Taxpayer funded Nannies

[bella_again]

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/federal-government-proposal-for-taxpayerfunded-athome-nann...

I don't know about this, I could never have employed a nanny to bring up my kids. As a parent that's something I wanted to do myself. Surely by far the best form of child care is a parent staying home. Surely it costs the government more for these kinds of subsidies? Maybe I am old fashioned and I certainly don't mean to be offensive in anyway but if we have kids don't we want to be the ones raise them? I have known parents/carers that drop their kids off as soon as care opens and pick them up before it closes and I think that is such a shame as they get to spend so little time with them. I don't know maybe the world has moved on since mine were little!

[i-need-a-martini]

I don't get it.

We have a childcare system that is fast becoming unaffordable for low-average income earners.

Yet, the govt wants to put money into a one-on-one care system that is going to cost a bomb to activate and administer?

Something just doesn't add up here.

[lightningdance]

If Labor had just stopped making most child care workers university graduates in child care therefore pricing childcare out of the market then affordable child care would be sufficient for all.

I'm sure the child care policy will be restructured making it affordable again and not trying to garner all low paid workers into their own party or union like Labor did.

Honestly, labor corrupted everything to cling onto power and now are the party of "compassion" like the Greens, useless at everything except their own self interest.

[***super_nova***]

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@fiestas*girl wrote:

typical of the lnp..cut education and hospital funding, pensions etc yet provide taxpayer funded nannies, oh and throw īn 75k for a richy rich to pop out a baby....

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While I agree with the rest, the nannies are not just for the wealthy.  If you have 3 or more kids creche would cost more than nanny.  Not to mention the nightmare of having to drop off and pick up all the kids from different places.  It is much easier to have one person to mind the lot; be home with the babies and take the older ones to school and take care of them before and after school.

Of - course, paying stay at home parents would be the best solution.

[***super_nova***]

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@lightningdance wrote:

I'm sure the child care policy will be restructured making it affordable again and not trying to garner all low paid workers into their own party or union like Labor did.

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right, so you would be happy to leave some 16 years old twitty kid in charge of you infant all day just to save some money?  Childcare workers are one of the lowest paid people, and early childhood development is so important.

[boris1gary]

Productivity Commission sceptical of value of Abbott's parental leave scheme

Commission's draft report suggests money would be better spent on early childhood education and care, which it says would increase workforce participation

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/21/productivity-commission-sceptical-of-value-of-abbotts-p...

[the_great_she_elephant]

Without in any way wishing to devalue the work and commitment of childcare workers, my personal feeling is that from the child's point of view, childcare in his/her own home is a better option than out of home care.

I am also uneasy with the insistance on education with regard to childcare centres. Why do two and three year olds need to receive "education"?

[chuk_77]

part of the educagtion a child gets in care is the ability to mix with different children, genders, abilities. To learn about sharing, taking turns, awareness of others. They learn how they fit in  in the world. In their own home this is almost impossible unless there are siblings, but even then the above is limited. The term education is so broad. Its not sitting a 2 or 3 year old down and "teaching" them. Counting songs, nursery rhymes running, climbing, jumping, games. Even eating lunch in a group can teach a child about other cultures, teach manners, how to act in small groups

Its all learning/education. Taking calculated risks.  In child care and education its all about learning through play.

[the_great_she_elephant]

Chuk, I do appreciate how important it is for children to learn social skills, I know how dedicated most childcare workers are and of course, when children are in out of home childcare they need to learn all the things you mentioned. I also realise that some parents are not very good at  "socialising" their children

What worries me though  is that these factors can sometimes lead to a warped assumption  that childcare is better educationally for children than home care and that those kids who do not have this 'benefit' are somehow missing out.

[***super_nova***]

I think that there needs to balance; one or 2 half days at kinda for the little ones is more than enough.  When my daughter was little we were lucky that there were several families in our area with kids about her age, and we were visiting each other on daily basis.  We even made a little pixie gate from our place to next door.  And there are always various playgroups for both the kids and parents to make friends

Some of my friends worked full time early on, and their kids were left in creche, and I cannot say that they were better for it.  I think it is important that kids are not just playing all day; it is good for them to have to go to the supermarket and learn to behave, or let mum to make a phone call, or clean house and understand they cannot be entertained and have somebody's undivided attention every second of the day.  One of the most import things I was told when I was getting ready to have a baby was "children need to experience little frustrations and hurts to learn to cope with big frustrations and hurts when they grow up".

[k0llectable5]

I totally agree with you super nova.  It's all about balance.  

One point I'd like to raise as well is all these families that have both parents that work full-time, it's a bit like whats the point? I know people are heavily in debt these days and need to pay mortgages ect but honestly (as a mother) if you are planning a serious career or want/need to work full-time why have children? I think the family unit is one of the most important aspects of life. People that work full-time when their children a young just miss out on so much of their childrens "growing up"