'Bruises and bite marks': Aussie parents reveal their worst fears about daycare
By Nikolina Koevska Kharoufeh |
The transition from homecare into daycare can be a tricky one for both parents and kids. It takes a lot of courage for parents to entrust others the care and wellbeing of their children, and in many circumstances it is when parents have no other choice.
The financial need to return to work, or the absence of help from family or friends, sometimes forces parents to turn to the option of daycare much earlier than they would like.
And while in most cases Australian children are cared for with the highest of standards, there are shockingly still circumstances where this isn't the case.
9Honey Parenting spoke to Australian mums about their concerns and fears around signing their kids up for daycare, with some recalling negative experiences that led them to pull their children out.
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Mum Samantha from Condell Park in Sydney enrolled her two-year-old boy into a local daycare thinking he would be safe and well looked after.
Though her trust in the system broke when she picked him up one day to find him alone and crying.
"I walked in to my son sobbing in front of two teachers on an iPad who were ignoring him," the mum of two shared.
This very scene is what parents all around Australia fear when they start to think about enrolling their kids into daycare. Getting enough care and attention, relying on strangers to comfort them and not trusting in the educators sense of alertness are all legitimate concerns of parents struggling to commit to the care.
Mum of two Chantelle from Melbourne, ?who used to be a childcare worker herself, says even she is concerned there are educators out there who aren't giving their full attention to the children.
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"Some aren't motivated or thriving in their job and this affects the way they supervise and interact with the kids?," she revealed. "There are many instances where I have seen them on their phones when they shouldn't be."
Former childcare worker Brittany shares the same concern: "I worked at a local one for nine months and I was shocked. They have so much wrong happening." ?
New mum Sheila from Peakhurst in New South Wales says she is too terrified to take her daughter after a friends' horrific experience.
"Her child came home with bruises from other kids biting her," the mum told 9Honey Parenting. "I'm scared."
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And while control over other children and the quality of care from educators seems to be the biggest concern, parents are also struggling with the financial cost of daycare.
With some centers in Sydney and Melbourne charging up to $200 per day per child, parents who are in a position where they need to use the service say they can't even afford it.
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?"The cost is my main concern. I feel like I'm working just to cover the cost of daycare," Samantha from Ebenezer who has just one child in care reveals.
Another emerging concern for parents, especially those of younger children, is the impacts of sickness on both the child and the family.
?Katerina from Burwood is pregnant and doesn't want to risk an illness entering her home: "He's only two and I don't want him to keep getting sick."
Meanwhile, Sydney mum Leanne is hesitant about the impacts it will have on her job, saying, "I'm a nurse and feel guilty thinking I would always call in sick and let my colleagues down." ?
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