Why Are More Parents Choosing Childcare Near Their Place Of Work?
- Parents Only
By: Clea Sherman, ellaslist
Should you send your little one to childcare near to where you work or where you live? That’s the question many parents are asking themselves.
With the rising cost of property in Sydney, many of us have found ourselves living further and further away from where we work. Having extra bedrooms and a backyard in the suburbs can be a worthy tradeoff for the extra time spent in traffic, especially for parents who only work part time.
Logistical Nightmare
The problem with juggling work and family is that it’s not easy to manage a long commute when you have pre-school children. A lot of mothers find this situation very tricky – they don’t want to drop their children off at 7am, only to have to race through traffic to get to them by the time the centre closes at 6pm. Not only does it mean a long day of being apart from their child, it can be costly – some centres charge by the minute if you are late (and we all know that in Sydney being late happens – a lot).
Then there’s the question – what happens if there’s an emergency? It could take more than an hour just to get to your child if they are sick or injured and really need you. That’s no fun for mum or bub.
Why The Rise Of Inner City Childcare?
Many mothers who work far from home now enrol their little ones at a childcare centre that is close to their work. It makes sense as it reduces the need for multiple stops every morning and every afternoon.
If you’re driving to work, having two children or one child and another passenger in the car means you can use the express transit lane and get where you’re going faster. Tired children will be able to catch up on sleep while you travel and if they are full of beans then you can chat, listen to music and sing songs.
Extra Special Bonding Time
For those who catch public transport, bringing a child along means you can access the priority seats close to the exit. Train or bus rides also mean you and your little one have the opportunity to spend some special time together to read stories or just cuddle.
Finding a childcare centre near work means that you’re never far away if something goes wrong. You will also be able to pop in to say hello or even breastfeed if time permits during the day. For many parents this alleviates some of the dreaded guilt about going to work in the first place (not that you should feel guilty!).
Down To Individual Circumstances
Of course, there are pros to sending your child to care near home as well. It does allow them to get to know children in their ‘catchment’, whom they are likely to go to school with once the time comes. Plus if you have a job that often sees you at a client’s office across town at the end of the day – having your child looked after at a location close to your work isn’t always practical.
If you are looking to change jobs in the near future it might be better sticking close to home when it comes to childcare as well, or your child will end up having to switch centres.
New Sydney CBD Childcare Opening Soon!
The great thing about the Sydney CBD is that there are an increasing number of childcare centres that cater to professional parents who want their children to be close to them during the day. One of these is the soon-to-be-open Little Kingdom Childcare Centre The Rocks, which is located at Level 4, 111 Harrington Street, just a few minutes’ walk from Circular Quay’s bus, train and ferry terminals and Wynyard Railway Station.
Little Kingdom is opening in response to the increased interest from parents to place their children in childcare centres near their CBD-based work.
Along with stunning city and harbour views and a beautiful natural adventure playground, the children who come to the family owned Little Kingdom Childcare Centre will benefit from the centre’s four key focus areas of: creativity, learning, activity and social development.
Don’t Miss Little Kingdom Childcare’s Open Day
Places at this centre will fill fast. If you are thinking of reducing the stress of trying to battle your way home before childcare closes, why not go along on to Little Kingdom Childcare The Rocks’ Open Day on Friday 8 July or Sunday 10 July 2016 to meet the operators and check out the facilities. It could be the straightforward childcare solution you are looking for.
Find out more about Little Kingdom Childcare and their new Sydney CBD centre.
This article is brought to you by Little Kingdom Childcare.
Reviews
Simone
Jul 12 2016
I have recently changed my son's daycare closer to work for these reasons. I had to negotiate with work (which wasn't easy) an earlier start time and leave earlier every day. I was always pushed for time and drove in traffic stressed both ways every day. I felt the death stare daggers when I left early every day and no one noticed I was there early! Now we leave together and drive home together. We sing songs in the car, he tells me about his day and I look forward to our little chit chats. For the times I get the dreaded call he's unwell I can be there in a heart beat. And for the times I just miss him and want a cuddle I can pop out in my lunch break.
Jamie
Jul 12 2016
I think being near work is a great option personally, it was great when I first returned to work as I was able to nip back to breast feed my baby which I could never have done if it was local. It also meant as soon I was finished work I could run there for cuddles! The other advantage is that rather than pick them up at 6/6.30 pm when he was cranky and tired, he got to see me just after 5.15pm when he was still happy and giggly and meant a shorter day for him by nearly an hour than if I had had to commute to his daycare. The other big advantage for me was that on busy days at work, if I needed to stay half an hour late to finish off something important I was able to stay that little bit later much closer to 6pm which has been awesome! I know some mums who need to leave 4.30/4.45 to make it on time for pick up and it can feel quite uncomfortable when everyone else is still work away for another 1-2 hours!! Not everyone is lucky enough to have in-laws or grandparents close by to help with late pick up so this can be a really good alternative for working parents.
Suzane
Jul 04 2016
In mybpersonal opinion Ineould not recommend a childcare close to work for few reasons. Off course I absolutely agree that shorter days would be better for the kids and the extra time spent is wonderful, however: - if you are catching public transport sometimes it is really full and long journey and that can be disterssing for the child and end up beign a noghtmare for parents mostly end of the day when we are approaching witch hour - if you change jobs you have to go throught the noghtmare of finding vacancies on a different centre which not always work in our favour and depending the age of the child it is almost impossible - if you get sick you have to endure a trip to the city to take your child and then pick olup or wprse you have to be sick at home with a kid to look after. For these reasons I decided to talk to my boss and manage more flexible workig hours - my son still endures long hours in the centre but I chose a great one and he likes it - it does jot seem to be too stressful to him theybadapt quite well, but i can see him adapting to a 1 hour journey in a full bus twice a day as easily. At least in the daycare he is resting, playing, beign fed. But obvisouly that is a personal opinion based solely on personal experience : Good luck
