Long Day Care

Choosing a long day care provider is one of the most important things you will do as a parent of a young child.

You have to feel comfortable with the level of care provided to your child, the facilities your child is spending time in, and the carers who are looking after your child. In addition, you need to consider factors such as the location of the Centre, convenience, cost, and opening hours.

There’s little wonder childcare is a big issue for many families.

This section of our website provides a broad range of information to assist you:

Benefits of Long Day Care
The MELC Program
Our Age-Specific Rooms
How do I book a place at MELC?
Helping your child to settle in
Frequently Asked Questions

Benefits of Long Day Care

It is important to remember that long day care can be of benefit to your child. Whilst many parents view it as a necessity because of their work commitments, don’t forget that it can also help with:

Socialisation
Gaining confidence
Learning to trust others
Problem solving ability
Mental stimulation
Physical development

The MELC Program

At MELC our long day care program is centred around activities that help your child in specific ways. Whilst it may seem as though your child is just having fun, our aim is to provide an educational environment based on children’s interests and needs. We believe that the process of learning, and your child’s participation, is more important than the actual result and we aim to develop your child’s confidence and willingness to undertake new challenges.

Our activities and learning experiences are based on the following areas. Each child has an opportunity to participate in activities from all of these areas, everyday.

Music and movement
Language
Art and Craft
Construction/Block play
Dramatic play
Outdoor play
Puzzles

(For more information on what each of these activities can help to develop in your child refer to our parent handbook).

To assist you in seeing your child’s progress during their time at the Centre, portfolios are prepared by the carers for each child. They contain observations, examples of work, photos, art/craft and information on children’s current interests or work in progress. There are times throughout the year when the portfolios are sent home for parents to look at and add to, and you are welcome to view your child’s portfolio at the Centre at any other time.

Our Age-Specific Rooms

The rooms at MELC are all age-specific. They offer different activities, programs and routines that have been specifically designed to suit the age group concerned. Grouping the children according to their age and stage of development creates a safer, more stimulating environment for the children and caters to their evolving interests.

Our children go into the following rooms and age groups:

Bumblebees Room (0-2 years)
Caterpillars Room (2-3 years)
Butterflies Room (3-4 years)
Dragonflies – MELC Prep Program (4-5 years)

How do I book a place at MELC?

If you are thinking about enrolling your child in long day care and considering which centre to attend, we would encourage you to come in and take a look around our Centre at any time. We’d be delighted to meet you and show you how we do things at MELC.

If you have already decided that you would like to book your child in to MELC, then simply print and complete the Request for Placement Form and send it back to us by fax or mail. This form then adds you to our waiting list for the first available place.

When a place becomes available, you will need to complete and return the Enrolment Form to ensure that we have the necessary information on file regarding your child.

Helping your child to settle in

Coming to a day care centre for the first time, or changing from one centre to another can be a very frightening experience for a child.

Think of yourself starting a new job, moving to a new neighbourhood, or even going to a social gathering and not knowing anyone. The feelings you would have in these situations are probably similar to those of a child starting care, only to them it is a strange sensation and unlike anything they have experienced before.

There are some things you can do to help the situation.

Allow your child some time to orientate at the Centre prior to starting care – you can bring them along to see the Centre and play for a while beforehand to become familiar with the surroundings
Settle your child into an activity, perhaps with a staff member, before leaving them at the Centre in the morning
Say good-bye and reassure them that you will return to pick them up
Don’t linger and stretch out the good-bye – this can be distressing for both you and your child
Most importantly, give your child time to get used to the Centre and the carers. Remember that every child is different and will take a different amount of time to feel comfortable.

Frequently Asked Questions

Parents will often have questions and concerns when placing their child into long day care for the first time. Please feel free to contact us at any time to discuss the services we provide and the programs we offer.

In many cases, your questions will be the same as other parents’. For answers to some of the more common questions we receive regarding long day care, click here.