Talk to me about childcare...

Next year, the plan was that I return to work full time while DH stays at home with Sam.

With DH's recent job change, he has returned to a job he had before and the company really, really, really doesn't want to lose him again. They are prepared to let him work part time, part days, basically whatever he wants just so they don't lose him again.

We don't want Sam in full-time care just yet, and because of travel times, DH will do a couple of full days. He has checked out the centre just near where he works. How does $85 per day for the baby room sound? Food included and a baby to teacher ratio of 3:1.

As the centre is next door to DH's work, it would mean Sam's there from 9-5 with an hour's travelling with DH each day. I'm thinking that a centre closer to home and where I work would be better as I would be able to pick him up earlier (but we'd also have a much earlier drop off), but I can see advantages in having both of them out of the house while I take the time to catch up on marking and lesson preparation in peace.

What sort of things should we be looking for in a childcare centre? I've just got no idea where to start with any of this!

BW

Just to throw something else out there.../
have you considered Family Day Care?
For MJ i pay $5.60/hr (heaps cheaper than day care)
there are a maximum of 4 children
you supply your own food (or pay extra and have it supplied ofr you)

Honestly i have found this to be great, its cheaper and such a better (IMO) environment as it is hon\mely. MJ is only competing against 3 other kids for attention and has more like a family relationship with her carer...
the council have very strict checks on the environemnt and they must do additional training each year.

When looking i visited 4 different places, and 'interviewed' each.
they ahd to be OK with;
cloth nappies
no cry sleep solutions for naps
baby led solids
giving EBM to a baby that really prefered the real thing (so time for cuddles etc etc)

HTH

I have thought about FDC. I have an aunt that has done it my entire life... I just have no idea where to start looking to find out about family day carers in my area.

I will admit that I am a little worried about how his carers will approach naps. At nine months old, Sam is still having three naps per day (he tends to catnap, he's close to being able to drop to two, but still needs three most days), is still wrapped and is still cuddled to sleep. Whether it's in FDC or a regular centre, I do worry about it. He'll be closer to 14 months old when he starts, though, so hopefully it will be less of an issue then.

BW

Having worked in one myself:

See if they will let you drop in unannounced to have a look around... avoid Open Days (everyone is on their best behaviour and the rooms look much better than usual). When you are there sit within hearing distance of the people who will be working in your child's room. Pretend to read the brochures etc. LISTEN to how they talk to and interact with the children. This will be the most revealing aspect, I think. At the end of the day your child won't care how wonderful the centre looks... how bright and how many pretty colours there are. He will be most affected by how he is spoken to. Watch how the carers deal with conflict between the children. Look at their body language. Do they bother to squat down to talk to the children at their level occasionally?

I recently pulled my 3yo out of a centre purely because these issues concerned me. One of the carers was most unprofessional and insisted on a hug at the end of the session as we were leaving. You don't do that especially if the child turns away. This carer also had such a strong accent that i had trouble understanding her... I could honestly say my DS could barely understand a thing she said. Other staff members were also showing signs, perhaps, of burnout. They just didn't seem like they wanted to be there. Also most of the staff seemed to talk too loud at the children... it got on my nerves so it probably got on the kids nerves too.

Ask the staff how long they have been at the centre... this revelas quite alot especially if most of the staff have only been there a short time. High turnover is a problem in many centres and it's very disruptive to children.

If you like the director that's a good start. The centre where I worked was a wonderful place to work at when we had a good director for 3/5 years that I was there. Culture filters down from the top. If the staff don't get along with the director it will probably impact the kids eventually.

I could say heaps on this!

Contact your local council to talk about FDC options.
PM me with where you live and I will sling you back a list of what I consider to be acceptable centres in your area
Early drop-off and earlier pick up is a great option. If Sam is like most babies his age, 5pm and beyond are not his best time of day; if he's a little bit grizzly he needs to be with number 1(mum or dad) Childcare workers for the most part are brilliant at their jobs, but they're not the same.
$85 for a baby room is pretty reasonable, depending whereabouts it is.

Back with more later....

Family Day Care has a national webpage... familydaycare dot com dot au. And you can look up your area and see who runs it locally...

I go through my local council, and they run it for my area, through their infants home. I love it. It is very personal and feels right for me. A friend of mine used FDC and she met with a number of carers before she found one she agreed with. I think with a center you might find it a bit hard for them to stick to your routine, but with FDC they can be more flexible...

I approached it the same as Bath suggested. We were actually referred to the carer we have and went and spent some time with her and saw her with the kids and to date she has been great in accommodating our wishes and philosophies.

Do you know many other mothers in the area using care? Cause often they are a good source of referral.

Otherwise you will need to visit a local center and the one near DH work, and just trial them out.

Good luck.

Sam's not really like most babies his age - he likes to sleep in until 8am pretty much every morning. Will have to break that habit for next year as DH leaves at 8am and I have to be at work by 8am! We've never really had the witching hour thing happen either. He's usually really good and happy in the afternoons.

Snugglybean, have PMed you, would love to hear what you've got to say...

Bath, your post has been really helpful, too. I'd never really thought about it before, but they do function in a very similar way to a school.

BW

It is a really hard decision. We have had DD1 in a privately run cc since she was 10months old. DD2 started last week as I return to work next week. We have had a really great experience over the last 3 years.
My experience has been that the carer's that have been at the centre have genuinely cared for DD. I think that you really have to trust your instinct and how you connect withe the philosophy of the centre/staff as it is a very subjective thing. I second the unannounced drop in to be shown around. I investigated FDC also and was unable to find a care scenario I was comfortable with - however that could have just been bad luck/timing.
The biggest issue we have found is the length of the days - I work 8-5.15 or 9-6.15 so the kids were pretty exhausted by the time we got home. This time I am only putting them in care for 2 days until #2 gets a bit older.
FWIW - I have just spent a few days orientating Ash - the girls in the babies room have detailed routines for all the bubs and seemed to follow the parents requests to the letter - even when it was difficult. They did not know I had snuck in the room either.
Ask lots of questions, check out private and council run centres (even if there are long waiting lists) and FDC also - it will make you more comfortable with your choice.
Good luck - I hope you can find the right fit for you and Sam.

:

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Family Day Care has a national webpage... familydaycare dot com dot au. And you can look up your area and see who runs it locally...

I go through my local council, and they run it for my area, through their infants home. I love it. It is very personal and feels right for me. A friend of mine used FDC and she met with a number of carers before she found one she agreed with. I think with a center you might find it a bit hard for them to stick to your routine, but with FDC they can be more flexible...

I approached it the same as Bath suggested. We were actually referred to the carer we have and went and spent some time with her and saw her with the kids and to date she has been great in accommodating our wishes and philosophies.

Do you know many other mothers in the area using care? Cause often they are a good source of referral.

Otherwise you will need to visit a local center and the one near DH work, and just trial them out.

Good luck.

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I agree with all of this, as you know I love Riley's FDC and he loves his carer so much too. I could wax lyrical for hours on the benefits of FDC LOL

bw - where in syd are you?

i looked for ours here National Childcare Accreditation Council - Child Care Quality Assurance - NCAC
and gives the history of all the REGISTERED centres.

We go to a long day are at about $70 per day, and we absolutely love it.. the carers are very very loving and ive walked in when ds is sick and seen them just cuddling him and comforting him and paying him special attention. the centre also has lots of special days for the kids, celebrating differetn national days, special food, a great menu with foods fr diff cultures.
we had a fantastic mothers day celebration, mothers got spoil one evening with belly dancing, champagne, food, raffle for massage etc. fathers day was great and next week there's afternoon tea w grandparents. they also brought in little chooks for the kids to watch and learn etc.
ds absolutely loves it there!

what Prama has mentioned is the thing that i guess i miss about child care, it is more structured like that and i guess in someways can be better as more activities need to be run to keep interest up.
I would love MJ to do a bit more at the FDC, but i guess that is based on who the carer is.
When i read what prama has posted, i cant help thinking that sometimes MJ misses out - but i pay less than half of what she does...

...that's the thing... I looked into doing FDC myself but when you only earn about $2 an hour per child (I could only have 3 children due to having my own kids here as well... so that's a max of $6 an hour) you would start to wonder (if you offered lots of activities... everything seems to cost $ these days) if you end up actually paying to look after other people's children. :dunno:

sj - paying half of what we pay makes a big difference.. and i suppose there arent so many bugs to catch... both have their good and bad...

I think my FDC does a bit with the kids. I know she has two other carers in her street and they meet in the park a couple of times a week, and there are also the organised activities from the FDC center, like playdays, and fundraisers and parent nights which we are able to be involved in too, but it is difference from a day care center with the resources. That is another reason they encourage you to use a pre-school when your kids are 3.5 for a few days a week to get them into that more structures environment.

eta - Prama where did you find long day care in Syd for $70 per day... I am amazed.... that is a great price...... I pay nearly that for FDC (8am - 6pm)

Definitely try to find one that you are comfortable with, and mesh well with - similar ideas etc. I've had the kids in a few day cares, DS went to one from when he was 10 months old, and DD when she was 3 months old. I didn't like the first one of hers, so switched her when she was 6 months for a MUCH better one. I wish I could do half the stuff they do at day care with my kids!!! I just don't have the knowledge to do child care stuff at home and I think DS is really missing out. The day cares that I have put them in have been something like $63 a day - food not included.

My sister has her kids in family day care, but I didn't choose this option mainly for the fact that if her family day carer is sick, or needs time off for a holiday or something - my sister has to make alternate arrangements for the care of her kids - so she usually gets my mum to help out. We don't have any family support where we are now, so if I was working and my FDC couldn't do a day, I'd lose a day's pay because I would have to stay at home. I much rather send them somewhere where it doesn't become my problem if the kids main carer is sick/injured/wants a holiday. :)

Different situations work for different people though - you have to find what sits with YOU the best.

Oh and my kids went from 7.30am to 5.30pm - veryyy long days.

Prama, we live in Windsor. I work out this way, but DH works in Ryde.

I can certainly see advantages to FDC, but also disadvantages... with me on immune suppressing drugs the less day care bugs to come home, the better. Would a child between the age of 1 and 2 get much out of the special activities in formal day care? He really is a child that sets his own routine and I would need a system that can cope with him needing to be cuddled to sleep and taking more naps than most kids his age - although we can really hope that the day sleep situation starts to improve some time between now and then!

BW

BW I have always found FDC to be very flexible and accommodating, and our carers have always provided a nice balance between structured activities and free play. I'm confident my babies have been cuddled and patted to sleep whenever they have needed it. We have a back up carer so if the main carer can't do a day there's a plan B.

You could ring the Childcare Access Hotline to find out what childcare is offered in your area (including contact point for which ever organisation administers FDC)

bw.. the one ds goes to is off kissing point road, at ermington so close to ryde. it's called active kids. i can pm you the details. we got one close home cos anyone of us can pick/drop him off. and also helps if we change jobs, we dont have to look for another one.
ages 1-2 are very important as they learn to socialise and learn things outside their world.
we dont have much family here so i felt it was very important for ds to know other kids and not just us being his whole world. it will certainly builds his self confidence and social kids.. and LDC/FDC do a lot more as well, providing play/education ....