Thank you, daycare team: messages for the carer, the team and the apprentice, and whether your canton pays for daycare
More daycare places, more money from the canton: that is what you would expect. The survey by the Conference of Cantonal Social Directors shows it isn’t always so: in Zug there are more places per child than anywhere except Basel-Stadt, and for a long time the canton paid not a franc towards them: only since 1 August 2026 has it covered 33% of average fees. Zurich alone has a quarter of all daycare places in Switzerland, and the canton still pays nothing. That is what the ConvivaPlus Daycare Comparison shows for all 26 cantons, with places per 100 children that we calculated ourselves. For the people who welcome your child every morning, here are 30+ ready-made messages: for leaving, after settling in, at Christmas, for the whole team and for the apprentice, in English and in Swiss German.
📝 Thank you daycare message: by occasion and tone
Daycares rarely get cards written by children. They get them from parents who remember a morning: the day the child walked into the group without crying, the carer who knew the sleep song, the cook whose pasta nobody at home can match.
Pick the occasion, then the tone. Enter the carer’s or team’s name and your signature at the top, and the generator fills the gaps. «Next» shows more versions, and at the top you can switch recipient if the card is for the kindergarten teacher or the midwife.
🧰 Thank-you generator: recipient → tone → ready message
ConvivaPlus.chPick recipient, occasion and tone, then copy the message or print it as a PDF. Swiss German templates show their dialect region.
The last day at daycare before kindergarten or a move: your child may have spent four years there, longer than anywhere except home. The card can say so.
👋 Leaving daycare: thank you before kindergarten
Many children spend more time at daycare than anywhere except home, sometimes from their first year until kindergarten. Saying goodbye is often bigger for the carers than parents realise: they watched the child learn to walk, talk and argue, and afterwards they rarely see them again.
So the leaving card can tell a story: who the child has become, what they say about daycare at home, which moment stayed with you. For the next step, the messages are at Thank you, kindergarten teacher.
- 💗 From bottle to school bag
«Dear daycare team When … came to you, … could not walk yet. Now … is off to kindergarten with a school bag of their own. In between lie countless mornings when you took … from our arms and handed … back happy in the evening. Thank you for being a piece of home. …»
- 🎩 On leaving
«Dear Ms …, Dear team at …, With the move to kindergarten, …’s time at your daycare comes to an end. We thank you for the careful care, the reliable updates at pick-up and your patience in the first weeks. You made our family’s everyday life possible. Kind regards, …»
- 😄 The slippers stay behind
«Dear team Today we take home: one child, three drawings, a bag of spare clothes. We leave behind: one lonely sock that never turned up, and a piece of our heart. Thank you for everything you washed, comforted and found. …»
- 📱 With the first-day photo
«From day one to today: thank you, dear team, for watching … grow up like this. 💛»
- 🇨🇭 Zürideutsch: Tschüss Chrippe · ZH
«Liebs Kita-Team Vier Jahr isch … bi eu gsi, und jetzt gaht … in Chindsgi. Merci für jede Morge, wo ihr … i d Arm gno händ, für all d Znüni und d Mittagsschlöfli. Ihr händ eus als Familie treit. Herzlich, …»
- 🇨🇭 Bärndütsch: Merci für d Kitazyt · BE
«Liebs Kita-Team Jitz isch d Kitazyt verby, u … geit i Chindergarte. Merci viumau für aus, für d Gedoud am Morge, d Gschichte am Mittag u ds Lache am Abe. Mir vergässe nech nid. …»
✨ Short thank you daycare: for a card or the coat hook
A child under four cannot write the card, often cannot even dictate it. So the shortest thank-you to a daycare almost always carries a parent’s handwriting and a scribble from the child, and it is the scribble that ends up on the staff-room pinboard. The sentence does not need to rhyme, just to belong to your child.
- 📱 With the first-day photo
«From day one to today: thank you, dear team, for watching … grow up like this. 💛»
- 📱 A wave without looking back
«Today a wave without looking back. Thank you, …, that was your patience. 🌱»
- 📱 Safe place
«Thank you, …, for keeping … safe with you every day. 🤲»
- 📱 For the staff room
«Happy holidays, dear team, and thank you for every day with …! 🎄»
- 📱 For every shift
«Thank you, dear team: every shift, the kitchen and the apprentices. 💐»
- 📱 For the apprentice
«Thank you, …, for all the laughter with …. Good luck with your training! 🎓»
- 📱 Last day at daycare
«Last day at daycare. Thank you for every first step you took with …. 🎒»
- 📱 The midday message
«Thank you, …, for every midday message. It carried us through settling in. 💬»
Zug and Zurich are among the cantons with the most daycare places per child, and both paid CHF 0 in the SODK survey 2024. Zug has contributed since 1 August 2026, Zurich still does not (ConvivaPlus Daycare Comparison).
🎁 Daycare teacher gift: what works and who to include
The person who sees your child the longest is often not the one you hand the gift to: whoever drops off in the morning and picks up in the evening often meets two different shifts, and barely the midday one. So first ask who the gift is for, then look at the rules. For teachers at state schools, the cantons regulate what they may accept; we read those rules at the source in the Gift Limit Check. Daycare staff are employed by the daycare or its operator, an association, a company or a municipality. If there is a gift rule, it is in the daycare’s own regulations. We found no general cantonal rule for daycare staff, so we do not claim one.
In practice, something the whole team can share beats a gift for one person. The early shift, the cook and the apprentice cared for your child just as much as the key carer.
- Something for the staff room: coffee, tea, biscuits or a fruit basket for every shift.
- A photo of your child with one line about what they can do now. Teams often pin these up.
- A game, a book or sandpit toys for the group, so the gift stays with the next children too.
- A card with the first names of every carer, including the apprentice and the kitchen.
📊 Daycare places by canton: the ConvivaPlus Daycare Comparison
You would expect cantons with many daycare places to put a lot of money into them. Often they do: Basel-Stadt, Geneva and Bern pay a lot and offer a lot. But not always. In Zug, by ConvivaPlus’s calculation, there are 39.5 daycare places per 100 children under five, the second-highest figure in Switzerland, and at the time of the survey the canton contributed CHF 0 to pre-school childcare. Since 1 August 2026 it has covered 33% of average fees, paid to parents as a flat rate. In Zurich the 24,000 places make up 26% of all daycare places in the country, and the canton still pays nothing: according to the report, only the municipalities contribute. Two of the five cantons with the most places per child therefore made no cantonal contribution at the time of the survey.
At the time of the survey, eight cantons paid CHF 0 towards pre-school childcare (Aargau, Basel-Landschaft, Lucerne, Solothurn, Thurgau, Uri, Zug and Zurich), Appenzell Innerrhoden and Schwyz reported no figure, and 16 contributed. Since then Lucerne and Zug have followed, both since 1 August 2026. Among cantons whose contributions can be clearly assigned, Geneva paid the most: CHF 3,286 for every child up to age four. The gap in supply is just as wide: in Basel-Stadt there are approx. 7.6 times as many places per child as in Appenzell Innerrhoden.
The ConvivaPlus Daycare Comparison takes the cantonal table from the University of Bern report for the Conference of Cantonal Social Directors (SODK) and calculates two figures that appear there only as a chart or not at all: places per 100 children, using Federal Statistical Office population data for the same year, and the cantonal contribution per child. Where a canton gives only an estimate, it is marked «approx.».
| Canton | Daycares | Places | Places per 100 children | Cantonal pre-school contribution (survey) | per child (0–4) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basel-Stadt | 130 | 4,448 | 48.5 | 53.0 m ² | — |
| Zug | 76 | 2,548 | 39.5 | CHF 0 ³ | CHF 0 |
| Geneva | 227 | 8,501 | 32.7 | 85.3 m | CHF 3,286 |
| Zurich | 721 | 24,000 | 29.7 | CHF 0 | CHF 0 |
| Schaffhausen | 29 | 1,201 | 29.6 | 0.8 m | CHF 197 |
| Neuchâtel | 59 | 2,180 | 27.0 | 15.7 m | CHF 1,946 |
| Vaud | 857 | 11,334 | 26.3 | 77.1 m ¹ | — |
| Valais | 322 | 4,065 | 24.6 | 17.8 m | CHF 1,078 |
| Bern | 380 | 10,868 | 22.2 | 38.5 m | CHF 788 |
| Basel-Landschaft | 124 | approx. 2,300 | 17.7 | CHF 0 | CHF 0 |
| Ticino | 74 | 2,230 | 17.3 | 22.3 m | CHF 1,729 |
| Schwyz | 47 | approx. 1,332 | 16.9 | not reported | — |
| Jura | 22 | 527 | 16.0 | 14.4 m ¹ | — |
| Nidwalden | 11 | approx. 300 | 15.3 | 0.3 m | CHF 153 |
| Grisons | 46 | 1,196 | 14.6 | 4.5 m | CHF 549 |
| Fribourg | approx. 81 | approx. 2,572 | 14.4 | 14.4 m | CHF 804 |
| Obwalden | 14 | 262 | 14.0 | 0.9 m | CHF 479 |
| Uri | 5 | approx. 240 | 13.0 | CHF 0 | CHF 0 |
| Thurgau | 65 | 1,863 | 12.5 | CHF 0 | CHF 0 |
| Aargau | 210 | 4,314 | 11.8 | CHF 0 | CHF 0 |
| Appenzell Ausserrhoden | 12 | 312 | 11.7 | 0.5 m | CHF 188 |
| Glarus | 26 | approx. 180 | 9.6 | 0.5 m | CHF 267 |
| St. Gallen | 104 | approx. 2,490 | 9.4 | 10.1 m | CHF 380 |
| Lucerne | approx. 120 | approx. 2,000 | 9.3 | CHF 0 ³ | CHF 0 |
| Solothurn | 81 | 1,200 | 8.8 | CHF 0 | CHF 0 |
| Appenzell Innerrhoden | 2 | approx. 50 | 6.3 | not reported | — |
ConvivaPlus Daycare Comparison, as of 19.09.2026. Data: Lüssi 2024, Überblick zur Situation der familien- und schulergänzenden Kinderbetreuung in den Kantonen, commissioned by the SODK, table p. 11 (in German); survey years 2022 to 2024 depending on the canton, contributions mostly 2023. Places per 100 children and contribution per child: our own calculation using the permanent resident population aged 0 to 4 from the Federal Statistical Office in the survey year of the places. «approx.» = the canton’s estimate. ¹ Jura and Vaud: contributions cannot be split between pre-school and school, so no per-child figure. ² Basel-Stadt: canton and municipalities combined. There are no 2020 figures for Aargau, Lucerne and Zurich; in the other cantons, places rose from 53,180 to 62,199. ³ New cantonal contribution since 1 August 2026: Zug covers 33% of average fees as a flat rate paid to parents (Canton of Zug), Lucerne issues childcare vouchers, now a joint task of canton and municipalities (Canton of Lucerne). All other figures reflect the survey.
How do you thank your daycare?
One click – anonymous, no sign-up required.
🌱 Daycare settling in: thank you after the first weeks
Settling in is the only time the carer comforts two people at once: the child inside and the parent at the door. So the thank-you nobody expects comes not at the end but after settling in. The carer knows exactly how many mornings at the door were hard, for the child and for the parents. A short card on the day it suddenly works tells her that her patience reached your home.
- 💗 The first morning without tears
«Dear …, This morning … just waved at the door and ran to you. After the first weeks we would not have believed it. Thank you for being so patient, with … and with us. …»
- 🎩 Thanks after the settling-in period
«Dear Ms …, …’s settling-in period is complete, and we would like to thank you for the careful support. Your updates after each day made the first weeks much easier for us. Kind regards, …»
- 😄 Who really settled in
«Dear …, Officially, … was the one settling in. Honestly, we were the ones hesitating at the door. Thank you for letting both of us go so kindly. …»
- 📱 A wave without looking back
«Today a wave without looking back. Thank you, …, that was your patience. 🌱»
- 🇨🇭 Sanggallerdütsch: Merci für d Iigwöhnig · SG
«Liebi … Hüt am Morge hät … nume no gwunke und isch zu dir grennt. Merci för dini Geduld i de erschte Wuche, mit … und mit öis. …»
- 🇨🇭 Baseldytsch: Merci fir d Aagweenig · BS
«Liebi … Hit het … an dr Diire nur no gwunke. Merci vylmol fir dy Gedult in de erschte Wuche. Mir hän gspiirt, dass … bi dir guet uffghobe isch. …»
🎄 Christmas daycare: a note for the whole team
The Christmas card goes to one of 3,845 daycare teams in Switzerland, 21% more than in 2020, when there were 3,169. Where new groups open, new faces arrive, and you may not know all of them by name. Many daycares close for a few days over the holidays, so the card belongs in the last week before. An end-of-year thank-you works best for the whole team, with something to share: home-made biscuits, half of which your child has already eaten, are ideal.
- 💗 A year of mornings
«Dear team A year of mornings when you welcomed … with open arms. Thank you for that. We wish you happy holidays and a few quiet days, you have earned them. …»
- 🎩 Season’s greetings to the daycare
«Dear team at …, At the end of the year we thank you for the reliable care of …. We wish you and your families happy holidays and all the best for the new year. Kind regards, …»
- 😄 The biscuits are for you
«Dear team … helped bake the biscuits. Meaning: half the dough is already eaten, the rest is here. Thank you for a whole year, happy holidays! …»
- 📱 For the staff room
«Happy holidays, dear team, and thank you for every day with …! 🎄»
- 🇨🇭 Bärndütsch: Schöni Feschttäg · BE
«Liebs Kita-Team Merci für nes ganzes Jahr mit …. Mir wünsche nech schöni Feschttäg u es paar ruhigi Tage, dir heit se verdient. …»
- 🇨🇭 Sanggallerdütsch: Schöni Wiehnachte · SG
«Liebs Kita-Team Merci för das Johr mit …. Mer wünsched eu schöni Wiehnachte und es guets Neus. …»
🇨🇭 Chrippe in Swiss German: thank you in dialect
In Swiss German, a daycare is a «Chrippe», a word still in everyday use. If your child’s carer speaks Swiss German, a card in dialect will feel like part of her everyday life. The templates stay in dialect on purpose: translated, they would lose what makes them special.
Each template shows its region. Feel free to adapt the spelling: Swiss German has no official spelling.
- 🇨🇭 Zürideutsch: Tschüss Chrippe · ZH
«Liebs Kita-Team Vier Jahr isch … bi eu gsi, und jetzt gaht … in Chindsgi. Merci für jede Morge, wo ihr … i d Arm gno händ, für all d Znüni und d Mittagsschlöfli. Ihr händ eus als Familie treit. Herzlich, …»
- 🇨🇭 Bärndütsch: Merci für d Kitazyt · BE
«Liebs Kita-Team Jitz isch d Kitazyt verby, u … geit i Chindergarte. Merci viumau für aus, für d Gedoud am Morge, d Gschichte am Mittag u ds Lache am Abe. Mir vergässe nech nid. …»
- 🇨🇭 Sanggallerdütsch: Merci für d Iigwöhnig · SG
«Liebi … Hüt am Morge hät … nume no gwunke und isch zu dir grennt. Merci för dini Geduld i de erschte Wuche, mit … und mit öis. …»
- 🇨🇭 Baseldytsch: Merci fir d Aagweenig · BS
«Liebi … Hit het … an dr Diire nur no gwunke. Merci vylmol fir dy Gedult in de erschte Wuche. Mir hän gspiirt, dass … bi dir guet uffghobe isch. …»
- 🇨🇭 Luzärnerdütsch: Merci, du bisch sini Lieblingsperson · LU
«Liebi … Jede Morge sprengt … zerscht zu dir. Merci vöumou, dass du för … so en sichere Ort besch. …»
- 🇨🇭 Zürideutsch: Merci, liebi Bezugsperson · ZH
«Liebi … Du weisch, weles Nuscheli bim Schlöfli fehle dörf und weles nöd. Merci, dass du … so guet kännsch und eus jede Abig öppis Liebs verzellsch. …»
- 🇨🇭 Bärndütsch: Schöni Feschttäg · BE
«Liebs Kita-Team Merci für nes ganzes Jahr mit …. Mir wünsche nech schöni Feschttäg u es paar ruhigi Tage, dir heit se verdient. …»
- 🇨🇭 Sanggallerdütsch: Schöni Wiehnachte · SG
«Liebs Kita-Team Merci för das Johr mit …. Mer wünsched eu schöni Wiehnachte und es guets Neus. …»
- 🇨🇭 Baseldytsch: Merci em ganze Team · BS
«Liebs Kita-Team Merci vylmol an alli, vo dr Friehschicht bis zur Kuchi. Ihr hän … so guet begleitet, und mir hän gspiirt, dass ihr zämme schaffe. …»
- 🇨🇭 Luzärnerdütsch: Merci a alli · LU
«Liebs Kita-Team Merci vöumou a alli, a d Chochi, a d Lernende und a jedi Schicht. Ehr hend … jede Tag gärn gha. …»
- 🇨🇭 Zürideutsch: Merci und viel Glück i de Lehr · ZH
«Liebi … … verzellt dihei vill vo dir, meischtens vom Umetobe im Garte. Merci für dini Geduld, und viel Glück i de Lehr! …»
- 🇨🇭 Bärndütsch: Merci, liebi Lehrtochter · BE
«Liebi … Merci viumau für aui Spili mit …. Du wirsch e super Fachfrou. Aues Guete i dr Lehr! …»
🧑🍳 Thank you daycare team: shifts, kitchen and apprentices
How much cantonal money stands behind a daycare team is decided by the cantonal border. In Geneva, the canton paid CHF 3,286 for every child up to age four towards pre-school childcare, according to the survey; in Zurich, home to 26% of all daycare places in Switzerland, it still pays nothing. A parent’s thank-you knows no cantonal border; it just has to reach everyone.
A daycare is open for long hours, often from early morning to evening, so staff work in shifts. Your child knows the early shift, the group lead, the cook and the relief carer; you may only know two of them. A card with every first name leaves no one out.
Many daycares train childcare apprentices. The apprentice is often the one your child loves playing with most, and the one who gets the fewest cards. Templates for her are in the generator above, under «To the apprentice». What a qualified childcare worker earns after training is shown in the salary calculator.
- 💗 Early shift to pick-up
«Dear …, dear …, dear …, From the early shift that welcomed … at seven to pick-up time, and from the kitchen where lunch is made: all of you have looked after …. Thank you to each of you, including those whose names … cannot say yet. …»
- 🎩 To the manager and the team
«Dear Ms …, Dear team, We thank you and the whole team for the professional and warm care of …. Please pass our thanks on to the kitchen and the apprentices as well. Kind regards, …»
- 😄 The rota of love
«Dear team You work in shifts, … works on your nerves. You handled both with a smile. Thank you! …»
- 📱 For every shift
«Thank you, dear team: every shift, the kitchen and the apprentices. 💐»
- 🇨🇭 Baseldytsch: Merci em ganze Team · BS
«Liebs Kita-Team Merci vylmol an alli, vo dr Friehschicht bis zur Kuchi. Ihr hän … so guet begleitet, und mir hän gspiirt, dass ihr zämme schaffe. …»
- 🇨🇭 Luzärnerdütsch: Merci a alli · LU
«Liebs Kita-Team Merci vöumou a alli, a d Chochi, a d Lernende und a jedi Schicht. Ehr hend … jede Tag gärn gha. …»
✍️ Daycare card: in four steps
A daycare place is not a given: Switzerland has around 21.5 places for every 100 children under five, in Appenzell Innerrhoden approx. 6.3, according to the ConvivaPlus Daycare Comparison. If you have one, you are thanking people not every family has.
How to make a daycare card personal, even if your child cannot talk yet:
- One moment: the first morning without tears, the first word, the song you still sing at home.
- What she actually did: found the cuddly toy, gave you an update at pick-up, stayed patient during settling in.
- A look ahead: tell them what comes next, kindergarten, a move, a little brother or sister. Teams rarely hear what becomes of the children.
- Every name: shifts, kitchen, apprentices. And from your child a drawing, a handprint or a scribble, whatever they can manage.
❓ Questions about thanking your daycare
Card, gift, daycare places: the most common questions about thanking a daycare in Switzerland.
People also ask
Related questions from our magazine
A sentence from your child, dictated and written down word for word. The comparison also shows how long kindergarten lasts in each canton.
Thank you, kindergarten teacher →With a moment from the first weeks and a photo of the baby. The postnatal comparison shows how often she visits in each canton.
Thank you, midwife →Pay depends on canton, experience and employer. The salary calculator shows the range.
Childcare worker salary →Our verdict: the card belongs to the whole team
At daycare, your child is never looked after by just one person. The card that stays pinned up in the staff room names everyone. And who pays for what these women do every day depends far more on the canton than most parents know.
Say thank you to others
More collections from the ConvivaPlus thank-you templates
ConvivaPlus Editor · Law & Housing
Writes about tenancy, contract and everyday law – legal texts turned into vetted templates.
- Tenancy law
- Contract law
- Templates
- Housing
All information without guarantee. Found an error? → support@conviva-plus.ch
Zug has the most daycare places per child after Basel-Stadt and paid CHF 0 according to the SODK survey; since 1 August 2026 the canton has covered 33% of average fees. Zurich, with the most places overall (24,000), still pays nothing. That is what the ConvivaPlus Daycare Comparison shows.
Discussion
10 voices from the community
Ich hätte gewettet, dass der Kanton Zug die Kitas mitbezahlt, so viele wie es hier gibt. Die Karte ans Team hing danach im Pausenraum, mit allen Namen, auch der Köchin.
Danke, Simone! Laut SODK-Bericht zahlte der Kanton Zug 2024 noch 0 Franken an die Vorschul-Betreuung. Seit dem 1. August 2026 übernimmt er pauschal einen Drittel der durchschnittlichen Tarife, das Gesuch stellen die Eltern.
Unsere Tochter war vier Jahre in der Chrippe. Beim Abschied hat die Lernende mehr geweint als sie. Gut, dass es für sie eine eigene Vorlage gibt.
On a offert une corbeille de fruits pour la salle de pause et une carte avec tous les prénoms. L’équipe du matin était très touchée qu’on pense à elle.
Merci, Aurélie ! C’est exactement l’équipe qu’on oublie : qui dépose à sept heures et reprend à dix-huit heures croise rarement les mêmes personnes.
Il biglietto dopo l’ambientamento non ci avevo mai pensato. L’educatrice mi ha detto che è il primo che riceve in tre anni.
Grazie, Giulia! È il momento in cui l’educatrice consola due persone insieme, il bambino e chi resta alla porta. Per questo il biglietto arriva così inatteso.
Schöne Vorlagen, aber ehrlich: Im Kanton Zürich zahlt der Kanton an die Kita nichts, und eine Karte ersetzt keinen besseren Lohn für die Betreuerinnen.
Danke, Nadine, der Punkt ist berechtigt. Laut ConvivaPlus Fachfrau-Betreuung-Lohn-Index bringen einer Fachfrau Betreuung zehn Jahre Erfahrung im Schnitt nur rund 8'000 Franken mehr im Jahr. Die Zahlen stehen im Lohnrechner für Fachleute Betreuung (/?page=1887).
Mir hei am Team es Buech für d Gruppe gschänkt. Das isch blibe, wo mir scho lang furt si.
Found an error or have feedback? Let us know or write to us directly.