childcare

It’s the question that can overwhelm a new parent with fear and guilt.

It has always surprised me to hear children referred to as though they are some kind of consumer product or accessory.

After fifteen years in marketing and being the “kind of gal who was married to her job”, Melissa Grant experienced an unprecedented change in mindset while expecting her first child.

Just $160 is left in the average weekly pay packet of Australian working mums after the cost of childcare is taken out, according to the Australian Women Chamber of Commerce & Industry (AWCCI).

“I’ve got to get better at being a dad, and a partner, being around a bit more, not being stressed and knackered when I am,” he said.

I was going to say that I was gobsmacked by Senator David Leyonhjelm’s summation of caring for children last week on Channel 10’s The Project as “wiping noses and stopping the kids from killing each other”.

As we get ready to finish another year at the childcare centre and watch the next wave of children getting ready to go off to big school, I am overwhelmed by the gratitude and love that exudes from parents.