![Childcare workers are paid around $20 an hour or $40,731 a year.](/web/20160910211144im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/6/b/0/d/image.related.landscape.380x253.grcb6s.png/1473367691609.jpg)
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'He has gastro but that's okay, right?': sick kid etiquette
We cannot place all children who are sick in a bubble till they recover, but we can give other parents a choice about exposing their kids to them.
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Working out without worry: tips for using a gym creche
Thinking of joining a gym but unsure about leaving your baby in the care of the crèche? Read a mum's story and five tips for a smooth transition.
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![Childcare workers are paid around $20 an hour or $40,731 a year.](/web/20160910211144im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/6/b/0/d/image.related.landscape.120x80.grcb6s.png/1473367691609.jpg)
!["It takes a whole village to have me work," says Sydney's Betina Naiman with husband Clarence and two daughters Libby, ...](/web/20160910211144im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/q/y/0/k/v/image.related.landscape.120x80.gqwwfo.png/1472343785900.jpg)
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Latest
![Sage Education and Childcare is opening Canberra's first prestige childcare centre in Turner.](/web/20160910211144im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/q/q/8/z/u/image.related.landscape.300x200.gqq93f.png/1470985580342.jpg)
Prestige childcare to open in Canberra with a side of kale and quinoa
Its owners are billing it Canberra's first "prestige" childcare centre, with a concierge, hatted-chef to cook meals and a million-dollar fit-out making it look more like a hipster resort.
![Early childhood educators earn as little as $20 an hour.](/web/20160910211144im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/l/v/8/f/image.related.landscape.300x200.gq9rw3.png/1473119907792.jpg)
Four reasons your childcare bill is so high
We know that childcare costs are ever rising, but the latest data - from the Melbourne Institute, which has been tracking the changing nature of how Australians live since 2001 - sets out the pressure on household budgets clearly.
![Who decides when it's time to start a family? Not the dad.](/web/20160910211144im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/p/n/z/r/9/image.related.landscape.300x200.gq8pxf.png/1469247338583.jpg)
The real costs of starting a family
Rising childcare costs are heaping more financial pressure on Australian families at a time when soaring house prices mean many are struggling to buy their first home or pay off a big mortgage.
![Sally Lock, the owner of Sally's Place in Mosman.](/web/20160910211144im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/q/8/0/s/o/image.related.landscape.300x200.gq7vy5.png/1468881230960.jpg)
Mosman childcare centre shuts doors amid wages dispute
One of Sydney's most expensive childcare centres is embroiled in a "sticky" situation.
![<i></i>](/web/20160910211144im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/p/y/1/c/r/image.related.landscape.300x200.gpw9oa.png/1467604178267.jpg)
The Aussie company giving employees $100 a day for childcare
Would you like your boss to give you an extra $100 a day to help out with childcare costs?
![Evidence of the trim.](/web/20160910211144im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/p/w/d/q/w/image.related.landscape.300x200.gpw7jj.png/1467345039824.jpg)
Childcare cuts girl's hair without asking parents
When mums and dads drop their child off at daycare they realise their little one might come home a bit dirty after a day's play, have paint on their clothes, or even a scratch on their knee if they took a tumble during the day.
![Lower income families and those on very high incomes would gain under Labor, according to modelling.](/web/20160910211144im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/l/v/8/f/image.related.landscape.300x200.gpso9i.png/1473119907792.jpg)
Childcare: Most families better off under Labor
Most families using childcare would be better off over the next two years under Labor's policies, largely because of the Coalition's tied cuts to family payments, an independent new analysis has found.
![Attention to childcare funding in Australia leaves a lot to be desired, on both sides of politics.](/web/20160910211144im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/m/n/s/t/x/image.related.landscape.300x200.gpfgct.png/1468805806998.jpg)
Childcare policies have a missing piece
In 1974 the government decided to delay an election promise to fund a proper child care system. The Women's Electoral Lobby organised a huge children's party on the lawns of Parliament House to protest and the Whitlam Government learnt not to muck with women, children and childcare.
![Opposition Leader Bill Shorten during a visit to Bestchance Child and Family Care Centre in Glen Waverley, Victoria.](/web/20160910211144im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/p/c/5/b/r/image.related.landscape.300x200.gpdefe.png/1472186065365.jpg)
Gender equality still a long way off when it comes to childcare
When Federal Labor Leader Bill Shorten spoke about men "relying on women" to organise childcare he started a war of words surrounding gender equality.
![Four childcare workers were charged last October over allegations of excessive force on up to 20 children.](/web/20160910211144im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/o/6/s/1/s/image.related.landscape.300x200.gpcpp4.png/1472695366043.jpg)
Childcare worker set to plead guilty to unreasonable discipline
The woman was one of four workers police charged over allegations of excessive force on children as young as one.
![Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said his party's policy would deliver affordable childcare for families.](/web/20160910211144im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/p/a/u/c/h/image.related.landscape.300x200.gpbtz5.png/1465132377403.jpg)
Labor unveils $3 billion childcare plan
The Turnbull government has rubbished Labor's $3 billion childcare cash-splash, which includes a rise in the annual rebate to $10,000 per child.
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