I do one visit with mom and baby and basically it is for the mom to meet the other kids in the daycare and for me to get caught up on where the child is at since this happens 2-3 weeks before start date and it could have been up to 6 months since I interviewed them.

After that we work out a schedule of bringing the child for short visits that gradually get longer until the child has played, stayed for a nap, stayed for a meal, and that is up to mom if she wants to do it all in one day or over several days. My fees are charged accordingly but I do have a variety depending on if it is an hour to play or involves food although usually I ask parent to provide snacks and meals during this week with the idea of giving me a chance to see what kind of food they serve and how small they cut it etc. so the cost to me is nil other than my time.

This all hinges on whether I have an open space or not so in cases where one child leaves and the next starts right away we have to start cold turkey or mom needs to take a couple more days off to transition.