Attracting More Men to Child Care

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Permalink Reply by Kim Fletcher on January 6, 2011 at 15:37

I want my husband to work with me in our family daycare, he already helps out alot and the kids really love him.  We have a couple of boys we care for that don't have a positive male role model and their mothers tell us all the time how much their boys look forward to daycare days.

 

Unfortunately the way it is at the moment you cant have more children if you have an additional carer, there maybe other husband/wife fdc that are in the same situation.

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Permalink Reply by Corben Bigmore on March 18, 2012 at 16:33

When I first started volunteering in child care it did feel alien to me. I had to talk myself into staying with it at one point because I was the only male working there, and it at first it didn't feel like I was needed there at all. I'm grateful that I stuck with it though, as it is very rewarding! You feel good within yourself when you help other people - especially children - and you can see that they look up to you as a role model or even as a father figure.

I think that if I knew of other males in this industry I would have joined up much sooner (Even just seeing pictures of male child care workers would have been encouraging, but there was none at all.), however I could see that people viewed it as an all-female job, and so it took me a few years and a degree of courage before I decided that I'd go for it anyway  - oddly enough, as soon as I told my friends I found that three of them had thought of doing this sort of thing themselves before (all three are males), but ended up deciding against it, although they all started thinking about it again once they learnt that I was doing it. Sadly they still haven't decided to do it, although one is still very much considering it.

Of course better pay would help to attract more male workers, as us men want to provide for our families, and so we generally prefer well paying jobs. Still, there are men about who are willing to work for less pay anyway, especially if they knew just how rewarding this work really is. We need to be more informed I think.

Personally, the way I see it is you can be stuck in a well paying job that you don't like and that stresses you out, or you can find a job that you really enjoy but has much less pay, and it would still be better than the well paying job.

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Permalink Reply by Darren Taylor on March 30, 2012 at 18:31

I think that men working in the area of child care is fantastic.  That is why I am throwing in my job as a bus driver and starting to do family day care in my home in June.

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Permalink Reply by Corben Bigmore on March 31, 2012 at 16:40

That's great! I'm sure you will find childcare more rewarding as well, and I wish you the best of luck with it - nice to hear of other men going into this industry. Have you got all the requirements done yet? I know that for working at a childcare centre you need a current First Aid certificate 2, as well as a separate Anaphylaxis course certificate (both of which are well worth doing whatever job you seek) - it's a bonus if you specialize with Asthma too. And of course there is the Police check and the Working with children check, and the Children's services certificate 3, and 120 hours placement completion. From what I remember you don't get placement if you do it from your own home, but you still get assessed as part of the cert 3 course.

You can get help with setting up and running a family day care. Visit www.familydaycare.com.au, that should have more information on this, or call 1800 621 218.

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Permalink Reply by Darren Taylor on March 31, 2012 at 18:40

Thanks heaps for that Corben.  I have enrolled for Cert 3, First Aid and anaphylaxis and I used to be an asthmatic.  I have the Police Check, registered a business name and have an ABN.  I have put a clear film on glass in the cupboard doors.  Arranged for pool fencing to keep the children away from my pond.  Currently looking into insurance.  Not sure whether to go through the council or private.  Any suggestions?

Corben Bigmore said:

That's great! I'm sure you will find childcare more rewarding as well, and I wish you the best of luck with it - nice to hear of other men going into this industry. Have you got all the requirements done yet? I know that for working at a childcare centre you need a current First Aid certificate 2, as well as a separate Anaphylaxis course certificate (both of which are well worth doing whatever job you seek) - it's a bonus if you specialize with Asthma too. And of course there is the Police check and the Working with children check, and the Children's services certificate 3, and 120 hours placement completion. From what I remember you don't get placement if you do it from your own home, but you still get assessed as part of the cert 3 course.

You can get help with setting up and running a family day care. Visit www.familydaycare.com.au, that should have more information on this, or call 1800 621 218.

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Permalink Reply by Corben Bigmore on March 31, 2012 at 23:16

I'm not sure where is best to go for insurance, sorry. Maybe that iSelect company can help? Although that only seems to compare private insurance: http://www.iselect.com.au/

Sounds like you have it all planned out already, just keep it up and I'm sure it will work out really well.

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Permalink Reply by Darren Taylor on April 1, 2012 at 18:36

Insurance I am fine with.  What I meant by "council or private" is whether to conduct the business through council or go private.  You are obviously a seasoned professional and any light you could shed on this dilemma would be greatly appreciated.

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Permalink Reply by Corben Bigmore on April 1, 2012 at 19:25

Thank you Darren, but although I've volunteered for a while before becoming a student, I'm just starting out myself actually. I guess a lot of the information is fresh in my mind. A good idea would be to find someone who has done family day care specifically, because they would know if it's a better idea to go through the council or privately - or at the very least they could tell you about the option they chose. I work at a centre, so I haven't had to consider insurance as that was already catered for.

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