![Saman Shad's six-month-old son was on childcare waitlists since well before he was born, but none of them have a place ...](/web/20161021155257im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/3/l/y/0/image.related.landscape.380x253.gs3l81.png/1476743229053.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.
![<i></i>](/web/20161021155257im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/q/2/o/y/3/image.related.wideLandscape.460x259.1146mu.gmyb2e.png/1468147607745.jpg)
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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![Saman Shad's six-month-old son was on childcare waitlists since well before he was born, but none of them have a place ...](/web/20161021155257im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/3/l/y/0/image.related.landscape.120x80.gs3l81.png/1476743229053.jpg)
![Sarah Jordan, left, and Kierra Spriggs.](/web/20161021155257im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/t/q/5/j/image.related.landscape.120x80.grtoui.png/1475465315051.jpg)
![It takes a village to raise a child.](/web/20161021155257im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/p/e/b/g/image.related.landscape.120x80.grodmo.png/1474968924178.jpg)
Latest
![Au pair Annika Abraham with her host family Matthew Eglan, Amanda Buckland and one-year-old Lucy, in their Sydney home.](/web/20161021155257im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/n/i/w/u/image.related.landscape.300x200.grngoj.png/1474869832297.jpg)
Unregulated au pair industry puts young women at risk of exploitation
There are growing calls for the Federal Government to regulate the mushrooming au pair industry to protect both au pairs and their host families.
![Childcare educator Patricia Rosas with five-year-old Antonella Blanco at the ABC childcare centre in Ultimo.](/web/20161021155257im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/j/i/t/8/image.related.landscape.300x200.grjh6c.png/1474319237525.jpg)
Early childhood educators protest being paid as little as $20 an hour
Patricia Rosas has a second job as a cook on Saturdays to supplement her salary as an early childhood educator.
![More funds for preschool places.](/web/20161021155257im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/o/k/4/e/w/image.related.landscape.300x200.grg423.png/1473903829453.jpg)
New preschool funding misses 70pc of children
The cost of childcare to the bulk of NSW families could actually increase after the government's multi-million dollar funding boost to the early childhood sector, industry sources say.
![Childcare workers are paid around $20 an hour or $40,731 a year.](/web/20161021155257im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/6/b/0/d/image.related.landscape.300x200.grcb6s.png/1473367691609.jpg)
Childcare union United Voice warns of more strikes if pay issue isn't resolved
Children at numerous Victorian childcare centres have been sent home early, as more than 100 childcare workers walked off the job.
!["It takes a whole village to have me work," says Sydney's Betina Naiman with husband Clarence and two daughters Libby, ...](/web/20161021155257im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/q/y/0/k/v/image.related.landscape.300x200.gqwwfo.png/1472343785900.jpg)
Coalition's childcare reforms duds city families in fine print
This is the formula to figure out if you'll be worse off under the Coalition's childcare changes.
![<i></i>](/web/20161021155257im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/q/v/p/h/b/image.related.landscape.300x200.gqvpgl.png/1471499771214.jpg)
The joys (and benefits) of show and tell
Show and tell has been around for donkey's years. Well, at least since I was a kid, and according to my own children, I'm pretty old.
![Sage Education and Childcare is opening Canberra's first prestige childcare centre in Turner.](/web/20161021155257im_/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/20161021155257im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/l/v/8/f/image.related.landscape.300x200.gq9rw3.png/1476858113939.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/20161021155257im_/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/20161021155257im_/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/20161021155257im_/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?
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