Child Care News

G8 snaps up 6 more childcare centres
Australian Financial Review - Trevor Hoey - November 7, 2011

G8 Education announced on Monday morning that it had acquired six childcare centres in South-East Queensland, bringing the total number centres under the group’s banner to 138 and adding 400 licensed places. The Queensland-based company will pay $8.2 million...

Queensland Government report finds cost one of biggest barriers to parents accessing kindergarten
Courier Mail - Tanya Chilcott - November 7, 2011

KINDERGARTEN is unlikely to ever be free in Queensland, as it is in some other states, despite cost being one of the biggest barriers to parents accessing it. A report commissioned by the State Government to identify barriers to parents accessing kindergarten...

Is it yours? Childcare money goes begging
The Sun-Herald - Stephanie Peatling - November 6, 2011

ABOUT 100,000 families are missing out on up to $7500 in childcare assistance, government figures reveal. The Minister for Childcare, Kate Ellis, told The Sun-Herald her department had identified a significant number of families who were not...

Toddlers sent to bootcamp as parents struggle to find time to play with kids outdoors
NEWS.com.au - November 6, 2011

CHILDREN as young as two are lining up to join "toddler bootcamps" as chubby tots start the battle with the bulge. Parents struggling to find time to get children to play outdoors are booking them into "bootcamp" classes...

Nanny state has no business muscling mums and dads out of the way
The Australian - Frank Furedi - November 5, 2011

The Early Years Learning movement is based on the principle that since most parents - particularly from disadvantaged backgrounds - cannot be trusted to bring up their children satisfactorily, professional intervention is needed...

From the nuclear family to a subsidised cotton wool kind
The Australian - Cassandra Wilkinson - November 5, 2011

The combination of rising expectations of quality and coverage means the cost of child care has risen beyond the reach of many families and low-cost options like family day care have been regulated into higher price brackets -- or out of business...

Delay on childcare reforms
Adelaide Now - David Jean - November 5, 2011

THE State Government will give the childcare industry four more years to meet one of the key aspects of national early childhood reforms. Child Development Minister Grace Portolesi said centres now would have until 2020 to fully meet the requirement...

Professional babysitting fees soar as parents shell out for night out without the kids
Courier Mail - Kristin Shorten - November 5, 2011

DESPERATE parents are shelling out half an average week's wage for a night without the kids as the demand for professional babysitting soars. Gone are the days of slipping the teenager next door five bucks to do the job, with parents opting for Blue Card-checked...

Revolt over childcare proposal
Adelaide Now - Greg Kelton - November 4, 2011

CHILDCARE workers, parents and politicians have launched a campaign against proposed new laws they say will force up fees to as much as $1000 a week for a family with two children. They say the changes, due to come into force in January, could force the closure of some smaller childcare centres and force women to quit work...

Childcare fee hike a double-edged sword
Adelaide Now - Alexandra Economou - November 4, 2011

Family Day Care Australia said an increase in costs meant an improved service. "Quality costs money so it should come as no surprise that increasing the standards of the early childhood education and care sector will cost money," said chief executive Carla Northam...

Editorial: Affordable childcare for nation's future
Adelaide Now - November 4, 2011

PARENTS who decide to return to work after having a child often agonise over the best care for their infant. Tears are shed as they part on the first day but over a period of weeks, parent and child settle into the new arrangements. Tears are shed as they...

The working mother myth
Sydney Morning Herald - Michelle Griffin - November 4, 2011

In our anxiety to support a mother's choice to stay at home, we haven't been frank about the consequences. Opting out of a career for the sake of the children makes the weekly balancing act much easier in the short term, but women making that choice take a terrible risk...

Labor's preschool pledge a big ask
The Australian - Sue Dunlevy - November 4, 2011

LABOR'S pledge to give every four-year-old access to 15 hours' preschool a week by 2013 is a "challenging goal" that will require a 60 per cent increase in preschool hours in the next five years, the Auditor General says. Increasing the number of qualified teachers was one of the key risks...

The first years are the key to success
Adelaide Now - Kate Ellis - November 4, 2011

THE simple fact is Australian children deserve the best start in life. Parents also deserve the peace of mind of knowing that when they drop their children off in the morning they are being well cared for and supervised in a nurturing environment. All of the research shows us that the first...

Child-care costs - Precious little burdens
The Economist (UK) - November 4, 2011

The professionalisation of child-rearing has pushed up its price. GONE are the days when a mother's place was in the home: in Britain women with children are now as likely to be in paid work as their unencumbered sisters. Many put their little darlings in day care long before they start school...