Child Care News
Neuron growth in children 'leaves no room for memories'
BBC News - May 25, 2013The reason we struggle to recall memories from our early childhood is down to high levels of neuron production during the first years of life, say Canadian researchers. The formation of new brain cells increases the capacity for learning but also clears the mind of old memories...
Children: seen, not subsidised
The Australian - Adam Creighton - May 25, 2013A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. OSCAR Wilde's 1892 quip aptly summarises what is wrong with the debate about taxpayers' support for families. In Australia government handouts for families with children have exploded - at considerable cost...
Childcare board to steer centre pay rises
The Australian - Patricia Karvelas - May 24, 2013A NEW seven-member childcare advisory board will be unveiled today, charged with determining which centres will receive wage increases. But the members do not include a representative of the Australian Childcare Alliance, which represents 70 per cent of private providers and has just...
AMA backs plan to boost vaccinations
NEWS.com.au - May 23, 2013THE Australian Medical Association has backed plans to increase childhood vaccinations. But it's unlikely to support a proposal to lock non-immunised kids out of school. The NSW government and Queensland opposition have both flagged legislation which would give pre-schools and early...
Family daycare ratio tightens
The Mercury - Michelle Paine - May 23, 2013FAMILY daycarers are concerned that hundreds of Tasmanian children will struggle to find places next year. From January 1, each carer will only be able to look after four children from infant to four years old. In family daycare, children are looked after in the carer's home. The present ratio...
Queensland Labor joins push to ban unvaccinated children from childcare centres
Courier Mail - Kelmeny Fraser - May 23, 2013CHILDREN would be barred from entering childcare unless they were fully immunised, under a Bill to be introduced into State Parliament today by the Opposition. Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk released details of the ALP's policy at State Parliament while cradling her niece Evelyn...
Parents spending 50pc more to bring up children
The Australian - Patricia Karvelas and Rachel Baxendale - May 23, 2013A TYPICAL middle-income family spends 50 per cent more to raise two children than it did six years ago, with the total bill up to the age of 24 estimated at $812,000. A report by AMP and the National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling reveals the amount middle-income families choose to...
Childcare, schools lead rise in cost of raising children
Sydney Morning Herald - Stephanie Peatling - May 23, 2013The cost of raising children has risen 50 per cent in the past five years with a middle-income family now spending $812,000 on two children, new modelling shows. In 2007, the same family spent $537,000 on children from the time they were born until they left home. The jump in cost largely...
Costs rise on raising children
Sydney Morning Herald - Stephanie Peatling - May 23, 2013The cost of raising children has risen by 50 per cent in the past five years with a middle-income family now spending $812,000 on two children, new modelling shows. In 2007 the same family spent $537,000 on children from the time they were born until they left home, with the jump in...
Middle-class junkies need to wean themselves off welfare
The Australian - Janet Albrechtsen - May 23, 2013IT'S taken far too long for a Treasurer to cut the Baby Bonus - a form of indulgent middle-class welfare - from the federal budget. So, one cheer for Wayne Swan for finally doing the right thing in the budget by axing a payment that will save more than $1 billion over four years. Tony Abbott...
Hockey considering means testing childcare rebate
7News - May 22, 2013Joe Hockey is considering means testing the childcare rebate if he becomes Treasurer. The Shadow Treasurer used his budget reply speech on Wednesday to outline a number of reforms the coalition government would pursue. One suggestion was to look at means testing or lowering the childcare...
Twelve ways to get your child into daycare
NEWS.com.au - Fiona Joy - May 22, 2013THERE'S an alarming shortage of childcare places on offer. Is it hard to find a spot? Yes. Impossible? Not with these expert tips. 1) Get on the list. Don't wait until your return-to-work date is looming. In fact, don't even wait until your 12-week scan. As soon as you have a due date, you...
With vaccination rates stable, 'no jab, no play' rules are beside the point
The Conversation - Julie Leask and Hal Willaby - May 22, 2013A recent News Limited campaign to enable childcare centres in NSW to refuse entry to unvaccinated children is gaining momentum, with the legislation expected to be introduced to NSW parliament this week. The proposal stems from a public outcry about vaccination rates arising from profound...
Some unvaccinated children face likely childcare ban in NSW
Financial Review - Joanna Heath - May 22, 2013NSW is likely to be the nation's first state or territory to allow childcare centres and preschools to exclude unvaccinated children, although the industry group Early Childhood Australia doubts the ban will be widely applied. Labor Opposition Leader John Robertson gave notice of legislation...
NSW bill to allow banning unvaccinated kids from childcare
SBS News - May 20, 2013NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner supports legislation that would allow childcare centres and preschools to ban unvaccinated children. The NSW health minister has backed a proposal to bar unvaccinated children from preschools and childcare centres. Opposition Leader John Robertson...
