LIFE | IS A SPOT IN CHILDCARE THE MODERN DAY UNICORN?

When I was 12 weeks pregnant we walked down the street and put our name on the waiting list for the awesome daycare center that was conveniently located in our street.  People mocked us and called us crazy, but I’d heard the horror stories and I knew that we needed to be on that waiting list well before our child was born.

After the Little Man arrived and we decided that to give him the best childhood we could we needed a yard for him to be able to run around in we sold up and moved across the other side of town. I didn’t even think about childcare – all I was focused on was getting us a house that we could grow into and that would be the best backdrop for his childhood.

It wasn’t until we were in the process of organizing the movers that I remembered about our childcare arrangements. The minute I realised what we’d done we raced to the local childcare and put our name on the list. We were #375 on the list for infants.

I consoled myself with the fact that I wouldn’t be returning to work until he was 2 so we had plenty of time for that list to dissipate.

It’s been nearly a year now and I’m starting to freak out about childcare. I’ve been told by friends and Facebook that childcare centers offer their places at the beginning of every calendar year and if we’ve any hope of getting him a place we want to be offered a spot around about now.

I’ve followed the advice of numerous people and been a constant presence to our preferred childcare provider.  I ring every month like clockwork.  I answer their emails promptly and I’m ever so delightful to whoever I come into contact with.

I called them last week, as is my routine, and asked them about places in 2014 and she told me we’re higher up the list (around #50) and that they’re offering places now and to wait (but that there’s still no guarantee of a place).

Ha!

I don’t want to send our son to childcare – in my perfect world I’d be with him until he went to kindergarten, but there’s a few things that require I start bringing in an income and I’m now starting to think that he’d benefit for some structured time with other kids. I imagine that should he ever get a place in childcare that I will drop him there, sit in the car outside all day and then go in and pick him up as soon as humanly possible – but I need that spot.

I’ve had to start planning our Plan B in case we don’t get a childcare spot in 2014 and worse case I won’t be returning to work until January 2015 and all of our plans that require my income contribution will just go on hold.

I should be (and I am) thankful that I’m in a position to be able to have more time off work if we need it, but surely I’m not the only one that thinks this childcare system is ridiculous.

If our society requires the primary carers to return to work before the child is of school age than surely they should have the infrastructure in place to support that! I’ve heard urban legend about people getting a spot just by walking into the childcare center and I’ve heard of people calling every second day and taking baked goods to the center in an attempt to win a place.  It’s just mental.

I try to put it all in context and remind myself that if this is my biggest worry in life I’m a very lucky lady. I also remind myself of all the times I struggled to keep motivated throughout the IVF process and yet we made it and here we are worrying about childcare. I’m sure it will all work out in the end – I just need to let it go and be patient.  But bloody hell that’s easier typed than done.

For now I’m going to get off the computer and go watch my sleeping baby for a bit and breath in his awesomeness and remind myself how very happy and lucky I am being his mother.