Mom fights for grandparents to be included in child care subsidies

At 69, Pam traded retirement for playdough, nappy changes and nap time. She wouldn’t have it any other way.

She packed up her life in Perth, Australia, and moved across the country to Brisbane, Australia, to help ease the crushing cost of child care, giving her daughter the chance to keep working and her grandson the gift of a grandma’s love.

“Nothing can compare to a nanna’s love,” Lauren, Pam’s daughter, told Kidspot. 

For three days a week, Pam cared for Lauren’s 3-year-old son, Rafferty. For the first three years of his life, day care wasn’t a center, it was his Ninny. 

“It was well and truly day care”

And soon, the process will begin all over again with the family’s newest arrival, 4-month-old Sully. 

Lauren is a speech pathologist, which means she understands just how critical those early years are for a child’s development. 

“All of the one-on-one interaction with my mom, that was just so valuable to my son,” Lauren said. 

There’s little difference between traditional day care and Pam. 

She worked set hours, prepared meals, toilet trained, followed nap routines and attended community activities. She even completed a CPR course online to prepare.

“It is well and truly day care,” the mom explained. 

“We bought so much stuff for the house … he’s got his own playroom here, he’s got an outdoor area that’s just completely fitted out with everything he could have needed.”

There’s only one thing that’s missing: government support.

Despite doing everything a day care educator does, Pam receives no financial assistance. Because she’s not a formal provider, the government child care subsidy doesn’t apply to their arrangement.

“There’s no reason why that money shouldn’t have gone into her pocket,” Lauren said.

“Other families don’t have that opportunity. They’ve got grandparents or family members who would be really willing, but not able without that reimbursement.”

Lauren isn’t asking for anything extra. Just the same support she would have received if her kids attended a child care center.

“I think that we should be in a position to be able to decide who is going to care for our children,” Lauren proposed. 

She’s not the only mom who feels this way. 

Her local moms group recently began a petition calling on the Australian government to broaden the child care subsidy program. To allow families more choice when it comes to selecting care.

“If the government’s focus is on the children, then I think the people who know their children best should get a say in who, how and where their children are cared for,” Lauren said. 

“Not to be excluded from financial support simply for exercising their choice.”  

Recognizing informal care arrangements wouldn’t just benefit families, it could also bring relief to an already overwhelmed childcare sector.

“The current day cares have huge waitlists,” she said. 

“It’s relieving that sort of pressure as well.”

New lease on life

Looking after the kids hasn’t just been good for the children. It’s been good for Pam, too.

“This has given her a whole new lease on life,” she revealed

These days, Rafferty attends a local Montessori center part-time, where he’s thriving. But for baby Sully, the family plans to follow the same path they did the first time around, keeping him at home with Ninny until he turns 3.

It’s a decision based on love, trust, and what works best for their family.

“I’m not dissing child care centers … his (Rafferty’s) educators are lovely,” Lauren said. 

“Why would we put him in a centre when someone might desperately be needing that position, and we have someone who is willing and able to look after Sully?”