Child care facilities for grad students with children

[antanon82]

I am not sure if anything like this has been posted before in this forum but I searched and couldn't find anything...

I just finished my Masters in Biotechnology a year ago and hope to apply for PhD this year. My tentative session is fall next year. I have a 2.5 year old toddler, and he will be moving out with me next year depending on where I get accepted.

I will be applying to universities in Canada - I was wondering what the child care facilities are like for grad students with kids...?

[Pauli]

Universities, include in Canada and especially for larger-sized ones, have daycare centers specifically for children of graduate students, faculty, and staff. It's still a good idea to contact the indivdiual universities for more details though, but they're not uncommon.

[wheatGrass]

Hey--

Not sure where you're applying, but in my experience, at many universities (in Canada) the childcare centers are amazing, and offer students and faculty first crack at the waiting list... and there's the problem. The waiting lists are insane. At U of T, for instance I think you need to sign up when you reach childrearing age to get a spot on the list. Well, maybe not that bad, but it can be hard.

Also, Ontario has full day kindergarten available (but not mandatory) and that can start when kids are as young as 3.5... I think they need to turn 4 by January first. They have a 'play based' curriculum--in my opinion it is a great thing. Not to mention free.

I'm not sure about other provinces though.

If you will need daycare you should apply for a subsidy pronto. The process is different in each city/province, but you can apply even if you are not sure you will be needing it because they don't finalize it until closer to the date needed. The waiting lists can be long, depending on the place.

Good luck.

[antanon82]

Hey--

Not sure where you're applying, but in my experience, at many universities (in Canada) the childcare centers are amazing, and offer students and faculty first crack at the waiting list... and there's the problem. The waiting lists are insane. At U of T, for instance I think you need to sign up when you reach childrearing age to get a spot on the list. Well, maybe not that bad, but it can be hard.

Also, Ontario has full day kindergarten available (but not mandatory) and that can start when kids are as young as 3.5... I think they need to turn 4 by January first. They have a 'play based' curriculum--in my opinion it is a great thing. Not to mention free.

I'm not sure about other provinces though.

If you will need daycare you should apply for a subsidy pronto. The process is different in each city/province, but you can apply even if you are not sure you will be needing it because they don't finalize it until closer to the date needed. The waiting lists can be long, depending on the place.

Good luck.

Thank you very much. That was helpful. But how early should I apply? Especially since you mentioned about long waitlists?

I will be applying to U of T, McMaster, McGill, Lakehead U., and UBC (till now this is what I decided based on the programs). Do I apply for the subsidy after I get accepted? I don't know anything about subsidies...

My son will be turning 3 on May this year, which means next year he will be four... Play based curriculums should be fine...

[antanon82]

RANDOM QUESTION: Is there anyone here who will be attending grad school as a single parent (any university)? Or someone who is attending/has attended? Please get in touch with me...

[TakeruK]

UBC has an insanely long waitlist. I would recommend that you apply to all the schools' waitlists now, if possible. Here is UBC ChildCare info: http://www.childcare.ubc.ca

As for waitlist times, they say:

The length of the waiting time is different for each age group and type of care. Due to the high demand and shortage of services the under 3 year old full day programs have the longest waiting times ranging between 12 months to 2.5 years and sometimes as long as 3 years. Full day spaces for 3-5 year olds often have shorter waiting lists and by September of each year are frequently less than 6 months. Our out of school programs have the greatest demand for those children in grade 1 and 2. There are frequently spaces available from October to June in the older school age groups. Our Lluvia preschool program (2.5 hours Monday to Thursday) frequently meets the needs of student, staff and faculty applicants and has spaces for some community families.

You might not be in a priority group until you are officially a student, but they are "open to the public" too, so it is possible you can sign up for the waitlist now.

When I worked with parents at UBC, they said that they signed up for childcare as soon as they conceived. The website says you're eligible to sign up as long as you have a due date. But since your son will be in the "3-5" age group, you might be able to get a spot within a year, according to the website.

[antanon82]

UBC has an insanely long waitlist. I would recommend that you apply to all the schools' waitlists now, if possible. Here is UBC ChildCare info: http://www.childcare.ubc.ca

As for waitlist times, they say:

You might not be in a priority group until you are officially a student, but they are "open to the public" too, so it is possible you can sign up for the waitlist now.

When I worked with parents at UBC, they said that they signed up for childcare as soon as they conceived. The website says you're eligible to sign up as long as you have a due date. But since your son will be in the "3-5" age group, you might be able to get a spot within a year, according to the website.

Thanks a lot... I will also try to see if I can find more info from their websites.