The Petite Party Company

Planning a child's birthday party? The you must see this gorgeous website.

 "As a mum, celebrating my children’s birthdays – a milestone in their precious little lives - has always been something I like to plan perfectly, down to the very last detail. If I could have made sure there were exactly the same amount of sprinkles on each cupcake, believe me I would have.

And as the years tick by and more candles are added to the cake (and unfortunately more wrinkles to my brow) I have come to realise that the perfectly planned party often means that we (the mums-of-the-moment) are so busy attending to every perfect little detail, that before we know it, the party’s over and we never even got the time to actually stop and smell the birthday cake!

Well, now you can.

At The Petite Party Company it’s our goal to make sure your child’s birthday party really is everything you wish it to be. So instead of being left with a stress knot, you’re left with magical memories that you’ll treasure forever.

After all I think us mums deserve to have our birthday cake and eat it too!"
http://www.thepetitepartycompany.com.au/

Election 2010 - Child Care Policies

With only a few days to go here are the details of what each party is promising for child care.

Labor

• The Gillard Labor Government recognises that the early years are critically important. If re-elected we will invest $17.1 billion over the next four years in early childhood education and child care.
• We will continue to pay Child Care Rebate up to 50% of parent's out-of-pocket expenses up to a maximum of $7,500 a year. As a result of these changes, child care costs to parents fell by over 20 per cent according to ABS figures.
• The Gillard Labor Government will move to pay Child Care Rebate fortnightly from 1 July 2011, so that parents get this important assistance at the same time they need to pay their child care bills. Parents will be able to choose to have this assistance paid to their child care service and receive the rebate as a direct deduction to their child care bill.
• If re-elected the Gillard Labor Government will implement the new National Quality Standard, which will ensure a consistent quality of child care and early education across the country.
• We will improve staff to child ratios so that each child gets more individual care and attention and we will improve staff qualifications, so that staff can lead activities that help children learn and develop.
• A re-elected Gillard Labor Government will establish a new national body – the Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority – to monitor the quality of child care across the country and provide information and assistance to services.
• We will also introduce a quality ratings system so parents know the quality of care on offer across different services and services will know where they need to improve.
• We will continue to fund an unlimited amount of child care places across the country. This enables new child care services to set up and existing child care services to expand, to meet the needs of local communities.
• A re-elected Gillard Labor Government will continue our investment of $970 million to 2013 so that every child has access to 15 hours a week of preschool or kindergarten in the year before school by 2013.

The Prime Minister and the Minister for Early Childhood Education, Child Care and Youth will be making further announcements before Election Day about how the Gillard Labor Government will further expand their commitment to Early Childhood Education and Child Care. 

The Coalition

• Will commit an additional $89 million for initiatives to make child care more affordable and help ensure the quality of care.
• Will reintroduce the indexation of the Child Care Rebate to help eligible families meet their child care costs. The Child Care Rebate covers 50 per cent of out-of-pocket child care expenses for approved child care up to the annual cap of $7,500.
• For those parents receiving the maximum amount of the Child Care Rebate, indexation of the payment will provide an additional $300 per year for every child in care.
• Will seek to have Child Care Rebate paid weekly and directly to child care providers
• Will reintroduce $12.6 million of Occasional Care funding cut by the Rudd/Gillard Government, which will give parents greater flexibility and part-time access to child care places in times of emergency or unforeseen need.
• The Coalition will not proceed with Labor's new National Rating system for child care and early childhood education services.
• Will re-establish the Federal Planning and Advisory Committee to restore order and rationality to the establishment of new accredited child care facilities. The Committee will assess whether the establishment or expansion of child care centres is warranted, subject to the unmet need in catchment areas.

Will commit an additional $89.25 million over the forward estimates towards increasing these child care measures. This funding will be provided from the nearly $24 billion in recurrent savings that have been identified by the Coalition over the forward estimates. 

The Greens

• If elected the Greens will support nationally consistent Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) standards with more highly qualified staff and lower carer-to-child ratios of at least 1:3 for children aged 0-2, and 1:4 for children aged over two and smaller groups.
• If elected the Greens will support a Productivity Commission inquiry to look into the payment of services to work out the most cost-effective method of service delivery.
• If elected the Greens will establish a Capital Grants Fund of $200 million over four years ($50 million per year) to allow individual community centres to apply with quotes for capital grants work to build infrastructure.
• If elected the Greens will establish a Co-op Childcare Fund to provide $10m in grants for local, small and medium businesses to collectively establish childcare facilities for their employees. This fund could see up to 100 new centres established for around 1500 children.
• If elected the Greens will fight for more publicly funded, community-based and not-for-profit child care facilities, especially in areas of high unmet demand or growth and areas of high socio-economic need. The new National Quality Framework on ECEC must guarantee a place for all children under 3 by 2012.
• If elected, the Greens will ensure that their initiative to have fortnightly payments of the childcare rebate commences as soon as possible.

"The Greens understand education does not start in primary school but in the earliest years of life, so the provision of quality, affordable accessible care is a necessity," Senator Hanson-Young said.

Hawkes In Launceston 21st August

Heading to Tassie to see the Hawkes play at Aurora Stadium on Saturday 21st of August?

Need a babysitter in Launceston?

We are a professional, easy to use babysitting agency providing families with reliable and high quality carers at affordable rates. Our aim is to make finding a trustworthy babysitter simple and straight forward.

All of our babysitters are experienced in childcare, first aid trained and are only carefully selected after police checks, reference checks and extensive interviews to make sure you receive a safe and reliable service which we hope you will feel confident to use time and time again, and be comfortable recommending to others.

Booking a babysitter online with our agency is quick and easy! 

Browse  Our Sitters and make a selection from the online profiles

Simply fill in the online Booking form and leave the rest up to Babysitters R Us

Or just give Babysitters R Us a call on - 0438 713 735

BABYSITTER IN HOBART ???

Need a Babysitter in or around Hobart?

Why not try Babysitters R Us.

We are a professional, easy to use babysitting agency providing families with reliable and high quality carers at affordable rates. Our aim is to make finding a trustworthy babysitter simple and straight forward.

All of our babysitters are experienced in childcare, first aid trained and are only carefully selected after police checks, reference checks and extensive interviews to make sure you receive a safe and reliable service which we hope you will feel confident to use time and time again, and be comfortable recommending to others.

Booking a babysitter online with our agency is quick and easy! 

Browse  Our Sitters and make a selection from the online profiles

Simply fill in the online Booking form and leave the rest up to Babysitters R Us

Or just give Babysitters R Us a call on - 0438 713 735

Don't risk your family's safety by using online babysitter directories to cut your childcare costs. Be safe, and let us provide you with a professional and reliable alternative.

Babysitters Mornington Peninsula?

Need a Babysitter in or around the Mornington Peninsula?

Why not try Babysitters R Us.

We are a professional, easy to use babysitting agency providing families with reliable and high quality carers at affordable rates. Our aim is to make finding a trustworthy babysitter simple and straight forward.

All of our babysitters are experienced in childcare, first aid trained and are only carefully selected after police checks, reference checks and extensive interviews to make sure you receive a safe and reliable service which we hope you will feel confident to use time and time again, and be comfortable recommending to others.

Booking a babysitter online with our agency is quick and easy! 

Browse  Our Sitters and make a selection from the online profiles

Simply fill in the online Booking form and leave the rest up to Babysitters R Us

Or just give Babysitters R Us a call on - 0438 713 735

Don't risk your family's safety by using online babysitter directories to cut your childcare costs. Be safe, and let us provide you with a professional and reliable alternative.

 

 

The Good Babysitter

A Good Babysitter Always;

ArRivEs on tImE

PlAyS wItH thE cHiLdrEn

rEaDs sTorIeS

HaS aCTivITies tO dO

fOLloWs iNstRUctiOnS

CleAnS aWAy tHe MeSs

gEts tHe chILdrEn tO bEd oN tIMe

lOvEs bABysITtinG

hAs paTieNcE

iS kiNd AnD gEnTLe

wRiTeS a ShORt NoTe fOr tHe pARenTs beFOrE tHeY gO hoMe

Child Care Policies - Election 2010

CareforKids.com.au have a fantastic article in their newsletter this month about what each of the political parties are promising for child care in the lead-up to the election.

Worth a read for every parent or potential parent. Read here

NAPPY CAKES in Tasmania

Two Tasmania ladies have finally made nappy cakes available for Tasmanian's without the expensive interstate shipping costs.

Inca & Dee hand make stunning nappy cakes and baby bouquets, they also make gorgeous children's clothing.


See them on Facebook

Car Seat Confusion

The ABC online news site this week covered a very interesting story relating to the new child restraint laws that came into effect across Australia this month. Well worth a read for parents and carers alike.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/07/20/2958470.htm

Babysitters R Us - Launching in Queensland

Exciting news for Babysitters R Us - we launch our agency in to Queensland on Monday 26th July.

At this stage we will have babysitters available in Brisbane and surrounding suburbs, and the suburbs in the Gold Coast region.

So, if you're looking for a fantastic babysitter on the Gold Coast or Brisbane, stop by and check out our website - where we have the sitter that's right for you!

Donna Hay's Kid Magazine - 2010 Issue

See the 2010 Issue of the Donna Hay Kid's Magazine - it features some great info on cake (and cupcake) decorating and a fabulous story about Donna's own Nanny.