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Infant Daycare in Berks County: When to Get on a Waitlist

When to get on infant daycare waitlists in Berks County, why infant spots are scarce, what centers charge to hold a spot, what to ask about the infant room, and the options while you wait.

Berks Connect Blog|Published October 29, 2026
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If you're pregnant and you'll need infant daycare in Berks County when your leave ends, get on two or three waitlists now, while you're still expecting. That's the standard national advice, and two Berks inquiry forms make room for it: one asks for a birthdate or due date, the other for a due date if you're pregnant. Two Berks centers print the rule they use: first come, first served, as rooms open up. Pull up our list of daycares in Berks County, pick the ones on your commute, and call about the infant room, the classroom for babies six weeks to a year old.

When should you get on an infant daycare waitlist in Berks County?

During pregnancy. That's the national guidance: join lists while you're expecting, tour as soon as a center will show you its infant room, and give each director your start window in writing. One national guide puts infant waits in high-demand cities at six to twelve months, and another says lists run from a few weeks to over a year; for a Berks room, the wait is whatever the director tells you for the room your baby would enter, and that's the number to ask for. The Berks evidence is in the forms: a Blandon center's form asks for your due date if you're pregnant, and a Hamburg center's form asks for a birthdate or due date.

A waitlist is the list a center keeps when the room is full, and joining it doesn't enroll your child. The two Berks centers that print a rule enroll first come, first served, and only when space is available, but a national guide for parents says most lists aren't strictly first come: offers go to the family that fits the opening, so the baby has to be the right age for the room that opened, and some centers move up a sibling already enrolled, a full-time schedule or a matching start date. One national chain with a Reading center says that at many of its centers a child enrolled at another of its locations has priority.

So ask each center how it decides who gets the next seat.

Why are infant spots the scarce ones?

Because of the ratio, which is how many babies one adult may care for. Pennsylvania allows a center one staff person for four infants, no more than eight in a group, and an infant is any child under one. A preschool room may run one adult for ten children, twenty in a group. So an infant room of eight needs two adults who could otherwise cover twenty preschoolers, which is why centers open fewer infant seats and price them highest, and why a seat opens only when a baby moves up to the toddler room or a family leaves.

Most infant rooms here start at six weeks; most run to twelve months and a few to sixteen or eighteen, and when a center mixes ages in one room, the youngest child sets the ratio for everyone in it. Two Berks centers print an infant weekly rate, $275 and $320 for full-time care, as of 2026, on sheets dated 2026 and 2025; other centers quote it by phone, and what daycare costs in Berks County is its own post.

Do daycare waitlists charge a deposit?

Sometimes to join, sometimes to hold a spot, and at enrollment expect a registration fee, a deposit or both. One national guide says there usually isn't a fee to join and others say some programs charge one; one Blandon center is free to join: it adds you to its waiting list at inquiry and charges its one-time $50 per-family registration fee only when you enroll after a tour. Two Reading centers tie a $50 non-refundable fee to a waitlisted spot: one charges it as an application fee that keeps your application on the list, and the other asks you to pay its $50 annual registration fee up front, with the emergency contact sheet, to hold a place while you wait.

At enrollment, expect a deposit: one Reading center asks for one week of tuition, refunded when you leave with two weeks' notice, and another asks for a week's tuition as a deposit plus a $200 yearly registration fee. So ask every center three things: is there a fee to be on the list, is it refundable, and does it count toward tuition.

Five of the centers that print their terms are below; most centers quote them by phone.

Center (town) Infant room Getting on the list Holding or starting a spot
Flying Hills Preschool (Reading) 6 weeks to 12 months; $275 a week full time, effective August 24, 2026 Tour first; children are enrolled first come, first served and only when space is available When there's a waitlist, return the emergency contact sheet with the $50 annual registration fee, which is non-refundable, to hold your child's place in line
Riverview Christian Early Learning Center (Reading) 6 weeks to 18 months in two rooms of up to 8; $320 a week full time, on a rate sheet effective August 25, 2025 Call the office to confirm space; enrollment is first come, first serve Before the first day: a non-refundable annual registration fee and one week of tuition on deposit, refunded when you leave with two weeks' notice
Caterpillar Child Care Center (Reading) Infants 6 to 16 months Call the director to arrange a visit; a waiting list when the program is full A $50 non-refundable application fee per child, which keeps your application on the waitlist
Right from the Start Early Learning Academy (Hamburg) 6 weeks to 12 months An online inquiry form that asks for your child's birthdate or due date; they reach out to discuss where they are on the waitlist Nothing printed about a fee; they invite a follow-up call after 48 hours
Tiny Thinkers Academy (Blandon) 6 weeks to 12 months An online inquiry form that asks for your due date if you're pregnant; a tour if there's space, the waiting list if not A $50 one-time, non-refundable registration fee per family at enrollment, after the tour

Terms as each center prints them on its own website or handbook, read October 24, 2026.

What should you ask a center about its infant room?

Start with the state's own checklist for choosing a provider:

  • Whether there's an opening, how many children they care for and what ages.
  • Whether they hold a certificate of compliance and take part in the state's quality rating.
  • Where babies nap and how staff make sure they sleep on their backs.
  • Whether there's a back-up caregiver and whether you can visit anytime.
  • What education the staff have.

Then add these for the infant room:

  • Which room your baby would enter, and how long the wait is for that room. One Reading center runs two infant rooms of eight, so the two waits can differ.
  • The ratio and the group size in that room.
  • How they'll tell you about feedings, naps and diaper changes. Several Berks centers use a phone app with photos and a daily log.
  • What you supply. One Reading center asks for every bottle, baby food and snack, prepared and labeled, each day.

How do you find infant rooms near you and stay on the lists?

The state's child care provider search, the COMPASS search at compass.dhs.pa.gov, needs no sign-in: enter your address, pick a distance, tick "6 Weeks - 12 months" under children's ages, and filter by enrollment status and provider type. A provider's page shows openings and daily rates where shared, and its "Inspections" link shows the inspection history; how to check a daycare's inspection reports is its own post. Our list of daycares in Berks County adds the phone numbers, hours and parent reviews.

A short email every three to six weeks saying you're still interested and when you can start is enough. Some openings come with only days' notice, so keep a log for each list: date joined, fee paid, who you spoke to, last check-in. Two or three lists is the floor; one national guide goes as far as three to five in a commute you can live with, mixing centers with the licensed home programs described next.

What are your options while you wait?

A family child care home is a licensed home, not your own, where one provider cares for four to six unrelated children, with no more than two infants at a time and at most five infants and toddlers together. A small mixed-age group turns over differently from an infant classroom, so a home sometimes has an opening when centers don't. Which kind is right for your family is yours to decide; daycare centers, group homes and family child care homes compared is its own post.

A nanny, or one shared with another family, is the higher-cost bridge from the end of your leave to a daycare start, and what to pay a babysitter or nanny in Berks County is its own post. If your family qualifies for the state's child care subsidy, you may also use a relative as the paid provider: a grandparent, great-grandparent, aunt, uncle or sibling who is 18 or older and living at a separate address, after a background check. The subsidy has its own waiting list, kept by the county's Early Learning Resource Center in Reading, and a center's list doesn't put you on it; the rules are in Child Care Works in Berks County.

Frequently asked questions.

Does joining a waitlist enroll my baby?

No. A waitlist is a place in line, and enrollment comes later, with a tour, the paperwork and a registration fee, a deposit or both.

Can I get on a daycare waitlist before the baby is born?

Yes; that's the standard national advice. One Berks inquiry form asks for a birthdate or due date, and another invites your due date if you're pregnant.

How old does a baby have to be to start daycare in Berks County?

Six weeks at most Berks centers that take infants, and most infant rooms run to twelve months.

So pick two or three centers on your commute, call each about its infant room, ask the three fee questions, and get on their lists with your due date and start window. If you're starting from zero, our complete childcare guide for Berks County has the whole search.

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