There is currently nothing that irritates me more than trying to find childcare. I would say I easily spend hours each and every day researching daycares, and worrying about the fact that we don't have a spot for Addie yet. The daycare situation here in Toronto is ridiculous - I'm sure it's difficult in lots of other places as well, but I can only comment on the city I live in. Ridiculous.
So many centres have 2-3 year waiting lists to get a spot. Hmmm. How does that even work? You anticipate conceiving a baby in 2011, so you call and get put on the list in 2009? This must be what people do - they get put on lists in anticipation of having a baby. Or they lie, and say they're already pregnant when they're not. Either way, the system is seriously messed up. Many centres also charge a fee to get put on the list - money you don't get back if you get a spot or not. A pretty clever way to get some extra income with no downside for the centre.
I put Addie on two lists before she was even born and one of those places *may* have a spot for her in June, and the other is highly unlikely to have a spot. I also put her on a bunch of lists just after she was born and have recently been told those are serious long shots - there are so many people ahead of me on these waiting lists (of course there are, if people are getting on lists pre-conception) that I'd be lucky to get her a spot when she's five. The other complication is that every centre gives priority to siblings - which is great if you're already in somewhere, but not great if you're trying to get in. I now understand why people don't pull their kids out of daycare when they have another baby - you lose your spot, and that's a BIG deal.
I was telling Adam that this whole daycare mess reminds me of the feeling of being 19 years old and waiting in line at some bar...you wait in line for an hour, and then get inside to a pretty much empty bar and are left wondering why they were keeping everyone out. When a daycare centre says, "Oh, we have a 2 year waiting list..." I can't help but to think, "Are you just trying to create hype about how great your centre is?" Of course that probably isn't the case, as it's a known fact that there are not enough daycare spots in Toronto, but it's still irritating to hear.
So after contacting pretty much every centre from downtown to the west end that takes 12 month olds (many places don't take kids until they're 2 1/2), I still don't have a spot for Addie. I'm hopeful that one will come up by June, because that's the deadline. I need to go back to work in June, and Addie can't come with me.
I suppose there are other options, such as a nanny, but it's a pretty expensive option and she wouldn't be getting the social interaction of being with other kids her age - something I think is really important.
What this has left me realizing is that I need to start getting her on lists for toddler programs for when she's 2 1/2...apparently the competition is just as intense for those programs too. *Sigh* And I should start putting fictional baby #2 on lists because apparently a fictional baby is just as list-worthy as a real one.
Anyway, that's my vent for today. I've done about everything I can and now just need to hope that it all works out.
So many centres have 2-3 year waiting lists to get a spot. Hmmm. How does that even work? You anticipate conceiving a baby in 2011, so you call and get put on the list in 2009? This must be what people do - they get put on lists in anticipation of having a baby. Or they lie, and say they're already pregnant when they're not. Either way, the system is seriously messed up. Many centres also charge a fee to get put on the list - money you don't get back if you get a spot or not. A pretty clever way to get some extra income with no downside for the centre.
I put Addie on two lists before she was even born and one of those places *may* have a spot for her in June, and the other is highly unlikely to have a spot. I also put her on a bunch of lists just after she was born and have recently been told those are serious long shots - there are so many people ahead of me on these waiting lists (of course there are, if people are getting on lists pre-conception) that I'd be lucky to get her a spot when she's five. The other complication is that every centre gives priority to siblings - which is great if you're already in somewhere, but not great if you're trying to get in. I now understand why people don't pull their kids out of daycare when they have another baby - you lose your spot, and that's a BIG deal.
I was telling Adam that this whole daycare mess reminds me of the feeling of being 19 years old and waiting in line at some bar...you wait in line for an hour, and then get inside to a pretty much empty bar and are left wondering why they were keeping everyone out. When a daycare centre says, "Oh, we have a 2 year waiting list..." I can't help but to think, "Are you just trying to create hype about how great your centre is?" Of course that probably isn't the case, as it's a known fact that there are not enough daycare spots in Toronto, but it's still irritating to hear.
So after contacting pretty much every centre from downtown to the west end that takes 12 month olds (many places don't take kids until they're 2 1/2), I still don't have a spot for Addie. I'm hopeful that one will come up by June, because that's the deadline. I need to go back to work in June, and Addie can't come with me.
I suppose there are other options, such as a nanny, but it's a pretty expensive option and she wouldn't be getting the social interaction of being with other kids her age - something I think is really important.
What this has left me realizing is that I need to start getting her on lists for toddler programs for when she's 2 1/2...apparently the competition is just as intense for those programs too. *Sigh* And I should start putting fictional baby #2 on lists because apparently a fictional baby is just as list-worthy as a real one.
Anyway, that's my vent for today. I've done about everything I can and now just need to hope that it all works out.