Advertising feature
Looking for someone to mind your child can be a hard road.
After all, can anyone care for your child as well as you?
However a quality child care centre can provide an excellent environment in which your child can thrive socially, intellectually and emotionally.
The first questions to think about are:
- What sort of social and cultural experiences do you want for your child while they are in care?
- Would your child be happier in a smaller, more “home like” environment or in a larger group, so that they can social more and mix with more children?
- If your child is approaching school age, would you prefer for them to be in care with children who they might be going to school with in the future?
Once you’ve worked out what kind of care you are looking for, you then consider specific places:
- Does your child have siblings?
- Would you prefer to have them spend more time together and support one another in the same caring environment or do you want them to spend time indeapendently, with children their own age?
- Is it easier for you to have your child care service closer to your home, your place of work or perhaps an older sibling’s school?
- Will you need formal care every day of the week or just occasionally on some days or for only a few hours?
- Can you mix-and-match formal care with other regular arrangements such as trusted friends or family members?
This feature is supported by:
The www.mychild.gov.au database allows you to find child care centres in your local area and access vacancy and fee information.
You can also call the Child Care Access Hotline on 1800 670 305.
The website also provides you with details on how to get financial assistance with the cost of care and has an estimator which allows you to see what you may be entitled to receive.
To check the quality of your child care service you can contact the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) at www. acecqa.gov.au or call 1300 4 ACECQA (1300 422 327).
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