Seriously!! Kids!! chatter......

Do you remember going to the speedway as a kid?

2012-01-31T22:53:00.005+10:00

I certainly do..... (A blast from my childhood).

I remember going to Grafton speedway as a kid.

Well, we had the luxury today of seeing it from the drivers perspective, somewhat. It was so cool to see it from behind the scenes’ so to speak- they were tinkering at the place we were staying.

It seems to be one of those sports that somewhat goes under the radar unless you religiously follow it and it certainly was a new experience for the girls. I am often found reminiscing into my childhood and was so excited to be able to share elements with my girls (lord knows how much things have changed from the ‘80’s!).

I certainly have fond memories from then and funnily enough on our trek recently we found ourselves in an inadvertent convey of drivers who were on their speedway circuit and we met them halfway along the Nullarbor on their way to an event in Kalgoorlie (funnily enough the same place we were spending the night the night before their big event!).

After our arrival at Kalgoorlie at our accommodation (Discovery Caravan Park,WA) my husband happened to notice one of the competitors (who the girls and I had seen not 400 kms ago at the roadhouse first thing in the morning ....like 4am!) and the girls remembering (I don't know how as we all seemed half asleep) showed a great deal of interest in this finetuned piece of machinery (however, I can’t decide who was more excited.. the girls for remembering who they had seen at a previous stop or my husband at the cars)....

Well as you can imagine paths met....but, it would appear that regardless what your thoughts are on the sport and whether you follow it as such or not this particular gentleman may change your ideas. He was more than accommodating to the kiddie groupies I now found myself with and took time out from what was his last minute fine tuning of his high performance vehicle to be humble and gentlemanly to the girls. They were chuffed (& I might add so was my husband!) that time was taken out of this last minute scamper to take the time to be so kind as have a photo and chat with the girls.

They went to bed feeling very special and so excited about seeing this man race his car... I now have to break the news that we are moving on in the morning and will sadly miss the event, but might I add that it is something if you have the chance to go and see to do just that..... it is so much fun and the guys in the behind the scenes are awesome. This particular champion of the sport needs a special commendation as a fantastic ambassador of the sport and we certainly wish him well in the future.

Good luck Ian Madsen.....

School readiness quick checklist......

2012-01-30T07:34:00.001+10:00

If your little one is all 'growm up' and heading to school (prep, kindy, pre primary, etc) then you may wonder are they quite ready.

Your child needs to start school when they are able to concentrate, shift their attention and sustain or return their attention to the more important task.

It's a a good idea that we help them to get into a routine and do a few practise runs. This also includes a good food routine. The healthier food they eat the better they will also be able to concentrate. There have been links between certain foods and concentration.

Literacy
Emerging awareness of written and visual text.

Developing awareness of writing having meaning and environmental text.

Knows and uses book conventions.

Understands auditory and visual similarities and differences.

Language

Can remember and follow directions/instructions. Understands meaning of verbal expressions.

Has a developed wide vocabulary.

Listens to stories.

Speaks in grammatically correct, expanded sentences. Expresses ideas fluently.

Contributes to discussions (i.e. news).

Articulation is appropriate.

Sufficient volume to be heard when speaking.

Can ask for help and/or ask questions.

Self help

Can tend to own needs.

Recognise own belongings.

Toilet self independently.

Dress self.

Emotional
Displays emotional security.

Appears to have a positive self image.

Can cope with minor frustrations/disappointments.

Remains happy and content during most of the day.

Can accept guidance or direction from adults.

Separates happily from parents.

Cognitive
Finishes task.

Alert and interested.

Recognises and names, colours and shapes correctly.

Numeracy skills developing (i.e. one-to-one correspondence).

Mathematical concepts developing (i.e. weight, size). Sequencing, matching and sorting developed.

Remembers events.

Gross motor

Ball control.

Confidently run, skip, climb and jump.

Confidently balance and walk a beam using alternative feet.

A dominant foot that coincides with the dominant hand.

Fine motor
Established a dominant hand preference and grip.

Correct grip and use of scissors.

Detailed and recognisable drawings with attention to detail. Developed and accurate hand-eye co-ordination.

Social
Has developed positive peer relationships.

Ability to work alone and also in a group.

Relates to other adults other than parents.

Has positive social personality.

Creative
Enjoys participating in musical and/or group activities. Is aware of music types and recognises rhythms.

Uses construction imaginatively.

Uses a variety of mediums creatively.

Helping your child prepare for school is great to provide them with some skills. So, if you find that your child is having trouble sitting at the table for dinner for example and fidgets a lot it may be because they can’t sit still, straight and their feet can’t touch the floor not because they are unable to concentrate. All these things will take up his attention and they are unable to concentrate at the task at hand. This is the same for a school environment. They will be so busy focusing on this their attention will not seem to be paying attention. Practising sitting still and up straight is sometimes a good idea.

Girl only eats chicken nuggets....

2012-01-30T07:23:00.002+10:00

There was an article in the paper on Sunday about this 15 yr old in the UK who had collapsed at the factory where she worked as she had trouble breathing. She was taken to the hospital and they had grave concerns over her health. It was established that she only ate chicken nuggets and had done so since she was 2 yrs old when her mum had bought her MacDonald’s.

No joke.

This is a true story!

It reminded me of the time I worked in a child care centre where we had a 3 ½ yr old who only ate chocolate products. She would eat anything chocolate her parents said. They too were concerned but she just wouldn’t eat anything else they said.

Have you ever had a child who was a fussy, finicky eater? Or an eater just like the ones above? What did you do?

Have you read "Up the duff"? If you're pregnant it's a must....

2012-01-29T21:29:00.000+10:00

Talking about books led me to have that revelation that there are so many parenting books (as there is with other topics too I’m not picking on parenting) that sometimes it’s hard to know which one to read or where to start.

When I first found out I was pregnant a friend of mine lent me a fantastic book. It wasn’t a, what I’ll call a bog standard parenting or pregnancy book, but a light-hearted look at pregnancy. Yep, it did have knowledgeable bits in there too but it was a refreshing look at being pregnant. It was really what I needed as everything was so new and I was quite nervous. I read and re- read this loaned book, so much so that I had pages falling out and so I purchased a new book to give back.

Think a pregnancy Bridget Jones Diary and you get the picture. Kaz Cooke (said author) has written a few other books which I would hazard a guess are just as great.

But, if you are newly pregnant and are looking for a book to read I would highly recommend “Up the duff” by Kaz Cooke.....

Have you heard about the Free Range Kids Movement?

2012-01-29T20:26:00.000+10:00

Are we raising cotton wool kids?
Do we moddy-coddle kids?
Or on the flip are some kids given too much freedom?

This is a hotly debated topic. I have remarked of some instances where I was left puzzled at the apparent lack of supervision (I wrote a blog about it in August called ‘I can’t be the crazy one here’ about one particular incident I had witnessed) and received some emails with the view that I indeed was the one with the issue here.

Following on from that blog post and the comments I received I thought I would look at the concept of being more ‘relaxed’ in relation to parenting, but I just can’t do it. I can’t relax in the way that becomes complacent.

There is a book by Lenore Skenazy called “Free range Kids” and this book appears to be completely the opposite of the way I parent. This is not a judgement by any means just an observation as to the difference.

I just want to say on the record right now that I do not feel that there is no right or wrong way to parent but I do have concerns about supervision and safety and always will.

But....this book has, according to the grapevine, led to what can be described as the free range movement whereby she is encouraging parents to simply relax. Well, to me that is easy to say and not so easy to do and while I am all for encouraging children to have independence, freedom to play I have to say that I can only do this with limits.

I could not jump on the free range movement train. It just isn’t for me. It isn’t that I don’t trust my children I do. It isn’t that I don’t want to foster a confident independent child I do and this is where I disagree with this notion of free range parenting. You see I do not trust society to ensure that my child is safe and you know what it isn’t their responsibility to either. The problem I have with this free range parenting movement is the assumption that people in society will do the right thing and help to protect and keep my child safe. It does sadden me that I think this way but if you read the papers and watch the news and follow high profile cases then I don’t think I am over-reacting in the instinctive need to protect my children. To ensure that they are supervised and their safety is paramount. I am not suggesting that parents who embrace the free range movement do not have safety as a paramount concern and I am not suggesting that they are being neglectful in any way I am just saying it is not for me.

Personally I think it comes down to common sense and intuition on a lot of things without going too far either way. For example you can model the kind of behaviour and can talk with your child and teach them valuable tools to build on their experiences or help them develop skills to deal with situations.

But I’m going to pick myself up a copy of this book and I’ll let you know if I change my mind on things......

Have you found the cost of a child at school is rising?

2012-01-29T19:15:00.002+10:00

You’re not alone.

I read an article today that discussed the issue that the cost to send a child to school is growing and it seems to be increasing so fast that it has caught some out with 1 in 3 struggling to afford it. And I’m not talking about those sending their children to private schools which would be the automatic assumption but it is the rise in the costs of sending a child to a public school that is crippling some parents. Some instances are up to $500 per child.

Our experience is that it does vary from school to school and state to state. We had this experience ourselves. At my daughters first school (in NSW) which was a small school the cost for the year was $60 + the essentials such as school uniform. Then at another school (in QLD) after our trip we had a long list of things to purchase and it was $165 for the year per child + the essentials like the school uniform. This second school bewildered me as there were things on the list that seemed to me to be school supplies like tissues and chux wipes that I would ordinarily have thought came under the school education budget.

In NSW the tuition fees are not compulsory and you can speak to the school as the principal has a discretionary fund that may be able to be accessed for those in financial hardship and struggling to afford the costs. It’s called Student Assistance.

Have you claimed the education tax rebate?

2012-01-29T10:18:00.001+10:00

Many haven’t.

Actually there is $300 million going unclaimed.

Thousands of parents have failed or simply forgotten to lodge their paperwork to claim the up to $800/child for education expenses (the rebate is capped at $409 for primary school students, $818 for high school students and is based on a 50% refund for expenses up to $1636).

Figures reveal that 600,000 eligible students failed to lodge a claim for the 2009-10 financial year leaving an estimated $300 million unclaimed money. That equates to 1 in 4 not claiming.

In order to be eligible to claim you do need to qualify for the Family Tax Benefit A.

How do you determine what sport or activity your child does? Is it cost defined?

2012-01-29T10:08:00.001+10:00

We are constantly bombarded with how much a child will cost in a lifetime, how much their education will be and I read in the paper today that junior sport can costs in excess of $2000/yr for a child to be in a sport during both sporting seasons what with the equipment, fees and that’s not mentioning the costs involved such as petrol, etc.

I know that I have cringed at times at the list of things my girls would like to do...they would like ballet, music, martial arts and would love some sort of art or craft class on a regular. Then there is what I call essential activities such as swimming lessons. Of course if you were to do all it would cost a fortune but to do it all would also leave a child exhausted and with no time for anything else most times.

But then how can you put a price on some things. Before you say anything I’m not talking about not eating in order to pay for a child’s sport but I am left puzzled. You see on one hand we have those commenting on a regular at how lazy kids are becoming with all the technology and the increased incidents of obesity and then on the other hand we have those that complain (and no I’m not implying everyone complains at the costs some just comment not complain) about the costs of sport or other activities. But it would rather pay for the sport or other activity then fork out for more computer games or technology activities. I would rather be involved with my child rather than have then in a solo activity.

Yes, technology and those kinds of activities do have a place. Yes my girls do go on the computer and have a Nintendo DS I am not a technology prude, however, I see it all as a balance. There is certainly a place for all sorts of activities.

Have you ever considered home schooling as a viable option for your child’s schooling?

2012-01-29T09:31:00.002+10:00

Many have and do. In fact it is estimated that around 50,000 children are home schooled illegally.

That is that their parents haven’t registered them and since it is compulsory for a child to attend school between the ages of 6 and 17 or have them registered for home schooling they are illegally home schooling their children. Currently this year there are 942 children registered with home schooling but the fear is that it could actually be around 10,000 home schooling ‘underground’ in QLD alone.

Until now there hasn’t really been a crack down on this but things are changing and parents can now find themselves potentially facing prosecution. There was a case last year where a father was charged under the Queensland Education Act. He was found guilty for not registering his daughter in home schooling or a school and fined was $300 + court costs. He said he didn’t register for home schooling as he saw education as a parental right.

Now it is important to point out that there is a difference between home schooling and distance education. Distance education is for parents who are unable for many reasons such as remoteness or travel not able to access schooling whereas home schooling is a specialised choice to educate your child at home. For example we did distance education last year when we went on our trip. We filled in the paperwork at my child’s school which gave us another piece of paper to take on our trip which was an exemption should we be stopped and asked why she wasn’t at school. You do have to register for distance education too.

To register for home schooling in NSW for example you complete an application form and you are assessed as to the suitability for successfully home schooling. It seems quite an in-depth process.

So why do some turn to home schooling?

There have been surveys done to try to see why there is a trend for home schooling and the reasons behind it.

Take the Tasmanian Home Education Advisory Council who asked 600 registered parents why and the results were mixed. 27% did so because they were unhappy with their local school, 17% cited religion, nearly ½ listed philosophical reasons, 7% as they had a child with special needs. It was similar results in a survey Education Queensland conducted.

The issue for the education departments is the lack of monitoring and standards of the education given to children if they are not registered.

Huge old red gum tree in Orroro SA

2012-01-28T20:01:00.000+10:00

A landmark and attraction of gigantic proportions.....

This is the largest, most magnificent red gum I have ever seen and it has statistics which could not be matched elsewhere to boot.

So what are the stats? well, it's 10.4 metres (34 feet) in circumference and if that isn't enough then add in that it climbs 6 metres (20 feet) before there is a fork in the trunk.

It dwarfs a person if they stand near it. It is also estimated to be over 500 years old!

So we are on the road again.....

2012-01-28T17:54:00.004+10:00

And Australia is a BIG country.....

We are heading to WA and are currently in SA.

There is of course so much to see and do and if we were to do SA in our usual style (it did take us 4 months to go from Brisbane to Cooktown and back!) we would be able to share so much more......

But this time SA is not going to get the SK treatment so we won’t be doing it justice with all the attractions and things to do and see....but we can share some of the things we saw/did on the way to the west.

We are going to be based in WA all year....so we will have lots to share with you.

Missing a day time sleep can be worse than a cranky toddler.....

2012-01-28T16:38:00.000+10:00

We, as parents, all know the after effects of a toddler missing their sleep but now a recent study has confirmed that it does more than make your little one a little testy.......

A recent study by the university of Colorado boulder found that toddlers aged between 2 ½ -3 yrs who missed their day time nap show more anxiety as well as less joy and showed a poorer understanding and ability to problem solve.

And all this is from only one missed sleep.

The study also showed that if they have insufficient sleep that it alters their emotional responses and facial expressions, such as responding less positively to exciting events and on the flip side responding more negatively to frustrating situations or events.

The study believes that if a toddler is not getting enough sleep and then missing their day time nap exacerbates the lack of sleep issues. The professor who led the study has commented that over time it may shape their developing emotional brains and even goes as far to say that it may place them at risk of developing lifelong mood related problems.

The study was conducted on the basis of a missed 90 minute day time nap. The study showed that the lack of sleep caused them to be less positive, more negative and actually decreased their cognitive engagement.

Proposed new pool laws for NSW to combat the high number of drownings

2012-01-16T09:48:00.000+10:00

Change is in the wind for NSW pool laws.

This comes as NSW has the highest drowning death toll in Australia, with 1/3 of all drowning’s occurring in NSW and follows as a result of all the near drownings this summer.

NSW may introduce a pool register like WA and Qld have and several other proposals were outlined in a discussion paper released by the Local Government Minister Don Page.

Mandatory inspections of pool barriers are another proposal that would see it become law if the property was sold or rented which would follow the more stringent laws as in WA & QLD.

Another proposal would see that councils would be given rights to inspect tourist/holiday accommodation as well as other multi residential properties at least every 3 yrs.

As well as the local government compiling an annual report on the pool fences conducted.

The discussion paper is open for public discussions until 24th February.

Childcare...always in the news for cost, availability....

2012-01-16T08:49:00.001+10:00

Childcare ... it seems to constantly be in the news and I’m sure it resonates with you all. The cost, the availability seem to be the biggest issues and rightful so. If you live in Gladstone QLD, for example, there is the issue of lack of childcare workers so there is the problem or for that matter it can be found in a lot of towns and cities right across Australia.

Here is yet another article that discusses it and the response it received.......

http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2012/01/12/282865_ntnews.html

Recent study on child care centres..... the E4 study as you've heard about in the news....

2012-01-10T13:20:00.000+10:00

Do we place too much emphasis on research and studies or is the recent study spot on?
I’m sure you heard in the news about the government-funded national study into the quality of early childhood education. It’s called the E4 Kids study.

At first I refused to believe it was quite that dire thinking it was some of the usual half truths we can hear in the media and it can be subjective to the source, and so I wasn’t going to blog about it to further fuel it BUT then I stopped and started thinking. I have often blogged and commented about the state of our childcare centres, including their consistent failing of the minimum standards and on and on. And I was hesitant to comment because there is change in the air. The government has stopped and looked at the failing system albeit perhaps on slow speed. And again I came with a BUT because there has needed to be a complete overhaul of the Early Childhood Education industry for some time so then perhaps, just perhaps this will help to propel more change.....better change...and achieve better outcomes.
What it found was that we had ‘‘very poor'' standard of teaching in preschools. Despite research indicating that these are the crucial years this study found that preschools and kindergartens were little more than glorified playgroups.
Experts are describing the results as terrible and shocking and I would tend to agree if in fact they are a true and accurate account of across the board early education settings.

However optimistic I may be in relation to the findings in this study, and that this is not the case across the board and in all settings, it is hard to dispute the study when you look at the stats. It found that on a scale of 1 to 7, the quality of instruction for 4 yr olds regardless of whether they attend preschool, a childcare centre or family day-care only averages a ranking of just 2. That’s bad.

Actually according to one of the study's research directors, Karen Thorpe (professor of psychology at Queensland University of Technology), this puts Australia on par with the United States, which has an unregulated early learning sector widely considered to be of poor quality.

Can we go as far as to place ourselves at this low level?

The government’s response was through a spokeswoman for federal Education Minister Peter Garrett earlier in the week when the report became common knowledge and is they believe that the notion of saying that preschool is little more than a glorified playgroup trivializes the important work being carried out by early childhood teachers and is completely wrong.

On some level I completely agree. I appreciate that there is a lot of hard work that goes into being a quality childcare worker/teacher and often they do end up with a raw deal but you also have to look at what I would call a deteriorating system and not the workers but the overall system.

It somewhat bothers me that $16.8 million was spent on this damning report. That seems an exurbanite amount however; no I have not done such a study so I am coming from a layman’s perspective here. It just seems to me though that if we really stopped and gave it some thought and even if we were to look at the stats on the failing of the minimum standards we could have come to somewhat similar findings- that they system needs major change. That the system is not working and we essentially are not providing quality care and education – overall. It is completely hard to generalize here as there are most certainly settings that offer quality care and education and this is also my point this study compares over the three main early childhood streams which I would think would offer completely differing results and be almost impossible to compare. Firstly as there are differing educational requirements for each setting. This only proves my point as to the need for an overhaul of the system but does not lend itself I would think for true comparison ability.

It does concern me on the other hand that this study and its attention can have a negative effect on the industry as a whole. Yes there are some changes that need to be implemented, yes we need to have in depth reports but it needs to be put into perspective. It is important to note that yes there were some centre’s that were only achieving the minimum standards that can be attributed to the fact that until the new regulations came into effect this year to help combat this that the early childhood sector regulations only required services to meet a minimum standard to be accredited.

The new federal government's national quality standards, rolled out on January 1, in conjunction with the national curriculum, are aimed at improving teaching standards in preschools to better prepare children for their primary school years. I have spoken about these new changes which include the first round including the increasing of the minimum standard of qualifications for staff, staff/child ratios, etc.

So was this study a waste of money in terms of the fact that there were already changes in the air and more to be implemented?

Would it not have been better spent comparing the changes and seeing what else had to be done rather than doing a study on a now somewhat defunct system?

Care For Kids new childcare centre review system....

2012-01-10T11:32:00.000+10:00

There are mixed reviews over the proposed new system that Care For Kids is about to provide on their website.

They are about to launch a new ratings system. This system will enable parents to rate their childcare centre online and then all the reviews will be accessible and be able to be shared/viewed with other parents. It will be a first system of its kind in Australia and will even be launched a full two years ahead of a similar promised federal government childcare rating website.

While it may be a welcomed opportunity for some for other such as some childcare operators it is not something that they could endorse and some are even refusing to support the ratings, warning they will be entirely subjective.

So what is the system?

As far as we have heard the system will offer parents the opportunity to rate a childcare centre. The ratings will be on a range of criteria:

Staff,

Environment,

Facilities,

Food (if provided),

Parent communication, etc.

There is also an overall star rating out of five for the service.

To guarantee the reliability and honesty of the reviews a child must have attended the service in the last 12 months for the centre they wish to post a review on.

It is also important to note that CareforKids will be vetting all the reviews and ratings before they are posted on the site.

If you do read the reviews posted then we suggest remembering that it is a subjective view from a parent’s perspective and while it may provide valuable information it is also not the only way to establish if that centre is for you.

It certainly does not replace a visit to the centre and getting a feel for it yourself.

It is vital that you seek several comments/reviews on the centre rather than just one parent’s perspective and experience.

And while this may or may not be something that you are looking for and welcome it is also important to note that the government's quality assurance system is the definitive authority. Having said that, if you find that a centre is not providing the correct standard then you need to contact the appropriate authority, even if you do decide to post a review on the CareforKids website.

Public preschool fees rising in NSW??

2012-01-10T10:51:00.000+10:00

In NSW the State Government has made the decision to introduce public preschool fees. This has the potential to see prices rise and can be up to $40 a day. This came into effect from January 1, 2012.

This is a fee increase that applies in public preschools right across NSW and not just in Sydney.

To give an example of some of the fees for Sydney as examples:
$40 per day will be for public preschool fees in Rosehill, Annandale, Birchgrove and Five Dock public schools

$30 per day will be for public preschools in the areas of Seven Hills West, Pendle Hill, Rydalmere East, Bankstown South, Elermore Vale and Fairy Meadow public schools.

If you are concerned that the fees may affect you and the preschool your child goes to or you are seeking more information then we have downloaded a fees schedule from the Department of Education and Training's website. If you wish more information contact us and we can forward the document on to you or you can visit their website.

Do women have unrealistic expectations of giving birth?

2012-01-10T10:14:00.001+10:00

A recent study which was published in the Australia and NZ Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology found attending antenatal classes didn't make women more informed about the medical intervention to expect.

That in fact, according to this study, women expecting their first child have unrealistic expectations about giving birth without the aid of medical intervention.

For example it found that Victorian women thought they had a 56 per cent chance of having an uncomplicated birth whereas the reality is that a mere 21% actually give birth without any medical intervention such as using induction, forceps, suction cup or caesarean.

I don't think I did. When it came time for the birth of my first child I just was petrified and wanted a safe birth with a healthy child....I didn't mind too much how that was acheived.....especially when the reality of the pain kicked in!

Do you think you had unrealistic expectations of giving birth with your first child?

Supervise, supervise, supervise.....

2012-01-05T16:52:00.002+10:00

A lot can be prevented when we supervise our kids.

Now I most certainly am not the perfect mum, don’t profess to be. I don’t want to be (what pressure that is!). And if you were to ask me I would say that I wouldn’t categorise myself as even a great mum (what does that constitute by the way? Is it a decided by others? Is it contentment and happy, loved kids? The overall connotation is too large to fathom for me).... but, I try to be the best mum I can be. I make sure my kids are supervised by an adult....a responsible adult.

Yep, being a parent can be challenging, tiring, even overwhelming at times. But it can also be rewarding, wonderful, amazing and life changing. Parenting seems to naturally bring a certain amount of judgement. Yes, personally I think there is way too much judgement and pressure placed on parents, but that is entirely another topic. This is not a post about judging parenting skills. It’s about the important role supervision has in parenting.

Unfortunately, supervision sometimes goes lacking. It is too often in the moments that are challenging that we may find ourselves being a little complacent and in order to try to grab that two seconds of peace we may not watch our kids closely enough, not supervise them. It is these moments that scare the bee-jee-bees out of me as to what can happen.

I am not being self righteous. Just stating a fact. Supervision can prevent drowning, it can prevent accidents and injuries, it can prevent so many things. I don’t suggest we smother them...just supervise. I shared with my husband when we first had our kids that it’s important to ‘never assume’. It’s both mum and dad’s role to supervise the kids and in that it is so important to never assume that if the child is not with you then they are with the other parent.

I can honestly say that the one thing that I am fussy about it supervision. Yes, dare I say it is another thing I can be neurotic about? But I ask you can you live with the consequences of that small indiscretion of lack of supervision?

It only takes a second.

In that second a life can be changed, something can happen.

It only takes a moment......

For a child to drown

For a child to run over in the drive way

For a child to get badly burnt

For a child to fall

For a child to be hit by a car

For a child to ..... I could go on, but you get the picture......

Now I’m not suggesting that we can prevent ALL accidents but when we supervise then we can minimise the impact and attend to them quicker and we also know what the circumstances are.

Supervising our kids can make the difference between life and death.

I’m ok with being that mum that is known for being protective and supervising her kids.

Every year around 35 children under 5 years old drown...

2012-01-05T11:54:00.001+10:00

There have been a few near miss drownings and tragically there have been children who have died this week from drowning. This week is no different from other weeks unfortunately.

The ones off the top of my head that I can remember from the news for this week were a 9 month old who drowned in the bath and a 7yr old boy who drowned in a dam when his kayak tipped over. There were 4, yes thats right 4 near drownings in Sydney alone this week.

All drowning deaths can be prevented.

Drowning is the second most common cause of injury and death among those aged 0-17 years and is the most common cause of death for those aged 0-4 years. It is vital that we not only supervise our children at all times, we also teach them water awareness and elements of danger.

The statistics of drowning in Australia from 1999-2003 was a huge 286 kids. An enormous 80% of these were under 5 years old. In 2010 the number of children under 4 yrs who drowned was 33.

Drowning can happen in as little as 5 cm of water. It can happen in the most unlikely circumstances such as a child playing with a bucket of water, although the more common situations are in pools, rivers, dams and bathtubs. We can all do our bit by never leaving a child unattented when near water, including buckets or water, baths, showers, etc.

Another thing we can do is teach our children water awareness and how to swim.

The Victorian Government has acknowledged that there is something needed and as a response have attempted to help by offering a half price swimming lesson week.

The Minister for Multicultural Affairs and Citizenship Nicholas Kotsiras announced an initiative that includes concessional prices to increase the number of children to learn how to swim and water safety. He encouraged parents to sign up their children for half price swim lessons as part of the Coalition Government's $1.6 million VICSWIM Summer Kidz Program. There are 12 metropolitan and 70 regional as well as 9 open water venues around Victoria that are taking part in the program. The learn-to-swim program is running the half-price lessons from 9 - 27 January 2012.

We can also follow the Keep Watch (www.keepwatch.com.au) principles or the Kids Alive -do the five principles (www.kidsalive.com.au), as well as supervise children around water at all times, ensure you have completed all the safety checks such as trimming bushes and hedges around the pool; checking the fence is secure and the gate latch is working, restrict children's access to water, etc.

WA is in the brink of a whooping cough epidemic!

2012-01-05T11:02:00.000+10:00

Health authorities have issues warnings as there have been a record number of (more than 3,500) cases reported last year. That is more than double the 2010 total.

4 babies have lost their life from whooping cough in the past few years in WA alone.

The WA Health Minister Kim Hames says parents must take responsibility for the vaccination of their children.

So what is Whooping cough?

Whooping cough is life threatening. It can cause brain damage, weight loss, seizures, feeding problems, pneumonia. It is serious.

Whooping cough usually begins with the baby/child having a cold and/or runny or blocked nose, tiredness, mild fever and obviously a cough. Then it progressingly gets worse and the cough develops into a often uncontrollable coughing episodes which can trigger vomiting, choking, gasping for breath. For newborns they may not even cough but just turn blue!

Prevention of whooping cough is through immunisation. This also includes for adults, both parents should get a booster when they are planning a pregnancy, or just after the baby is born. It also includes any other adult household members, grandparents and carers of infants less than 12 months of age. But I will note that while immunisation does reduce the risk of infection immunity fades over time so it is possible to still get whooping cough even if you've been immunised.

Kristian Anderson the You Tube birthday wish star sadly dies this morning.....

2012-01-02T14:59:00.002+10:00

Do you remember that heart-warming, touching clip that made the man a star when he put a birthday wish for his wife (also professing how much he loves his wife) and thanking her for her support, on You Tube?

Well, he sadly died this morning.

Kristian Anderson's battle with bowel cancer touched so many people, including me. It is so saddening to think as a parent that you leave, well die, and before you get the chance to watch your little ones grow up and become adults. The thought breaks my heart and I cannot continue to even think about it. I cannot imagine having to go through it and certainly cannot imagine as the time drew nearer to his death what he (and the family) was going through on an emotional level, let alone on a medical one.

It brings tears to my eyes to even begin to try to contemplate what they as a family went through and how hard and devastating it must have been to know that there was no out. That there was no winning. That there was the looming death. That there was really only one outcome.

It bolts to remind myself how fortunate, how incredibly blessed, how loved and how lucky I am to be healthy with two healthy little girls.
It reminds me not to take it for granted for a split second.
It reminds me how precious life is.
It reminds me that while I am fortunate there are others who go through such sadness and grief.

My thoughts are with his family and a bunch of hugs and warm wishes to them xo

OH no! Another child falls out of a window.....

2012-01-02T10:43:00.000+10:00

A 3yr old boy has been airlifted to Sydney hospital after falling out a window. He is in a critical condition after falling about 7-10 metres onto concrete.

Thoughts are with the family......

it's not just needing to slow down when on holidays...

2012-01-02T10:09:00.002+10:00

So as a flow on from yesterday with slowing down when driving in a caravan park..... it triggered a whole host of thoughts about other things that you see when on holidays. Now I am not one to judge but it does make me shake my head in confusion sometimes.

Of course to me it makes perfect sense to slow down, not simply to follow the signs but out of respect for others and for the peace and enjoyment not to mention safety of everyone.

There was many a time when my husband would wave his arms, yell out to them to slow down or actually go over and have a chat with them about how there are kids around. It’s funny the number of people when spoken to that were affronted at being reminded to please slow down. It amazes me though that everyone is in such a hurry these days. Really, does it matter if you get to your spot in the caravan park 2 seconds slower if you stick to the slower speed?

Ok to move on from the speed (because obviously there will always be one...or more that cannot follow simple rules/signs/read the information given when you book in).

Another thing if noticed was how some kids were just left to what appeared to be their own devices. Now, as you know I can be a little neurotic but I don’t think I’m being too pedantic here. As you may have read if did blog about one such incident earlier during our travels (blog post in August called I cant be the crazy one here) I am gob smacked that some kids can roam around doing whatever. The kids I’m talking about are all under 7 yrs old. Another time I can talk about is these two lovely little girls we met in a caravan park and they would just roam around the park all day. We looked out for them but it did concern me that they would be wondering around for hours on end and no parent in sight. They were 2 and 5 years old!

Another time was we were in the pool having a swim and a mother opened the gate and let her two boys in easily only aged 3 and 6 and then wondered off. Now the kids could swim and they were doing a good job of looking after themselves but I thought it was one of those unwritten rules (and written as it is on the notice at the pool entry) to not leave a child unattended in a pool. Ok we were there and of course we would have made sure they were safe but only because it is engrained to make sure a kid is safe if you are around them but it shouldn’t be assumed others (who you have not met or even spoken to mind you) will make sure your kids are safe.....on holidays or not. That is taking the holiday relaxation to a new level.

ok, I won't go on anymore about the weird things we did see on our trip.....but again it did leave me baffled and shaking my head in disbelief.......

Slow down when driving in a caravan park.....

2012-01-01T15:45:00.002+10:00

Tragically a 5 year old little boy was struck by a car at a caravan park in Victoria's South Gippsland region in the premises of the Big-4 Holiday Park at Inverloch at 6:30pm yesterday (December 31st 2011). Tragically, he was killed. What a dreadful way to end/start a year. How devastating it must be.

I know nothing more of the circumstances about this tragedy and I am not one to comment on such a sad time in a family’s life, however, it did get me to thinking about when we were on our trek and staying in a caravan park.

The speed of cars when travelling in a caravan park was a big issue for my husband when we were on our trek last year (wow, it was last year now that the clock has ticked over to another year- makes it seem so long ago now. Anyway I digress). It was nothing to see some holiday-ers travelling faster than the slow speed displayed on signs in the caravan parks.

Really people slow down (you are on holidays remember so the pace should be slower anyway!) and look out for kids. If we could all take that little extra time to stick to the speed limit in a caravan park then it can ensure the enjoyment and the safety of all. Kids can be engrossed in play or riding their bike or heaps of other things and not remember to look/be distracted/be slow to react, etc.

Hugs to the family dealing with this heartbreak.

Happy New Year

2012-01-01T09:27:00.000+10:00

It’s hard to believe that its 2012 already! 2011 seemed to fly by so quickly but I was fortunate enough to not be individually affect by all the tragedy and disasters and my heart goes out to all affected by all the natural disasters as they come up to their 1 year anniversary.

Ringing in the New Year came and went for me this year as I have the flu and crashed early. I bet some of you are sporting a sore head this morning mixed with good times from last night.

Did you follow through on your New Year resolutions for 2011?

Have you made some for 2012?

I learnt long ago not to make any as I always seemed to fail miserably, and quickly. So rather than set myself up for pretty much a guaranteed failure I no longer do New Year’s resolutions but if I’m honest I do aspire to do better, achieve more and be better on the whole throughout all the year so you could say that is my driving force.

Wishing you all a happy new year. I am truly hoping that 2012 brings happiness and hope for everyone, with less trauma and drama.

Hmmm, is the national curriculum flawed? Should it include a same starting school age or writing style?

2011-12-31T14:54:00.000+10:00

Should the new national school curriculum be overhauled before it is even rolled out?
The system is certainly not perfect indeed it seems flawed and defunct before it is even implemented.
The curriculum applies to all school years so affects children from kindergarten to year 10 and is to be introduced across Australia from next year.
Already there is the need for the curriculum to be revised so that calculators for example, are not used until year 3 maths, rather than at kindergarten, after concerns that introducing them too early may not allow children to develop their own mathematical processing skills.
Personally there are what I believe to be fundamental basics that haven’t been addressed such as the lack of a ''nationally approved handwriting style'' like cursive; instead there is inconsistency across states.
Another fundamental basic of developing an effective national curriculum one would think would be the establishment of a common starting age school starting age.

This certainly needs attention. Students have the potential to be disadvantaged as there is sometimes a full year of school level difference in just a few days because the cut off ages are not aligned with the states. The potential age range is about 19 months between the starting school ages. This one has a bee in my bonnet as it was agreed upon to be included back in April 2004 and the benefits were identified to introduce a mandatory school starting age in 2010, yet the plan was later abandoned (July 2007) when the ministers decided not to implement a common starting age with their reasoning for this was because it was found it would cause considerable costs to states and territories, with no educational benefit for students. How can it not have benefit to students? Another words it was too hard and the states couldn’t agree.

Here is the craziness in the starting ages. You would think that this would have been the first thing to look at but no.

In NSW, children can begin kindergarten if they turn 5 by July 31 of the year they start school.

Whereas in comparison, children must be 5yrs by April 30 the year they start school in Vic & ACT.

In Tasmania they must have turned five by January 31.

Meanwhile in South Australia and the Northern Territory hold several school intakes.

In Qld the child must turn 5 by the 30th June in the year they start.

My two cents worth is that in principle it is a great concept to have a nationally fluent system whereby if a child moves interstate it certainly doesn’t disadvantage them but in reality it almost seems an impossibility.

Just recently we had the issue of school age and the year that they fall into. We had my eldest daughter start school in 2010 in kindergarten in NSW. We moved to Qld after our 4 month holiday and found she was 2 days short of the Qld cut off and so was placed into prep. It seemed logical to me that since Prep is a non compulsory year of ‘school’ that Year 1 is the starting year for QLD and since she had already completed the first year of compulsory school in NSW she should slot into the first year of formalised schooling in QLD- Year 1. If she had stayed in NSW she would be in her 2nd year of compulsory schooling.

Again same issues are with my youngest daughter she turned 5 in November and would be starting school in compulsory kindergarten NSW in 2012 (as she would turn 6 before the start of the following year which is a requirement for a child to start school by their 6th b’day), but because we are currently in QLD again she is disadvantaged because she gets placed in the non compulsory prep year.

I did try to ask the Qld Education Department about this but their response was regardless of it being a non compulsory year of school and regardless of what NSW did this is what they fall into. They could not understand my argument in terms of if I did not send her to the non compulsory prep year and we moved back to NSW (highly likely which is why this all transpired!) she would have missed her first year of school in NSW- Kindergarten. It really should fall in line and be applicable for what education they have done rather than like in Qld simply based on age rather than having done the equivalent year of school in another state.

Or am I completely mad in my thought processes here?

Will the national framework changes mean an increase in fees?

2011-12-31T11:37:00.000+10:00

There has been a lot of scare mongering in relation the childcare fees and how they are set to rise as a consequence of the introduction of the National Framework. It depends who is commenting on this as to the amount of the rise...some say by a little and others say they are set to soar. Who has the crystal ball to this is unsure.

I would imagine that even with the Federal Government denying that there will be an increase common sense dictates that there will most likely be an increase of some sort to help to absorb the cost of changes to the ratio requirements for the centre owners.

What that increase will be only time will tell, but it is noteworthy that centres do tend to increase their fees from time to time without it having to be as a result of such a change as the national framework.

The childcare reforms take effect from tomorrow...the 1st January 2012

2011-12-31T11:32:00.002+10:00

The introduction of the National Framework is the first time that all child care centres will be governed by the National Framework.

This is the start of the rollout of the reforms with the first stage starting on Sunday and continuing through to 2020 until the entire scheme is phased in.

So what are the first sets of changes to implemented?

All child care centres must have 1 adult to 4 babies under 2 yrs. It will predominately be change in the ACT, South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory where currently the ratio is 1:5, it is already the 1:4 ratio in other states.

Other ratio changes will be phased in - 25 – 35 months aged – the ratio is 1:5 from 1 January 2016; those aged 36 months up to and including preschool age – the ratio changes to 1:11 from 1 January 2016.

There are changes to the qualifications of staff as well but these come into affect in 2014.

If you have any questions then you could call this number as your first point of contact and they will be able to assist you: 1800 181 088

Get the tissues ready.....

2011-12-27T12:06:00.001+10:00

A child starting school can be a daunting, exhausting and stressful task for some. If you are anything like me and was having trouble letting go then choosing a school was just as worrying as them starting school.

The mere thought of my little girl (who only yesterday seemed to be a tiny bundle I brought home from the hospital and would sit on the couch snuggling and chatting to for hours!) going to school gave me a physically sick pit like feeling in my stomach.

All the “what if” questions started. Here are just a few that kept running through my head:

What if she doesn’t like school?

What if she cries ?

What if there wasn’t enough supervision?

What if she was bullied?

What if she hurt herself?

What if she had an unprecedented accident?

What if she had a horrible teacher?

What if she didn’t cope?

What if she didn’t fit in?

So.....needless to say I had to pluck up the strength and courage to make it to that first day. It took all the strength I could muster. To pretend I was happy my little girl was going to school- well, that was a downright lie (although I was very proud of her and how she was coping and loving the idea of school), I had always taught my girls to tell the truth and here I was lying and showing her how great it was she was going to big school. I know it’s not about me but boy I think I was a super actress around the start of school last year. I kept a smile on my face, talked positively and showed happiness (albeit insincere happiness) and remembered to cry in private, without her once seeing any of my tears. I was very pleased with myself about that but as the big day grew closer it was awful. Her excitement grew and my sense of dread and anxiety grew. I was essentially handing my baby girl over to complete strangers to care and educate her. Would they see how special she was and take extra good care of her? (I mean it was still raw how the preschool in Vic had let her leave and meet me in the car park across a road without even knowing it- yes, there were so many what if questions there too!)

So the big day came and of course she was fine and of course I cried. Thank goodness for dark glasses and the fact she never looked back. I was able to ‘limp’ out of the school without her seeing anything but happiness. I think that day was the longest day of my life till I was able to go and collect my little girl. And then I realised yes I made it through the first day (and she did and loved it by the way) but now if I was to be compliant I now had to go through this every school day for a very long time!

Well, yes I have survived.....just.

But now I have to go through it all again with my youngest....my baby. I bet you can imagine what I’ll be doing on the first day of school. The what if questions are back as is the sense of dread and anxiety is well and truly back and I just have to not think about it.

Luckily again I have a excited little girl which I do sigh a sigh of relief for I guess, if I am honest, as I wouldn’t be able to cope otherwise.

Really, who steals someone’s Christmas light display reindeer?

2011-12-22T14:26:00.001+10:00

We went Christmas light looking the other night with the kids, it's one of this time of the years rituals and as usual there were plenty of “ooohh’s” and “ahh’s” from the girls. We played I Spy Christmas lights, which was based on I Spy with a twist. It was: ho if they were ok, ho ho if they were good, ho ho ho if they were really good and if they blew you out of the water and were super fantastic then it was a SANTA Ho. We said it to the left or right so we all could know which way to look.

Wow, there certainly are some spectacular light displays. My hat goes off to them for their dedication and effort....so much better than me who this year only has lights on the tree! Some of the usual houses had stopped doing lights but there were many of the great ones still doing it. It was at one of these houses that was a Santa Ho (it was so good) that had a sign up asking the person who stole the reindeer to please bring it back so it could complete the display again and because their kids were so upset. The girls then became saddened that someone would do that and wanted to go and see the kids to make sure they were ok.(my time for the ooh/ahh followed by how sweet thought).

This too made me sad at how horrible and mean someone could be which led me to think about those Home Alone movies, and how there are some who do capitalise on the season.

As my mind then keeps going on this line of thought it saddens me that they were brought up or grew up thinking that it was ok, that it was acceptable, that they somehow deserved to have something even if it wasn’t theirs. It reminded me how important it is to model the right behaviours and help my kids learn right from wrong....regardless that others falls through the cracks and seem to miss out on those life’s valuable lessons of kindness, respect, appreciation for others.

Merry Christmas everyone.

P.S... I hope they get their reindeer back.

Should I be annoyed or flattered?

2011-12-22T13:14:00.002+10:00

A little while ago when I was doing some research I discovered that a business (who shall remain as anonymous as that) had used one of SK checklists without permission, although I do have to point out they did reference us.

I am in two minds about it.

Part of me wants to be annoyed (but I am also not naive enough to think they are the first ...or the last! If it’s out there on the web then it is somewhat free range).

And then part of me is somewhat secretly (ok now not so secretly) chuffed about it that they liked it so much that they wanted to use it but then I swing back and think but it would have only taken two seconds to just ask.

That’s all it would take....a quick email to ask the question. More times than not I would happily agree- after all the purpose of the site is to share the information, tools and advice that I have collected over my years working in the Early Childhood industry.

I guess the thorn in my side about it all is the courtesy of not being asked. I would have thought before someone used something of someone else’s then they should be afforded a professional courtesy of at least informing them if they can’t bring themselves to ask. I certainly would and call me old fashioned but it does seem the decent thing to do. But it leads me to ask are there different rules of professionalism if it is not a face to face business? Does an online business not receive the same as a physical entity?

Hmmm, I am left questioning should I contact them? What do you think?

a blog post from a viewer

2011-12-22T12:28:00.000+10:00

I was emailed the other day from a reader of the blog and was given a link to one of their blog posts. I thought perhaps other readers would like to read it too so here is the link to that post on their blog.....

http://www.nannyjobs.org/blog/10-signs-you-are-raising-a-lazy-kid/

(just be aware that this is a link and SK does not endorse the site or article)

Safe toys for Christmas....recalls, safe buying guide....

2011-12-22T12:19:00.001+10:00

We all want to have a great holiday period with no rushing to the hospital or accidents from inapproriate toys but unfortunately there are/were some toys on the shelves that are not safe for children. It is hard as I know that I assume that if they are on the shelves then they must be safe but sometimes this isn't always the case. It is important for adults to ensure we check and are vigilant and informed about ensuring that the gifts children are given and/or receive are safe.

Some consolation is that Australia has some of the most rigorous toy safety standards in the world. But in the lead up to Christmas there has been an increased demand for toys so we need to be alert to those toys that are not up to scratch with our standards and may have snuck into Australia.

For example, so far in Qld alone the Office of Fair Trading has seized 91 toys. Of these 91 seized, 57 toys had been confirmed as unsafe but the remaining 34 are still under investigation but thankfully had been pulled from shelves in the meantime.

You can view pictures of some of the toys that have been removed from sale to check if your child has any of them at: http://www.fairtrading.qld.gov.au/toys-removed-from-sale-2011.htm

Of course the best safety advice is to constantly supervise a child as it can only take seconds for an accident to occur so here are some good broad guidelines in choosing a child’s toy to help ensure their safe:

• There has been a big push with all things that have strings/cords attached, even blinds and window coverings. For kids toys make sure that a toy doesn’t have anything over 30cm as then it easily poses a strangulation hazard for a small child. If it does have a long cord or string then we recommend removing it

• Make sure that anything smaller than a ping pong ball or film canister is too small for a child under 3 yrs. A saying to remember is the smaller the child the bigger the toy.

• Be cautious in relation to the shape of some products. Some provide a choking hazard as because of their shape they can be easily swallowed and/or have sharp edges.

• Make sure that the toys are non-toxic. It generally does state this on the packaging.

Study finding mums who work part time were less likely to suffer from depression than stay at home mums....

2011-12-20T08:05:00.000+10:00

Research out of America from the University of North Carolina found that working mums are more likely to be healthier and happier than those who stay at home to look after their kids. According to this new study around ¼ of the mothers involved in the study were employed part-time and for the purposes of the study part-time is working between 1 - 32 hours/week.

Mums who were employed part-time had better overall health and fewer symptoms of depression than their stay at home mum counterparts. It is important to note that according to this study there was no difference between the health of mums who worked part-time or full-time.

So some of the other findings were:

The mums who were employed part-time were just as involved in their child’s education as stay-at home mothers but those mums that worked full time were not as involved as stay at home mums or mums who worked part time.

Mums working part-time were more likely to be more sensitive towards their kids at preschool and provide more learning opportunities for toddlers than stay at home mums or those working full-time.

* The study was based on analysed data from the 1991 Early Child Care and Youth Development study, which observed 1,364 mothers in the United States after their child’s birth and over a ten years.

off on a tangent....

2011-12-19T13:26:00.001+10:00

I don’t often go on a tangent here about on non kids related things. I’m the first to admit I can ramble about children’s matters but this one has me so riled up I just have to put my two cents in.

I am truly mortified and completely disgusted at the lack of respect and consideration. Yep, I am talking about the bushfire ads and you will probably now know the ones as they have been in the news because they have been pulled ....just for Christmas. These ads have distressing images and are completely insensitive to those who have been through the Black Saturday bushfires.

I am baffled how the Fire Services chief Craig Lapsley can comment that authorities understood the fine line between educating about fire danger and respect for victims and goes on to say that they are very mindful and very respectful of those who suffered losses as a result of '09, and we know there's a long journey they have to travel. (From the Herald Sun...today).

Seriously, how insulting and tactless can they be?

I was unfortunate enough to be a part of the Black Saturday fires, however, we were fortunate enough at the same time to not be a victim or directly affected like the many that were. We were lucky that the fire stopped the 10km before it reached our property but it was threatening, stressful and downright terrifying to be in such a situation and we were not in the thick of it so to speak. We were under amber attack and the smoke was so thick and dense and then when night fall came it was intensified. We took some strangers that had the chance to evacuate in and had about 14 extra people in our house and it was such a surreal situation. But you know what... it was the lack of information not the lack of a person being prepared. The lack of communication was scary.

The total devastation and utter heartbreak is mind blowing and to think that it has been remarked that these ads are necessary, they are based on the road/car realistic advertising campaigns, which is credited with contributing to reducing the road toll, is sickening.

The clinical director of the Psychological Trauma Recovery Centre at Austin Health, Associate Professor Malcolm Hopwood, did work with some Black Saturday survivors still (amazingly to me) backs the campaign because research showed people grew complacent in the aftermath of tragedy. Well, I wonder if they bothered to ask the bushfire victims to gauge their complacency, as I can assure you they are not about to become complacent. Some are still rebuilding their lives for goodness sake- one would think that would be a constant reminder.

I wonder how horrible do these ads make the victims feel- do they now have to add an extra burden of thought that if they were just fire ready this could have all been prevented – all the deaths and devastation. Well, that in itself is preposterous. Most of the issues with Black Saturday were the lack of information and not the lack of preparedness.

The government have so far defended ads and any criticism and in particular the level of consultation. So what was the consultation? It included focus groups with non-fire-affected residents (who are credited in opting for the hard-hitting ads) and discussions with a group of about 12 bushfire-affected people, who had ''mixed feelings'' but were somewhat supportive of the overall idea of the campaign.

These ads are not only insensitive and disgusting, but border on negligent at their carelessness approach and they come at a time when Black Saturday is still raw to those who survived it and it really is a life changing disaster. Some families are still grieving, some are still rebuilding and the communities DO NOT need reminders about how to get fire ready. It would be etched in their mind.

Do we see similar ads to supposedly educate people in flood prone areas? No, because that would be inappropriate and inconsiderate after so many lives were lost and families affected, so why are we seeing such graphic ads that have the potential to send a victim in a spin and regress any progress and achievement towards returning to normality after the fires?

New research to tantrums....

2011-12-15T09:12:00.000+10:00

Well, I'm sure we have ALL had a moment or two where our precious little ones have thrown one almighty tantrum. They are bound to happen.

A 'typical' tantrum is primarily when as a child may know what they want but can't express it, or if they are told no it is then that they can't deal with the frustration and can’t express it in words.

Of course a tantrum can be further triggered if we respond aggressively as then the child will respond aggressively, or learn that that is the way to approach a situation and it doesn't help anyone in the long or short term.

The causes of a tantrum can range. And some tantrums can not be stopped or can occur in the least wanted of places.

A good strategy is putting yourself in a child’s shoes and being able to understand their viewpoint and this will help in assist in dealing with the tantrums. How you tackle the tantrum is important as this is then transferred down to how the child reacts further, how the situation is rectified and then how to steer clear of them in the future. How you deal with a child is individual and dependant on their age. Ideally you need to empower the child to feel that they are in some sort of control over their feelings and decisions as this then allows for you to get them to take ownership of their behaviour, helps them to learn about problem solving, sharing, etc. It opens up the lines for reasoning if they feel they have input into things.

Well, here is a link to a new study where researchers have analysed children's tantrums and have established that they have the same pattern and rhythm to them and that children’s tantrums are a ‘complex mixture’ of emotions that commonly follow a specific rhythm with recognisable peaks and dips.

Unintended consequences of childcare policy

2011-12-15T08:50:00.005+10:00

I read this article the other day and thought I'd share.
http://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2011/12/unintended-consequences-of-childcare-policy/

Controlled crying out....parental presence in.....

2011-12-04T16:43:00.001+10:00

I don’t know about you but I felt particularly guilty that I could not do the controlled crying settle technique, only because I was told to do it to get my baby to sleep though the night and because it seemed everyone who had a child that didn’t sleep did it successfully, yet I couldn’t bear to see my child (even if for all the research pointed to it as being the right technique) distressed and at such a young age. I just didn’t have the commitment to follow it through with my baby being is such a state of suffering (I know not in true pain but still in anguish) and I just felt that there was not a one size fits all answer to establishing a sleep routine. I could not justify allowing my baby to cry in the hope that they learnt to settle themselves to sleep. It seemed contradictory in itself. (And funnily enough the reason my baby wasn’t sleeping through the night had nothing to do with the type of technique I did or did not use. I was trying to be the ‘correct’ mother and was breastfeeding and my baby simply wasn’t getting enough- once that was established she slept much better without the controlled crying!)

Now, I am not judging any mother/father who does the controlled crying technique and if it works and restores any kind of sanity and sleep to the family then fantastic.....it’s just in my opinion it does not work for every baby, as every baby and family is different.

Well.....now it seems the tables have turned ...even if only a little!

In a article in the Daily Telegraph today it discusses the ‘old’ technique of controlled crying and how even Tresillian and Karitane who are considered the most trusted advice centres have abandoned their policy of allowing a child to cry and learn to self-settle. They now opt for a more placid and dare I say a more loving style of settling a baby by advising parents to move into their baby's bedroom or vice versa which is known as prenatal presence. The main elements of the new style is where the parent sleeps in the child's room for one week with a night light allowing the baby to see them if they wake up. It is considered to work best for babies over six months.

The re-igniting of the sleep debate is at the forefront again after new research was released in a report in the journal of Early Human Development by two NSW academics which established the new style- parental presence was as effective as controlled crying in teaching a baby to go to sleep.

Yet, Mothercraft nurses say that it is time-consuming and could even be defeatist as the child may even cry even harder knowing their parent is in the room but not touching them.

And according to the sources in the article- Babybliss author and paediatric nurse Jo Ryan said parental presence was time consuming and could cause more distress. She said “But it could make them cry longer to make you come over to them” and "Night nannies" a nanny agency charge up to $1000 a night to help parents break the habit of lying in a child's room to help them fall asleep.

This technique is not embraced by everyone and so the debate will continue. Our two cents worth is trust your instincts and do what works for you and your baby. Never feel guilty because you can’t/don’t do what is considered the ‘best’ option by experts!

What worked for you? What do you think of this ‘new’ technique or of the controlled crying technique?

Obesity can start in the womb according to experts.....

2011-12-02T12:45:00.001+10:00

Experts are warning that pudgy babies in the womb may lead to many years of health problems that are essentially already mapped out for them even before conception.

It is reported that almost 60% of women of child bearing age are obese or at best overweight. As a result medical researchers at the University of NSW have uncovered a link that larger mothers tend to produce larger babies who then go on to gain weight easily. The baby’s body mass index is correlated to the mother’s body mass index and it seems that mothers are getting bigger according to the University researchers. They are essentially saying we are genetically programmed to be obese?! But thankfully they agree that diet and exercise can mitigate the obesity risk...phew!

What is happening in the world? Everywhere I turn today is horrible stories of parent’s betrayal, neglect and abuse of their parental right!

2011-12-02T12:27:00.001+10:00

My day started off with my usual morning wake up from my girls and after reading such tragic articles I am more grateful for those wonderful morning wake ups and snuggles.

But really what is wrong with the world?? Why do some people become parents??

I just posted an article from NZ that was heartrending and then the next thing i look at is about a mother who tried to poison her daughters with painkillers! And it gets worse she will NOT spend any time in jail. It’s a topsy turvy world today. This woman (as I refuse to call her a mother!) gave her 7 and 11 yr olds the medicine in January 2009 and gave them Gatorade to wash it down with. Now this is a 42 year old Brisbane woman who didn’t stop at just that. She also held a pillow over the youngest face and threatened to burn their house down.

While she was originally charged with murder it was downgraded to administering poison with intent to harm and also common assault of which she pleaded guilty. She was handed down a completely suspended 18 month sentence so she will not spend one day in jail! It was told that she suffered from depression and adjustment disorder as a result of having trouble with the finalising of the divorce as well as having problems with her new partner at the time.

The ending to the story is that the girls now live with their father and the woman can only have supervised visits.

This is such a tragic end and shift in such a short life....

2011-12-02T12:08:00.001+10:00

There is nothing that can be said about this story except it is truly heartbreaking.....
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10439204

Would you like your child care centre to educate & remind you about vaccinating your child?

2011-12-01T17:39:00.001+10:00

Nurseries in the UK are being paid to promote vaccinations to encourage parents to vaccinate in the aim to help boost the rate of children under 5yrs. The NHS has invited all childcare, nurseries and preschools in north-west London to be in a world first to bid for the grants that are on offer of up to £2,000.

This initiative is because the UK rate of immunisations falls well below the World Health Organisation's target of more than 95 per cent with the NHS revealing that despite an increase in the number of children being immunised it is still only 89.1% in 2010-11.

Funding reinstated in Vic for Occasional Care Centres

2011-11-29T14:06:00.001+10:00

Wahoo, it seems there’s been a change of heart and the reinstatement of funding for Vic Occasional Care Centres.

This means that those that had the looming close date for next month can now breathe easy. It means that the almost 9000 families can breathe easy because the 200 occasional care centres will now be able to stay open past next month.

There has been a battle to save Take A Break Occasional Care centres and this week all the hard work and constant attention to highlight this issues seems to have paid off when Labor joined with the Coalition, Greens and Independents to support a motion calling for the reinstatement of $12m in Commonwealth support for occasional care.

Does the guilt ever stop?

2011-11-29T13:54:00.001+10:00

Like there isn’t enough judgement and guilt placed on parents already yet there always seems to be another attack looming and today was one of the days when the venom was unleashed. When I turned on the TV today there was the bombardment of two topics in the one segment that went Bam! Bam! in the guilt attack on parents. Now granted they were relatively quick segments and they did attempt to give a balanced view to some degree but the damage in the guilt meter was done.

The first topic talked about the number of hours that a 2 yr old attends childcare and how the negative effects could be behavioural problems that stretch long into their 3rd yr. The implication was that behavioural problems in other children stopped at the ‘normal’ 2 yrs aside from this reasoning of the 2 yr old attending 20 hrs or more at care. Really!?! There are way too many factors to single out the number of hours that a child attends at childcare at a certain age that can be attributed to behavioural problems & it doesn’t take into account the child’s individual family situation and circumstances but just adds stress and guilt on the parents.

Then they rolled into the next topic was discussing the ideal age gap between children. It was acknowledged that it should be 2 yrs or more and the basis was the attention level was able to be more idyllic. I am appalled by this one and not because I would like to think I am a responsible decent parent who is able to equally share my time with both my children who happen to be 15 months apart, but because since when does a time frame mean you do or do not have the opportunity to provide your children with the correct amount of care and attention. It does not come down to the amount of years apart between children at all. Some children have many more than the said 2 yrs apart and still don’t receive anywhere near appropriate love and attention and on the flip there are multiple birth families that just make it work and can juggle the care, love and attention between their children.

I am dismayed that this is even a suggestion, or flippant comment, either way it is offensive to parents who work hard and are good parents. They do not need the extra guilt and judgement at all.

Is it irresponsible parenting to allow children to watch TV junk food ads?

2011-11-28T20:08:00.001+10:00

Or is it a parent’s right to choose what children watch on TV?

Should it be more about advocating for responsible parenting as opposed to restrict the advertising?

Should the TV advertising be more regulated?

Recently the Advertising Standards Board received a complaint by the Obesity Policy Coalition. The complaint was in relation to a Smarties online colouring-in competition which was aimed at 3-10 yr olds.

Also recently there was a bill introduced by Greens leader Bob Brown to ban junk food advertising to children.

This has further fuelled the emotive debate about the ethics of advertising beverages and foods that are energy-dense and nutrient-poor. Bob Brown believes that the self regulation has clearly failed and that as a result the Government must step in to take action to protect children from junk food advertising as a whole.

The central core of the debate of either party, The Greens and the Obesity Policy Coalition, is vulnerability of children and the impressionable value that television junk food advertisements and competitions present. But the question needs to be answered (and asked) as to whether there is a link between televisions advertising, in particular to the audience of children, is accountable in some way for the rates of overweight and obesity. If you look at some statistics it estimates the effect of television advertising on childhood overweight and obesity shows that Australian kids are likely exposed to 4.9 minutes (less than 5 minutes) of food advertising on television every day which has the potential to influence and impact on their eating habits. The same statistics showed that television advertising’s contributed to the prevalence of childhood obesity by a approx 10% to 28%.

The Protecting Children from Junk Food Advertising Bill 2011 would indeed ban junk food advertisements at specified times, as take the additional step of banning companies from using the internet to promote junk food to children as a preventative step to curb obesity and suggestive advertising.

So what is the best outcome? What is the answer?

Well, there is no clear answer.....responsible parenting alone is said to not be effective in itself with vulnerable children being bombarded with the advertising. Yet, it is a worldwide epidemic. In 2007 the UK imposed new restrictions on advertising food and drink to children which include there should be no advertising of foods high in fat, salt or sugar in children’s programmes. In their evaluation on the restrictions it found that children’s exposure to advertising found children aged four to 15 years saw 32% less overall food and drink advertising following the institution of advertising restrictions which demonstrated that while parental responsibility is paramount, government intervention is needed to reduce the incidence of overweight and obesity in children.

Our two cents worth..... is that while junk food advertising is not solely responsible, in isolation for the crisis with the increased childhood rates of overweight and obesity it certainly does play a significant part in influencing a child’s perception of food. There are many factors that lead to obesity and overweight children (and adults) and it is much more complex than just blaming the advertising on TV. To take a simplistic view like that is singling out one type of media and disregarding other influencing factors on the impressionable minds of children.

I think it needs a multi pronged collaborative response to tackle the alarming trend,however at the same time I would like to think I am responsible as a parent. We have had the 'sometimes' foods rule in our family since they can remember so that they understand that there are certain foods that are not everyday foods. That is not to say that they don't see something and want it, of course, advertising plays a part and the nagging can start but again the responsible parenting comes in....most of the time!

Have you heard of Jet’s Law?

2011-11-22T15:25:00.001+10:00

Jet’s law is the story of Jet Rowland. He was 22 months old and in 2004 was stuck by a car by a driver who had an epileptic fit and it smashed into his car. Jet was tragically killed and his older brother now lives in a wheelchair and his mum also suffered severe injuries.

After his tragic death legislation was introduced on the reporting of medical conditions. It is now the law and as recognition for jet has been named Jet’s law.

It is the law to inform the Department of Transport and Main Roads (in QLD but check in other states) of a medical condition that may adversely affect your ability to drive safely and could catastrophically result in another unnecessary death.

You will need to complete and lodge a medical condition form a F3712 (in Qld).

You should talk to your Dr about what conditions may affect your driving but can include, but of course are not limited to......

Stroke/Epilepsy/Eye conditions/Heart disease/Sleep disorders/Blackouts or any fainting/Drug dependency/Psychiatric disorders.

You will probably need to produce a medical certificate to confirm you are fit to drive.

This is a small price to pay for safety and security of yourself and other innocent travellers.

I took his hand and followed... a lovely poem...

2011-11-22T09:34:00.001+10:00

My dishes went unwashed today
I didn't make my bed
I took his hand and followed
Where his eager footsteps lead.
Oh yes, we went adventuring
My little child and I
Exploring all the great outdoors
Beneath all the sun and sky.
We watched a robin feed her young
We climbed a sunlit hill
Saw cloud sheep scamper through the sky
We plucked a daffodil.
That my house was so neglected
That I didn't brush the stairs
In twenty years no one on earth
Will know or even care.
But that I've helped my child
To noble adulthood grow
In twenty years the whole wide world
May look and see and know.

A recipe for a messy, crazy day....

2011-11-22T09:29:00.001+10:00

It seems I inadvertently took a little of my neurotic added a lot of sleep deprivation, a dash of stupidity and a slurp of love while not forgetting icing it all off with some much needed humour the other day.....while I survived, just!..... it did make for a messy crazy day.

While it was quite an insane shake your head kind of day (and no before you ask, I’m not sharing the specifics ...too embarrassing!!) it was made all worth it in the end with a snuggle from my girls at the end of the day. Everything melts into distant memory, even the worst crazy messy bits and your heart swells with those special moments.

Have you had those days? how do you get through them?

Lake Somerset Family Fun Festival

2011-11-22T00:57:00.000+10:00

[gallery columns="4"]
We have given a review of Lake Somerset Caravan Park ..... but thought we would share some of the fun that was had recently with you all.

On the weekend there was a family fun festival hosted at the park....there was face painting, fireworks, Old MacDonald’s Farm, a big screen movie, jumping castle, opening of the new safari tents - Somerset Mayor – Graeme Lehmann, ATPM Managing Director – Steve Billett and Somerset Councillor – Bruce Pearce.....and much much more....

I’m sure you’re envious you missed all the fun, I’m not trying to rub it in but here are some pictures of fun had by some....

Cooktown

2011-11-22T00:24:00.000+10:00

[gallery columns="4"]Our trek has taken us to some beautiful places but I must admit that I was blown away with the unspoilt beauty of Cooktown. Yes, it’s steeped in history which is a great thing and the kids can see parts of the history and go through the museum, but Cooktown for us was one of those places that you could either do lots or do nothing. It is fishing spot to beat all fishing spots....so of course fishing was done; it has a huge amount of history so yes we searched this...it just is a magical place. We didn’t allow enough time here at all. We sadly then had to miss (but plan to go back as it is among our favourite spots so far) to do the Aboriginal guided tours- that would just be marvellous and further explore the fantastic area. This is the one place that because we didn’t allow enough time we did not get to enjoy to its potential and there is so much to do in the surrounding areas as well.
We went up the Bloomfield track – which we were lucky enough to do as it hadn’t rained so was a fine road- and saw some wonderful scenery- totally recommend it if you have a suitable car and we came back the highway. Each spectacular in their own right!
We stayed at the Seaview Motel, which was a little pricey (but we didn’t care as we had had quite an experience leading up to needing to find last minute accommodation- that’s another story!) but it did boast the only sea view rooms and the views especially the sunset were spectacular.
Cooktown is well worth the effort of the travel to get there.....

Lake Somerset Caravan Park

2011-11-21T19:54:00.000+10:00

[gallery]
We went to Lake Somerset Caravan Park... and we went the weekend they were having a family festival that sounded like great fun so we took the opportunity to go. Boy it was busy but easily catered for in that it is on 45 hectares that have the lake as its backdrop.
1. Facilities: there was a well maintained and new mini golf (a $20 deposit to collect the sticks refunded upon return), a kid’s park (which looks like well needed shade is arriving soon- the poles were there), free wireless internet. It has mostly unpowered camp sites. There are a few powered tent sites, some powered caravan sites (which have Austar connection at no extra cost).
Aside from the camping and caravan sites there were new safari tents (very popular and booked well in advance I’m told and can see why), cabins and a log cabin. These all had lake views.
As the park was so big it did have many amenity blocks, although they were adequate I would think they could get waiting lines in the more busy times. In one block, the one nearest to us there were 2 showers and 6 toilets. Some of the toilets are closed during the week (I’m assuming not in peak times).
One thing I did notice was the odd lack of bins around, unless you were a fisherman and used the fish only bins. I understand it was because of the location but the confusion for me was the bins were all lumped together near the entrance. It was a drive for most people and I think they were very lucky that the park remained clean and I thought it was an odd thing. I have been too many caravan parks and even National Parks and they all provide bins near the camping area.
2. Service: The office staff were friendly enough. Apart from checking in and out we had no call to visit the office, but as it was the weekend it was busy and they seemed to be coping well with the masses of people when we were in the office.
3. Price: relatively good value. There was little variation from unpowered to powered prices. Good value if you were to stay for a week.
4. Location:
Slightly remote. You would go to this caravan park to go just to this caravan park. It is only accessed by car and the nearest town is Kilkoy which is 15 kms away. However, having said that the actual location is beautiful and striking.

5. Overall comment:
the toilet amenities were serviceable but had no wow factor and were more along the lines of a camp ground amenity block than caravan park facilities. As a caravan park it was a little lacking (no pool, entertainment area/TV room, no hire facilities for the lake) but it does have the remote and picturesque quality. To me it was definitely more of a camp ground than a caravan park and it is certainly more fun if you are a water/boating enthusiastic.
It is a 3 star park and I would agree with that and would not rate it a SK rating any higher.

The complete disgraceful acts of some people never cease to amaze me....and I'm left feeling so sorry for the victim

2011-11-21T15:32:00.001+10:00

I know this is not an isolated case and all are horrific and sickening......

Recently it was heard in the Brisbane’s magistrate court that an Ipswich man had sexually abused his step granddaughter over a 4yr period starting when she was 9 yrs old. The man was in his late 30’s at the time. The man is now only 41 and to attempt to protect the step granddaughter’s identity as she has been through traumatic events already) he cannot be named.

The most appalling part, if it is possible to be more appealed than the actual act of sexual abuse itself, is the fact he is likely to spend less than 1 year in jail. Yes you read right. Less than 1 yr! (He has already served 10 months and was only sentenced to 3 years all up). He will also be on 3 year probation after he completes his measly 1 yr jail time.

He committed 6 sex offences between January 2006 and April last year.

On one occasion the man only stopped as he heard the wife’s car and then calmly sat down to lunch with the family.

A mum is in a coma after dying her own hair!!

2011-11-21T15:07:00.001+10:00

I’m sure we all have at one time or another dyed our own hair (yes, I am one of the many), and of course we have heard the scary stories and thought they wouldn’t happen to us but unfortunately and sadly they have recently happened to a mum.
This mum, only 38 years old (young!) dyed her hair with a popular over the counter hair dye and had actually used this particular hair dye before but this time it had catastrophic consequences.

When she was washing the dye off she began to feel unwell and has since suffered brain damage and has fallen into a coma. It is believed by doctors that she suffered a near fatal allergic reaction. The Dr’s have warned her two children 20yr & 15 yr olds and husband that tragically she may not ever come out of the coma.

Lake Somerset Family festival on the weekend....

2011-11-21T14:33:00.001+10:00

We have posted a review of Lake Somerset Caravan Park on our SK blog but thought we would share some of the fun that was had recently with you all. On the weekend there was a family fun festival hosted at the park....there was face painting, fireworks, Old MacDonald’s Farm, a big screen movie, jumping castle, opening of the new safari tents by Somerset Mayor Graeme Lehmann, the ATPM Managing Director Steve Billett and a Somerset Councillor Bruce Pearce.....and much much more.... I’m sure you’re envious you missed all the fun, I’m not trying to rub it in but here are some pictures of fun had by some....

40% of parents of children under 5 have found that they are unable to cope at one time or another....

2011-11-21T11:25:00.001+10:00

Again I was reading a UK article but this is not something that is confined to the UK....

4 in 10 parents said that they under stress and strain to the point of breaking point.

Of all those who took part in said survey also honestly commented (60%) said that they were aware that the stress could damage their relationship with their children and 93% were aware of the impact stress can have on their child’s future mental health and physical well-being.

This is on the eve of a new campaign called “childhood starts now” which is about highlighting the detrimental impact stress and family crisis can have on young children.

Less children use childcare in NSW in 2008 than in 2005....

2011-11-21T11:08:00.001+10:00

Earlier this months the NSW Commission for Children and Young People released report called A picture of NSW Children-Early childhood education and care, which highlights the experiences of parents in finding care for their children as well as the decline in the number of children using care.
The reasons behind this decline are attributed too many parents experiencing difficulties finding suitable care as well as the other major hurdle and barrier being the cost of care itself and the impact it has on the family budget.

It shows alarming statistics such as:

75% of parents having trouble finding care

55% had difficulties with the cost

45% said they had trouble finding care for a child when they were sick

This publication can be viewed online – http://www.picture.kids.nsw.gov.au/

1 in 3 children in London do not spend time in green outdoor places....

2011-11-21T10:54:00.001+10:00

I was reading an article the other day that spoke about children in London are missing out on a vital part of their childhood development, because the time they spend in green spaces is limited to just six visits to a natural place a year. This is following on from a report that showed just 4% (there are 1.1million children under 12 yrs living in London) played in natural open spaces.

The research was commissioned by the London Sustainable Development Commission and the paper is called “sowing the seeds” says that children’s emotional and physical wellbeing is being hurt by their lack of experience of the natural world and that a child's play should be balanced between experiences.

Cooking with kids has many benefits and the fun we all have is well worth the mess......kids can do some 'pre' Chef skills early.....

2011-11-20T12:01:00.001+10:00

Kids learn/develop many skills when given the opportunity to cook such as:

Co-operation and teamwork by working and sharing with others in the kitchen

Cognitive skills -maths skills by counting, measuring and following recipe directions

Confidence, responsibility and self esteem

Encourages creativity

Sensory skills through tasting, hearing, touching, smelling and seeing different foods

Motor skills such as hand eye coordination and manual dexterity

Fun time together and encourages bonding between siblings, friends, etc.

Communication

Building a foundation for healthy habits and food and nutrition skills that will be carried on throughout their lives

Increases a child's interest in trying new foods.
Skills kids can do when they are under 6 yrs in the kitchen:

UsUse blunt scissors to cut soft foods

Wash fruits and vegetables

Tear lettuce

Stir, whisk, beat liquid or dry ingredients together

Grease pans or baking trays

Use a rolling pin (to roll dough, crush cookies, make biscuit crumbs)

Peel oranges, bananas, hard boiled eggs

Spread with a butter knife or sandwich spreader

Squeeze lemons or oranges

Mash vegetables or fruits with a fork or potato masher

Measure dry ingredients with supervision

Shape hamburgers or meatballs

Tips:

It’s a good idea to check if the recipe is applicable for kids to use before you start.

Wash hands before starting.

Read the recipe and have all the ingredients and utensils you need before you start in one place.

Measure the ingredients as listed accurately.

When mixing in a bowl... tip.... place a cloth underneath to help stop it slipping but still hold it so the child can mix easily.

Get the child involved in the clean up as it is part of the cooking (albeit the not fun part).
For more on kids in the kitchen visit our site.... http://www.seriouslykids.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=category&sectionid=11&id=225&Itemid=542

It seems a no win time in the early childhood industry and child care right now...even with and possibly because of.....all the changes...

2011-11-20T10:48:00.001+10:00

I am the first to admit that it was necessary for an overhaul of the Early Childhood Industry. I am not judging the changes that are being rolled out from January next year.

There has been much talk about it and I’m not putting my two cents in here on the changes but it seems to be worse than a double edged sword .... it’s a triple concern.

On one hand there is the Early childhood workers that are among one of the lowest paid workers and there is becoming a mass exodus every year of around 15, 000 primarily because of this point alone. Right now in WA Early childhood workers are asking for a pay rise of up to $10 an hour. Not unreasonable but while it is an easily justified ask, conversely, it is also considered a move that could increase the cost of child care by another 45% according to the Childcare Association of WA.

Then on the other hand you have the child care centres saying that it is proving problematic for them to implement the changes and is proving costly so those costs will more than likely be passed across to the families as an increase in fees.

And then there are the families that are already struggling to cover the costs of childcare and are apprehensive and fearful about the talk of increased fees.

There is no easy fix and there is the need to implement changes to provide quality care and education and child care workers do deserve a wage increase but what about the families?

Do you have thoughts/ideas/suggestions....what would be your ‘fix’ for the industry?

Is there a solution that would benefit all while still ensuring quality care is provided?

WA too is worried about the new changes to the regulations....

2011-11-20T10:20:00.001+10:00

The Childcare Association of WA wants the changes to the regulations to be delayed by 2 years. They suppose that this will allow parents the time to adjust as they believe that the cost to parents will rise.

The association says there are not enough workers to fill the extra positions required under the new staffing ratios and they fear that families could be strained and then seek out less than quality child care because of expected price rises.

It has been said by Vic Minister for children too....

2011-11-20T10:13:00.001+10:00

We have spoken about the concern about every child receiving the proposed (and apparent implementation of) having access to 15 hrs/week.

This week it has been cemented that there is indeed the worry as the Victoria's Minister for Children, Wendy Lovell, believes that “Vic, Qld and NSW would have ‘problems’ guaranteeing all children at least 15 hours a week of affordable preschool, taught by a university-qualified early childhood teacher, in the year before they start school”.

Finding the right centre is not only important but crucial for a happy and positive outcome but where to start and what to ask?

2011-11-14T13:22:00.001+10:00

Following on from my last blog about child care centres and finding a good one (one that is a hard task at times) I thought I would share some possible questions as suggestions if you are in the hunt for a centre, especially if it is your first time in finding one.

It can be quite a daunting thing finding the right centre that fits your faimly needs and is a great centre.Your gut feeling is very important and would have to be the best thing to be guided by as with most things when it comes to parenting but being armed with additional questions to help in making the informed decision on the best child care choice for your family.

Here is a list of possible questions (and it really is just a starting point and I'm sure you have your own and quite possibly many of these).

(you can print this off from our site http://www.seriouslykids.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=167&Itemid=1130 and use as a guide when finding the right centre)

What are their policies and philosophy? (it is good to ask for a few reasons- do they align with your philosophy and it means you can establish how the centre runs, their rational, etc)

What is the ratio of staff to child? Are these ratios are maintained during lunch hours and breaks? (not too much room for difference here but a good question to ask anyway)

How are the staff supported? Is there in-house training? What are their qualifications and how long have they been at the centre and/or working in childcare?

Is there consistency with staff? What is the staff turnover like? (This helps to see whether staff are happy, and stay for lengthy periods. It is not ideal to send your child to a centre that has a high turnover of staff, with frequently changing faces)
How many members of staff are qualified in first aid? How many accidents have there been in the past year? What happens in the event of an accident?

How are parents involved in the centre? Are there parent’s evenings? Are parents encouraged to visit?
What is the policy on sickness? Or if your child is away? Or if they have an illness?

How/where do the babies/children sleep? Do they accommodate for individual needs and routines?

What is the centres security like? How do they stop any un-authorised people entering the building? And how do they ensure that the right person collects the children?

How are the children settled in? (i.e.: do they do trial sessions, are you called if they don’t settle?).

What does the centre want to know from you about the child, your parenting and the family life? It's really important that they ask you about your child, their habits, likes and dislikes, and tries to incorporate them as much as possible into the daily routine.
Do the children look happy and occupied? Are they interacting well with others and the staff?
Do the staff look happy job or do they appear discontented and lacking energy? Are they interacting freely and happily?
Are the walls decorated with the children's own work? (Beware the centre that has lots of posters and drawings - but not the original work of the children)
What is the overall feel of the centre? What is the condition of the toys and does there seem to be enough and a variety? What is the noise level? Do the children seem to be interacting in activities and are the staff at their level and interacting?
What do they do if your child is unhappy? Would they accommodate your wishes?
Be prepared to be at a centre for a while on your first visit. Look around and take in the general atmosphere. Observe during this time the children, the staff. A good centre will understand that you want to be sure that your child will be well cared for and safe. They will want you to ask questions until you are satisfied.
Take your child with you, and pay attention to their reaction. Ask for their opinion after you leave. They will let you know which one they feel more comfortable with.

Also other things to take into account are:
Is the centre safe... the equipment, the playground, the play areas? Have any children been ‘lost’ from the centre or injured?
Can you visit whenever you want and are you made feel welcome? Are you able to participate in the centre at all? Does the centre have ‘events’ or ‘occasion’ where parents are encouraged to attend?
Are you able to or feel comfortable to talk to the carers about your child? Is there good communication about their progress, their day, etc? This goes to the most simplest of communication via being greeted upon arrival.
Is your child made to feel welcome? Is your child happy there?
Is there a program for the children? How is the program done? Is it done via observations, etc?
Are the routine times pleasant? Do they flow or are they regimented and stilted?
What are mealtimes like? Is sleep time not stressful?
Space to play outdoors- what is the outdoor area like?
Attitudes to behaviour.
Pets...some centres have one.
Amount of television/videos watched.
Operating times.
Availability – just because a centre has spaces does not necessarily mean it is the centre for you and your child. Ask yourself is there a reason there is a space. This will go on your gut feeling of the centre overall too.
Access by public transport / Parking.

Don't stay with or start at a centre if you (or your child) are not completely happy...if you don't get that feeling.

I have extremely high standards and expectations of quality care for my children when they are in care

2011-11-14T12:59:00.000+10:00

I make no apologies about that. I believe the same high standards and quality should be afforded to all children in care....mine are no exception there.

Of course I have the personal need to see my children cared for outstandingly but to me it is not such a big ask. It isn’t actually a big ask for any profession, I’m not picking on the child care industry it is just the basis for my comments today having had an experience recently that made me wonder and question why do some people choose to work where they do if it is obvious they do not have the passion.

In my mind, to be good at your job you need to have passion and professionalism, those attributes should be the main prerequisites in your career choice. To aspire and achieve success in your job should be the driving force, regardless of what that career choice is. To me it is shouldn’t even be a question of giving anything less than your best and not becoming complacent and sloppy or lazy.

So I get confused when I see someone who looks like they would rather be somewhere else (you know the type). The ones that you walk away thinking why do they work here.

Well, I sadly had an experience like that the other day and even worse it was on my daughters first day at her new centre. Now I know I have just explained I have extremely high standards but it is common sense to me some things. Like greeting a child or showing a new child and parent where things go and what to do on the first day. But no, none of that. We were left to our own devices....totally. So we muddled about getting organised and then we went outside to where there were staff but I think I would have had a better response from a robot with a flat battery. Not ONE staff member greeted us or for that matter for the entire time I was there made any effort to approach or even yell out hi or anything. Of course I am not mute and I did greet the staff in the end but it was the point that no effort was made to greet us. My child was completely oblivious to this and just kissed me and told me it was ok to go now as she ran off. Knowing she was ok with it all and had made friends with some girls on the climbing frame I left. On my way out the director was in her office and I did make a comment (as she appeared she too wasn’t going to say anything either!) that while all the staff seemed preoccupied with other things my child did seem to be settling in ok with some kids ( I did say it somewhat in what could be taken in jest as I didn’t want to have a conflict on the first day- & I can be a bit emotional at times when it comes to the girls so thought it was possible I would cry!) but I was only a phone call away should they need to call.

I left feeling deflated, annoyed, dismayed and quite concerned. Concerned that their idea of quality care did not match mine but more importantly concerned that there didn’t seem to be the “feeling” and care and attention that is required when working with children. I then also started to have questions running through my mind like if they can’t greet a new child what are they like for the rest of the day and so my slightly overactive mind went on and on.

Look, don’t get me wrong I don’t have unrealistic expectations. Really I don’t. But if you work in child care, just with any other industry, you have to interact with children and adults. The child care industry too has a certain amount of customer service and if you don’t provide the whole package then is it value for money? Better still are they actually providing quality service in terms of the care and education? What else is their attention to detail lacking?

It takes nothing to greet, to make every child and parent feel welcome; it takes nothing (but should be routinely built in as a child care worker) to interact with every child at some point during the day including positive warm interactions; it takes nothing to get down to a child’s level; and it certainly takes nothing to create a warm, inviting and interactive environment. It is sometimes these kinds of ‘simple’ things that can make the difference between a centre and a great centre.

What are some of your dealings with a centre...the good and the bad? Do you too have high expectations?

Will there be room for the 3yr olds at preschool?

2011-11-14T09:41:00.000+10:00

With all the preschool changes coming into effect by 2013 there is no the real concern that children who are 3 years and could or would ordinarily go to preschool may find it hard for places as the preschools adapt to the new scheme.

The fear has been raised as some preschool operators have voiced their concern that there may well be a shortage of teachers and classrooms which is forcing some of them to consider scrapping their 3yr old programs to accommodate for the changes under the Federal Government's universal access policy.

Does your child go to preschool in NSW?

2011-11-12T23:52:00.001+10:00

Recently the Peter Garrett (who is now the Federal Minister for Education) called on the NSW Government to give more details in relation to how it proposes to get more children into preschool. There is also the issue of fees which may be a barrier for getting more children into preschools.

There was the introduction of the National Partnership funding consists of nearly $1 billion. The intention for the funding is to be able to provide every Australian 4 yr old with 15 hours of preschool a week for 40 weeks a year. By 2013 the new rules are that a preschool child will access the education via a 4 year university qualified teacher.

Right now the percentage of 4 yr olds enrolled in NSW has risen from 81.9% in 2008 to 86.2% in 2010. However, it is short of the original projected target for 2010 of 94.6%. While the Government is slightly worried over these figures they are more concerned with the details on exactly how the NSW Government intends to reach the enrolment targets by 2013. The Federal Government is also saying that there needs to have stronger support by the NSW Government for preschools to offer more hours of service.

The rate of children enrolling in preschools, or as it would appear the lack thereof, would also be affected by the recent NSW Government decision to charge a fee for government preschool programs from 2012 which in turn could contribute to making it that bit harder for children from low income families to attend preschool and not help to increase the number of children attending preschool at all. The NSW Government argues that the changes to the fees is simply to bring it more in line with the child care sector (which is already considered unobtainable because of cost for some families!)

Do you find preschool affordable?

Reading to your child

2011-11-12T23:30:00.001+10:00

There has always been the talk about the benefits of reading to your child. Now a recent study is reiterating this as their research showed that children who were read books to were given a more advanced start later in their academic life.

So what exactly did this study show?

It showed that children who had books read to them on a regular basis scored higher academic results than 15 year old students whose parents who rarely read to them, or not at all. Now it isn’t solely related to reading books I might point out it also includes many other parent-child activities such as singing, dancing and discussing books, television or films which can assist in the overall development and boosting of the academic performance.

This study was done on a cross section of students ranging across 14 countries to get a broader assessment and found performance advantage was evident regardless of the family's socio-economic background.

Kuranda Scenic railway

2011-11-07T00:30:00.000+10:00

[gallery columns="2"]
The Kuranda Scenic railway dates back to the late 1800’s. It really is a magnificent piece of history. It was opened in 1891 and has been very well maintained since then.
The trip itself boasts some splendid scenery intertwined with tunnels which are a big hit with the kids and a speaker information service (but the commentary only gives tid bits during the trip not for the entire duration which is good). You can see some great engineering feats with things like the bridge as (in the photo) and see the Baron Falls (this is more spectacular in wet season as there is more water).
The train trip goes for about an hour and then you reach Kuranda. It is certainly worth considering as a must do when in the Cairns area.
You can do packages as well with some of the nearby attractions such as the Skyrail.

Cape Tribulation

2011-11-06T23:48:00.000+10:00

[gallery]

Cairns Skyrail

2011-11-06T23:36:00.000+10:00

[gallery]
The Skyrail was a long time in the planning. From 1987-94 it was all the background planning before construction even started, which took about a year to construct as the construction was quite an intense and laboursome feat- there were helicopters, GPS, workers walking into the site and so on all to make the Skyrail possible but it is most certainly worth the effort that was taken as it is truly a spectacular attraction.
The actual trip seems to go quite fast as you become so engrossed in the views and the experience that you become lost in the 7 ½ km’s over the canopy....it’s is awesome. You can see for miles and it is a very safe feeling (I am scared of heights and not once felt scared even though we were so far up over the canopy). You can stop twice along the way and get off to take further enjoyment by taking a walk through canopy walkways.
I would definitely recommend the skyrail as an attraction to do. The kids loved it, we loved it and it really is value for money. I even broke my rule of not getting the typical tourist photo that is always the optional cost at attractions. That was a funny one though!! Lol.
Would suggest, if possible, doing the Skyrail down as thats when you get those awesome scenic views over the Cairns area out to the water rather than having to look back if you do the way up on the Skyrail.

So we have been talking about the changes to child care centres. Well, there are also changes a happening to FDC.....

2011-11-06T11:49:00.000+10:00

So we have been talking about the changes to child care centres. Well, there are also changes a happening to FDC.....

As of January 2012 Family Day Care will itself come under a new quality rating system. So what does that mean?

It means that FDC is now also under the national Quality Standards. It means that there are new regulations being implemented and also phased in....

For example:

By 2014 ALL Family Day Care educators will hold (or be actively undertaking) a minimum Certificate III in Children’s Services.

FDC QLD currently has a ratio of 1:7 with a limit of 4 under school age including their own children under school age (their own children of school age do not count in the ratio). But under the new National Quality Standard by 2014 the ratio will change to 1:7 with a maximum of 4 children not attending school and it will include the educators own children regardless of their age.

There had been a lot of talk about the Education revolution.....remember that?

2011-11-06T11:34:00.000+10:00

That was back in 2008 when then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd decided that there should be a national curriculum and so he charged the National Curriculum Board with the task of designing one single curriculum model to replace the current state based ones.

Well, after 3 years progress made means that there will be changes finally implemented. What it basically means for us now is the introduction of some changes that will see it easier to make the transition to move interstate rather than previous difficulties with the different years.

The first set of changes start in 2012 where all schools in QLD will teach Prep-year 10 from the new curriculum. This is the areas of maths, English and science. That is the first phase. The second faze the other subject and the changing of the year 7 for QLD. It means for that to happen that the QLD schools system is now adjusting its years in line with other states so that the year 7 class is to become the first year of high school starting in 2015. This change sees the content covered in year 7 also increased.

One change that is getting some riled up is the change from play based first year classes (kindy,prep, etc) to a more traditional style teaching. So under the new curriculum prep/kindy kids should be able to read and write simple sentences (although they may not spell the words correctly, which is considered ok (!)). I remember having a nap in my Kindergarten class so things certainly have changed.

I’m not sure that perhaps too much pressure is placed upon their first year of school to already be able to read and write. Am I being foolish here?
Anyway though what are your thoughts on the start of the roll out of the new national curriculum?

Child safety is a number one parent concern...and so it should be.....

2011-11-04T16:28:00.001+10:00

Why just this week in a sleepy NSW town kids were approached on their way to school. These kids were old enough to know what to do but it can start at a young age to help prepare them for such horrid incidents and hope our kids never have to use this particular information.

It is sad (and gives me Goosebumps at the thought) but we need to talk with our kids about Stranger Danger. The thought of the alternative is too scary to comprehend so it is imperative we arm them with the information and tools to be aware.

While in an ideal world children would remain free from risk or harm in reality this is not always the case. It is always in the headlines about a child being approached by someone to get in their car for various enticements, but the scary actuality is that unless we educate our kids from a very early age as to what is ok and what isn’t and what they should do or know to help prevent incidents and tragedies then they may keep occurring.

Here is what we have been sharing with our kids and have stressed the importance of the understanding. One thing that we have installed is their level of confidence in the fact that we love them and will protect them and will never place them in a dangerous situation.

We will NEVER get someone to pick them up that they do not know. So NEVER get in the car with someone they have not already met

We will NEVER not tell them if someone is to pick them up or take them somewhere so if we haven’t told them DON’T go with that person. Make a list of possible people who can/may pick them up and reiterate that it would only be them and that it would be cleared by the teacher first.

Never talk to strangers and never listen to them but rather back away

Never, ever get in the car of a stranger

If you are approached by someone that you don’t know and they ask/offer you something- don’t! And then quickly go to the nearest safe place, your house, the house of a friend or a shop that you know, and tell an adult straight away what happened.

If an adult or someone does something then tells you not to tell your mum/dad cause something bad will happen- don’t believe them as we will protect them and nothing bad will happen by telling parent. As the parent we are the one person they can trust no matter what and don’t believe that person. Encourage them to tell if they feel funny/unsure/worried/uncomfortable, etc about a person or incident and listen to them. It is just as much up to us to protect the child and make it so they can come to us as it is for the child to know what to do.

Tell them that if they are unsure then to YELL. Yell for help, yell to simply make a noisy and attract attention.

Remind them how important it is not to wonder off and that someone knows where they are at all times.

Don’t go alone

Know your name and your parents name (and then as they get older their address and phone number and last name)

Have these chats with kids and while it is unpleasant it is necessary to have and also to point out the consequences (child appropriately of course)

Teach them what adults they can trust even if they don’t know them such as the police, fire.

It is very unfortunate that these sorts of thing can happen, but it is important that we use the media incidents as a reminder to maintain our vigilance with the children in our care. It is also important to chat with them about what they should/would do rather than just have it said to them all the time. Give them examples of situations and ask what they would do. And do it often. Don’t just do it once a year. Research shows that repetition is needed for it to remain familiar for a child and also to alleviate the possibility of them ‘forgetting’ what to do.

Now, while it is important that we share the Stranger Danger message it is just as important to share the fact that not all adults are nasty and most are trustworthy but it is best to let mum/dad help them make that choice.

There are some fantastic sites, resources and informational places that offer great suggestions on helping to educate kids on stranger danger such as http://www.danielmorcombe.com.au/ or http://www.childsafetyawareness.com/

Save Take A Break Occasional Care Centres....update

2011-11-04T14:14:00.001+10:00

There has been an ongoing fight for the re-establishment of funding that has been cut by the Government in Victoria. The battle has been to restore Commonwealth support for Victoria’s Take a Break program and this week it seemed to have some sort of change (possibly and hopefully positive)this week when the Coalition and Greens backed a Private Members motion calling on the Labor Government to reinstate funding for occasional childcare.

The motion coincidentally happened on the same day a petition which included 3000 signatures, was lodged for assessment with the Standing Committee on Petitions before its tabling to the House of Representatives.

If you are about to be affected or wish to voice your concern or comment a great place to start would be by visiting http://www.facebook.com/SaveTakeABreak or http://twitter.com/#!/savetakeabreak

The Working With Children Check in Vic - A system that works or not?

2011-11-03T10:23:00.001+10:00

News out today is that a leading child care expert has called on the Victorian Government to tighten the application and in particular the screening process as it has become apparent that more than 300 WWCC have been revoked in the past 5 years. The fear then is that the system is not working correctly and that there is the potential for children to be exposed to unsuitable applicants. The issue that the child expert has is that the flaw to the system is that it only records those convicted of sexual abuse and they are concerned that there is the probability that there may be some that are applicants that have not indeed been charged and therefore expose children to unsuitable applicants. Professor Freda Briggs, an emeritus professor in child development at the University of South Australia and former Australian of the Year says.....”If children are young or have disabilities that affect their communication skills, sex offenders are unlikely to be charged.”

The system was only set up in 2006 with the aim to help protect children under the age of 18 from adults who work with children to ensure that they do not pose a risk to their safety. It is compulsory for working with children in either the voluntary or paid type and they remain current for 5 years.

The statistic of one permit a week being revoked since 2006 was revealed in the Department of Justice’s annual report, tabled in State Parliament.

The National Quality Framework....an update

2011-11-03T10:04:00.000+10:00

As you all have heard by now that the early Childhood Industry and therefore child care is getting a overhaul in terms of their rules and regulations. The most of the changes are coming into effect starting from January 2012 and will continue to roll out until 2014 to allow child care operators the chance to amend their current systems. Most long day care centres, family day care, preschools (some kindergarten in some jurisdictions) and outside school hours care will be covered by the National Quality Framework.

The National Quality Framework is set up with the aim to provide a national regulatory system designed at improving the quality of care and education as well as striving to reduce the administrative burden that the early childhood education and care services find themselves surrounded in. It is established to offer a more streamlined approach, after all the headache of the set up for the child care services

The National Quality Framework will put in place a new National Quality Standard to promise high quality, and ideally a more consistent early childhood education and care across Australia. It is obligatory for all early childhood services to continue to operate, where applicable, within the existing state and territory regulations and maintain quality service provision.

So as a part of the changes NCAC (National Childcare Accreditation Council) will no longer be the agency that registers services from 1 November this year.

We’ll keep you updated on some more of the changes and what they mean for child care and you.......

What are your thoughts on the changes.....

Lunch box tips.....

2011-10-30T14:59:00.000+10:00

As it is apporaching the end of the year there will be lots of little kiddies that are getting ready to go to school for the first time next year. We thought we can share some of our top tips with you now to help prepare you and them for the big adventure and to help reduce any extra stress that starting school may bring.

It is always a good idea to have some practise runs at home.

Eating at school can be a different perhaps difficult experience for your child. They may not have the same facilities available to them as they do at home such as they may not be able to heat food or keep their food cold; they may not have access to tables and may have to balance their lunches on their laps and they need to be able to open and eat their on their own. We can help by helping to eliminate any possible obstacles and packing a lunch that is easier to use and undo.....

Things like....

Cutting fruit and/or vegetables into pieces (you can squeeze a little lemon juice on apples and pears to help them from going brown) and put them into a container they can easily open

Pack food that is easy to open

Check they can unwrap or undo containers

Write their name on their lunch box- it is inevitable that they will lose it at some point in their life

Use insulated lunch boxes to help to keep their lunch cool. You can also use the small ice packs

Pack the fruit (if not in a container) with some padding such as wrapping in tissues so that they don’t bruise or squish onto the rest of their lunch

13 health (13 43 25 85)- Qld's health phone service.....

2011-10-30T14:34:00.000+10:00

Queensland Health’s phone advice line......

This service is a 24 hr state-wide advice line. You are able to access child health information and parent support 7 days a week, 24 hours a day.

It is designed for only non life threatening medical situations and does not replace 000 in this case but rather offers preventative information and advice about referrals to local health services.

It offers a:

Triage service over the phone where you can speak to qualified nurses to help determine the best course of action to take. It is important to note that it is not to take the place of a regular DR.

Child Health Service whereby you can seek advice, support and information. It is a specialised service with a focus on supporting as well as empowering parents and carers with children primarily up to 5 years on a range of topics such as breastfeeding, growth and development, sleep, nutrition, immunisation and so on.

Importance of play......free play

2011-10-30T14:25:00.001+10:00

Children learn through play. Aside from it being part of the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child (article 31) it is also the most vital and critical way that a child learns and makes sense of the world. So...next time you send your child out to play you are helping to learn something.

In the beginning children learn through play by experimenting. Modern brain research and imaging has shown the benefits of play and how it builds and strengthens the brain pathways, creating flexibility and improving the potential for learning.

Play is pivotal to a child’s development. What we think is play is the basis for a child’s learning. Play is linked not only to cognitive and physical development but it is also just as important to the social and emotional development of a child. This can be seen through development of resilience, self esteem, empathy, cooperation, engaging with other children, friendships, playing with games with rules and many other traits.

Therefore it is important that we ensure that there is a lot of un-structured play to enable them to explore their world.

Start for Children with Disability (Better Start)” initiative

2011-10-30T11:48:00.001+10:00

Since July this year there has been an initiative “Start for Children with Disability (Better Start)” that has been established for families with children under six years of age and will the funding goes through until the child turns 7 years who have been diagnosed with moderate or greater sight or hearing impairments including deafness, blindness, Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy or Fragile X Syndrome. It means that these families will be able to register to access early intervention funding of up to a total of $12,000 (to a maximum of $6,000 per financial year).

It may also includes a one off payment of $2000 (only for eligible families who live in outer regional and/or remote areas).The one off payment is to assist with the access of services that may be limited so it is to assist with travel expenses, home visits and any other similar expenses related that may occur as a result of their isolation. The registration and any information regarding this initiative are done through Carers Australia.
The initiative provides occupational therapy, physiotherapy, psychology and orthotics.
Aside from this project there has also been the introduction of a number of new Medicare items that are also as part of the Better Start initiative and are to cater for children up to the age of 15 (that is provided their treatment and management plan is in place before the age of 13).

It is important to note the difference with this component in relation to Medicare is being implemented by the Department of Health and Ageing.

Further information:

http://www.mbsonline.gov.au/
http://www.health.gov.au/.

More information for families about eligibility requirements for the program:

www.fahcsia.gov.au/

Or Better Start- 1800 989 530 or Better.Start@fahcsia.gov.au

2011-10-30T11:13:00.001+10:00

The new regulations means that from January child care services will be rated under a new system that will give parents a clear understanding of the quality of education and care their child is receiving. It has been a long time coming and was finally achieved by the Territory and State Governments backing the national regulatory system for early childhood education and care services and in the long term is a huge step forward in the national reform process.

Ultimately children will benefit from the new regulations and it is a positive step forward for the Early Childhood industry in many ways.

The impact on older childcare workers without a formal qualification with the new regulations

2011-10-30T10:42:00.000+10:00

So what happens to the older child care worker? The one who has all the experience but no formal qualification when the new regulations come into effect? Well, this is simply answered but not simply solved. In short they can apply for RPL for their experience and complete some study to obtain the qualification required.......but in reality the question is how many good workers will resign as a consequence or are worried that they will be squeezed out or fear they will lose their jobs?

I know that a child care worker at my daughter’s preschool is retiring at the end of the year and I personally attribute a portion of the factors in her decision making to the new regulations. Yes, she had been at the centre for nearly 20 years and some will argue the negatives and others the positives that this can present but the fact of the matter is she did have the years of experience behind her coupled with the passion to be a child care worker (given that 15,000 leave the industry a year due to reasons such as poor pay) one should be thankful that she, and many others have stuck it out.

I am not implying that they be given an easy path and I’m not suggesting that they are given any preferential treatment but did they look at the implications to this?

Would be interested to know your thoughts?

new study shows educating children about sexual assault is one of the most effective ways of preventing it

2011-10-27T08:43:00.001+10:00

Braveheart has new research which shows educating children about sexual assault is one of the most effective ways of preventing it. They did an analysis of over 500 of their clients which showed that there was a direct link between the education program it runs in schools and a spike in the number of reports it receives about the sexual assault of children. This demonstrates and cements the idea that education in young children does indeed make a difference.

Executive director Hetty Johnston says "Every time a child is sexually assaulted ... there's a conservative estimate of $180,000 that it costs us”.

Although Chief executive of the Australian Childhood Foundation Dr Joe Tucci says such programs are valuable, but they are likely to identify child sex abuse rather than prevent it and that prevention should be targeted at adults.

More & more child care professionals are leaving the industry

2011-10-27T08:37:00.001+10:00

Last month there was a child care industry summit held that highlighted that there is a crisis in and early childhood workers. They estimated that 15,000 professionals leave the industry each year. It is not that they become less interested in the field, quite the opposite in that they are still passionate about the profession but they are almost held at ransom to the wages with most saying the reason they leave the industry simply because they just can't afford to stay in the industry. This is on the basis that even a centre director's pay is half that of their equivalent in the public education sector.

It is an overwhelming consensus within the industry that there needs to be an overhaul of the industry. One of the main issue that is found that tighter government regulations, including staff-child ratios, were not being matched by increased pay, leaving workers under enormous strain and that subsequently the conditions were compromised and resulted often in a high turnover of staff or the leaving of the professional altogether.

Negative parenting continues the cycle in generations

2011-10-27T08:17:00.001+10:00

A recent study has changed the thought process of the development of a child’s temperament. Prior to the study it had always been said that it was a combination of the child’s temperament mixed with the parenting style however, this recent research suggests that parenting style of negative comments, lack of cuddles and attention and affection or more of the rougher style of handling inadvertently harming their babies' psyches which in turn lead to results in aggressive, defiant kindergarteners and even affects adult behaviour as a result of what they call “negative parenting”.

They believe that it rears its head into aggressive behaviour in preschool age as it is quite common for a toddler to show some sort of signs of aggression during the toddler stage, but it is the parenting in the early infancy that matters the most to influence this behaviour.

The research showed that the negative activity of parents during the infant's first few months of life seemed to start the cycle, and as a result the negative parenting developed highly angry toddlers thus spurring more hostility from mothers and so the cycle continued.

The study started in 1975 and has been going for over 30 years to obtain the data to substantiate. It also found that it is possible that such negativity could be caused by an outside source, possibly the family's genetics or even the environment around them during those early years.

As the study has been such a longitudinal one they were also able to see that the original parenting measures such as the feedings in infancy were not only predicting early conduct problems but they emerged again 26 years later as those children that were babies were more aggressive as adults.

2011-10-27T06:30:00.000+10:00

It’s funny, we had dreamed of this trip for so long and the planning it took seemed to take on a life of its own. Not the planning you would think like the logistics of taking such a trip but the question of whether it was even feasible. However the reality of it surpassed the expectations that I’m not sure I can envisage life as ‘normal’ again. Travelling reminds us not to take things for granted, it opens our eyes to others & our own fate, and even misfortunes, and challenges us to be more tolerant and appreciative of what we have in our own backyard. It has the power to bond you closer as a family and provide the opportunity to have experiences of the momentous type.

Yes, it is not all rosy all of the time but without sounding contrite it is pretty close if this is what type of life you are looking for. Travelling is not for everyone. There is limited space, constant travel, lack of privacy, but they are far outweighed in my mind of all the benefits and wonderfulness of the experiences. The memories created will last a lifetime and as an added bonus it is such an educational tool for the kids too. Every town we stopped at so far has something to be remembered by, be that a famous attraction/ landmark or just the experience or people.

But some things we would share....top tips we have learnt so far or had shared with us.....

• You seriously don’t need everything including the kitchen sink. We over packed big time and that was thinking we had done well. I always knew we had gone a little overboard on the towels and clothes but it turns out we did on most other things too and alot of stuff has come along just for the trip! Really what was I thinking, I mean we were going places where there were shops for goodness sake!
• Try before you buy. Take the time to have a look around and don’t be afraid to look at your accommodation before you pay. If it is not what you had expected or isn’t as described then move on.
• Be spontaneous some of the best experiences are the spur of the moment ones.
• Be open to new experiences and ideas
• Cook your own. It may take a little time to get organised but it is more cost effective and often can be more delicious
• Have snacks & plenty of water. Sometimes there are long car journeys, even with the best of planning it is unavoidable in Australia, so having snacks and plenty of water can be helpful as you never know what might occur or even when you may find the next appropriate stop.
• Don’t be afraid to make new friends. They can share the parts of the trip and can also share some tips. We met so many lovely people along the way and the kids made new friends.
• Invest in roadside assist. The amount of people that we spoke to that had and actually used it was amazing. It certainly gives you piece of mind and ease of knowing that it will easily pay for itself if you need to use it. I would have to say that if you can’t afford this then wait to go till you can.
• Ask questions of fellow travellers experiences when chatting. You’ll find they are generally willing to share tips and tops spots which can make the difference on the accom or the town or both and the experiences you get.
• Buy the Camps Australia books- they have a free stay one and a caravan park one. The free stay is a fantastic concept and there are some great ones out there.
• Research national Parks and don’t be afraid to stay in them. They are cost effective and some have splendid views.
• Be prepared for roughing it. A battery or solar powered light is worth its weight in gold. We would also recommend buying little single burner gas stove that holds the cartridge gas as it is then it is a small portable item.
• Take the time to go off the beaten track sometimes as there are lots of hidden treasures.
• Trip advisor is a good website to get reviews from others who have been there and done that.

our top trip tips.......so far....

2011-10-26T21:16:00.000+10:00

It’s funny, we had dreamed of this trip for so long and the planning it took seemed to take on a life of its own. Not the planning you would think like the logistics of taking such a trip but the question of whether it was even feasible. However the reality of it surpassed the expectations that I’m not sure I can envisage life as ‘normal’ again. Travelling reminds us not to take things for granted, it opens our eyes to others & our own fate, and even misfortunes, and challenges us to be more tolerant and appreciative of what we have in our own backyard. It has the power to bond you closer as a family and provide the opportunity to have experiences of the momentous type.

Yes, it is not all rosy all of the time but without sounding contrite it is pretty close if this is what type of life you are looking for. Travelling is not for everyone. There is limited space, constant travel, lack of privacy, but they are far outweighed in my mind of all the benefits and wonderfulness of the experiences. The memories created will last a lifetime and as an added bonus it is such an educational tool for the kids too. Every town we stopped at so far has something to be remembered by, be that a famous attraction/ landmark or just the experience or people.

But some things we would share….top tips we have learnt so far or had shared with us…..

• You seriously don’t need everything including the kitchen sink. We over packed big time and that was thinking we had done well. I always knew we had gone a little overboard on the towels and clothes but it turns out we did on most other things too and alot of stuff has come along just for the trip! Really what was I thinking, I mean we were going places where there were shops for goodness sake!

• Try before you buy. Take the time to have a look around and don’t be afraid to look at your accommodation before you pay. If it is not what you had expected or isn’t as described then move on.

• Be spontaneous some of the best experiences are the spur of the moment ones.

• Be open to new experiences and ideas

• Cook your own. It may take a little time to get organised but it is more cost effective and often can be more delicious

• Have snacks & plenty of water. Sometimes there are long car journeys, even with the best of planning it is unavoidable in Australia, so having snacks and plenty of water can be helpful as you never know what might occur or even when you may find the next appropriate stop.

• Don’t be afraid to make new friends. They can share the parts of the trip and can also share some tips. We met so many lovely people along the way and the kids made new friends.

• Invest in roadside assist. The amount of people that we spoke to that had and actually used it was amazing. It certainly gives you piece of mind and ease of knowing that it will easily pay for itself if you need to use it. I would have to say that if you can’t afford this then wait to go till you can.

• Ask questions of fellow travellers experiences when chatting. You’ll find they are generally willing to share tips and tops spots which can make the difference on the accom or the town or both and the experiences you get.

• Buy the Camps Australia books- they have a free stay one and a caravan park one. The free stay is a fantastic concept and there are some great ones out there.

• Research national Parks and don’t be afraid to stay in them. They are cost effective and some have splendid views.

• Be prepared for roughing it. A battery or solar powered light is worth its weight in gold. We would also recommend buying little single burner gas stove that holds the cartridge gas as it is then it is a small portable item.

• Take the time to go off the beaten track sometimes as there are lots of hidden treasures.

• Trip advisor is a good website to get reviews from others who have been there and done that.

$9.2 million funding for 9 child care centres in ACT announced today

2011-10-26T16:13:00.001+10:00

The ACT Minister For Community Services, Joy Burch announced a $9.2 million allocation of funds to 9, yes you heard right only 9 child care centres in the ACT to allow them to increase their numbers and “significantly” (according to Joy) improve their facilities to meet the requirements of the new National Quality Framework for early childhood education and care which comes into effect from January 2012.

Am I crazy here?

I would welcome any upgrading of facilities in all child care and early childhood sectors as much as the next person and would cheer it. These 9 centres receive the money to improve their facilities and are also able to use the money to upgrade toilets and play areas.

But..... $9.2 million for just 9 centres seems to me a little excessive?? For example one child care centre is receiving almost $2 million for capital works so that they are able to increase their capacity from 46 to 92. Does it cost that much??

Overall the $9.2 million dollars creates just 173 additional places spread across the 9 centres.

Such a sad end to a young life.....

2011-10-26T16:02:00.001+10:00

A woman has been charged over the death of a 22 month old. The little girl was taken to hospital on the 22^nd October at Toongabbie medical centre and while the staff commenced CPR she died. The post mortem showed the poor toddler died of dehydration.

Stress in low income children leads to poor school readiness

2011-10-26T15:29:00.000+10:00

A recent study which is in a journal called “Child Development” has found that stress in the lives of poor children is attributed to and the cause of an early achievement gap where children from low income families start school behind those of their more advantaged classmates.

This is due to the findings showing that children from low income generally received less positive parenting which contributed to the development of children’s executive functions which are required for school readiness such as regulating behaviour, managing new and potentially confusing information, adjusting to school, and making academic progress.

New places in IHC and Occasional care announced for next year

2011-10-26T14:03:00.001+10:00

This week the Government told us that they had created an extra 1,500 spaces in IHC (In Home Care) as well as Occasional care places. This is on the back of the Government stating that they understand that families may require some more flexible child care arrangements.

IHC is for families whose circumstances mean that other child care services are not suitable – some children have special needs and may require a higher level of care than can be provided in a centre-based environment & can also help families in rural or remote locations that may not have access to centre based care, or parents who work non-standard hours and require child care at night. Whereas Occasional child care aims to provide flexible centre-based care to offer support for families as they can access this type of care on a regular, or ad-hoc basis as parents place their children in care for short periods of time for any number of reasons.

These new places will be available from mid next year according to need & the allocation of these extra places equates to approx $11 million a year.

Update- Brisbane Holiday Village

2011-10-24T17:03:00.000+10:00

[gallery]Please note..... this review is solely in relation to the camping section of this park and the previous review still stands for caravans.

So we have already reviewed this park- it was the first caravan park on our trek, but to be totally honest and provide you with accurate info we had to update the review to include the info on camping. As you know we sold our beloved caravan “Sunny” and have been tenting it since Cairns and the review on this particular park is significantly different then if you were in a caravan and it is vastly different now we have experienced other fantastic parks.
You see, the camping area to us is poor and barely there. It is uninviting and very lacking. It has no amenities- even the simplest of things like lighting (all tent sites we are told are unpowered but some lighting would have been helpful!); no water; no camp kitchen; no toilets (unless you walked about 150 metres which is centred amongst the cabins) and the nearest BBQ would mean that what you cooked on the BBQ would most certainly be cold by the time you made it back to your camp.
This park seemingly caters more for the cabin traveller. There are more cabins, of various styles and budgets, than caravan or camp sites, followed by caravans.
The park as a whole, now that we have experienced other parks, does fall short on the ‘community’ feel, something that is very evident at parks like Airlie Beach Island Gateway, Cairns Holiday Park, Rainbow Beach Holiday Park, and many others.
Overall, the park is clean, it does have many of the things a park should have (albeit poorly placed) but it does not (especially for the camp site price) in our mind cater for the camper. When you look on their website it does talk about deluxe tent sites...hmmmm, not sure where they were. And there is a 1 week maximum for unpowered tent sites too.
Oh, and I nearly forgot....there is a whopping big high voltage transmission power lines that run right through the camping section of the park- which they fail to mention in any of their promo material and I can understand why.
In terms of the SK rating for the camping section of this park it would be lucky to receive a 1 ½ from us.

we are on the lookout for a new "sunny" (caravan)

2011-10-24T02:57:00.000+10:00

We bid farewell to our beloved caravan ‘Sunny’ and the girls were devastated but it was a decision we made for the wellbeing of Sunny. While we had had a fantastic trip in her so far, we had to admit she was old and would not necessarily make the trip to the west (although I bet she would have tried hard to get there in one piece as she really was workhorse type of caravan) and so we made the choice to sell her in Cairns before we head out west. We still talk about the ‘ol girl as if she is still a part of our family......funny isn’t it that we have given life to the caravan and our Landcruiser “Ander”?!

Anyway, we know she (Sunny) has gone to a family who is going to have good times as well. We spent the last 2 weeks in a tent (and I call it that loosely- follow the bad advice at one camping shop proved detrimental to us) only to become quite disillusioned by the amount of packing and unpacking we find ourselves doing. Before we set off my sister had commented that she had met a family with 2 young kiddies (younger than ours) travelling Australia in only a tent but also scoffed at the idea we would take too much stuff to be able to do that. Well, she was right in some ways, yes, we did take too much stuff (surprising what you can store/stuff into a little caravan) and found ourselves downsizing but my hat goes off to that family for commitment to the travel as it certainly has worn thin for us to continue to travel in a tent.

We are now on the lookout for a new ‘sunny’....one a bit more hardy....would love your views and comments on the best one.....

our caravan park winner.....Cairns Holiday Park

2011-10-24T02:02:00.000+10:00

[gallery]
I cannot rave enough about this park. It does lack a children’s play area I will say that up front so it is not the perfect park....but it is so close.
It is a welcoming park with a good mix of all walks of life. There have been parks where we have gone to and they predominately cater for a particular type such as the Grey Nomads, and of course that is fine, but they should alert us to that when we attempt to book rather than make us feel that we should tippy toe the whole time we are at those parks. I’m sure that is not their intention but that is the way it has felt some times but this is not the case here. They have a great mix of Grey Nomads, backpackers, campers and caravaners. They offer lodgings (which are better than most motel rooms and can be ensuited or non ensuited).

Facilities: there was a swimming pool (completely shaded, in a good way, with shade cover), TV room, FREE internet kiosk and FREE wi-fi and the best camp kitchen we have seen. In terms of camping/caravanning they also offer some ensuited sites too.
There was 2 amenities- both at the same building but meant you never had to wait for a turn and they were completely serviceable. They were clean!

Service: perfect! There is nothing I can fault of the service as they went out of their way to accommodate you in any way. It was heart-warming to have staff to be so attentive and professional at the same time . It is by far the most welcoming park to date. The office staff and the maintenance staff were always on hand and were always about maintaining the park and really approachable.

Price: good value – end of story!

Location: Easily accessed by car or public transport. It is quite central only something like 2km from the town. Can be walked as we did and capable for little kiddies either on foot or on a scooter without any moaning.

Overall comment:
As far as Top tourist Parks go we would have to say they should use this park in their promotional material and as the basis for their modelling. While it has a rating of 4 star under our rating we would rate this at a SK rate of 5/5 rating.

Lions Den Hotel- Bloomfield Track

2011-10-23T21:17:00.000+10:00

[gallery]
We did the Bloomfield track on the way to Cooktown and it was an awesome experience. It is picturesque, challenging, scenic and slightly nerve racking all rolled into one. Absolutely worth the trip! We went just before Cairns and the surrounding area received ALL that rain (we have been so lucky in missing the bad weather) and so the crossings were easily passable, unlike now where some are water logged. (I mean Cairns did get 311mm in 24 hrs the other day!)

Towards the top end of the track you reach the famous Lion’s Den Hotel. The hotel dates back to 1886 and has a strong history. It is also the pub that has signatures all over its walls. The signatures stem from the early tradition during the mining days of the area. The miners would leave their pay packets and how much money they had spent or still had up on the wall and was written and amended each time they came to the pub.
The pub itself is very nostalgic but you have to be prepared to pay for nostalgic as the food is pricey and somewhat limited albeit perfectly edible and the souvenirs were fairly priced as were the drinks.
In terms of accommodation if you wanted to stay there- there were camping options, dongers and then the safari tents. We did the safari tent and while in principle it was fantastic these were a little tired but were reasonably priced.

Brutal honesty....on the accommodation to date......

2011-10-23T20:18:00.000+10:00

We have so far stayed at some caravan parks, camp grounds, and National Parks and the odd other accommodation here and there. They are all different in the experience and the level of comfort and style you get in your stay, so it is hard to decide which one is the better one or the best option. They all suited our purpose on the night.....good or bad become irrelevant when you are dog tired (well, to some degree- I may still have moaned and groaned on the way to sleep about the accommodation but do get sleep nevertheless). And surprisingly enough it has nothing to do with the cost.....it is not indicative that if you pay more you get better.

There has been lots of learning moments on our trip, again, some good and some we wish we could not have had if you had the benefit of hindsight prior to doing or staying somewhere.....but all in all they all added up to a wonderful 4 months so far.

So if you have read the few blogs we have written on the accommodation so far, then you can see that Club Crocodile at that point was our lowest point of accommodation we had stayed in. Well, there is a Park that has surpassed them and now takes out the honour of the worst place we have stayed. The parks description described some tropical oasis and as you can guess all we got was tropical desert with an attempt at a resort style pool. I could go on and on about the negative points on this park but let’s move on to the better parks and give you our picks of where and what we have stayed at.

Best Caravan Park: this was a close one as we have 2 very close contenders. They are not 5 star parks and coincidentally they are both Top Tourist parks (but we have stayed not only at Top Tourist parks so it is an unbiased review and winner here). And so the winner is a tie between.......
Airlie Beach Gateway and Cairns Holiday Park, but if pushed to make a final decision I would say it would be- Cairns Holiday Park for all round.

Best National Park: without a doubt the Inskip National Park at Rainbow Beach

Best camp ground: they camp grounds that attract a fee... the fact it cost is irrelevant as the cost itself is minimal. The best camp ground would have to be Kurrimine Beach. Technically it is a council caravan park but in my mind is only a camp ground.

Best free stay: Carmilla Beach, easy!

Best accommodation: Cairns Holiday Park- they had non ensuited lodgings that were new and had all the amenities you would want. We also stayed at a motel in Cooktown that was a close second.

Our caravan park Qld coast winner.....Cairns Holiday Park...

2011-10-23T16:11:00.000+10:00

I cannot rave enough about this park. It does lack a children’s play area I will say that up front so it is not the perfect park....but it is so close.

It is a welcoming park with a good mix of all walks of life. There have been parks where we have gone to and they predominately cater for a particular type such as the Grey Nomads, and of course that is fine, but they should alert us to that when we attempt to book rather than make us feel that we should tippy toe the whole time we are at those parks. I’m sure that is not their intention but that is the way it has felt some times but this is not the case here. They have a great mix of Grey Nomads, backpackers, campers and caravaners. They offer lodgings (which are better than most motel rooms and can be ensuited or non ensuited).

Facilities: there was a swimming pool (completely shaded, in a good way, with shade cover), TV room, FREE internet kiosk and FREE wi-fi and the best camp kitchen we have seen.

There was 2 amenities- both at the same building but meant you never had to wait for a turn and they were completely serviceable. They were clean!

Service: perfect! There is nothing I can fault of the service as they went out of their way to accommodate you in any way. It was heart-warming to have staff to be so attentive and professional at the same time . It is by far the most welcoming park to date. The office staff and the maintenance staff were always on hand and were always about maintaining the park and really approachable.

Price: good value – end of story!

Location: Easily accessed by car or public transport. It is quite central only something like 2km from the town. Can be walked as we did and capable for little kiddies either on foot or on a scooter without any moaning.

Overall comment:

As far as Top tourist Parks go we would have to say they should use this park in their promotional material and as the basis for their modelling. While it has a rating of 4 star under our rating we would rate this at a SK rate of 5/5 rating.

Chillagoe

2011-10-14T08:31:00.000+10:00

We were unsure if we would make the trek out to Chillagoe. It was a 3 ½ hr one way trip from Cairns so it was not to be sneezed at and after consideration we decided that the caves called and so we set out on our day trip.

It certainly was worth the trip.....

It is 200 odd Km west of Cairns and is said to only generally take about 2 ½ hrs in all the promo material but we didn’t dawdle and it took us the 3 ½ hr down a road called the ‘wheelbarrow way’. Just to be clear there are some unsealed sections...not much, but it was on a unsealed section I met a road train who obviously had driven the road often and I’m not to proud to admit I went right to the edge of the road and stopped and my heart skipped a beat and I took a deep breath while it went past and I waited till it passed before I even thought about moving.

Anyway, we made it to Chillagoe with the intention to just see the caves and come back but it really is a hidden treasure. It has so much history and is such a lovely little country town.

The first thing we did was go and see the caves- we saw the Trezkinn cave. It is a bit of a workout (my legs are a bit stiff and sore today!) it is a 45 min tour and it does have steps – only about 100 in the cave but it also has steps to get to the cave. Due to the steepness of some of the stairs inside the cave i would not recommend it for a child any younger that about 4 yrs. It does have some tricky bits for the younger ones but it is lit inside the cave so you are not in darkness. It is a great experience and we all loved it. It was $52 for the 4 of us (a family rate) but if you did another tour (there are 3 guided cave tours) then you did get a 10% discount. The tickets had to be purchased at the Chillagoe Hub which is in the main street and easily found.

Aside from the caves there is actually alot more to see in Chillagoe and it has a rich history. There are Aboriginal rock paintings, a waterhole that is a spring fed rock pool, the smelter site, balancing rock, limestone outcrops,observatory to name most of them.

Chillagoe is a historic mining town and at the Hub you can read all about the vast history of the town. It was named by William Atherton back in the late 1800’s. Today it has a population of just over 200 but in its heyday it had the development of the railway and had a population of around 10,000. The historic post office opened in 1906 and the building is still there today. The town was a mining town of copper, zinc and marble. Marble is still a commodity that is part of Chillagoe. It is a very diverse geological region.

One of the most interesting parts of the town was the smelters. The site of the old smelter is quite fascinating and it is certainly rich in history. It is a heritage listed area and there are information stations throughout the area that give a detailed history of the smelters. The smelter dates back to 1901 and it was finally decommissioned in 1943 (but were closed from 1914-1920) after a varied history- it wasn’t without controversy. Chillagoe is the only Qld mining site that retains any evidence of the smelter process. The slag mound is impressive especially considering the era it came from.

If it wasn’t so serious it would be funny.

2011-10-01T09:21:00.000+10:00

AGAIN, the most recent data from the National Childcare Accreditation Council reveals that 1 in every 20 childcare centres falls below the minimum standards. 1 in every 5 of the 1136 day care centres inspected during the first six months of this year failed to keep dangerous products and objects out of reach of children, while 13% were found to have unsafe buildings or equipment. The staff in 1 in every 4 centres had breached food safety regulations, or failed to wash their hands after wiping children's noses or changing nappies.

This is abhorrent not to mention completely unacceptable!

So what are all these new standards and regulations doing to address this? It would appear that they have not made any significant difference to the standard of quality care. Let’s hope that they are just a slow starter!

Is it really that hard to aspire for Australia to have quality care and education?

Even Childcare Minister Kate Ellis has said that the Government believes that that is not good enough when told of the latest data. But goes on to say that she believes that the childcare reforms would improve this.....what planet is the Government on?? The childcare reforms have already started to be implemented as of July last year. Granted, they are not to be fully implemented until January 2012 but since that is almost here I wonder what magical powers the next few months are going to bring whereby the reforms are all embraced and we see such a dramatic change in the standards being adhered to and overall quality care being provided. I don’t see that happening especially since child care centres are already asking the Government to put a hold on all of the implementation of the new standards as they are saying that there is just not the cost feasibility to roll them out.

Many child care centres are saying that they will have to increase fees to cover costs such as C&K ( Qld’s largest childcare chain) had already increased their fees by $4 and said that would need to again b y the same by January; Good Start (Australia’s biggest child care chain) say they are going to raise their fees by as much as $7/day next year and the list goes on.... they say they need to increase their fees to cover the costs of employing extra staff.

So.... do you see the standards changing?? Do you really see the data improving??? Do you think that we will ever see quality care and education on the whole in Australia????

Is tax deductible childcare possible? Can it really include nannies?

2011-10-01T08:41:00.000+10:00

It seems to have been back in the news recently....the push for childcare (which would include nannying) to be tax deductible. It’s funny you know, not the fact that the push is on AGAIN but the fact that when SK started 6 years ago and since then we have been lobbying (well, trying to with both sides of the Gov’t when they were in and till now to no avail- I have been sworn at; told that nannying is too much of a grey area; asked just what did I expect them to do? And the list of fob offs go on including the typical pass the buck letters in response).

Perhaps the latest push for a change may actually make a difference this time as it comes from Chief Executive Women, a group of 200 of Australia’s top females in business. They are now ‘on the bandwagon’ and are pushing for changes with the aim to lift the number of women in the workforce and their opportunities for promotion. Is this fool hardy idealism?

You see, we all know that the cost of childcare is expensive. There is no questioning this. There is also the childcare centres issues of the new regulations which they say will impact their budgets and therefore there may be another rise in child care costs which may push some families from having the opportunity to make the choice for the mum to return to work, especially, if you were to look at it in monetary terms. For example the cost of a spot in a childcare centre is average of around $65 per child per day or for childcare in Sydney it can cost an average of $500/week. That would equate to $25,000ish per child per family. If a family has more than one child then it quickly becomes a non event of the mum working just to pay for the child care and at times not even for all of the child care. Sure there are rebates (for some families) to help with covering the cost of childcare but...... The 50per cent rebate is not means-tested, and is capped at $7500 a year, per child per year. We will look at the subsidies and rebates and types of care mind field in the next blog but for the purposes of the overall question of the feasibility of child care to be tax deductible we need to look at the difference for childcare compared to nannying.

Of course I am not slagging off the childcare centres as I am well aware of the costs of running a centre and understand that the changes may be squeezing them even more. This is not an article about the costs a child care centre occurs or in fact the cost of child care as such but more about the feasibility and reality of the likelihood of any changes occurring including a tax deductible option.

The government’s tax summit next month will look at the current childcare rebate. Let’s hope they can see the sense in making some positive changes.

However........

We need to look at the current model and the quest for quality care and education and what that entails and subsequently what a family gets for its money.

Child care industry has undergone and is still going through changes and improvements and they are currently being implemented now. The main and most talked about reforms include:

Early Year Learning Framework- the new way to plan, document through using key principles, practice and outcomes to support and enhance young children's learning so that it is a consistent way for all child care educators. The main emphasis for the child is that it focuses on the role of play based learning.

National Quality Framework- a new system that comes into effect in January 2012. The aim is to ensure that it is a national standard whereby high quality care and consistent early childhood education is provided. The first sets of changes to be implemneted were rolled out in July last year. If you want to read more there is a fact sheet about the changes- http://www.deewr.gov.au/EarlyChildhood/Policy_Agenda/Quality/Documents/NQStandardChildEdu.pdf

So you can see that in relation to child care the Government recognise the importance of quality care and education and have stated that they appreciate that the first 5 years are critical years. There is legislation to be adhered to and none of this is applicable to the nannying industry. It is a mindfield of black market, often underqualified carers. I am not opposed to nannies, quite the opposite and I have lobbied for nannying to be a recognised care option with the Government and it can help to alleviate the pressure on both parents and ‘traditional’ child care for places, etc, however, it is important to note the following......

Now, to look at the implications of the inclusion of nannying into the tax deductible arena. You see I personally think that nannying should become part of a viable option and recognised option for childcare. yet, it raises the question because it is not recognised by the Government as a child care option as to the standard. Currently there are no standards set for a nanny. There are increasing standards for the childcare industry and so it raises the question as to whether there would be a 2 pronged child care system unless the system itself got a complete overhaul to include nannying within the current system and therefore be held to account with the current standards. New standards for childcare are that you need to hold a minimum cert III in childcare to be able to work with children yet there is nothing of the sort for the nanny profession.

So my question to you is do you think there needs to be more changes and a across the board set of standards and regulations before we can even have the discussion on whether it is possible or there should be a push for tax deductible care.... are we trying to run before we can walk?