Family with toddler, how did you manage?

LokiJr · November 2012

Sarap naman sa Australia, may child care subsidy *drools*
http://www.careforkids.com.au/articlesv2/article.asp?id=35

Yukishih · November 2012

@rara_avis sis, start to scout na din kasi pahirapan din ang may vacancy ng child care centers. Mahal na sya punuan pa.

rara_avis · November 2012

@Yukishih Oo nga daw nabasa ko yung iba 6 months ang waiting period.

Di pa naman kami nakakapag-submit ng EOI kasi gathering docs pa lang kami so too early pa para maghanap. Hopefully, kung ma-approve ang application namin hindi kami mahirapan maghanap ng child care.

rara_avis · November 2012

Sarap naman sa Australia, may child care subsidy *drools*
http://www.careforkids.com.au/articlesv2/article.asp?id=35

Nice, at least kahit papano subsidized ang child care. Yun lang mahal pa din sya pero kaya naman ng salary siguro.

li_i_ren · November 2012

@LokiJr for PR lang..not for like me na 457 visa so have to pay full amount:(

rara_avis · November 2012

@li_i_ren How much are you paying in a week for child care? and matagal ba ang waiting period?

li_i_ren · November 2012

called about 20 childcare centers in our area.. 6 months to 2 years for cheap ones like 50-80 aud a day. i paid to be on the waiting list..d naman lahat may bayad pero still. when i went sa centre there was a mom there listing her 5 months old baby kasi 1 year nga yung waiting! hahahaha!

i actually had to take my daughter home sa pinas from au kasi wla talagang childcare for her and me/ hubby are both full time. pero i will get her na soon kasi may bahay na yung ate ko and not with her in laws anymore so i can leave her with my ate while im at work.

i find that if i pay for 90 aud a day... eve on the payrate i am on kasi im a nurse and it does pay really good its like yung income ko will just go to childcare and rent so im just waiting for leave and i will get her and will ask my ate to look after her.

my indian friend pays 90 aud a day times 5 for her 3 years old.. but they dont have relatives here and both also full time workers so no choice. but yeah mas mabuti if pr may rebate po..yung 90 will become maybe 50 aud na lng cause of rebates. pero if work or student visa..i called centrelink na di daw eligible.

then bihira makakita ng pinoy who can babysit kasi most may work din... kasi sa nz before where i lived may mga lolo/lola yan ginagawa nila for income while looking after their own grandkids.. dito wla talaga even the old pinoys ive met here may work.

li_i_ren · November 2012

if your child is more then 5 years old mas mura pa sa primary school... hehehe.. pero dapat 5 years old na on or before 31 july. sayang nga eh kasi after july pa yung bday ng anak ko..so 2014 pa daw pwdi mag primary kasi sobrang laki ng difference sa daycare and primary school in terms of cost.

johnandjosh · November 2012

It seems mahirap maghanap ng child care anywhere in Aus. Here in Qld, we were also looking for a child care for our 4 year old son, we were on the waiting list and one child care centre called us after more than 1 year at tinatanong kami kung interested pa kami. When they called, my wife was already a registered carer dahil nga wala kaming mapag iwanan ng bunso namin. Medyo marami silang requirements at matagal ang processing before she became a registered Carer under the Family Day Care scheme.

Maganda nito, my wife doesn't need to dress up and go to office everyday to work, hintay lang sya sa bahay dumating yung mga kids na aalagaan nya. It was like her own business, kumikita sya at kung ayaw nya dun sa bata or may issue sya with the parents, pwede nya i-release yung alaga nya and get a replacement. Hindi mahirap dito, dahil nga kulang ang mga carer at mas marami ang mga bata. So kung you are the mother/father of the child in care, dapat maging mabait ka sa carer at on time ka magbayad. If not, madaling i-release ang anak mo at problema mo na naman maghanap ng carer para sa kanya.

Another advantage, may kalaro pa yung anak namin. Nag-eenjoy naman si wifee kasi meron din silang training/development activities para sa mga carer at maganda rin naman ang kita. Imagine, sa bahay lang sya and yet kumikita sya, may kalaro ang anak namin, nakakapagluto pa sya at nagagawa nya ang gusto nya gawin at naaasikaso pa nya yung eldest son namin after school.

stolich18 · November 2012

@johnandjosh san kayo sa Au? hehe in case pareho kami magkawork agad ni hubby, pde bang maginquire sa wife mo? hehehhe

ung anak namin is almost 1.5 years old pa lang :S

li_i_ren · November 2012

@johnandjosh sana nasa sydney kayo:D hahaha! problem kasi namin sa suburb namin wala masyadong pinoy and hindi pa ako naka hanap ng registered carer within our area pero thanks will try to find one.

johnandjosh · November 2012

Ha ha ha, ang dami nga mga pinoy dito gusto na sa wife ko magpa-carer. Kasi very considerate naman kami. Kung gusto nung bata na kumain nung mga food na kinakain namin binibigyan namin sya without charging his/her parents. Kasi may rules din sa FDC na kapag pinakain mo yung bata pwede mo i-charge yung parents. Everyday, pinapaliguan nya yung mga bata, unlike sa ibang carer lalo na yung mga Aussie carers, hindi nila ginagawa ang magpaligo sa bata. May isa ngang Aussie kid na nagko-complain bakit daw kailangan everyday sila maligo? Ha ha ha! You can tell kung anong lahi talaga ang malinis sa katawan!

lock_code2004 · November 2012

ayan dumami ang customer...
ang tanong.. pano po maging registered carer?
baka pwede din yan maging work ng mga housewife...

li_i_ren · November 2012

@johnandjosh yan kasi issue namin if puti ang carer kasi galing na nga kami ng nz..if ayaw ng batang kumain..eh umuwing gutom. whereas if pinoy yung nag aalaga like yung sabi kong mga lolo/lola at least for sure they really try talaga to feed the kids.

sa nz mahirap maging registered carer, 1 year and a half early education degree in nz (hindi recognized na high school teacher sya sa atin) then you need to have your own house/ or kahit rental but sufficient size na property. i am not sure ganyan bah dito in au kasi yung friend ko in nz yan din trabaho ni misis but prior her approval for a home based centre she was approved may nag inspect sa bahay nila for safety and size.

paano bah dito ang system?

johnandjosh · November 2012

Ok, the first thing we did was we went to the Family Day Care office and inquired kung anu-ano mga requirements to become a registered carer:

1. Apply for a blue card (both the carer and her spouse - as a support carer). Medyo matagal ito. It took us 8 weeks bago na-receive yung blue card namin.
2. While waiting for the blue card, wife attended First Aid Training (2 days training ito).
3. Complete the online training for Food Handling.
4. May mga materials pa na binigay sa kanya ang FDC for her review.
5. Get 2 referral letters sa kilala namin within our community.
6. Get written permission from your landlord - kailangan ito if you are renting the house. Medyo nahirapan kami dito dahil our house is provided by my employer. So sila ang nagbabayad nito kaya I have to justify to both my employer and the house owner kung bakit kailangan ko ng written permission from them.
7. FDC will conduct initial inspection of house for safety and suitability ng house for child care activity. Kailangan may fence/gate at kung anik-anik pa for kids safety. Pati yung mga plastics, cleanser, etc e dapat naka-lock para di makuha or magamit ng mga bata.
8. Get public liability insurance.
9. FDC will conduct final inspection of house to check if safety deficiencies have been rectified.
10. My wife attended a 3 hour orientation prior to start of her employment.
11. After completing all the above requirements, a Certificate of Approval was awarded to her.

So it took us 3-4 months to complete the requirements bago sya nakapag start as carer. Pwede siguro in less than 3 months kung walang problema sa pag comply ng mga requirements.

rara_avis · November 2012

Found this earlier: http://www.mychild.gov.au

You can search for approved child care centres near your area and most of the centres also provide fees and vacancy information.

li_i_ren · November 2012

@rara_avis still the same rara... waiting period still in ages! and mas ok mag walk in so u can also see how clean the place is.. u can judge how good a centre is by how clean the kids are. and if u call personally they can also honestly tell u want their capacity and waiting status are like.
i have called about 20 childcare centres..nag walk in din ako.. pero i cant be waitlisted on all kasi im looking specifically for a long daycare that caters food also kasi not all centres feed the kids lunch.. some snacks lng.
and one that is happy with part time enrolment kasi even on a nurse's salary which is way more than min. wage... i wont be able to afford daycare every day and pay rent and other bills. my indian friend yung salary ni hubby goes mostly sa daycare kasi everyday ung anak nila 5x90aus = 450 a week that's 900 every forthnight and then the rebate is only 40% in their centre.
so medyo mahirap din mas ok nga yung home based daycare and con lang is what if di mu talaga kilala yung tao unlike sa centres talaga maraming other teachers so may checks and balance.

johnandjosh · November 2012

That's true @li_i_ren do not expect na yung carer will do everything to your child. Yung ibang aussie dito sa area namin, they prefer Filipino carer for their children dahil nakikita nila talaga kung paano mag-alaga ang mga pinay. Yung mga bags ng anak nila na sobrang dumi na, nilalabhan ng wife ko, although hindi part ito ng trabaho nya, pero for consideration na lang. Tinuturuan nya ng personal hygiene yung mga bata. Kung may gusto kainin yung anak nila at meron naman kami sa bahay, binibigyan nya w/out charging them.

sydneyblued · November 2012

@johnandjosh si misis nyo lang po ang tumitingin sa mga bata or naghire din kayo ng kahit part time assistant nya? Saludo ako kay misis nyo

no wonder mas gusto ng mga Aussies ang pinoy na carer

lock_code2004 · November 2012

good question.. pwede po ba mag-sama ng assistant? kung ang wife lang ang registered?

johnandjosh · November 2012

@sydneyblued, si misis lang ang tumitingin. Pero I have a blue card at kumpleto rin ako sa mga first aid training at kung anu-ano pa related training na kailangan nya. Pwedeng ako ang maiwan sa mga bata kung kailangan nyang umalis saglit. @lock, Kung may assistant, other than the spouse, kailangan rin ng blue card at may first aid training.

icebreaker1928 · November 2012

@johnandjosh ilang bata ang handle ng wife mo? puros pinoy ba o may puti din?

johnandjosh · November 2012

@icebreaker1928, 4 kids ang maximum per carer. Since meron kaming 4 year old son, 3 lang ang pwede sa kanya, but she can still accept after school age, 4 din ang maximum. Pero ayaw na nya ng mga after school age dahil matitigas na ang mga ulo ng mga ito. Unless, kilala nya yung bata or parents. Meron sya 1 pinoy, 1 aussie at 1 half pinoy/half aussie.

Aiwink · December 2012

@johnandjosh Wooow! okey yan child care na yan eh. sana irecognize nila yung food hygiene course ko at First aid license dito sa SG. malamang may fees incurred yung mga yun? and you have to pass practical test? thanks for sharing... mukhang magandang idea yan.

johnandjosh · December 2012

@Aiwink Walang fees incurred dun sa food handling course. It is an online course that will take about 2 hours to complete, then you can print your certificate. Ito yung isa-submit mo sa Family Day Care to prove na natapos mo yung online training. Walang practical test. Actually common sense lang naman especially kung may mga anak ka, alam mo kung ano ang tama at maling food handling para sa mga kids.

Regarding First Aide Training mo, depende siguro sa coverage ng training mo, otherwise baka pakuhanin ka pa rin ng Apply First Aide Training at CPR course. Yung First Aide Training mo, you need to renew it every 3 years while yung CPR e dapat renew annually.

kookie420 · April 2013

^ ang ganda pala ng naging outcome ng naging issue nyo, kumita pa wife mo. gusto ko din ng ganito!

) i hope pwede ko tong gawing option when we get there. quick question, up to what age yung bracket na binabantayan ng wife mo? if more than that na yung anak nyo, that means she can take in another kid, right?

kookie420 · April 2013

a follow up question: how do you arrange if you guys are going on a holiday? how many weeks/months/days notice do you give the parents that you are going away? thanks.

mitchy_cpa · November 2013

hello makikisali din ako, is it hard ba na ikuha ng tourist visa ang family member para sila ang magbantay ng bata? assuming both parents are working.

JCsantos · November 2013

hello makikisali din ako, is it hard ba na ikuha ng tourist visa ang family member para sila ang magbantay ng bata? assuming both parents are working.

no, not hard

have applied for in-laws, my father and 3 of my sister never had any issues