Childcare Options

Around one third of Australian babies under one are in some kind of care, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, with almost 10 per cent in formal care and 23 per cent cared for informally, most often by a grandparent or family friend.

If your child is soon to be among the littlies looked after in care, you’re facing quite a few choices. Depending on the hours you’ll need to leave her, perhaps long (centre-based) daycare is for you. After a more personal touch? Family daycare, where a professional carer looks after kids in a home-based environment, could be the way to go. More personal still, perhaps a nanny or au pair is what will suit. Then again, what does gran get up to during her days?

With so many options, you may be confused about which type of care is best for your precious bundle, and for your budget.Roxanne Elliott, founder of online childcare resource careforkids.com.au, says parents are increasingly turning to ‘multi-faceted care’ to keep costs down.

“Multi-faceted care is when a child is cared for in more than one type of childcare setting,” she says. “It’s quite common these days for a child to be looked after by her grandparents as well as to attend long daycare and even spend a day with a nanny.”

Want some mummy insight? We spoke to five parents about the childcare choices they’ve made, including the main ins and outs.

GRANDPARENTS
Noemi Bangel and husband Anthony chose to have their seven-month-old daughter, Ashleigh, minded by her grandparents three days a week, rather than put her into long daycare.

“I’m the director of an international company and I basically don’t earn if I don’t work. I took three months off when Ashleigh was born, but then I knew I had to ramp things up again, work-wise.

Anthony and I knew we didn’t want to put Ashleigh into childcare too soon and we’d always known our parents were an option when it came to childcare. So my mum comes to stay with us two full days a week and Anthony’s mum looks after Ashleigh a third day and any other times that I have meetings or work commitments to attend to.

The grandmas look after Ashleigh in our home, so it works really well. I don’t have to worry because I know she is with family at all times and in her own home environment. We’ll stick with this until Ashleigh turns one, then reassess. When she’s older she may need something more formal for social reasons.”

Price: No costs, unless parties agree on payment
Hours: Flexible
Pros: Child cared for by close family
Cons: Challenges arise when the carer is ill or goes on holidays

LONG DAYCARE
Tracy Symons and husband Mark put Hunter, 10 months, in long daycare two days a week. His gran also cares for him twice a week.

“I went back to work as a senior brand manager when Hunter was one month old. At first I took him to the office with me, but when he got to three months it became too difficult, as he needed more interaction. At first Mum offered to look after him four days a week, but it got too much for her, so when he was around six months old we put him into a long-daycare centre twice a week.

We chose a private centre where we could take his food – I liked that I’d know exactly what he was eating. It was also small, with under 40 children, and had a great ratio of one carer to four children.

It was hard leaving him at first, but I know he is well cared for and Mark and I are both able to work full-time to provide him with great opportunities. One downside is seeing him cry when I drop him off. I make sure the time we spend together is quality time.”

Price: $55 to $125 per day, but can work out less with government rebates
Hours: Generally 7am to 6pm
Pros: Social interaction with many other children
Cons: Your child doesn’t get one-on-one care

FAMILY DAYCARE
Cass Wilson and husband Aaron opted to use family daycare for some of nine-month-old son Bobby’s care.

“I went back to work as a full-time branch manager for the National Australia Bank when Bobby was six-and-a-half months old. He goes to family daycare twice a week, long daycare once a week and spends a day with his grandmother. On Wednesdays, I work from home with him.

We liked the idea of the nurturing family environment that family daycare offers, and had Bobby’s name down before he was even born. We chose a carer called Linda because we got a wonderful vibe from her and she had a great set-up with areas for the kids and a covered outdoor area in her home.

Bobby is the youngest of five children at Linda’s and at the end of each day he’s there we get an email outlining everything he did, what he ate, his sleeps and activities. Also, since he’s been there, there have been three unannounced checks on Linda’s place by family-daycare organisers. It’s nice to know there is a good balance of homely care with professional, safe standards. Bobby is so happy there and the children have a real bond with each other and with Linda.”

Price: $4.50 to $8.50 an hour
Hours: Flexible
Pros: Small and nurturing setting
Cons: Alternate arrangements are needed if the carer is ill or on holidays

MUM SWAP
Lizzie Cann and husband Tim turned to a ‘mum swap’ system for Dustin, four months. Their friend Ginny cares for Dustin in her home once a week, then Lizzie has a turn looking after Ginny’s kids, resulting in ‘free’ childcare for both.

“I went back to work when Dustin was just three weeks old. I do international marketing for a ski resort and I’m doing a double degree at La Trobe University. Our initial concern about the traditional childcare system was that the people caring for Dustin would change depending on which staff members were on each day. I’ve known Ginny for years and she has five gorgeous children. When I fell pregnant she offered to ‘swap’ kids when we needed to.

On the days Dustin goes to Ginny, I drop him off at 9am and pick him up at 5pm. I know Dustin’s routine will be followed and he’ll be getting lots of care and attention from someone who knows him. I can also call any time and speak to the person who is directly caring for him and we can even swap on weekends if we need to.
Of course, the best thing is that it’s free! The only disadvantage is that there are some limitations to the availability Ginny can care for Dustin. ”

Price: Free
Hours: Flexible and can include evenings and weekends
Pros: Care provided by someone your child knows well
Cons: Limitations to availability, alternative needed if carer is ill or away

NANNY
Justine Laundy and husband Nick wanted to keep Billy, 10 months, out of formal childcare for as long as possible. They decided to hire a nanny to care for their bub two days a week.

“I needed to go back to work when Billy was six months old, and Nick and I just didn’t want him in formal childcare at such a young age. We had heard horror stories about how sick babies can get in childcare and we wanted to avoid that. So we decided on a nanny. We interviewed quite a few nannies we found through the Find A Babysitter website and they seemed great, but I was always a little anxious about leaving Billy with a stranger.

In the end we hired a nanny who came highly recommended through a friend. Although it was really hard leaving Billy at first, it helped to see how positively he responded to his carer when she would arrive in the morning. She takes him to a mothers’ group she’s joined and meets up with other nannies at the park regularly so Billy gets to see lots of other babies.

The only downside is that it’s a bit more expensive to have a nanny than it would be to send Billy to childcare, and unfortunately we can’t claim any of the costs back. But we’re prepared to pay that extra bit for peace of mind and a happy environment for Billy.”

Price: $12 to $25 an hour for a live-in nanny and $14 to $35 an hour for a nanny who visits, plus an agency fee if you choose to go through one
Hours: Flexible
Pros: One-on-one care in your home
Cons: The cost is often higher than formal childcare is and you cannot claim Government rebates for the service unless your nanny is a registered carer

RELATED LINKS:

• Childcare Reforms Increase Costs by $25 a Day

• Childcare vs Nanny

• Guide to childcare benefits

• Penalties for childcare workers using “time out” for naughty children