Spread of swine flu furthers demand for In-Home Childcare

New Zealand's leading In-Home Childcare provider PORSE is fielding a surge of phone calls from parents wanting in-home care for their children following the possible outbreak of swine flu in a day care centre in Auckland.

A one year old boy at a Papatotoe daycare centre has tested positive for the H1N1 virus with the possibility of others being infected. The centre has been closed for the remainder of the week.

PORSE managing director Jenny Yule said keeping children at home with a nanny or home educator would help to slow the spread of the virus.

Children at home are much less exposed to these viruses and with a maximum of four children in a PORSE home at one time, parents can see the benefits for their families. Children are much less likely to contract contagious illnesses when they are at home, Ms Yule said.

An increase of swine flu infections across the Tasman, including the closure of a daycare centre in New South Wales has led the Ministry of Health in New Zealand to sound the alert over community transmission.

The latest edition of the College of GPs newsletter, ePulse, carries a message from Mark Jacobs, the Health Ministry's director of public health. "The recent rapid increase in cases in Australia in particular emphasises that community transmission in New Zealand is a matter of when rather than if."

PORSE branches around the country also reported an influx of inquiries from parents wanting in-home child care in response to the research out this week that daycare centres can adversely affect the brain development of babies.

Neonatal paediatrician Dr Simon Rowley said latest studies found that levels of cortisol had been found to be higher in children in daycare centres indicating higher stress levels. Dr Rowley said babies who were looked after by more than one carer could incur damage to the wiring in their brain.

Jenny Yule said the research confirmed that home is best for young children. "The latest study findings are a serious wake up call for all of New Zealand. The care of our babies is the most important health, welfare and education issue for raising healthy individuals to function productively and well in society," Ms Yule said. "Research shows that the critical stages of brain development are up to the age of three and that children develop best in a settled home environment. That was the reason why PORSE started back in 1994 and we now have more than 4,500 children enrolled.

Ms Yule said the demand for in-home care and educator training continues to grow as more and more parents realise 'home is best'.