I live in Perh Western Australia and recently it has been named as the 5th most expensive city in the world to live in - thats basically due to our realestate and wide open spaces.
Anyway, in order to just live and pay your rent or mortgage on the most basic of houses, both mother and father must work.
My first daughter was placed into daycare just before her 1st birthday and i have nothing to say to Middle Swan Child Care Centre but THANK YOU for helping me raise the most beautiful, intelligent and compassionate child. I really feel that it has been the community that has helped raise our child and she is the better for it.
In australia there are many accreditations (?), rules, laws etc that need to be followed to run a daycare centre. Allt he staff are supervised. Also, the training that these girls do to help develop your child is mind blowing. As a first time mum, if I hadn't taken my daughter to daycare I would not have known about how to develop fine motor skills, learn fabulous activities to keep my childs mind active and developing at all times. Things like playing with boxes as a baby teaches them to learn about and define space.
The daycare I took my children to never used the word NO. They taught them to think about their actions, their consequences or results and to respect others feelings, an extension of my own family values.
As an only child for 6 years and with no family or friends who have their own children, daycare was also good for developing her social skills.
Now I don't actually believe in mothers working. I think that our fathers should be paid better in order that our mothers can return to raising more healthy, loved, and compassionate children. But until our societies return to the ways of the old where our children were raised by the communities we lived in and where grandparents were still part of the family nucleus I think Daycares are a must for working parents. I don't think that daycares should be open to anybody who just wants a break from their children. Trust your child. If after a settling in period they enjoy going, great what have you to loose? Otherwise find one that does suit your child.
Baysitters aren't big here in Oz but if you and your husband need one of those rare moments alone and out and about, a local girl looking for pocket money is a great idea to look after your children for a small amount of time. I don't think I would ever employ a Nanny ( I am not that rich or important) I don't think I would like them have full run of my house, unsupervised. I don't trust that situation.
