Benefits of Long Day Care or Family Day Care

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by robyn burgess on August 27, 2010 at 3:30pm

I have been a family day carer for sixteen years. I am a young and active sixty-one year old and live in the western suburbs of Brisbane with my husband, Tom. We have thirteen grandchildren and more to come. They have all come through my care and I am known by all the children here as 'Nanna". Having completed my Cert iii several years ago and I am now RPLing my Diploma. I have four under school age children in care Mon to Thurs, giving me a long week end each week. I also have my older grandchildren who are home schooled here on respite days which adds to a large family picture. We have childcare centers all around us here, but biased or not, I firmly believe family day care is the right way to go. Each time I hear of the ratios the centers have I cringe. I provide one on one with each child. Sure there are times I have to give more of my time to the one year old toddlers or to the four month old baby, but then the three/five year olds have more of my attention and influence when the young ones are asleep for a couple of hours. The older child also takes on an overall big sister attitude that is seen within a family. It is a picture when you see that child guiding the young one nicely with an activity, the same way I would have done to them a couple of years ago. This extended family attitude I encourage in my environment is the bases of all I do with the children and their families. None of the children have long days or at the most three days with me, which makes it more a fun time at Nanna's with their friends, than seen as "not again" for them.

Anyway I could go on for hours, so if you want to ring me, love to hear from you.

Regards,
Robyn Burgess
07 38183174

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Permalink Reply by Susan Warner on August 31, 2010 at 5:44pm

Hello Di
I am the owner of a small 14 place licensed day care on the northside of Brisbane. When I came out to Australia from the UK I found the only options for parents were Family Day Care and larger long day care centres. I did a survey as well and found that parents liked the idea of Family Day Care but were worried about the person being by themselves if there was a problem and if they would be doing housework instead of looking after the children so chose long day care but then others didn't like the idea of their childern being a number in a larger day care so chose Family Day Care. So I took the advantages of both areas and put them together.
I converted the underneath of a house and after 7 years have 14 children with two fully qualified carers (one being a teacher) aged between 3-5 years which is a 7 to 1 ratio similar to Family Day Care with the after school care children and ten less children every day than a larger day care.
I have been able to put this model in place for babies and toddlers as well with a house converted for 4 babies and 8 toddlers again keeping the 1 : 4 ratio for under 3's. The concept is there but no-one else has picked up on it. There is not much profit but it isn't about the money the children come first. The added benefits of having this type of environment versus either family day care or larger long day care are immense and I have a lengthy waiting list as a result.
Good luck with your survey and I would be interested to hear your findings.
Thanks Susie

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Permalink Reply by Helen Fergus on September 8, 2010 at 5:05pm

Hi,

I have my 14 month old daughter in family day care part time (2-3 days per week 8 hours a day). She started 6 months ago and she loves it. The ratio is 4:1 and the lady who runs it is a qualified child care worker who was a director for many years. She has fitted out the double garage at her place into a "day care" setting for the kids and there is a huge backyard with activity centres for play time.
At this stage the smaller environment is perfect for my daughter's learning. However, I think once she is about 2.5 to 3yrs I will move her to a larger centre to prepare her for the reality of school - Lots of kids and only a few teachers.
I would definitely say that family day care is a brilliant way for all children to start in care and would recommend this to anyone. However, make sure you do your research first as a few I rang and went to some who did not have the caring, learning environment I wanted for my daughter. Felt they were more in it for some money.
Thanks

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Permalink Reply by jade sinclair on September 11, 2010 at 9:52pm

Hi Di,

I have two young children who have been in care since they were old enough to, as i needed to work. I initially had both my girls in family day care as it was the cheaper option, and really liked the idea of a smaller group of children. I had the pleasure of a few very good family day care workers, but eventually took both children out of family day care altogether opting for centre based care, due to an unfortunate event with one particular worker. I turned up one afternoon to pick my children up and the family day care worker was very very drunk, letting the children play in a bath tub of water, my youngest was only 18 months old. I understand that this incident was an isolated one, and cannot reflect all family day care workers, but i pulled my kids out of family day care very very quickly!! Since they have been in centre based care i have had no issues. Mind you i am not completely against family day care, although i would never enrol my children under that service again, i myself would love to run my own family day care, as i currently work as an activties officer in a dementia unit and feel i have a lot to bring to family day care. Good luck with your study.
Jade

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Permalink Reply by Deborah Smith on September 16, 2010 at 4:52pm

Susan Warner said:

Hello Di
I am the owner of a small 14 place licensed day care on the northside of Brisbane. When I came out to Australia from the UK I found the only options for parents were Family Day Care and larger long day care centres. I did a survey as well and found that parents liked the idea of Family Day Care but were worried about the person being by themselves if there was a problem and if they would be doing housework instead of looking after the children so chose long day care but then others didn't like the idea of their childern being a number in a larger day care so chose Family Day Care. So I took the advantages of both areas and put them together.
I converted the underneath of a house and after 7 years have 14 children with two fully qualified carers (one being a teacher) aged between 3-5 years which is a 7 to 1 ratio similar to Family Day Care with the after school care children and ten less children every day than a larger day care.
I have been able to put this model in place for babies and toddlers as well with a house converted for 4 babies and 8 toddlers again keeping the 1 : 4 ratio for under 3's. The concept is there but no-one else has picked up on it. There is not much profit but it isn't about the money the children come first. The added benefits of having this type of environment versus either family day care or larger long day care are immense and I have a lengthy waiting list as a result.
Good luck with your survey and I would be interested to hear your findings.
Thanks Susie

Hi Susie,

Your daycare sounds exactly like what I am looking for, where can I find you or similar sized daycares advertised? Thanks
Deborah

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Souk Phaiboun on September 16, 2010 at 6:44pm

Hi Susie,

I am a family day carer and looking take it to the next level. I really like the idea of your centre and would like to discuss more with you. It is possible for me to contact you by email or phone?

Thanks you.
Souk

Deborah Smith said:

Susan Warner said:

Hello Di
I am the owner of a small 14 place licensed day care on the northside of Brisbane. When I came out to Australia from the UK I found the only options for parents were Family Day Care and larger long day care centres. I did a survey as well and found that parents liked the idea of Family Day Care but were worried about the person being by themselves if there was a problem and if they would be doing housework instead of looking after the children so chose long day care but then others didn't like the idea of their childern being a number in a larger day care so chose Family Day Care. So I took the advantages of both areas and put them together.
I converted the underneath of a house and after 7 years have 14 children with two fully qualified carers (one being a teacher) aged between 3-5 years which is a 7 to 1 ratio similar to Family Day Care with the after school care children and ten less children every day than a larger day care.
I have been able to put this model in place for babies and toddlers as well with a house converted for 4 babies and 8 toddlers again keeping the 1 : 4 ratio for under 3's. The concept is there but no-one else has picked up on it. There is not much profit but it isn't about the money the children come first. The added benefits of having this type of environment versus either family day care or larger long day care are immense and I have a lengthy waiting list as a result.
Good luck with your survey and I would be interested to hear your findings.
Thanks Susie

Hi Susie,

Your daycare sounds exactly like what I am looking for, where can I find you or similar sized daycares advertised? Thanks
Deborah

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Susan Warner on September 16, 2010 at 8:54pm

Hi Deborah
We are on the northside of Brisbane. I am the smallest that I know of but there are a few small centres around. Try your locality guide in the yellow pages. If you are on the north side phone me on 0403492743.
Thanks Susie


Deborah Smith said:

Susan Warner said:

Hello Di
I am the owner of a small 14 place licensed day care on the northside of Brisbane. When I came out to Australia from the UK I found the only options for parents were Family Day Care and larger long day care centres. I did a survey as well and found that parents liked the idea of Family Day Care but were worried about the person being by themselves if there was a problem and if they would be doing housework instead of looking after the children so chose long day care but then others didn't like the idea of their childern being a number in a larger day care so chose Family Day Care. So I took the advantages of both areas and put them together.
I converted the underneath of a house and after 7 years have 14 children with two fully qualified carers (one being a teacher) aged between 3-5 years which is a 7 to 1 ratio similar to Family Day Care with the after school care children and ten less children every day than a larger day care.
I have been able to put this model in place for babies and toddlers as well with a house converted for 4 babies and 8 toddlers again keeping the 1 : 4 ratio for under 3's. The concept is there but no-one else has picked up on it. There is not much profit but it isn't about the money the children come first. The added benefits of having this type of environment versus either family day care or larger long day care are immense and I have a lengthy waiting list as a result.
Good luck with your survey and I would be interested to hear your findings.
Thanks Susie

Hi Susie,

Your daycare sounds exactly like what I am looking for, where can I find you or similar sized daycares advertised? Thanks
Deborah

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Diana Regan on September 23, 2010 at 2:11pm

Hi Robyn, thank you for your fantastic response. I have now completed my survey and attached the link below:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/P7XML33

Please let me know if you have any problems accessing the link or completing the survey. If you need printed copies I can send them to you by express post with a return envelope.

Thanks again....Di

robyn burgess said:

I have been a family day carer for sixteen years. I am a young and active sixty-one year old and live in the western suburbs of Brisbane with my husband, Tom. We have thirteen grandchildren and more to come. They have all come through my care and I am known by all the children here as 'Nanna". Having completed my Cert iii several years ago and I am now RPLing my Diploma. I have four under school age children in care Mon to Thurs, giving me a long week end each week. I also have my older grandchildren who are home schooled here on respite days which adds to a large family picture. We have childcare centers all around us here, but biased or not, I firmly believe family day care is the right way to go. Each time I hear of the ratios the centers have I cringe. I provide one on one with each child. Sure there are times I have to give more of my time to the one year old toddlers or to the four month old baby, but then the three/five year olds have more of my attention and influence when the young ones are asleep for a couple of hours. The older child also takes on an overall big sister attitude that is seen within a family. It is a picture when you see that child guiding the young one nicely with an activity, the same way I would have done to them a couple of years ago. This extended family attitude I encourage in my environment is the bases of all I do with the children and their families. None of the children have long days or at the most three days with me, which makes it more a fun time at Nanna's with their friends, than seen as "not again" for them.

Anyway I could go on for hours, so if you want to ring me, love to hear from you.

Regards,
Robyn Burgess
07 38183174

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Diana Regan on September 23, 2010 at 2:14pm

Hi Susie, your set up sounds wonderful. Definitely something I may be interested in doing at a later stage. Thank you so much for your response its really inspiring. I have finally completed my survey please see the attached link. Let me know if you need any printed copies and I will send them to you by express post with a return envelope. I'm hoping to get all the responses back in the next two weeks.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/P7XML33

Let me know if you have any problems accessing or completing the survey.

Thanks again....Di

Susan Warner said:

Hello Di
I am the owner of a small 14 place licensed day care on the northside of Brisbane. When I came out to Australia from the UK I found the only options for parents were Family Day Care and larger long day care centres. I did a survey as well and found that parents liked the idea of Family Day Care but were worried about the person being by themselves if there was a problem and if they would be doing housework instead of looking after the children so chose long day care but then others didn't like the idea of their childern being a number in a larger day care so chose Family Day Care. So I took the advantages of both areas and put them together.
I converted the underneath of a house and after 7 years have 14 children with two fully qualified carers (one being a teacher) aged between 3-5 years which is a 7 to 1 ratio similar to Family Day Care with the after school care children and ten less children every day than a larger day care.
I have been able to put this model in place for babies and toddlers as well with a house converted for 4 babies and 8 toddlers again keeping the 1 : 4 ratio for under 3's. The concept is there but no-one else has picked up on it. There is not much profit but it isn't about the money the children come first. The added benefits of having this type of environment versus either family day care or larger long day care are immense and I have a lengthy waiting list as a result.
Good luck with your survey and I would be interested to hear your findings.
Thanks Susie

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Diana Regan on September 23, 2010 at 2:38pm

Hi Helen,

thank you for your response, great to hear from you. I'm so happy that you have found a good family day carer. I am one myself and absolutely love it.

I have finally completed the survey, please see attached link. If you have any problems completing it please let me know and I can get a printed copy out to you. I am hoping to have all my responses back within the next two weeks. If you know of anyone else that would like to participate please pass on the link

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/P7XML33

Thanks again...Di

Helen Fergus said:

Hi,

I have my 14 month old daughter in family day care part time (2-3 days per week 8 hours a day). She started 6 months ago and she loves it. The ratio is 4:1 and the lady who runs it is a qualified child care worker who was a director for many years. She has fitted out the double garage at her place into a "day care" setting for the kids and there is a huge backyard with activity centres for play time.
At this stage the smaller environment is perfect for my daughter's learning. However, I think once she is about 2.5 to 3yrs I will move her to a larger centre to prepare her for the reality of school - Lots of kids and only a few teachers.
I would definitely say that family day care is a brilliant way for all children to start in care and would recommend this to anyone. However, make sure you do your research first as a few I rang and went to some who did not have the caring, learning environment I wanted for my daughter. Felt they were more in it for some money.
Thanks

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Diana Regan on September 23, 2010 at 2:42pm

Hi Jade, thanks for your response. So sorry to hear about your experience with family day care. I'm happy to hear that you have found a good care setting now as its so important for the little ones.

I have finally got the survey ready for completion. Please see the attached link. Let me know if you have any issues accessing it or completing it. I am hoping to have all the responses back within the next 2 weeks. Please pass the link on if there is anyone else interested in completing it.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/P7XML33

Thanks so much....Di

jade sinclair said:

Hi Di,

I have two young children who have been in care since they were old enough to, as i needed to work. I initially had both my girls in family day care as it was the cheaper option, and really liked the idea of a smaller group of children. I had the pleasure of a few very good family day care workers, but eventually took both children out of family day care altogether opting for centre based care, due to an unfortunate event with one particular worker. I turned up one afternoon to pick my children up and the family day care worker was very very drunk, letting the children play in a bath tub of water, my youngest was only 18 months old. I understand that this incident was an isolated one, and cannot reflect all family day care workers, but i pulled my kids out of family day care very very quickly!! Since they have been in centre based care i have had no issues. Mind you i am not completely against family day care, although i would never enrol my children under that service again, i myself would love to run my own family day care, as i currently work as an activties officer in a dementia unit and feel i have a lot to bring to family day care. Good luck with your study.
Jade

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by LYNN GRAHAM on September 28, 2010 at 4:25pm

HI DI,
I LIKE THE SOUND OF YOUR SETUP YOU HAVE I WOULD LOVE TO BE ABLE TO HAVE A CHAT TO YOU ABOUT YOUR CHILDCARE AND HOW YOU WENT ABOUT SETTING IT UP. MY EMAIL IS lgccare@bigpond.com

Susan Warner said:

Hello Di
I am the owner of a small 14 place licensed day care on the northside of Brisbane. When I came out to Australia from the UK I found the only options for parents were Family Day Care and larger long day care centres. I did a survey as well and found that parents liked the idea of Family Day Care but were worried about the person being by themselves if there was a problem and if they would be doing housework instead of looking after the children so chose long day care but then others didn't like the idea of their childern being a number in a larger day care so chose Family Day Care. So I took the advantages of both areas and put them together.
I converted the underneath of a house and after 7 years have 14 children with two fully qualified carers (one being a teacher) aged between 3-5 years which is a 7 to 1 ratio similar to Family Day Care with the after school care children and ten less children every day than a larger day care.
I have been able to put this model in place for babies and toddlers as well with a house converted for 4 babies and 8 toddlers again keeping the 1 : 4 ratio for under 3's. The concept is there but no-one else has picked up on it. There is not much profit but it isn't about the money the children come first. The added benefits of having this type of environment versus either family day care or larger long day care are immense and I have a lengthy waiting list as a result.
Good luck with your survey and I would be interested to hear your findings.
Thanks Susie

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