Please advise on daycare..

[DH666]

Personally I'd love to be living in Quebec, at least for the daycare part. I've read that it's subsidized, so that Quebec residents pay $7 a DAY for childcare? I pay FIVE TIMES more than that!

Z

Sure, but that would mean living in Quebec, which is no picnic at times.

[Patty Smyth]

Sure, but that would mean living in Quebec, which is no picnic at times.

Bwuahahahahha, well someday you may get to move back to Canada.

Actually when it started out it was $5 a day! Imagine!

[bargain_hunter_lola]

I appreciate all the info friends...Does anyone know about early learning in ontario???...A relative mentioned this as an option and said its free...Like the kids have interaction with other kids and they learn stuff...The only disadvantage is that you have to be present while they are there...You don't have to be with them but somewhere in a corner I guess..Smiles

They have 2 free programs that I know of. One is the Early Years (playgroups, info offices/sessions etc) and then there is another one that a doctor often refers you to if your child is having any issues or you are concerned. Cannot for the life of me remember the name. gah! I only know about that one since DD was just referred since I'm concerned she's not talking very much (5 words max, mostly babble). There is a pretty long waitlist, so that's why doctor referred her now (at 18months). Still long time before we need to worry but it's better to be on the waitlist and cancel then to wait to late and then still have to wait another 6-8 months.

HTH

[Annabelle88]

Personally I'd love to be living in Quebec, at least for the daycare part. I've read that it's subsidized, so that Quebec residents pay $7 a DAY for childcare? I pay FIVE TIMES more than that!

Z

Haha, yeah, at least you can get daycare ... we have to wait MONTHS if not YEARS to get a $7/day daycare sometimes (well a good one, anyways) ... My son has been on a waiting list for a $7/day daycare since a few months BEFORE he was born ... he is now 15 months old ... so go figure, I'll end up paying the same as you if I put him in daycare

[Patty Smyth]

Once they get to school age though all the schools have $7 daycare.

[aeroplane]

So the early years, how does that work?...Like where can I get more info or a number to call to talk to someone...Is that the one you have to wait forever for?? or you were referring to the other one...Thanks

[Insane]

Personally I'd love to be living in Quebec, at least for the daycare part. I've read that it's subsidized, so that Quebec residents pay $7 a DAY for childcare? I pay FIVE TIMES more than that!

Z

I used to live in Ottawa. I worked with people who lived across the river in Hull/Gatineau. One did the math once, and it worked out better to live in Ottawa than Quebec after taking into childcare, higher baby bonus and higher taxes.

[Tripsplanner]

Personally I'd love to be living in Quebec, at least for the daycare part. I've read that it's subsidized, so that Quebec residents pay $7 a DAY for childcare? I pay FIVE TIMES more than that!

Z

Try living downtown Toronto I pay $53 PER CHILD for daycare! And we lucked out because it is a brand new daycare (no wait list). Generally it is a 2-year wait list. The first daycare that I called after my kids came home told me I was late way late - I think the manager's words were "We are usually the 3rd call after the mom confirms her pregnancy, after the husband and the parents". 2 years and still waiting.

[Tripsplanner]

So the early years, how does that work?...Like where can I get more info or a number to call to talk to someone...Is that the one you have to wait forever for?? or you were referring to the other one...Thanks

Not knowing where you live, here is the link to Ontario Early Years Learning Centre.
http://www.children.gov.on.ca/htdocs...ons/index.aspx

It is a drop-in centre (no appointment needed) where you can just bring your child to play and interact with other kids. It is NOT a daycare so you will have to stay with your child the whole time. There is usually an ECE staff of sort, some even has visiting a Resource teacher (Early Intervention teacher) to assess your children's motor skills and cognitive development ("Ages & Stages"). The idea is to provide support for the parents and provide stimulation/ social interaction to the kids in the early years.

The one thing I DON'T like about it is that the kids are of mixed ages so when they play together, the younger ones tend to lose out.

[Woofy]

I was the the Early Years Center at Sackville yesterday, and it was a ZOO! I got a headache after being in there for 10 mins... had to leave.

Now I am getting worried about childcare for Ethan... I have not put him on any waitlist...

I guess I will have to hire a live out nanny, until Ethan is potty trained...

[Jina]

I've put Dylan on the Ottawa centralised list for childcare in March and still no reply. I heard it can take a year to hear from them and I am going back to work in February next year
It costs $35-50 in Ottawa.

[bargain_hunter_lola]

I'm not really a fan of the Early Years Playgroups myself. Only because I have found that a lot of the parents just let their children go crazy! The parents seem to huddle in one corner and chit chat while the kids have a free for all.

My DD is only 18 months so I followed her everywhere. I had a 6 year old constantly scream and try to hit DD everytime she got remotely close. I had another child call me mommy and hold my hand for over an hour, while I was trying to take care of my DD. In both circumstances they were not their with their parents but with caregivers.

I didn't like the enviroment, the lack of structure or the fact that children of all ages played together. I saw a lot of the little ones being picked on.

Having said all that it is a good place to go for resources (they have tons of information). Its also a good place if the other parents are on the ball, perhaps not all playgroups are like the ones we attended (our experiences all happened at the same location). It's totally worth checking out. There are locations & hours posted online at the website tripsplanner posted. You can just drop by and check it out. Be sure to get there near the start time because some fill up really fast.

[Insane]

I've put Dylan on the Ottawa centralised list for childcare in March and still no reply. I heard it can take a year to hear from them and I am going back to work in February next year
It costs $35-50 in Ottawa.

I put #2 on the wait list when I was pregnant with her. Only heard from 1 of our choices, so we took it eventhough it was very expensive. We eventually got her into a subsidized spot later on.

[Tripsplanner]

I was the the Early Years Center at Sackville yesterday, and it was a ZOO! I got a headache after being in there for 10 mins... had to leave.

Now I am getting worried about childcare for Ethan... I have not put him on any waitlist...

I guess I will have to hire a live out nanny, until Ethan is potty trained...

Since Ethan is only 3 months old, you can always put him on the wait list NOW! Sometimes you lucked out and the list moved really fast. Like I said before, just make sure you check the facilities first.

As for having a live-out nanny, it is not an easy process either. It took me a long time of weeding out and assessments before we hire ours. If I only have 1 child (and a healthy child at that), I would definitely do daycare over nanny. Think of the social interaction, discipline and the independence a daycare fosters, over a nanny. That's why my kids are in daycare once a week even though we have a full time nanny.

[Zonny]

Haha, yeah, at least you can get daycare ... we have to wait MONTHS if not YEARS to get a $7/day daycare sometimes (well a good one, anyways) ... My son has been on a waiting list for a $7/day daycare since a few months BEFORE he was born ... he is now 15 months old ... so go figure, I'll end up paying the same as you if I put him in daycare

We were on a waiting list here in NS while we were still pregnant too!

Z