[bright*future]

Hi all,

Does anyone know anything about who bought the land reserved for a new childcare centre in Kippax (next to the family & child health centre), or any kind of timeline?

I am starting to think about putting our name down for childcare (for our unborn bub!!!) because of a thread I was reading yesterday, seems it is worse than I thought.

Also how do you put your name down, do yo have to call usually or will they accept emails? I have emailed one place that was recommended and never heard back - a whole other whinge, why provide your email contact to the public if you don't actually want anyone to use it?

TIA!

[Bluenomi]

I found some places were terrible about getting back to me, usually the expensive ones!

All the places I put my name down at had forms you needed to fill in which I just grabbed from the centre.

A childcare centre at Kippax would be awesome for us, so close to home

[Shadowess]

I don't know anything about Kippax, but for the other centres, don't e-mail them, just call and speak to the director. Most should then offer you a tour of the centre, and at that point you can fill in the waiting list form. Once you're on the list, call every couple of months while you're pregnant, and once baby has arrived, update your form with the name and DOB, and call once a month to tell them you're still interested. Also, be prepared to accept days before you really need them, and take whatever they offer. Once you're in the system, you get priority over those who aren't.

And don't leave it much later, otherwise you won't get a spot when you need one. Yes, it's as bad as everyone says it is!

[bright*future]

Thanks very much ladies for your insights. I've managed to get onto about 4 waiting lists, surely this far in advance I would have a good chance of getting in??

[Flutters]

I had my name down at 6 before my DD was born & called in to see them every month & she's 10 months old now & we've been told we won't have a spot at any of them possibly for another year, so it really is that bad!

[bright*future]

Oh god, I better get on a few more then!!! It is just insane, something really needs to be done.

[AliC05]

I would recommend putting your name down on LOTS
We have our name down at 10 centres - some from when I was 20 weeks pregnant with DS (who is now 18 months old) .

We have only ever received a place at one centre (and once we got in we were able to pick up more days) - we are still on all the other lists - but so far no word except to continue updating that we still need care!!

[bright*future]

Far out... it really is a sad state of affairs...

I am up to about 8 now and will keep going. There are actually very few options in Belconnen, particularly over our way.

I know in the end it sounds like we take what we can get, but do people tend to prefer a centre close to home or close to work?

[Shadowess]

There are pros and cons to both. We live about 25 mins drive from work, and we chose to see DD1 to a centre close to work. The idea being that we could get to her quickly if we needed to, and also given it's the better part of an hour's drive, there and back, that's an hour less per day that she needed to be in care for. It worked really well, and now DD2 is that at that centre. Being closer to work also means that if you're held up, and can't get away as early as you'd like, you have a bit more time up your sleeve than if you have to factor in a half hour drive before closing time. Ie: if you're only 5 minutes from the centre, you could leave work 10 minutes before closing time, where as if it takes you half an hour to get to the centre, you need to make sure you leave at least half an hour before closing time, if that makes sense. Depends on how likely that is to be a problem for you.

The annoying thing about being closer to work is that if you have a day off, or you have another baby, but keep baby #1 at the centre (which you'll need to do, to keep your spot, and have a chance of getting baby #2 in), it's a fair hike to take them in and pick them up. It's much easier if it's closer to home.

This year though, we moved DD1 to an early learning centre close to home, for pre-school. It's fantastic- it's a pre-school program, with before and after school care, as well as vacation care, so it basically operates like a day care centre, from an hours and fees point of view. She's 5 minutes down the road from home. It's been great to meet local families through the school, and it hasn't been a big deal on the odd occasion that we've had to pick her up early, but it is annoying not being able to get to special school activities, because it involves a fair bit of travel to get there and back from work. It's also good picking up from school, knowing that it's only a 5 minute ride in the car to get home.

If I thought I could get a spot, I'd seriously considering putting DD2 in a centre closer to home, but that's just not going to happen any time soon. Plus, after being with the same centre for nearly 5 years, I'm a bit attached to the carers!

Anyway, they're just some of the things to consider. I'm sure others have their own ideas on the pros and cons of being close to home or school.

[Bluenomi]

Far out... it really is a sad state of affairs...

I am up to about 8 now and will keep going. There are actually very few options in Belconnen, particularly over our way.

I know in the end it sounds like we take what we can get, but do people tend to prefer a centre close to home or close to work?

I've got DD at work. I love it. She was still breastfed for the first year she was in care so I could go and do it and not need to pump. Plus if she's sick and hurt I'm there in a few minutes. I also don't has issues with getting stuck at work and running the risk of picking her up late when stuck in traffic.

It's also on the way to DH's work so on the rare occasion I'm not at work and she's in daycare he can drop her off. That doesn't happen much though, I think it's been 2 or 3 days in the past 2 years. Lots of mums have their oldest in the centre while on mat leave with their second and none seem to mind the drive, it's better than not having a childcare place!