We've just been through the process of finding child care for our 3 yr old. The topic comes up here now and then so I thought I'd share our experiences.
We wanted somewhere close to where we currently live or where I work, with a preference for close to my office since we're not sure where we'll be living in the future, or where Nik will be working. We were looking for private day care centres. The public kindergartens around here have very long waiting lists and only offer part day sessions. We considered in-home care (eg Barnardos) but felt that our boisterous boy would be happier in a larger facility.
I went through the Yellow Pages and the internet and made a list of possible centres, then Nik started calling around. Some places didn't return his calls, or didn't take over-2 yr olds, so they were crossed off. Other places had waiting lists ranging from 'maybe a couple of months' to 'very very long'. But then we found a centre close to my office with several immediate vacancies. (Other centres in the same franchise were full but this one is tucked back in a side street so no-one knows it's there.) Nik visited a few centres, we thought about it a bit, I went in to visit the one we chose, and we enrolled Peter yesterday, to start in a few weeks. All in all, much easier than we expected. (Of course, I might not feel it was so easy after I've dropped my 'baby' off for the first time...)
We'll be paying $231 per week for full time care. Prices we were given at other centres ranged from $245 to $335 per week. This is for central Auckland.
Here's some links:
What to look for in a day care centre:
http://www.childcareonline.co.nz/cms/index.php?Page=370
ERO reports for ECE centres:
http://www.ero.govt.nz/ERO/Reppub.ns...0&Expand=17#17
And here's info about 20 Hours Free, although good luck finding a participating centre
http://www.teamup.co.nz/earlyyears/a...ee/default.htm
This site and the childcareonline link above have childcare directories, but I found the phone book more useful:
http://www.nzchildcare.co.nz/auckland.htm