 2026
Virginia childcare licensing: the VDOE era, the flat two-year license, and twice-yearly inspections
A founder's plain-English guide to Virginia child day center requirements — the 8VAC20-780 ratios and 2021 group sizes, the statutory two-inspections-a-year floor, 16 training hours, the 5-year background cycle, and the 2-year records rule — with citations.
Read → - July 6, 2026
Washington childcare licensing: the choice-based ratios, the 2030 deadline the WAC hasn't caught up to, and the nonexpiring license
A founder's plain-English guide to Washington child care center requirements — the WAC 110-300 ratio options, the ECE certificate deadline the 2025 law moved to 2030, the 5-year (not 3) background cycle, and the 5-year attendance records rule — with citations.
Read → - July 5, 2026
Georgia childcare licensing: the DECAL ratios, the 20% mixed-age rule, and two unannounced visits a year
A founder's plain-English guide to Georgia child care learning center requirements — the 591-1-1 ratios and group sizes, DECAL's twice-yearly unannounced inspections, the signed arrival/departure records rule, training hours, and the comprehensive background check — with citations.
Read → - July 5, 2026
Illinois childcare licensing: the Part 407 ratios, the new IDEC era, and the 5-year records rule
A founder's plain-English guide to Illinois day care center requirements — the 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407 ratios and group sizes, who actually licenses you since July 1, 2026 (IDEC, not DCFS), training hours, background checks, and the stated retention periods — with citations.
Read → - July 5, 2026
Ohio childcare licensing: the DCY handoff, the 5180 renumbering, and the 6-hour training floor
A founder's plain-English guide to Ohio child care center requirements — the OAC 5180:2-12 ratios and group sizes, the new Department of Children and Youth (DCY) that took over from ODJFS, training hours, background checks, and the 12-month records rule — with citations.
Read → - July 5, 2026
Pennsylvania childcare licensing: the 3270 ratios, the 12-month certificate, and the annual unannounced visit
A founder's plain-English guide to Pennsylvania child day care center requirements — the 55 Pa. Code 3270 ratios and group sizes, the Certificate of Compliance that renews every year, the 12 training hours, and the three pre-hire clearances — with citations.
Read → - July 4, 2026
California childcare licensing: the Title 22 ratios, training, and inspections that actually apply
A founder's plain-English guide to California licensed child care center requirements — the Title 22 ratios (and the 1:12 vs 1:24 confusion), staff training, annual inspections, background checks, and SB 277 — with the regulation citations.
Read → - July 4, 2026
Florida childcare licensing: the 402.305 ratios, the Handbook trap, and what changed in 2025
A founder's plain-English guide to Florida licensed child care facility requirements — the s. 402.305 ratios (and why there's no group-size cap), the 40-hour intro training, DCF inspections, Level 2 screening, and the 2025 law changes — with citations.
Read → - July 4, 2026
Minnesota childcare licensing: the 9503 ratios, training hours, and the new 142B chapter numbers
A founder's plain-English guide to Minnesota licensed child care center requirements — the Rule 9503 ratios and group sizes, training hours under 142B.65, unannounced inspections, NETStudy 2.0 background studies, and the 142B.68 camera law — with citations.
Read → - July 4, 2026
New York childcare licensing: the 418-1 ratios, the NYC carve-out, and the 30-hour training clock
A founder's plain-English guide to New York child day care center requirements — the 18 NYCRR 418-1.8 ratios and group sizes, the separate NYC Article 47 table, OCFS training and inspections, and comprehensive background checks — with citations.
Read → - July 3, 2026
Texas childcare licensing: ratios, training, inspections — the requirements in one place
A founder's plain-English guide to Texas licensed child-care center requirements — the Chapter 746 ratios and group sizes, training hours, inspection cadence, and records retention — with the exact rule citations.
Read → - June 26, 2026
Staying connected when a parent is in assisted living
How assisted living and memory care teams keep families connected — consistent updates, consented family viewing, and care transparency, without more staff work.
Read → - June 26, 2026
Choosing software for small assisted living & memory care
A practical software guide for small assisted living, memory care, and HCBS operators — care docs, EVV, family communication, and why fewer systems beat more features.
Read → - June 26, 2026
What should childcare software cost? An honest breakdown
What daycare software actually costs in 2026 — parent app, cameras, billing, and the hidden add-ons — plus how to compare one bill against a stack of vendors.
Read → - June 26, 2026
Daycare apps with cameras: your real options in 2026
Want a daycare app with built-in cameras? Your choices are narrower than they look — a founder breaks down the three real options.
Read → - June 26, 2026
Daycare cameras done right: what to actually look for
A practical guide to choosing a daycare camera system in 2026 — ONVIF, on-site vs cloud, parent access, privacy, consent, and retention — from a founder who built one.
Read → - June 26, 2026
The real cost of running five separate daycare tools
The hidden tax of a five-vendor daycare stack — extra logins, swivel-chair data entry, mismatched timestamps, contracts — and what consolidating actually saves.
Read → - June 26, 2026
What EVV actually requires: a plain-English guide
Electronic Visit Verification explained: the six data points federal law requires, where EVV applies, and why bolt-on EVV vendors create double work.
Read → - June 26, 2026
How to switch childcare software without losing your data
A migration playbook for daycare directors changing childcare software — exporting data, timing the switch, running in parallel, and onboarding parents.
Read → - May 19, 2026
What Brightwheel doesn't do: a candid founder comparison
An honest founder comparison to Brightwheel — what it does well, and the gaps in cameras, EVV, compliance export, and HIPAA isolation that TinyGuard closes.
Read → - May 19, 2026
Prep for a childcare licensing inspection in 30 minutes
A founder-built playbook to cut childcare licensing inspection prep from 14 hours to 30 minutes, organized by what inspectors actually ask for.
Read → - May 19, 2026
Why we built a childcare camera platform that signs a BAA
A pre-launch founder explains why TinyGuard ships cameras and childcare operations as one platform that signs a BAA — instead of five separate vendors.
Read →