'It's robbery': Mother-of-two slams the rising cost of childcare fees after forking out $282 per DAY before quitting her job to save money
- A Melbourne mother-of-two has slammed the rising cost of childcare fees
- Adele Barbaro has two kids - son Harvey, three, and daughter Chloe, 21 months
- The working mum was paying $135 per child, per day to send them to childcare
- But then she was told the fees would increase by a further 4.5%; $141 per child
- If she worked full time while kids are in care, she would be paying $73,320 a year
- She was force to quit her job because she could no longer afford to work full time
A mother-of-two has slammed the rising cost of childcare after she was forced to quit her job to stay home with her kids herself.
Adele Barbaro, from Melbourne, was sending her son Harvey, aged three, and 21-month-old daughter Chloe, to childcare at about $135 per child, per day.
But on April 29, the working mother received an email informing her the fees will increase by a further 4.5 per cent, coming to a total cost of $282 per day for two kids.
'It's robbery,' the outraged mother said. 'It's not regulated and it's unfair on hard working families.'
If Mrs Barbaro was to put her two children into care for five days per week, she would be forking out a staggering $73,320 per year.
Adele Barbaro, from Melbourne, was sending her son Harvey, aged three, and 21-month-old daughter Chloe, to childcare while working full time as a personal assistant
But the working mother was forced to quit her full-time job because she was losing money
The mother, who runs parenting blog The Real Mumma, said working full-time as a personal assistant while putting her toddlers in care saw her lose money.
'I left work at the end of last year because I simply couldn't afford to go to work full-time. I actually lost money,' she told her followers on social media.
'My part-time role changed to full time last year and it worked out that I actually lost money if I went full-time. There was zero financial benefit. So I finished up.'
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The Federal Government's childcare subsidy came into effect last July to help working parents cover the costs of paying someone else to look after their children.
But despite the hip-pocket relief, Mrs Barbaro claimed childcare centres seem to have significantly jacked up their fees since the subsidy announcement.
'All the privatised daycare hike up the fees and it wipes out the subsidies,' she said.
On April 29, the working mother received an email informing her the fees will increase by a further 4.5 per cent, coming to a cost of $282 for both her kids a day
But despite government's childcare subsidy, Mrs Barbaro claimed childcare centres seem to have significantly jack up their fees over the months since the announcement
Last year, Mrs Barbaro shared an insight into the shocking reality of sending kids to childcare after calculating the annual fees.
'Childcare on average costs $122 per day, per child. If you had two children in care for five days a week, that's $63,440 a year,' she warned on her blog.
'The government gives you back $20,000 in rebates but it still costs $43,440 out of pocket and it's going up. Yep! Mine is going up to $135 a day, per child. INSANE.'
Previously speaking to A Current Affair, the mother said the increasingly expensive cost of childcare fees has forced working parents out of the workplace for years.
'[Fees have] gone up $7 per day per child and it's just making it out of reach for so many Aussie families to be able to send their kids to day care and return to the workforce,' she said.
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