Help: Distraught over childcare.

[DB&O]

Hi all, I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on childcare in the NE suburbs of Adelaide, I am wanting to put Liv into care for 1 half day a week but have no idea how to find the right centre, what I should look out for. I am stressing about her getting sick, she has been such a healthy baby but all parents I speak to say that there kids caught everything while in care & were always sick & miserable, is this true? Am I doing the right thing? Help!!!!!

Ciao, Brooke.

[whatwasithinking]

Of course kids are going to get sick when they are around number of people. It helps build their immune system.

Don't know why people are alway saying children will get sick more often when they are in daycare and emphasise on that when all kids have to go to school so surely they will get sick there too.

Hannah's been in care for over 2yrs and hasn't been any sick than other children who don't go to care (her non care friends have been sick more!)

Sorry the bleeding hearts who just don't think sometimes really annoys me.

Both my girls go to childcare and I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm all for it and yes I am a responsible well adjusted caring mother!

[DB&O]

Hi Donna,
thanks for your response, I feel guilty about putting Liv into care but we both need it, her for the socialisation & to build her independance & me so I can have some me time, I haven't had a haircut in 10 months. I just don't want my happy, healthy, bright little girl to change. I think I will go ahead & give it a go, after all its only 3 hours a week & if it doesn't work then so be it. Thanks for your response, its nice to hear both sides.
Ciao, Brooke.

[whatwasithinking]

we both need it, her for the socialisation & to build her independance & me so I can have some me time, . I just don't want my happy, healthy, bright little girl to change.
That's why I put my girls into childcare. Especially Hannah - she and I cannot be with each other 24/7 - it's just not the done thing and being together all the time we clash to much (even though she is only 3).

Your little girl will still be the bright, healty and happy little girl that she has always been even if she goes to child care!!:D

[nemosmum]

Hey Brooke,

I cant recommend any good centres near you Im afraid as I am from Sydney but I can tell you to look out for a few things,

I am not sure as to the accreditation process in S.A but ask the Director any way and this will make you sound confident LOL and let them know (with out saying it ) that you expect the highest quality care for your daughter. eg you could ask them when they were last accredited and what rating they achieved.

Also check out how many qualified teachers are employed at the centre ( this indicates the centres priority on quality care) as many centres try and get by on untrained teachers as they are cheaper to hire. That said I have nothing against untrained teachers they can sometimes be more loving and caring then uni trained ones. Its just something to look out for.

Also check out the teacher/ child ratios (this means the number of children to each teacher in that room). In NSW the legal ratio is one teacher to 5 babies under 2 (not sure about S.A) at my centre we have three babies to one teacher. So the less children per teacher the better IMO :)

Lastly and most importantly go and have a look at some centres to get the feel for the place, go with your gut instincts and hopefully you will find the right centre for you and your bub!

Oh and in re: to the sickness question in my experience as a teacher (8 years and counting lol) I have to say that kids are kids and will get sick its normal,

But as a parent of a bub who started care at 8 months old (just two days a week) I did find he got really sick in the first few months and it was heart breaking to see him go through it. He had never really been unwell until then.
Now a year on he hardly ever gets sick, I think their imunity builds up as they get older. Just be prepared for your bub to get sick, but know it wont always be like that.

Finally putting your child in one day a week can be hard as bubs concept of time is not like ours, a week to them is really like a couple of months. So you may find bub unsettled as she doesnt remember the teachers from one week to the next.
This all depends on your bub though as my little guy has never gone through seperation anxiety and loved day care from the word go.

Good luck, and i am really sorry about the long post I got carried away oh and all of the above is just my humble opinon :)

[DB&O]

Hi Orlandosmum,
thanks for your reply, I know that I will have to bite the bullet eventually & so I'm just going to do it, thanks for your guidance with some questions to ask, I think I can sound a lot more confident next time.
Ciao, Brooke.

[pthalokitty]

The illness thing will happen for a while being around other kids- our son was sick almost all the time the first 2 years with one thing or another from playgroup or other contact with people. After he turned 2 there has been a lot less illness despite starting family day care. I would recommend this kind of care if you find a person you like, as they are limited to only so many kids (4-6?). Like some of the others, I need my son in care for 2 days to keep my sanity. There is guilt sometimes, but he loves socialising with other kids, and we aren't having any more so this way he gets to do the clayton's "sib" thing with the same 4 kids every week...he loves it! Sometimes he's sad about going, but usually only when he thinks we aren't happy about leaving him there. In Sydney and Brisbane (where we have moved) there were council website information about daycare centres...there should be some for Adelaide?
Good luck!
em xxoo

[the_queen]

Hi Brooke,

I'm in the Northern suburbs, so can't really give you any advice on exactly which centres are good in your area... but I've had Vallerie in child care off and on since she was 12 months old. I know what you mean about the guilty feelings - I think the best thing to do is just find a child-care place you feel really really comfortable with. Vallerie was in Family Day Care when she was 12mths to 2.5 yrs and I found that to be wonderful. Then we moved and it just wasn't convenient anymore (I didn't have a car) so I put her in a council run child care centre from age of 3 to 3.5 yrs (Playford CCC, in Elizabeth) and again, they were wonderful, absolutely wonderful. We moved again and I put her into an ABC centre that is right near my house, and I have to say (of course, this is just one centre, I can't comment on all ABC centres) that it was a horrible experience, I ended up quitting my job after 6 months because I was so worried about her all day I wasn't doing my job properly. IMO, a corporation that spends money on sponsoring basketball teams and advertising their centres on TV, should be spending their millions of profits on hiring more qualified staff. Anyway, like I say, that was just one centre, I can't cast aspersions on all ABC centres.

So I guess my advice to you would be to put your precious one in Family Day Care, because a) it's cheaper; b) it's just like leaving her with a friend, and in fact most mums I know who use FDC end up being really good mates with the "Day Care Lady"; c) it's more personalised care. Instead of having a roomful of littlies to watch, the lady might have only 3 or 4 kids at once. The FDC lady Vallerie used to go to would have about 6 kids in the morning, then drop most of them off at school, and then there'd be Vallerie and 2 other little kids there. For Vally, it was like going to a friends house to play!! And I felt so comfortable leaving her there.

Good luck with whatever you decide! If you put in the effort now to find a child-care place that you feel really comfortable with, beleive me you will have much better quality "me time" because you won't be worrying about her at all.
:)