Rachael Street, 39, lives in Ocean Reef, WA with husband Pete and two children - Jasmine (4) and Ethan (2). Pete works as a sole trader in the commercial fitout industry and Rachael works two days a week from home as a draftsperson specialising in the installation of dangerous goods.
Rachael Street
"I work from home for a small dangerous goods consultancy. My work involves drawing plans for the client to show them site contamination and provide guidelines to installing dangerous goods.
I went back to work when Jaz was six weeks old (crazy, although I was working from home!), my mum looked after her at our home for a long time. When I had Ethan I took almost a year off and went back to work two days a week when he was just under one.
My main motivation for work was to get a break from the kids: I love them to bits, but being a mum is sometimes the hardest job in the world. Also we needed the money, so I didn't really have a choice and I loved my job after I had Jaz, so it was an easy decision to make.
The hardest thing about going back to work was the separation from the kids and taking them to child care. Ethan cries often when I leave him and it breaks my heart, although he seems to enjoy it once he's there! Jaz is full time at school this year so that's working out much better. The hardest thing about being a working mum is that on the days I don't work (paid!) I struggle to get everything done. I find the house is a mess and I never seem to finish anything!
I take Ethan to Kids Biz, Beaumaris, which is a childcare facility not far from our home. Really the main things I was looking for in my child care arrangement were cleanliness; a real sense of enthusiasm from the carers; safety/security and good nutrition. I was lucky in that I simply drove past the centre and popped in for a look around.
Kidz Biz is very popular and was difficult to get into and I put both kids' names on a waiting list, but I only got Ethan in. They didn't offer after school care, so I couldn't take Jaz there in the end anyway. I guess if I were to change anything I would have put their names down earlier.
The girls are really nice and I put Ethan's name down on a waiting list to get him in there. I'm very happy with the child care set up. The centre offers a fantastic routine; they're great in encouraging the kids to share and play well with each other; the food they provide is great too.
I'm much more efficient with my work when they're out of the house and I know they're well looked after. I have nothing but praise for the girls Stacey and Lenka at Kidz Biz. They are truly exceptional. I think they're well under paid for their responsibilities and what they do and I wish they were appreciated more".
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