What's New on Bayside Family Day Care

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ê	Alternative path for child care \| Family Day Care Australia Workers can have a new career caring for children in their own homes. Consider home-based family day care as an alternative! Become a Carer! or Request a Family Day Care Place Family Day Care Australia chief executive officer Monique Webber says her organisation’s home-based care could be a viable long-term career for ABC displaced child-care workers. “In the current economic climate, many families need to work just to make ends meet, and without quality child care choices that becomes almost impossible,” Ms Webber said. “Some of those ABC Learning centres will not be viable and will not remain open. I think that is pretty clear,” she said. “What we’re saying to families and to child-care workers is: this is a good time to look around, to look at the alternatives that are out there for both families with child-care places and for staff who would like to work in another child-care service. Child Care Jobs: Become a Family Day Care Provider Safe & Nurturing Care for Your Child: Place Your Child in Family Day Care “We hope that the situation with ABC Learning will be treated as an important lesson and an opportunity to improve care and education for all young children.” Family day care has been around for more than 30 years. There is an Australian Government start-up payment of up to $1500 available for those who want to take on child care in their home. Information on this subsidy is available of the Government website www.deewr.gov.au
ê	Prevent Child Cancer -- Go to Playgroup! \| Sydney Morning Herald CHILDREN who attend day-care centres or playgroups have a 30 per cent less chance of developing a life-threatening cancer, a study has found. Researchers found that children who had regular contact with their peers and were exposed to a multitude of infections were more likely to develop a stronger immune system, helping them fight the development of the most common form of childhood cancer, acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. read more
ê	ABC 730 Report Video on Toddler Drownings \| Broadcast Transcript On average each week two children aged under four die or are seriously injured after falling into a pool, lake or being left alone in the bath tub. Figures just released by the Royal Life Saving Society forecast toddler drownings to increase by 20 per cent this year. ► Review Additional Resources
	Soap as good as disinfectanct \| Science Alert A recent study carried out by Swinburne’s Faculty of Life and Social Sciences has dispelled myths about the need for daily use of chemical disinfectants in childcare.
ê	Feature Story on Family Day Care in Sydney's Child Magazine A very positive explanation of Family Day Care as a fully approved, licensed, coordinated, and regulated model of professional Australian childcare. A very timely article given the recent uncertainty about the financial viability of a large corporate childcare operating many centres.
ê	Opting Out of Work \| Herald Sun A THIRD of Australians aged over 15 do no paid work and most of them do not want jobs, according to a snapshot of the country's workforce. Almost two-thirds of the 5.5 million Australians not in paid work were women while a third were aged 70 or over.
ê	Queensland: Australia's Foster Care Capitol \| Brisbane Times First it was homelessness, now Queensland has claimed the dubious title of foster care capital of Australia. Latest Department of Child Safety figures show the Sunshine State has more children in foster care per capita than any other state, prompting one leading welfare agency to label Queensland's system the "worst" in the country.
ê	Toddler Killed in Driveway Runover \| ► Download Prevention Fact-Sheet Tragically one child, often a toddler, is run over in the driveway of their own home every week in Australia. In Queensland, four children under five die each year as a result of a low-speed run-over and 81 children present at hospital emergency departments with injuries, usually serious, with 60% requiring admission. Take action to prevent this
ê	Time Flies and We're Not Having Fun WE'RE working more, playing less, and even losing sleep - new figures on how Australians use their time leaves no doubt life is a juggling act. A report from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows people are shaving precious minutes off their time spent sleeping, exercising and even eating -- with more time going to commuting, child caring, shopping and work.
ê	Baby products linked to raised chemicals levels in babies urine \| 18 February Researchers are warning the parents of babies to cut down on their use of talcum powder, shampoo and lotions after a study has linked them to high levels of hormone-altering chemicals in infants urine.
ê	More websites are targeting preschoolers There are a growing number of websites that target the post-diaper, pre-kindergarten set. A new generation of sites for preschoolers tout themselves as offering educational value and a rich multimedia experience, with some charging monthly fees.
ê	Taking Play Seriously \| New York Times Magazine Essay Stuart Brown, president of the National Institute for Play, discussed the importance of play. Brown called play part of the 'developmental sequencing of becoming a human primate. If you look at what produces learning and memory and well-being, play is as fundamental as any other aspect of life, including sleep and dreams.' Extended, thoughtful article.
ê	Australian Government Early Childhood Education Web Portal Find topics, news and resources related to early childhood education, including policies, authorities, research, and links to early childhood news.
ê	Draft Legislation on Transporting Children New National Legislation for transporting children is about to be introduced which will mean that ALL children under 4 years of age will NOT be able to travel in the front seat. In addition there will be more legislation around the different types of restraints required according to children’s ages etc. Please note this is in draft and likely to be phased in within the next year in the same way as seat belts originally were. We will keep you posted on this legislation as more information comes to hand.