more childcare q's

[Pandora]

ok.
both boys currently (as of tomorrow) attend long day care once a week and DH looking for work.

When he gets a job, they will need more daycare, depending on the hours - we're hoping to get something thats afternoon/evening to minimise the amount of hours in daycare, but if something FT comes up then we might be looking at that option.

Anyway, I want to explore the option of family day care, but at first i just want to get an idea of pricing - i dont want to interview carers and get a place yet becuase I wont pull the boys out of their 1 daya week until I know for sure what days and times of care we will need.

Are they likely to be able to give me that sort of pricing info (hourly rate) over the phone?

Im also worried about how oscar will go particularly in regard to sleeping and settling in terms of methods used.

How do I know they wont just leave him to cry it out?

[widdly]

Yes they should be abel to give you prices over the phone provided you have your CCB percentage to tell them. At DS childcare it cost $60 without CCB, we get 39.42% CCB which brings the cost per day to $42, HTH.

I am unsure of how Oscar will go in regard to sleeping, DS didnt start til 2 and a half years old.

[BrightSparkles]

They should be able to give you an idea, each carer can charge what they want though so it pays to shops around for quality and price. We pay $169 for 4 days after our CC% is taken out.

[briggsy's girl]

you'll need to find a carer that will repsect your wishes on how to settle O hun - you don't just have to take who you are initially sent to interview - you can ask for as many contacts as you want until you find one that "fits" oyou - one who matches your philosopy's on parenting.

[BrightSparkles]

you'll need to find a carer that will repsect your wishes on how to settle O hun - you don't just have to take who you are initially sent to interview - you can ask for as many contacts as you want until you find one that "fits" oyou - one who matches your philosopy's on parenting.

COMPLETELY AGREE!!!
We went through interviews with 3 different carers before we found one with like and DD seemed to "gel" with and followed what we were doing - sleeps, cloth nappies, food etc.

[Pandora]

Thanks everyone

you'll need to find a carer that will repsect your wishes on how to settle O hun - you don't just have to take who you are initially sent to interview - you can ask for as many contacts as you want until you find one that "fits" oyou - one who matches your philosopy's on parenting.

Iguess what I mean is, given theres only the one carer there (and Im used to long daycare with lots of them) how do I know that they'll do what they say?

[Indadhanu]

I think that if you don't feel you can trust them to do what they say they'll do, then they aren't the right carer.

[widdly]

what Leash said

[briggsy's girl]

yup - what Leash said

hun, mum did FDC for a very large part of my childhood and teen years. she was interviewed (and she herself interviewed) for many many families. part of the process is for the carer to be upfront - no point saying they're going to do something, then not doing it. they are independent businesses given referrals by a central "unit" - the LAST thing they want to do is have bad word of mouth because they've not done what they said. she had different parents requiring different routines for their kids - and if she felt that she could not adhere to that, she would tell the parents that she didn't think that she would be the most suitable carer for their children. as much as she used CC with us as kids, she didn't do it with kids whose parents requested she not do it kwim?

i would recommend you check the ages of the other kids that she will have in care at the time - as much as it is fantastic to have children of similar age for the playing factor, when you're putting a child of O's age (and needs) in care, you're probably better of making sure he is the only infant. older children (M's age, maybe a bit younger) will understand when she says the baby needs to be fed/cuddled etc - children his age won't get it

hope that helps

BG

M is old enough to tell you what is going on

[MantaRay]

DS2 is about to start FDC the week after next when DS1 starts school. He has been in long day care before but we recently moved so we had to pull him out. I had many of the same concerns as you at first, but I am now really, really happy that he is starting FDC.

We will be paying $15 less a day compared to his old day care centre, and there will never be more than 4 kids there. The carer seems to be a wonderful person with very similar values to me. I related very well to her, we had a lengthy conversation and really gelled. She totally understood everything I said about DS2 and how we parent him, and she seemed to share the same philosophies. I could also tell that she has a very good understanding of kids' unique behaviours and needs and she showed every sign that she follows these. Her own children are older now, the youngest is 15, and I met them all as well. They are such grounded, well adjusted children that it is obvious they have grown up in a loving home. DS2 loved her and her house and even gave her a cuddle good bye when we left - and usually it takes him a while to warm up to new people. All in all it has left me feeling very positive.

Also, to answer your other question, the carer is part of an FDC group who maintain accrediation on behalf of all their carers. They pay an unannounced visit to each carer every 4 weeks, and check up on all new children within the first 2 weeks to make sure that they are settling in and the parents are happy with it all. They are also accredited in the same way as long day care centres, so standards have to met.

So my advice would be to start looking into it and see how you go. You might find someone you really like and trust and that would be great. If you don't, at least you know you have tried.

GL hun, I really hope you have as much good luck as we did!!