Daycare hours, schedules and nap time

What time do daycares open and close?

Most child care centers open between 6:00 and 7:30 in the morning and close between 5:30 and 6:30 in the evening. In Texas the typical center is open 6:45 AM to 6:00 PM, about 11 hours a day; 49% open by 6:30 AM and 28% stay open until 6:30 PM or later. The most common posted hours are 7:00 AM–6:00 PM (1,089), 6:30 AM–6:30 PM (932), 6:30 AM–6:00 PM (865). Pennsylvania centers keep similar hours: typically 6:30 AM to 6:00 PM, with 62% open by 6:30 AM. California doesn’t publish centers’ hours, so it isn’t included.

Hours are what each center reports to the state; a center can close earlier on some days or for holidays. Your center’s page on Daycare Record shows its posted hours.

Hours in the biggest cities

Typical = the median of centers’ posted hours (for closing, among centers that close the same day). The cities with the most centers that post hours.

Evening, overnight and weekend care

Care outside weekday business hours is less common. In Texas, 294 of 8,028 child care programs post hours past 7 PM (including 51 listed around the clock or overnight), 353 are open on Saturdays and 88 on Sundays; 250 list night care and 353 list weekend care in their state record. In Pennsylvania, 484 of 3,497 centers list weekday hours past 7 PM and 537 list weekend hours. That includes 271 centers, most of them in Philadelphia, whose listed hours run around the clock (the same opening and closing time, usually 6:00 AM to 6:00 AM).

• Texas: care between 9 PM and 6 AM is “nighttime care”, and a center needs the state’s approval to care for children both day and night. Even then, a child may be in care no more than 16 hours in a 24-hour period, or no more than three 24-hour periods in a row and six a month (§746.3203), and caregivers must be awake and supervising at all times (§746.3205). A center is a place that cares for children less than 24 hours a day.
• Pennsylvania defines night care as care between 7 PM and 7 AM (§3270.4).
• California licenses centers for less than 24 hours a day of care (§101152).

The lists below are centers whose posted hours run past 7 PM or include Sundays, or that list night care. Hours change and listings can be out of date, so call to confirm before you count on them.

Part-time and drop-in care: 5,197 Texas child care programs say they offer part-time care and 2,490 drop-in care. For programs open only a few days a week, see Mother’s Day Out in Texas.

A typical day at daycare

There’s no required timetable, but each state requires a daily plan. Texas centers must have a written activity plan listing the day’s activities and their approximate times, including outdoor play, active and quiet play, meals and rest, post it, and follow it (§746.2203, §746.2206, §746.2209). Pennsylvania requires a written, posted plan of daily activities and routines with time for free play (§3270.111). California requires a variety of daily activities, including quiet and active play, rest, eating and toileting (§101230), and a written activity plan for infants (§101430).

Here’s what a full day for toddlers and preschoolers often looks like, built to fit the Texas rules (the most detailed of the three):

Babies don’t follow a group timetable. They eat according to their own feeding plans, nap when they’re tired, and get floor play, tummy time, songs, books and time outdoors as they can handle it. Expect daily notes or an app message about feedings, diapers and naps.

Nap time rules: Texas, California and Pennsylvania

Texas and California require a rest time, but neither expects every child to sleep. A Texas center can’t force a child to sleep and must give a child who is still awake after an hour something quiet to do; California bars forcing a child to stay awake or keeping one in the napping area past the normal nap. Pennsylvania’s rules cover nap-time staffing and equipment but not the routine itself.

“None found” and “not set” mean we didn’t find a rule in the state’s center regulations; centers can set their own policies. Because staffing is thinner at nap time, it’s a good time to ask how the room is supervised.

Infant sleep at daycare

In Texas and California babies nap on their own schedules, not the room’s, and all three states require them to sleep on their backs (Pennsylvania by following the American Academy of Pediatrics). Our safe-sleep guide covers cribs, swaddling, sleep sacks and what inspectors find.

How much sleep children need

American Academy of Sleep Medicine, endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AASM).

Meals and snacks by hours in care

Texas centers can’t let a child go more than 3 hours without offering a meal or snack, unless the child is sleeping, and water must be available at every meal and snack and during and after active play (§746.3301; meal chart). California full-day programs serve a midmorning and a midafternoon snack and make sure each child has lunch (parents may send it); bottle-fed babies are fed at least every 4 hours (§101227; §101427). Pennsylvania requires nutritious, appropriately timed meals and snacks for children in care 4 or more hours, and a child may not be forced to eat (§3270.162).

Outdoor play and screen time

• Texas: two chances to play outside every day, weather permitting; at least 60 minutes outside a day for children 13 months through pre-K, and babies as they can tolerate it. Toddlers need at least 60 minutes of active play a day and preschoolers 90 (§746.2206).
• Pennsylvania: children go outdoors daily, weather permitting; no minimum time (§3270.114).
• California: no daily outdoor minimum for centers in the regulations we checked.
• Screens: Texas allows no screen time under age 2, and no more than an hour a day for older children, never during meals, snacks or rest (§746.2207). We found no screen-time rule for California or Pennsylvania centers. The national early-care standards the CDC promotes call for no screens under 2 and no more than 30 minutes a week for older children, plus 2 to 3 outdoor play times a day (CDC, screen time; CDC, physical activity).

Drop-off, pickup and late pickup

• Who can pick up: Texas centers release a child only to a parent or someone the parent designates, and must have a plan to verify the identity of anyone staff don’t know (§746.4101; §746.4103). Pennsylvania requires the designation in writing; in an emergency a phone designation is allowed if staff verify who’s picking up (§3270.117). In California, whoever drops off or picks up signs the child in and out with a full signature and the time (§101229.1).
• Late pickup: we found no state rule on late fees; each center sets its own. Read the policy in your enrollment agreement before you sign.
• Dropping in: Texas parents may visit the center any time it’s open without notice (§746.521).

What inspectors cite

How often centers were cited under these schedule, nap and pickup rules in state inspection records:

Texas, since October 2021

California, since February 2021

Pennsylvania, since August 2021

Texas inspectors cited 480 cases of screen time for children under 2 at 407 centers, and 173 cases of a child made to sleep or kept on a cot while awake. Each center’s page lists every citation with the inspector’s finding.

Questions to ask about the schedule

1. What are your hours, and which holidays and training days are you closed?

2. What happens if I’m late, and what is the late fee?

3. Can I see this room’s posted daily schedule?

4. When is nap time, how long is it, and what does a child who doesn’t sleep do?

5. How many adults are in the room at nap time, and at opening and closing?

6. For babies: do they nap on their own schedule, always on their backs in their own crib, and how often are they checked?

7. How much time do children spend outside each day, and what do you do in bad weather?

8. Do children watch TV or use tablets? How much?

9. Which meals and snacks do you serve, and at what times?

10. Who can pick up my child, and how do you check ID?

Common questions

More guides

Changes

• Oct 12, 2026: First published, with Texas and Pennsylvania centers’ posted hours and the three states’ schedule and nap-time rules.