So this is probably a pretty daft thread, but I literally have no idea about how childcare works. I've been thinking about studying from home part-time, or maybe even on-campus mid this year (still working out what the deal will be for DD2 in terms of childcare (on campus) and BF etc), so getting DD1 into some form of child care 2 days a week. So, what's the deal? I'd assume there would be waiting lists everywhere and that priority would go to working then studying parents before SAHM's thinking about study lol. Is it as simple as just calling places and asking if DD1 can be placed on waiting lists? What's the difference between privately run places and council run places? What's the go with childcare rebate and benefit? Sorry if these are all really commonsensical questions
ETA oh and FDC, what's the deal there?
Last edited by PumpkinZulu; January 3rd, 2013 at 03:04 PM.
I think waiting lists depend on the ratio of child care centres to breeders in your area. I never had a problem getting my boys into the childcare centre of my choice. I think that only wanting 2 days and being flexible about what days helped because there were quite a few parents using our centre who only used it a couple of days a week.
I never understood the rebates etc. I just filled out my forms and gave them money when they told me to lol.
We chose a private place because we liked the owner and it was montessori influenced but not so montesorri that they expected me to rearrange our shelves at home or come in for x hours a week.
I was on a waiting list for a year at the place I wanted burner another centre offered me a place at two weeks notice so I guess it just depends on the popularity of the place. I think bg can explain rebates better than me so I won't attempt that.
Call and enquire about wait lists and ask to have name put down on weigh list. Also go and have a look at centres as they vary a lot!!
Council vs private just depends what you can get where I am council lists have a 2 year wait!!! Looking at this time of year you may find it hard as they all have a high chance of being full as just start of year.
Also depends what days you need and how many you need which off course would be dependant on what you were studying and when classes were which off course you wont know yet.
Childcare rebate you get 50% back up to a certain amount of hours or $ in a year.
BTW if you want to study.... uni CC centres are often over subscribed so get on the waiting list ASAP. You can always get off it if you change your mind.
Okay, so so I've got the options of FDC, council centre, 'normal' private centre or some variation 'stream' centre? I guess Google will be my friend in finding the ones in my area, huh? I'll check out C/L website while I'm at it too, although I find the info a little confusing.
I don't really mind what days, I'd prefer them not to be in a row but it's obviously flexible for me, it's not like I'm locked into anything at this stage
Thanks guys. Seems like the key is to just get on lists and see how you go, and take names off later if need be.
I put boys names down on 2 lists in sept for the following year! Got accepted to both but looked at both and 1 did not feel right at all and kids clung to me other was bright colourful helpful nice and kids ran off and joined in!
I never had a problem getting a spot immediately (no waiting) either in Melbourne or here in Woodend. Council-run ones are not-for-profit and they tend to have a better reputation but also waiting lists. That's a massive generalisation though.
In terms of rebates, best to go to a Centrelink estimator. You'll definitely get 50% off in terms of childcare rebate (in theory, I think it's income-tested but you'll get it if your/DH's salary is below $150K per year). The childcare benefit also applies and will reduce your fees, that's kind of on a sliding scale according to income.
Fees can be tricky to work out though because at our childcare centre, you pay in advance. I've never really got my head around it TBH.
There is what is called 'priority of access' which if you google that with childcare you should find the info, as you say working parents get priority over others, etc, etc.
Something worth considering is JET allowance. As I understand it your hubby is studying also? If so you may qualify for this which greatly reduces CC costs - as in a few dollars a day - I had one parent who was paying about $6/week for 3 full time children!!
Also check out my child . gov (excellent for centre info) the childcare access hotline (google for info), care for kids . com . au for listings of centres and fees, etc in your area.
The rebate is only if both parents are working, though, no?
Maybe ask around for recommendations from people you know and then call around and see if any have spots. Some areas seem to be very hard to find spots in
Awesome, thanks guys. Income is easily under $150k lol, heck it's under $50k lmao.
I'm not sure about JET...DH has needed to drop down to part-time so doesn't receive anything for studying anymore, and if I study this year it'll be part time too. Something to look into JIC though.
Sit down with B and make a list of what is non-negotiable, what is important, and what you'd like, and make a chart (just handwritten on a bit of A4 paper) with columns for those things, plus a spot for you to write in the cost, and inclusions/exclusions.
Then call all the ones you're considering up, and tell them what dad you're going to come have a look.
Then check them all out on the same day, and then give yourself a week to decide.
Non-neg for us included:-
* kids got outside play everyday (barring wet weather)
* carers appeared to *like* kids (some places, they did not seem to ... seriously)
* lots of natural light (two places were kept reasonably dark, which I have since been told is an attempt to manage melatonin and serotonin levels to help keep kids more placid ... awful ...)
* food is cooked and served fresh and on site, and not too much rubbish (eg: is it going to bother you if the kids get chocolate crackles for afternoon tea, and an icy pole if it's hot? Do you want to know that lunch is on a 20 day rotating calendar, and they get meat every day? Do you want organic? Is toast ok for brekky?)
* carers-to-kids is in line with current regulations
* variety of activities (independent play, collaborative play, art, music, etc)
Important included:-
* not too many toys - so imaginative play and running around playing with the other kids is encouraged.
* lots of outdoor equipment options because DS1 loves it (sandpit, slide, minicars/bikes, balls)
* parents able to (within reason) come for a check up whenever
* regular reporting to parents
* what the rules were about kids going to day care when teething / temperature / colds / etc (these differ HEAPS so be sure you know what you're signing up for ... some places if you've got a temp that isn't brought down by panadol and stays down, you must be picked up immediately and can't come back for 24 hours, some places you can be temping and snotty and on anti-bs and still go ... know what you're happy to have DD exposed to, and what is manageable for you if you have to pick her up and/or lose your other day)
* what the rules were about swapping days (eg: some places you can only swap within that calendar week - so if you're Th & Fri and you find out on Wednesday you need to swap, you can't. And you still have to pay.
* what hours they're open, and when they close over holiday seasons
* hygeine standards - is everything disinfected, or do they let them get a little bit mucky-pup-ish? We don't mind a bit of dirt, a bit of mud, a bit of sand in the shoes and hair and ears - we want our kids to be kids ... equally, we want to see people washing their hands after changing nappies and before handing out food, etc ...
Would be nice included:-
* animals (some have chickens and rabbits and fish etc)
* other activities (dancing, cooking, pre-science stuff, activities out, etc)
* no compulsory other things (eg: some places get Hay-dee ho or photos or whatever, and some BB'ers have said that their place has no apparent opt-out so they get slammed with fees for things they don't want)
* nappies being included in the cost, or being able to use cloth nappies there (though if you don't have a car, this might not be appealing ... mmmmm, tram with a dirty bucket of nappies ... in summer ... score)
* systems in place to give consistency with toilet training, etc.
* the day care having 3yo and 4yo kinder on site, so DS could (if still in care) stay on with established relationships to kinder and then primary school.
Doing it as a chart makes it much easier for you and B to actually compare.
And actually going to the places and meeting the carers makes it easy too.
Two places I crossed straight off my list, because there was no natural light, the rooms were dim and dingy (and it wasn't nap time) or the kids (and I'm talking 6 weeks - 2yos) were parked in front of the telly during play time, and the outside areas weren't maintained ... One place I crossed straight off because the Director and two of the four carers just didn't seem to like kids, from the way they were behaving ... I know that anyone can have a bad day, but if this was the way they were interacting with someone who they expected to be forking out $450 per week plus nappies and snacks, then it just was not the place for my DS.
The other 8 places came down to those other things. The carers in general ... the activities ...
We actually ended up not being persuaded by the price - though there was a big difference (I think the high watermark was $92 a day and the low watermark was $63 a day) because by the time the two rebates kicked in, the cost difference (when taking into account where we did and didn't have to bring nappies) wasn't too bad.
Because we were going full time, there were not going to be any waiting lists anywhere - they would fit us in.
Hey PZ I was just looking up some info for myself and thought you might like to know - the CCR is NOT income tested. It is capped at $7500/ year / child (2012/2013 rates). If you get CCB that comes out of the $7500 first though, ITMS. So you can't get say $3000 in CCB plus $7500 in CCR, you would get up to $4500 in CCR.
Good news for me as I'm looking at having two in daycare, three days a week, and CCR will still cover the full 50% of that. Of course this wont be til 2014 so hopefully the govt doesn't make any stupid changes before then!
PN has give some awesome advice A lot of what she has said is what I considered when finding a day care and pre school for DD1 recently.
I visited 5 centres, the first being highly recommended by a best friend - her 3 yr old DS goes once a week. We were offered a position based on an inspection and I was thrilled as its a difficult centre to get into. We visited the group DD would have been in and I just felt awful about it! The grounds are massive, there are 9 childcare 'rooms' for memory but that's where they spent most of their time - in their rooms. With 20-30 other kids. The windows were high up so although light, the kids couldn't see out, the toy room was small and chaotic. I wanted DD to go somewhere more like home and that centre felt far from it!! The kids were taken outside twice a day for a decent play (weather permitting) but I wanted DD to have more freedom to go outside and the pokey room just did my head in. So I started looking at other centres, all based on recommendations.
We went on the wait list at 4 centres. I wanted one day a week and was happy with Mon, Tues or Fri so being flexible helped. Two of the centres are extremely difficult to get into so I called them a few times after submitting my application to reiterate my interest and it paid off. I got offered a position at one of them the day before their open day for new families - someone had pulled out last minute and as I'd called again just the day before, my name was fresh in their mind. We took the position based on the inspection on the Open Day and I signed up then. They are Reggio Emilia based and OMG, so adorable. Exactly what I was looking for. The centre is for 2-5 year olds only too (so very much tailored for DD's needs and interests) and a bit like family day care. Amazing, I'm thrilled.
I was happy with just one day but then randomly we got offered a position at one of the other centres we'd wait listed for and it happened to be the sister centre to our other one PLUS it was preschool so 3-4 year olds only. It's like 3 year old kindy but operates on day care/school hours (open 8-4) instead of 2.5hrs twice a week. We inspected and signed up with that centre too. It's incredible!
The other two centres we saw were great too (one of them also offered us a position just before Xmas and I declined) but I couldn't have asked for any better than what we got, they really are amazing and will help prep DD for school. That was very important for me. The staff are very attentive, the centres are bright and clean and the activities and toys are fantastic. DD1 is a very bright (and spirited!) little girl so going to a Reggio centre is a huge bonus too.
Good luck with the search. See as many centres as you can as they do vary a lot (I was amazed!). Ask lots of questions and trust your instincts. Being flexible with your preferred days helps a lot too. We've got Monday and Friday so yes, we will cop the public holidays but you can apply for makeup days at both our centres so that's yet another bonus.
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... awful ...)
A lot of what she has said is what I considered when finding a day care and pre school for DD1 recently. 
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