"If you’ve been reading for a while, you will know that I had post-natal depression (PND) following the birth of both my kids. I wasn’t coping. Little things like insisting my 5 day old baby had to have a photo with Santa for his first Christmas (he was born on 18th December), were clear signs that I wasn’t coping.
I was very lucky with my family support in many ways, however there were times when I needed a break and my family weren’t available. So, I turned to child care.
When the boys were over 1 year old, they were in Family Day Care FDC) 2 days a week, but before that, and even after that if I needed it on the days when they weren’t in FDC, I used Occasional Care in different forms.
I used the occasional care at the gym so I could go to a class, and also my church would put trips on, such as going Christmas shopping, and would look after the kids. There was also an awesome Occasional Care facility that I could use.
This was especially important following the birth of my second son when I ended up in hospital for PND. The boys Dad made use of this.
I was saddend to discover that Occasional Care funding was being cut. There are a huge number of Mums who have PND, and much of this is to do with the lack of support. Occasional Care is an invaluable resource for Mums with PND. It is a cheap way for the government to support these Mums.
The other advantage of occasional care is just that – it IS occasional. With other forms of child care you have to book in to set days and commit to that time frame. With occasional care, I was able to ring up and book the boys in when I had a doctors appointment or some other activity where I really couldn’t take the boys with me.
Occasional care is something that is definitely worth saving."
For more details, click here.
To sign the petition, click here.
