Daycare costs

For those that dont mind sharing i have a few questions to ask

how long do you put your child in daycare for & what are the costs etc.

Also how do you find it???? Do you have any issues? Or does anyone have any other good advice about Daycare things in general

i second just turning up - dont make an appt - they will cope and show you around - if they are a decent centre - if they wont show you the babies room and the oldest kids etc and the playground, toilets etc DONT put your child there!

ours has no doors on toilets - half door for safety divider at front of room but nothing else....works well - i dont like idea of doors when they are that young and people coming and going

Ella is in fulltime - 5 days - drop off between 7 30 and 8 15 normally (depending on how organised I am or she is!) and the pick up anytime before 6pm...i often finish a little early anyways.

we pay $230 a week - cooked midday meal every day - enormous mornind and afternoon teas, and biscuits and crackers from 5pm - to starve off hunger LOL! she gets fed really well - ask what they serve and make sure the midday meal is a hot cooked one - across the whole centre.

ask ratio of staff to kids - and look at whether the older kids look happy etc.

Ella is prety happy there....and has learnt so much i could never teach her so many songs, writing, drawing etc at home...the 3-4 year olds programme is maths, writing and reading which is awesome...cant wiat for her to do that - ask what the centres do at each level - not just what you are looking for - getting the right one is better than changing them around...it would probably break Ellas heart to chage her now - gawd help us at 5!

Jack is in 2 days, 9-3 and it costs $25 a day (incl a cooked lunch, & morning and afternoon tea).

Staff:child ratio is a biggy for me, esp for the young ones, it should ideally be 1:3-4 for under 2's (although often not).

Look at how chaotic it is, how clean the kids are (ie can you smell dirty nappies (our dc is pretty quick to change nappies so that makes me feel better).

Do they accept cloth if you use cloth nappies? Because a lot I went and saw change nappies every 2ish hours so can be expensive for disposables.

Do they have any structured activities or is it just free reign all the time?

How good are they at sticking to the child's routine?

Does the place have a nice feel about it (that's a big one I reckon).

Thomas goes to Kindy 3 days a week (9-3) Its a massive centre with HEAPS of teachers and a decent number of kiddies. When I was looking around for kindy for Thomas, I rang everywhere first and they were the only ones that said 'sure! come on up right now - we'll put the jug on!' Everywhere else wanted me to come in a few days at a certain time.
It costs us $3.50 an hour and thats with no subsidy - we're not eligable for one.
The best thing I like about this kindy is that his brothers and sisters will have automatic entry instead of having to go on a waiting list! Actually Thomas didnt really need to go on a waiting list anyway - they rang me the day after we went and said he could start straight away! Thank god for having such a lovely well behaved child :P
Thomas will start going full time at the end of they year - Its nice to have a break at home by myself!

Go on reccomendations from people you trust. and look at ERO if looking at ECE centre. Check out their ratios and ask to see their policy manul,(Fay 's DC has their manual on line) Turn up unannounced and see how easy it is to get in - we visited one and walked through the play ground and 2 class rooms and into an office without one person challenging us, despite walking past three teachers - this was CBD in Wellington. Scared the hell out of me, we didn't stay for a visit.
Smell and general state of the environment is another factor, if it doesn't smell or feel nice do you want you kids to be there, it needs to feel right.

We pay $65 per day for CBD care in Wellington, they are above ratio for under and over twos, steady regular staff, all meals provided. They go on outings almost everyday within walking distance and often on the buses. she loves it, she talks about the teachers all the time. Very happy but we saw some less desirable places before we made the decision