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Dare to Child Care
by Tina Shaw
Publisher/Editor of The Single Parent Bible
www.singleparentbible.com.au
Hmmm. Child Care, it’s a tricky one. When you become a parent it is the one thing that you will come up against at some stage or another. We 
don’t all have our mother living next door and whether you work or just need a time-out, childcare of some form is almost a necessity. You are either the parent that goes home (or off to work or out for the evening) and cries over leaving your children and is consumed by guilt, or you are the parent that yells ‘Yahoo!’ and leaves skid marks on the road as you race off for some child-free time.
The problem with leaving our kids with someone else is that the carer never quite lives up to our standards. Little Susie may come home from kindy with a bite mark on her arm from a bully, the babysitter may not have put the children to bed until 11 pm and the kids may not be as clean, well fed, or happy as you’d like. Let’s face it, no-one is ever going to take care of our children in the same loving way that we do, the most we can hope for is that they are in a safe environment being cared for by qualified, kind, responsible people. Here are a few options to consider in the maddening experience that is choosing suitable care for your children.
Search for Child Care
• National Childcare Accreditation Inc. - www.ncac.gov.au a comprehensive website containing all the information you need to know about child carers.
In-home Carer
• Nanny Sharing Connections - www.nannysharingconnections.com.au an alternative and cost effective childcare solution which also offers a babysitting club.
• Dial An Angel - www.dialanangel.com or 1300 721 111 for numerous childcare options, from babysitting to nannying to assisting in supervised child visitations.
Day Care
• Childcare Information Service – 1800 637 711
• Childcare Access Hotline – 1800 670 305
• Care For Kids – www.careforkids.com.au
• Contact ABC Learning Centres operating throughout Australia and New Zealand www.childcare.com.au
Family Day Care
• National Family Day Care Council - www.familydaycare.com.au
• Government info and brochures on family day care - www.facs.gov.au/internet/facsinternet.nsf/childcare/families-family_day_care.htm
Crèche
• If it’s just a little break you seek, perhaps try a gym or a spa that has a crèche and have a coffee in peace. You could check out - Fernwood Women’s Health Clubs www.fernwoodfitness.com.au phone 13 33 76, or check around as some salons also have qualified child workers on staff to entertain your cherubs, while you get a new do.
Finances
• Child Care Benefit – Can I get Childcare benefit, if so how much can I get paid or subsidised and how do I get paid? These questions and more, answered with a call to 13 61 50 (for queries and to advise of changes in circumstances), or phone 13 12 02 for information in languages other than English, or phone 1800 810 587 for TTY services.
Friends & Other Support
• Family or Friends helping out – they baby sit for you and you baby sit for them.
• The Big Sister Big Brother program is a professionally run mentoring program that provides children and young people with positive adult role models who offer support and friendship. Outings might include going to the park, bike riding, seeing a movie or just general hanging out. To be involved in the BSBB program a young person must be aged between 7 and 17 and need a positive role model.
Big Brothers Big Sisters Australia
Tel: (61) (3) 9427 7611
Fax: (61) (3) 9427 9568
E-mail: david.white@bbbs.org.au
Web: www.bigbrothersbigsisters.org.au
• Adopt a Grandparent Program – this is another really wonderful program, aimed at bringing our children and the elderly together (mutually beneficial for all). Contact the local council to see what is available in your area.
The search may not be easy, but believe me; the outcome of finding a terrific child care arrangement is priceless. You don’t have be a Super Parent, sometimes a little time away is the best thing for everyone.
About the author:
Tina is the Editor and Publisher of The Single Parent Bible (an online magazine for single parents) and champions single parent causes and issues throughout Australia. She feels that her greatest achievement however, is her four year old son. www.singleparentbible.com.au
(May 2006) (
