Childcare Options
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Category: General Chat
Forum Name: General Chat
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URL: https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=26796
Printed Date: 01 October 2025 at 10:29am
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Topic: Childcare Options
Posted By: MummyFreckle
Subject: Childcare Options
Date Posted: 28 May 2009 at 1:45pm
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I am thinking about putting Oli into some sort of care for a morning or 2 each week - starting later on in the year....I think it would be good for both of us! I am unsure which direction to go - a childcare centre or a home educator type set up. I am interested to hear opinions / pros & cons for each. Its tricky as I dont really want to commit to anything too rigid but it seems that all places are going to want that..so I guess I will need to. (Unless anyone knows of a "casual" option?!?)
------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
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Replies:
Posted By: sally belly
Date Posted: 28 May 2009 at 3:01pm
Liam goes to DC for 2 full days a week while I am at work. I'm not sure if it's the same for all daycares but the place he goes to do not do half days. Well they do technically, but you pay for the whole day regardless of how long they're there. His DC also does a "casual" option but it would depend on availability & it's pretty pricey at $20 an hour 
The main thing I like about DC for Liam is the interaction he gets with other children. If he was with a home-based carer he wouldn't get the chance to socialise with so many other kids. -------------    
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Posted By: lilfatty
Date Posted: 28 May 2009 at 3:04pm
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I'm not sure what you mean by casual .. if you mean you take him "when you feel like it", I think that could be quite hard to find .. although places like Les Mills have child care facilities that allow that type of situation to happen. However I think in that type of environment its more "babysitting" than the child getting anything educational.
Issy goes to a daycare facility for a couple of reasons. Firstly I didnt like the idea of a home educator as I like the safety of having other adults around as a "back up" .. however Flissty's son is in a homecare situation, where there are two adults on site and the main caregiver has a degree in ECE and vast experience, something like that would give you the best of both worlds. Also SD works at the facility (even though we would have chosen that facility if he didnt work there. Its just as a worried Mum, I was more at ease as I knew he was on the premises if Isabelle needed a parent straight away. I think there are also public creche's .. however the waiting lists are horrendous (although much much cheaper than dc) Another thing to consider is that it a dc (or creche) near where he will go to school will help him make friends that he could know for the rest of his life .. which is another reason I like the dc Issy goes to, the dc, kindy and primary school are all on the same grounds, so the kids she is meeting now will grow up with her. ------------- Mummy to Issy (3) and Elias (18 months) I did it .. 41 kgs gone! From flab to fab in under a year  http://www.femininefitness.co.nz/category/blog - LFs weight blog
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Posted By: lilfatty
Date Posted: 28 May 2009 at 3:07pm
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Oh and Issys dc has "part days" .. although not quite half days .. Issy's official hours are 8.30 - 3.30 and it is cheaper than having her in for a full day.
And dont forget you can claim a childcare subsidy. ------------- Mummy to Issy (3) and Elias (18 months) I did it .. 41 kgs gone! From flab to fab in under a year http://www.femininefitness.co.nz/category/blog - LFs weight blog
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Posted By: Mum2ET
Date Posted: 28 May 2009 at 8:14pm
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just a word of warning on the casual basis. Ella used to go to daycare for 2 days a week and loved it and had no problems settling, then due to work cutting my hrs I had her going just the 1 day a week and so far it has been a nightmare........ she is so unsettled there and has started crying and taking a while to calm down. We have now decided to have her going 2 days again, as it just wasn't fair on her and the time between visits was too long. I know every child is different, but whatever route you do decide to go down I would probably recommend going for at least 2 days (2 x 1/2 days would probably work as well), just to help with the settling in. ------------- Mum to Ella (5) and Tom (2) |
Posted By: lilfatty
Date Posted: 28 May 2009 at 9:42pm
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That is one of the reasons most dc's have a two day minimum as the child settles easier ... one day a week is apparently quite a big gap for a child so its like they are "new" all over again. ------------- Mummy to Issy (3) and Elias (18 months) I did it .. 41 kgs gone! From flab to fab in under a year http://www.femininefitness.co.nz/category/blog - LFs weight blog
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Posted By: Ella1
Date Posted: 28 May 2009 at 10:43pm
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I agree with what Mum2Ella said.
I work in an early childhood centre myself, and it often seems a bit hard for children who only come once a week. Children who come twice (whether it's 2 full days or 2 half days), settle much easier. Most centres that I know do half days. I'm not sure what you mean by casual. If you mean just go when you want to, that's not really possible, because centres are bound by child-teacher ratios. So if people just decide to drop off their child, there might not be enough teachers. Centres also have a maximum number of children they are allowed to have on their premises. Therefore centres require you to commit to certain days and times. You don't have to bring in your child if he's booked in, but you will still be charged for that day. Considering the age of your child I think a centre is a good option, because of the possibilities for social interaction. Also centres have usually larger playgrounds than homebased carers, so there is more opportunity for physically active play. (Personally I'm very big on things like climbing and jumping and balancing etc.) |
Posted By: Rachael21
Date Posted: 29 May 2009 at 7:15am
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I personally would go for a preschool/daycare option rather than homebased care as he gets all the home stuff with you. If it was going to be full time then I'd consider homebased care.
Preschool is great in that they get interaction with other kids. Caprece was 19 months when she started and she loves it. Do make sure they have a lowish ratio as at that age they still need a lot of adult input. They do really cool stuff at preschool that you maybe wouldn't do at home. Go round and have a look at all the daycares around you and see what you think. |
Posted By: Glow
Date Posted: 29 May 2009 at 2:13pm
I would do a centre from about Oli's age & homebased if they were younger ------------- Mummy of Two Boys B: 2004 K: 2007 |
Posted By: busyissy
Date Posted: 29 May 2009 at 2:27pm
| One thing to keep in mind is that children in day care centres often get more colds and other illnesses just because they are exposed to more children. In home care they don't seem to get sick as often. And I think that if you are only doing it on a casual basis he might be more settled in a home care situation where there will always be the same children around and only one carer. Also you can be assured that you are happy with whoever he is with. There won't be any sudden changes of carer with because its a different day or the centre had to get a substitute in. |
Posted By: fire_engine
Date Posted: 29 May 2009 at 2:43pm
LOL, thanks for posting on my behalf LF  !
At Oli's age, if it's only for a couple of sessions a week, I'd probably go with day care centre if I found somewhere I was really happy with, particularly if you're keen on the socialisation side of things. ------------- Mum to two wee boys |
Posted By: Peanut
Date Posted: 29 May 2009 at 3:29pm
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On the sickness thing it also really depends on the child.
DS is in full time care and has been since end of Jan he has only had 2 days off daycare sick. He has only had 2 mild colds but then I do give him a multi vit everyday. -------------  
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Posted By: Rachael21
Date Posted: 30 May 2009 at 8:19pm
| My two are the same as Mac, full time from Jan and haven't been any sicker than what they used to be. |
Posted By: DJ
Date Posted: 01 June 2009 at 1:01pm
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Last week I rang around all our local "community creches" - in general the wait lists were shorter than all the daycares I am on the list for (e.g. 3-6mths), and they could meet the more casual approach you are looking for.
Most were not full time (9-1 or 8:30- 2:30ish), and operated out of council owned facilities. ERO reports are available. They are also much cheaper than daycare ($30ish a day). Another option is to find out what the kindys in your area offer - many of the kindys here have consulted with the public and changed the types of sessions they offer "to better meet the needs of their communities". Some kindy's here offer sessions where you can leave your kid behind much younger than the traditional 3yr olds going to afternoon kindy. There is even a new kindy being built that will offer full day kindy for $4 an hour for young-uns and lots of other options. Your local Kindergarten Association would know what is available in your area. ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
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