Child care centres are offering more than ever for the children in their care. For these parents, the old saying ‘when you know, you know’ definitely rings true - as they found out when they took a tour of these delightful child care centres after finding them on Toddle.
Read more about what these child care centres are doing that really gives them the WOW factor.
1. This centre has an outdoor water splash park
‘I’d seen the photos on Toddle, but nothing prepared me for seeing the splash park for the first time,’ shares Kate about her visit to Little Giants Oran Park in Sydney. ‘It gets so hot out here, so when I saw that I just knew this was the centre for us.’
2. This centre offers take home family meals for parents
‘I had already fallen in love with the facilities at Little Scholars George Street,’ says Adam about this centre in the heart of the Brisbane CBD. ‘Then they mentioned that they make take home meals for the families and I was sold! It’s such a big help on those crazy nights.’
3. This centre has a whole room dedicated to LEGO play
‘I’d been to a couple of centres and they were starting to blur into one,’ shares Ashley. ‘Then I walked into ToBeMe Five Dock and the director was showing me the LEGO room, the construction room, the gym, the library, the art space…I couldn’t believe my eyes. I wish I could go there instead of my kids!’
4. This centre has native speakers teaching the children Japanese
‘My partner is Japanese so when we walked into Kool Kids Isle of Capri and heard about their Genki Japanese program run by a native speaker, we knew we had found the centre for our girls,’ shares Evelyn. This centre in Surfers Paradise teaches the children all about the culture, food and language of Japan.
5. This centre has a full size rock climbing wall
‘My little boy is absolutely mad for rock climbing, we go to a local indoor place all the time,’ shares Alice. ‘So when I walked into Paisley Park Early Learning Centre Randwick and saw that they had a full sized rock climbing wall I was gobsmacked. I knew my son would be so happy there, and he is!’
6. This centre lets the children take part in risky play
‘I’m not keen on my son being wrapped up in cotton wool,’ shares Joe. ‘He is a rough and tumble kid. My family and I went on a tour at Top Ryde Early Learning after reading about their risky play program on Toddle. It’s awesome, the kids are making fires outside, going on bush walks, and even taking part in woodwork activities. I think it’s fantastic, we all do.’
7. This centre offers a ‘bush kinder’ program
‘My little girl absolutely loves nature,’ shares Lesley. ‘I went to check out Insight Early Learning Kelmscott and they told me about their bush kinder program. Basically they take the kids out to the local bushland and let them have some free play. I think playing with sticks is my daughter’s favourite part of the experience.’ Check out these centres that also offer beach kinder.
8. This centre offers swimming lessons to children
‘We live near the water and for me it’s essential that my children learn to swim,’ shares Will. ‘When my partner and I went to tour Sesame Lane Morayfield they explained that they offer intensive swimming classes for the older children, and it’s all included in the daily fee. That was it for me, I thought that was fantastic and we signed up right away.’
9. This centre has interactive sandbox technology
‘Most child care centres have a sandpit, but this is different,’ explains Lachlan. ‘We walked into Community Kids Caboolture and a couple of kids were standing around a big table covered in sand. But the sand looked like it had moving water and flowing lava from mountains on it. It’s called iSandbox and it’s really interesting technology that they use to teach the kids about ecosystems and changing environments.’
10. This centre has pets for the children to help look after
‘My boys are animal-mad,’ explains Nell. ‘I had seen on Toddle that Jenny’s Kindergarten in Stanmore had fish, birds, rabbits and guinea pigs so we wanted to go and check it out. The rest of the facilities were perfect for us, but when our boys got to hold and cuddle a rabbit, we just fell in love with the place.’ Read more about the benefits of centre pets here.
Want to find the perfect child care centre for your little one? Toddle can help. With every child care centre in Australia in the one place, you can find out everything from location, rates, hours, reviews, programs, menus and more. Simply enter your postcode in the search bar at the top of the page to get started.
Names have been changed for privacy.
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