Feeling heartbroken

Michelle - posted on 08/13/2016

But being accredited in Australia is tough. They have auditors out regularly and the rules they have to abide by are tough.
The daycare I have been sending my kids to supply lunch if there are children there all day. Lunch has to be a balanced cooked meal (using all the food groups). They have to have evidence of what they are providing for the children (photo's and recipes) for when the auditors come out.
Also to work in a daycare here there is a course that has to be completed as well as a working with children's check. I guess that's how we know that those that are working in the daycare actually want to be working with children.
In Australia you don't hear all these horrible daycare stories so the accreditation works to keep our children safe and parents are able to trust the carers enough to be productive at work.

Terrina - posted on 08/13/2016

Not so true :) I do watch kids after school several days a week and you'd be surprised how desperate some parents are to find anyone who's able to watch their kids while they have to go to work (single parents, dual income parents etc). It's not too much money, but you don't have to leave the home. You don't have to get licensed either. Just put up an ad on kijiji, put up some flyers around the neighborhood. If you chose to watch even two kids from monday to friday from 8 to 5pm you could earn up to $100 a day. That should pay some bills :)

Ev - posted on 08/13/2016

None taken--Terrina--but a lot of people anymore want their kids in accredited places to be cared for. Unregulated places have gone unchecked for the care of kids until it is too late. I have had a lot of stories where I live where something awful happened in the day cares here but 90 percent of them in my area are pretty good and have had no issues.

Ev - posted on 08/13/2016

Here in my state and I am sure in others they have to do background checks at state and federal levels for abuse, neglect, and crimes that are committed against kids to make sure that person does not have any issues that could cause problems working in a day care. Where I worked for a total of 10 years plus I had to have the criminal background checks done, take drug screens, take the inital training the first week of employment and have several added training days each year just to work there. They later wanted the lead classroom instructors to get a certificate in Early Childhood Ed to be a lead. I was working on an Associates in that because the state run program through the local tech or community colleges were stopped being funded by the state. The same classes were in the Associates program I was in so it was better for me to go that way. Also other places in my state require an associates in Early Childhood to just be a teachers' aid. Head start requires that of aids but a teacher has to be an accredited teacher in the state (one who could easily teach in public schools) to be a head teacher. Other day cares have their own ideas on credentials. The place I worked in required us to be First Aid and CPR certified which in a lot of home day cares that are not licensed the person may not be. Also in the preschool I was in we had to do certain things with meals, lessons, and so on where in an unlicensed home care place they do not have to do those certain things.

Terrina - posted on 08/13/2016

"more issues than those under licensing"... :) I have heard horror stories on both ends of the scale. I guess we will just have to agree to disagree. No offence taken and none given I hope! :)

Ev - posted on 08/13/2016

Terrina--

But within in a licensed place they have to adhear to the law of the states they are in as to what is considered good practice and things they have to live up to in order to be licensed. Home day cares can do what they want and they are not regulated nor do they have to adhear to state regulations set forth for the protection of the children. Yes, some who provide home care are great--I won't deny that but, more often than not those that do home care without licensing have more issues than those under licensing.

Terrina - posted on 08/13/2016

Just because a daycare is licensed doesn't mean they care for your kids more than a home day care provider would. It is all very relative to the person providing the care.

Ev - posted on 08/13/2016

Here in my state at least there is a program through Family Services for day care vouchers but a person has to apply for it and be approved for it and they get so much for a time frame. They also have to get the application in very early as there is only so much money allowed for this and if they do not get the app in soon enough they loose out on needed day care. They also must meet certain income guidelines too. It is not easy to get on that either because income plays a bit role--make just one cent more than the limit and you can not get it.

Michelle - posted on 08/13/2016

That's horrible. I guess we have such tight regulations here that I couldn't even contemplate sending my children somewhere that is regulated.
Here we also have government subsidies though. If you send your children to an accredited child care you get rebates to help with the fees. Our minimum wage is also higher here though so it helps everyone.

Ev - posted on 08/13/2016

Michelle--Here in the US people can start home daycares without having to be regisered or lisenced by the state they live in at least in some states, my state is such a state. But where I live for example if you do home day care in your home not registered or licensed then you are limited to how many kids you have and what ages you can have depending on the situation. Also if the person has kids they may be added into the count of total kids allowed in a non-licensed home care. Say they are allowed 5 kids to watch total all day--and they have two at home-- then they may only be allowed to have 3 more there depending again on ages of the kids and maybe even how long they are there. I had a friend once watch my kids and she watched a few others. My daughter was only there on days she was off of school for breaks or holidays and my son was full time all the time at nearly a year of age. She was not licensed or registered and She watched 2 or 3 others besides mine and her own. Eventually, I had to pull my kids because my son was the target of the nearly 2 year old she took on just before that time. That kid bit my son 3 or 4 times and most of those ended up sending us to the doctor because the bites were through the shirt and broke skin causing bleeding and so forth. The last time I asked for the mother's phone number so I could get her to repay me for the doctor visit and antibiotics we had to have for my son because her son bit him. My friend would not do it and said it did not really involve me and that she and mom were working on it. I did not agree so my kids quit going.

Michelle - posted on 08/13/2016

I can't believe that just anyone can start an at home daycare. That is scary to me as a parent.
I personally would only send my child to an accredited daycare as I know the tough rules (in Australia) they have to abide by to get accredited.

Lynzee - posted on 08/13/2016

That's a great idea!!! Bit sadly my husband and I hardly know anyone here...were home bodies lol. I'm sure they're are people who are just like I am.....not really wanting to trust anyone with their babies which I can understand..

Nelly - posted on 08/11/2016

Why don't you try running a home daycare, that way you're bringing in an income and you are at home with your child