Child Care News
Blaming NSW for crisis in preschool
The Daily Telegraph - Katherine Danks - January 8, 2013SOARING preschool fees were the state government's fault, federal Education Minister Peter Garrett said yesterday. Firing the latest salvo in an escalating row between the state and federal governments over the provision of early childhood education programs in NSW, Mr Garrett said…
MP bids to delay costly new childcare changes
AdelaideNow - Lauren Novak - January 7, 2013AN Opposition MP will introduce legislation to give childcare centre operators more time to meet stricter staff-to-child ratios the industry says will drive up costs. Liberal MP Martin Hamilton-Smith has drafted laws, which he intends to introduce to Parliament this year, to delay...
Childcare industry warns of cost blowout
ABC News - January 7, 2013The Federal Childcare Minister has hit back at claims parents are facing a blow-out in childcare fees. South Australia''s childcare industry has warned parents could pay $30 more per day under proposed new regulations. The changes backed by both the Federal and State Governments will...
Child care adds appeal for CBD mums
The West Australian - Kim Macdonald - January 7, 2013The first child care centre to open on St Georges Terrace in the central business district has highlighted the workplace advances that have been made to accommodate corporate mothers. City-based child care has traditionally focused on casual shoppers but Buggles in Brookfield Plaza...
Children victims of a preschool fee battle
The Daily Telegraph - Bruce McDougall - January 7, 2013SOARING fees of up to $55 a day are forcing families to pull children out of preschools, depriving thousands of three and four-year-olds preparation for their first school year. Parents and community-based preschools angered by a 23-year "funding freeze" have launched a grassroots...
Childcare rates to hit $100 a day amid new care regulations
AdelaideNow - Daniel Wills - January 6, 2013PARENTS have been warned to brace for childcare costs of more than $100 per child a day, as the industry accuses the State Government of breaking a pledge to slow the start of onerous new regulations. Childcare SA president Kerry Mahony said many centres were at risk of going broke...
Editorial: High childcare costs must be addressed
AdelaideNow - January 6, 2013CHILDCARE costs are a sleeper cost-of- living issue that is increasingly eating into household budgets. While there is heavy focus on the impact of water and power bills, $80 a day for child care is hard to meet. A daily bill of more than $100 would lead many parents to reconsider if it is...
Childcare workers need English
The Australian - Patricia Karvelas - January 4, 2013MIGRANTS applying for jobs in childcare must meet tougher English-language requirements under new national standards beginning this week, outraging the industry, which says it will make it even harder to attract workers. Under the changes, authorised by the Australian Children's Education...
Private childcare operatiors struggling with reforms, mounds of paperwork
AdelaideNow - Belinda Willis - January 02, 2013PRIVATE childcare operators say they are struggling to remain viable as they deal with red tape and extra costs linked to reforms. Childcare SA president Kerry Mahony said the association, which represents 60 childcare operators in the state, will soon launch a campaign to lobby against the...
Cubbyhouse concerns after worker accused of child sex charges
The Sunday Telegraph - Caroline Marcus - December 30, 2012PARENTS at a Sydney public school are furious a childcare centre on the school grounds - where a worker was recently arrested on child sex charges - is in the running for a new tender. The school and the before-and-after school care centre cannot be named due to suppression orders...
Toddlers' Early Language Skills May Influence Later Anger Management
TIME - Laura Blue - December 27, 2012In a new study published in the journal Child Development, researchers draw links between communication skills that kids develop as toddlers and the emotional development that occurs during early childhood. The findings suggest that language and vocabulary at the earliest ages...
Early Childhood Obesity Rates Might Be Slowing Nation-Wide
Scientific American (USA) - Katherine Harmon - December 25, 2012About one in three children in the U.S. are now overweight, and since the 1980s the number of children who are obese has more than tripled. But a new study of 26.7 million young children from low-income families shows that in this group of kids, the tidal wave of obesity might finally be...
Preschool mental health toll at 10pc
The Australian - Verity Edwards and Sarah Martin - December 24, 2012ONE in 10 children under five experiences mental health problems, a landmark study has found, with early intervention by childcare staff proving to have a significant impact. The Flinders University study, funded by the federal government and Beyondblue, assessed the mental health...
High childcare costs mean 'not worthwhile' for mothers to return to work
Nursery World (UK) - Vesela Gladicheva - December 19, 2012Rising childcare costs mean that it is not economically viable for mothers to work full-time, as they strive to find the right balance between work and family. The report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said that mothers are unable to work more...
Kate Ellis calls for action across all three tiers of government to tackle waiting lists
The Australian - Patricia Karvelas - December 19, 2012THE peak body representing nannies has seized on the news childcare centres are considering closing down their baby rooms to push for subsidies to be given to families who want their children looked after at home. The push came as new figures show an explosion in the industry, with 1716...
