marrickville ABC centre

I have been looking into day care for my 15 month old son on fridays so he can spend the weekend with his father in sydney and I just couldn't get him into a daycare anywhere!! When I finally found an ABC centre at Marrickville, close to his fathers house I just straight away set up the process of enrolling.

At first I was relieved to have found care but after setting up a visit yesterday Im not too sure, I went ahead with the enrolment but wasnt Completely happy with the centre in fact the only thing Im happy with is that its daycare. It could have been that it was a terrible day (raining), late in the afternoon or that Im not fussed on daycare but this centre just seemed well terrible! It was dark, and the carers were a little stand offish and seemed to me a bit rude, the rooms are tiny and boring looking, the centre is old and lacks colour and well just from the look Im not happy. I expected bright colours, toys, happy children and big open spaces, instead the room in which my boy will be is a long narrow space that is well boring and plain.

Should the look of the centre be effecting my opinion of the care that would be provided? To me it seems the look reflects the care and it worries me. Has anyone heard anything good or bad about this ABC learning centre? Im very dubious about sending him tomorrow.

Are there any "cheat" ways of getting children into day care? do they take cash bribes? lol Im desperate to find good care!!

Hi there - Firstly, I don't have any experience with the centre that you mention above, but I have my DD in 3 days of care per week.

The centre that I have her at is bright and all the rooms are decorated with things kids love e.g. things hanging from the ceiling like butterflies/fishes, lots of toys etc. There is a fish tank in her room and everyone is encouraged to make a poster that tells the carers about the child/child's family and has photos etc on it to help if they are upset. The room itself is not huge, but big enough that they have a separate play/sleep area. ALL the carers are bright and playful - my DD has really started to bond with them - I think that is a real sign about what they are doing when you are not there. At this centre each room has children that are within 4 months old of each other, but it is a large centre.

Have you asked about what they do with the children during the day? My centre has certain things that they will focus on for a period of time with some play activities that are tailored for that - e.g. gross motor skills etc. They have group time also - so learning to sit down with others and play together. Also there is a chef on staff that provides great meals.

One of the great things that I have found is the open communication - I can ring any time of the day just to get an update on how DD is going and what they have been doing with them that day. There is also a book for every child that is regularly updated with special things they may have done.

In regards to getting in with the centre that you want - I found pestering a very good method :) By that, I just rang lots checking on vacancies as my centre is V hard to get into. That way I was at the front of their mind when an opening came up.

Is there any way that you can stay with him tomorrow??? Maybe that way you can get a better feel for how the carers interact with the children - you never know it may be very different to your first impression.

Good Luck - I hope it works out.

Janie xxx

My two munchkins go to an ABC centre here in Melbourne 3 days per week and they (and I) love it!

To let you know what our centre is like: the centre is big open and bright. has brightly coloured walls, crafts that the children have made hanging from the ceiling and paintings on the walls and windows. My DD started off in the Nursery (room 1 for the babies) and she is now in the Toddler room(3rd room up), my DS started in Toddler and is now in the Kinder room (last room before school). They have 5 separate rooms for age groups - Nursery 1, Nursery 2, Toddler, Pre Kinder and Kinder.

I looked at many many places before I found one I was happy with. Not all centres are the same and not even all ABC centres are the same. Like you said some of the places I looked at were dark and dingy and just plain horrid.

Good luck with it. I know how very stressful it is putting our little ones in care.