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Child Care News for Parents & Carers
April 22, 2015
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Finding child care can be a stressful and time-consuming process and it's important to try to stay calm. We have the tools, the know how and we can help you remain in control - read our article on how to find child care AND stay sane. Depression can hit anyone at any time and it's often something that goes unnoticed for far too long. This week we look at the issue of depression and what to do if you think you or a friend or partner is depressed. We also have five copies of Lana Penrose's memoirs, The Happiness Quest to give away. And don't forget to take our child care survey - your opinion counts.
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| The waiting game
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| how to find child care and stay sane
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Finding child care is one of the hardest, if not THE hardest thing about going back to work. But if you do need to return to work after maternity leave, there is no alternative. It has to be done. However with an acute lack of child care for the under twos, soaring child care fees and a range of options to "choose" from (we use choose in the loosest sense because you often do not have a choice), how can you do it without going mad?
Stay calm. Don't panic
Yes there are loads of horror stories out there about three-year waiting times, astronomic waiting list fees, lack of any sort of care within a 100km radius. Yes this can be the case, but it's not the majority. Actually in our surveys over the years, the vast majority of our parents said that although it was a lengthy and often difficult process finding child care, they did generally find the child care they were after.
Start early
The earlier you start to look the better. Don't leave it until the last minute. This isn't always possible if you're moving house to another area for example, but generally speaking if you're on maternity leave, you should start the search at the beginning of your leave rather than the end.
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Have your say
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| on Australia's
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| child care system
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| Are you depressed?
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| One in ten of you may well be
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Many of us from time to time feel anxious, sad, fed up, overwhelmed, tired and generally unhappy. But this feeling is usually caused by something in particular and will pass in a few days or weeks.
Depression however is more than simply feeling unhappy or fed up for a few days. It is feeling persistently sad for weeks or months, rather than just a few days.
It's also incredibly common and indiscriminate. It is thought to affect one in ten people at some point in their lives - men and women, young and old. It also affects around 4% of children between 5 and 16 years old. For women who are mothers, it's estimated that up to a fifth may be affected by postnatal depression.
Some people still think that depression is trivial and not a genuine health condition, but it's a very real illness with real symptoms. It is not a sign of weakness or something you can "snap out of".
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Need to know your child care options fast?
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Get a report of child care services that have vacancies now… and receive alerts whenever services change their vacancies |
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| Giveaway
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| The Happiness Quest
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| by Lana Penrose
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Lana Penrose, bestselling author of To Hellas and Back, Kickstart My Heart and Addicted to Love knows what it's like to be depressed. She has just published her fourth memoir, The Happiness Quest, and we have five copies to give away, but first, here's an insight into the author.
1. Tell us about yourself in 10 words or less.
I'm an everyday human being doing her best to care about other human beings. (You'll notice I also can't count)
2. Tell us about your new book
'The Happiness Quest' tracks my tricky, occasionally silly, but ultimately profound somersault through depression. After being diagnosed with major depression, I decided to throw everything I had at it and I documented and rated my findings along the way. I underwent CBT, schema psychology and EMDR therapy; I dabbled with meditation and medication; I courted charlatans, shaman and had a fireside chat with a close associate of the Dalai Lama. By doing so, I succeeded in not only overcoming a very difficult condition, but wound up feeling a gazillion times better than before.
'The Happiness Quest' is short, punchy and easy to digest … should you ever choose to eat it.
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