Would you consider overnight child minding?
This is the new wave of babysitting - family daycare centres are now changing their hours and opening overnight and on weekends to suit a growing number of parents who now work unusual, non-traditional hours.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the number of people working non-business hours is up 15 per cent.
And more than one in three worked extra hours or overtime, and almost 60 per cent had no say in their start time and finish times.
In an article in the Sunday Telegraph published yesterday, the newspaper cites a recent survey by Family Day Care Australia of more than 300 providers found 12 per cent provided overnight care, while 14.4 per cent had weekend care.
"Gone are the days of the standard nine to five work day," Family Day Care Australia CEO Carla Northam said.
"Statistics show more and more parents are having to work outside of normal hours, whether they be shift workers, emergency services employees, casuals or executives. Family daycare provides parents flexible childcare, with many educators providing care around the clock."
World Tower Child Care in Sydney's CBD offers working parents a 24-hour childcare service to meet demand.
"There is a need for 24-hour care," centre director Laura Silvera told the Sunday Telegraph. "But the bulk of our work is done to suit working parents, so long daycare hours are from 7am to 7pm."
Ms Silvera told the newspaper that many executives attended after-work functions and required unusual childcare hours. "Parents have to work longer and attend more meetings," she said.
Me? Well I know that when I have done contract work for companies, I stipulate before I start that I must leave work at 4pm, in order to make it in time to pick up my kids. I actually don't mind that I have this curfew, and they don't mind because they know that I work like a maniac to finish all the tasks I set myself for the day. So they're kinda getting some damn good value for money with me.
What about you? Would you like this extended care for kids? I can absolutely see a need for it. But then, do the lines between work and leisure time [and more importantly, time you spend with your children] get incredibly blurred? And where does it end?
Share your stories and thoughts here.
And read more on the Sunday Telegraph piece here:
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