I don't have a choice but to raise my little one myself. Childcare prices are way too high at $160 a day and I don't qualify for benefits. We don't have friends or family here either, so I actually have no one else to care for her. Then since my work has been obliterated thanks to Covid, I have managed to make a small home business but only make $50 a month if I'm lucky as I have to care for my 1 yr old full time. It's a really tough cycle to be in! Would I like to be able to put her in childcare even for a few hours or get a stitter occasionally, yes, sometimes that would be nice. But I don't have that luxury choice. It is nice being able to spend time with her daily and do eveything together, I think that makes us really close and connected and I get to help her, teach her and watch her grow. But then again, it would be nice, even to have a moment.Edited 08-Dec-20 09:10am

Besides the cost of living necessitating couples to both work the women’s movement has also been a big influence in devaluing the status of stay at home mums. By the way I’m a feminist, but I noticed over the years that those of us whose choices weren’t considered pc were virtually ostracised. Like after my eldest daughter was born my co workers and friends were extremely vocal in their opposition when I chose to be a SAHM. They just could not grasp that after being told I actually couldn’t have children that having this miracle I wanted time with her, to experience firsts I never expected to have and share time we can never have back. And yes I am way worse off because of that but know what? When I see the well rounded young woman she’s become it’s been so worth it. The detractors are gonna absolutely love this ons,

I agree - if money is not an issue in the family, it is great for a parent to take care of their children when they are really young. I looked after my children full time until they went to preschool (few days per week) and I am so glad I did.

The most important years for a child developmentally are 0 to 5. Why would you institutionalise them before they can even walk and talk, let alone stand up for themselves!

The best location to place them is on a barbecue plate. Of course they are better off with various spices. Lots of garlic really brings out their flavour.

It's the crazy world we live in now where, to put food on the table and have the lights turn on, parents, (a lot of times, both of them), have to work. So they need to put their young'uns in some sort of care environment, which is often one of the most expensive costs for the family.

As an ex Family Day Care Manager, I saw why women would choose to bring their children for me to look after, and now I can see why even more, Family's now have so much debt that both parents have to work or they won't survive, Mortgages are so large, cost of living has gone so high, I was so lucky that I had my kids with me because I was able to work from home, I feel for these modern families, and nothing can be done, without support from the childcare places,,BUT what I don't like is the cost, Why do they have to charge so much, they are not thinking with their heart, its the mighty Dollar that is breaking these families, and why children are turning the way they do, Irresponsible. It's ok to say Raise your Kids Yourself, But can they afford to keep a roof over their head and 3 good meals a day, if they Don't Work Don't Judge these families. Feel Sorry For Them,and pray that they come out good kids

It is more important that kids experience you not things - unfortunately everyone has to have everything now and has become materialistic

I decided not to have children but helped the rest of my family support them in education. No childcare where they lived anyway

Having worked in a childcare centre, some kids are better off in one. We had children that had never sat at a table to eat.

Most peoples have miss out of child life but if they paying they house off they needed to work. And others things happen so they have to put in this place.

I agree a Mother is the best teacher in those early childhood years .I was very fortunate I had 10yrs with mine .It is a rewarding & pleasurable job

I agree Kimberly H.

Life and times are so different now. Don’t judge

You said it all Annette R. Agree with you

I Agree

I totally agree If you want to work then don't have kids, it's selfish and depriving your child of normal home life, stay home and look after them till at least school age

????

I don't understand why parents put their children into child care when one of them does not work. It costs tax payers money and I thought the point of having children is spending time with them. You can also arrange play dates with another child so one mother takes care and the other(s) have some free time.

Some working parents don't actually have any choice but to put their children in to a daycare centre if they have no one else,like a family member or close friend to care for them while they are at work.And some parents don't have any choice but to work to help pay off the mortgage and other living expenses so don't judge what others do until you have walked in those shoes.Just saying.

When I had my children years ago we did not have childcare, the children went to a kindergarten a year before starting school. I don’t mind the parents that are working to put their children into childcare, but I don’t agree sending them to childcare when the Mother or Father are at home and not working. ...spend as much time as you can with them, because before you know it they will be gone

It's a choice to use childcare or not.

My partner hated sending my son to daycare because sometimes he returned home with soiled nappies and bad nappy rash. But for some people, you don't have a choice but to choose daycare because you need to work.

My mother was a peasant so her child care center was the chicken coop or the lower 40 , wherever the family was working, as was mine. We were scratched, bitten, ate cow poop and worms and were the better for it. Nowadays kids to learn techno shite or they get left out and end up working as cell occupants for the Queen...lol

Mothers cannot win. If a single mother stays home to be with the children she is a drain on the economy, if she goes to work she is a bad mother. Give the mothers a break. Most are doing the best they can. Kids do enjoy the modern daycare centres. I know some of the earlier ones were questionable but there are checks and balances now and hopefully these weed out the bad ones. My great nephew and niece go to a wonderful centre where the food is outstanding, the care and education terrific and they send photos all the time to the parents phones. They discuss any problems with the parents so they can work together to eliminate any behavioural issues also. The kids are not crying at the door but looking forward to their day. At the weekend when they are all home together they do plenty of things together. These children are well adjusted, well mannered and delightful human beings.

Ah in a perfect world if only they could.

I was lucky to have those important moments both with the one who did have to be in care then early learning and with the others who came along after. Loved being home to raise my children when I could finally afford to do so, then went back to work when the youngest was at school and needed to learn some independence.

Probably a good thing you left childcare KH. It is now an essential service!

Most people use childcare because they have to in order to be able to provide for themselves and their children. Many can simply not afford to have a parent stay at home with a child/ children if they want to pay the rent/ mortgage, food, clothes etc. Not everyone has access to the means of alternate care, so they do the best they can do. Single parents especially often do not have the luxury of staying at home until children go to school. In this day and age staying out of the workforce for the years puts the stay at home parent at a huge disadvantage in trying to get back into work. Some manage to get work from home jobs or become self employed in home based business, but that is not possible nor desirable for many. In the interim all parents can do is try to pick the best childcare arrangements they can, whether that is centre based ( there are some excellent ones) or family day care. Do what suits your family.

I'm not often prompted to make comments in forums, but if only one parent heeds this advice, it's a start in the right direction. I was lucky that I was able to work part time so my child only attended four year old kinder for a few hours spread across three days each week. Never had to use childcare centres. Now I work part time presenting music sessions to children, mostly in childcare centres but also some kindergartens., the two are vastly different. I am so glad I never had to put my son in childcare.

good on you Kimberly

It is good for parents whose partner has passed away or left home. In some of those cases Mum go and do courses so they can get new jobs even if they are part time and not every day. I know one Mum who did that rather than live full time on Govt. pension. Safety has improved a lot in the last few years. Some children eat better during the day as it is different food to what they normally eat. They are given a variety of fruit for morning and afternoon snacks too

There are far too many kids growing up without S.A.H parents, and growing up, rebellious and hating their folks. Derr!! How can you be a parent and put kids in daycare everyday????? I understand if you have to work and you have big mortgages, but, seriously, kids need parents to stay at home, be there for them, answer curly questions, PLAY with them, teach them subjects they cant learn from DC or school. Having said that, i work 2 hours a day, usually during school hours, and i wouldn't want work that interferes with being at home when they are/can be home. AND i can say that i had a baby who wouldn't sleep at home and was awful to try and get to and stay asleep, when she needed. nap but did go to DC (*daycare) and SLEEP well, and was better to look after once i got her home as well as sleep ALL night as a result of using DC. (-:

Mum need to have a day of from the kids and kids need to learn to interact with other children and learn from them. Kids need to be encouraged to try new things to learn and grow.

It's a tough one if both parents need to work to get by...

If kids go part time they get to play with other kids and learn to share but it is not fair for the kids that go 5 days a week and yes parents do miss out

Maybe part of the problem is that people, rather than being content to start small and grow over the years, have decided that they are "entitled" to that McMansion - 6 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms, 3 lounges, a pool and 4-car garage which they actually have no need of. My parents started in a small 3-bedroom - 2 about the size of a large cupboard - and over the years sold and bought a bigger place to accomodate us 6 kids. My Mum did not have to go out to work. She worked bloody hard rearing us kids. No, we did not have everything we needed/wanted but as soon as we could we all got those, unfortunately now extinct thanks to the greed of multinational companies, little jobs as Paper Boy and the money we earned was handed over to Mum. The girls stayed at home and learned to cook, make their own clothes. We had the most Wonderful Childhood as "Mum" was always at home when we got home from school.Edited 02-Nov-20 11:37am

This is a difficult subject for a lot of people. Some people want children but cannot afford to not work while others can. I, for one, was very fortunate. My sister and I worked in the same profession and we shared ours. She would look after my 2 on my days at work and I would look after her 3 on her work days. This was an ideal arrangement for us and I can honestly say that they had the best of both worlds. They had a lot of love. Were happy and loved being together. This continued into their latter early teen years. This would not be possible for a lot of people and we were lucky.

Australia is a very expensive country to live in like most people have to work and yes 2 parents otherwise they struggle to even just survive .as for women who are single alot of them work full-time if they have friends or family helping them look after kid while they go to work..but some can't work much as childcare is expensive .as for safety alot of parents want their child or children to be safe. Also they don't want to miss out on these important moments but they need to work aswell.

childcare centres are preferable to doggy minder places...signed, Grommie

have your career first before you have children.

Yes look after your own kids until they turn school age. These are the learning years and parents need to lay down the rules in these years or it is too late and we finish up with roaming kids like we have today causing chaos in communities. One parent needs to stay at home Mum or Dad it doesn't matter which, teach them who is boss for it certainly isn't the kids. Don't ask them what they want at a young age tell them what they are going to do. They need to know where they stand rules are rules.

Cant comment - dont have kids

I was lucky my partner earned a good income which we lived comfortably off so I was able to stay home with the kids. I would have felt bad putting them in childcare and going off to work as I didn't want to miss a minute of them growing up. But I do understand that some women want a career or may have to work because there's not enough income and I don't hold it against them. I think it's a matter of what you want out of life or what you may have to do to keep your household running.

I wanted to spend as much time with my children as possible, so I went to play groups to socialise them. I didn't want children to pay someone else to parent them. I don't regret one minute of it, in fact I cherish all the memories. Unfortunately working mothers and society in general,often thought less of me, as the first questions out of some people's mouths is about your career or job. You are assumed to be uneducated or lazy. Subsequently as home mum you often get left behind on the a career or job pathway and superannuation. No we didn't have everything that shakes rattles and rolls but we had love, conection and family. Edited 02-Nov-20 10:28am

true

I agree with both Ellie and Nicole V, but you can compromise. I did and have no regrets live life on your terms, life is to short for regrets. I have also worked in past in child care, don’t ever want to again

people should look after their own children

kids need to go to childcare i don't agree with putting them in 5 days a week for fully days you need to see what they do you can never get that time with them again

Childcare centres are great for children to learn to socialise and play/share with others

Agree!

I think early childhood centres have there place. It’s great for kids to to learn alongside & with other children. what isn’t great is when they are there the moment it opens until the moment it closes 5 days a week. Get home have tea, maybe a bath & go to bed, I once looked after a child who wanted me in the night instead of his mum! That is sad ??

Do the parents work? What the neck?

There's a difference between Childcare and Early Learning. I believe kids do well in early learning. We both worked, so at 3 she had to go to early learning. It set her on the right path for school, as well as socialising her, as she was an only child. She loved it

It’s called having a break we all need breaks from our children sometimes and some children are in daycare so their parents can go to work! Also it’s all about starting education from an early age!

Unfortunately in this day and age, unless one parent makes a boat load of $ then both need to work to provide their children a comfortable and safe life. I'm sure there are a lot of parents who don't want to leave their child in care but I hear that even doing that is a huge expense.

I don't blame the government - we elect our government leaders. If we do a lousy job of electing our government leaders - then it is on us! We do not elect CEO(S)! The top 1,000 CEO(S) make more money then the rest of country - in the USA! The average worker (residing in the USA) is grossly under paid! Therefore, unless you are born with a golden spoon (or is it platinum spoon) in your mouth - you have too work (which means childcare services - if you have money it is called boarding school))! If a parent stays at home - doesn't make him or her a "good" parent. I grow within the "nuclear family" setting and became a runaway! BOTTOM LINE: If you don't have money, then you have too make hard decisions. I don't have kids and I did not adopt - did not have the money (or the patience) - too raise a child.

No comment

Yes I totally agree with you but the way governments run countries now, they make everyday living so expensive that it makes both couples need to work just to keep a roof over their families heads...