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When Lila opened her family day care service in Stokers Siding, a village of just 600 people in north-eastern New South Wales, she became the only early childhood education and care option in the town. Prior to this, families were travelling up to 40 minutes each way to access care in neighbouring communities, often facing long waitlists or being unable to secure a place at all. For many, this created significant challenges in maintaining employment or balancing work and family life.
“All of my families are working families,” says Lila. “I have essential workers, including nurses and midwives who just needed the care for work commitments.”
After gauging interest through a local social media post, demand was immediate. Within two weeks of opening, her service was full.
For parents, the impact of having a local option has been immediate. One parent, a healthcare shift worker with no local family support, described the challenges of balancing work and care.
“I was working night shifts to earn income - but with no daycare the following day, it meant staying up for the morning and relying on a toddler midday nap to get any rest.”
Without reliable local care, families were often forced to make difficult decisions about employment. One parent shared that despite completing further study, they had been unable to take up career opportunities and would likely have remained at home full-time, reducing both income and connection to their community.
Now, Lila’s family day care plays a critical role in supporting local families to maintain employment, reduce travel and access high-quality early learning close to home.
“Having local child care means I can get a full day’s work in without travel and cost being a concern,” one parent said. “We can leave later in the morning, meaning more time together, and I can leave later from work to pick up our son, so I get more time to get work done.”
For Alana, the impact has been significant.
“Without local child care, my ability to work would be limited - not great when there is already a shortage of healthcare workers.”
Before opening her service, Lila had already established a strong connection to early childhood education. After finishing school, she completed a Bachelor of Educational Studies while raising her three children and later worked in a local preschool. Family day care offered an opportunity to combine her passion for education with the flexibility of running her own business.
“Running your own business, the flexibility of setting your own hours and being able to work around your family, that really appealed to me,” she says.
Establishing the service required significant planning and investment. Lila transformed an open carport into a dedicated family day care space, installing walls, windows, plumbing, and a kitchen, along with completing fencing and safety upgrades to meet regulatory requirements. The result is a self-contained environment that provides a consistent and calm space for children, while allowing clear separation between home and work life.
Throughout the process, Lila also received hands-on support from her service, particularly in navigating compliance and business requirements.
Support through the Australian Government-funded Family Day Care Capability Trial, facilitated by Family Day Care Australia, also played an important role during the final stages of establishment. The financial assistance helped ease the pressure of set-up costs, while access to tools and resources supported her understanding of compliance and ongoing business management.
Reflecting on the broader impact of the trial, Lila noted that the support has helped stabilise her financially during the early stages of establishing her business, while also introducing her to tools such as Geccko, the Australian Government’s online learning platform for the early childhood education and care sector.
Today, Lila supports ten families across four days a week, caring for children aged between 18 months and four years. Her service has quickly become an integral part of the local community, enabling parents to remain in the workforce, reduce travel, and access high-quality early learning close to home.
Her approach is grounded in nature-based learning, slow pedagogy and sustainability, reflecting the rural environment in which the children live. Days are largely spent outdoors, with children engaging in hands-on experiences such as caring for chickens, exploring natural materials, and learning through play that mirrors their home environments.
In a small community, relationships and trust play a key role. Families value the familiarity and connection that comes with a local educator, often sharing mutual networks and connections that strengthen confidence in the care provided.
“Having a local family day care educator is great because we have mutual friends and acquaintances, the trust and confidence is already much more established than it would be for a larger daycare facility,” one parent shared.
Looking ahead, Lila is focused on continuing to build her business and maintain high-quality education and care for local children. “You’ve got to keep offering high-quality care and build that word-of-mouth,” she reflects.
Her advice to others considering family day care is simple: “I'd say definitely look into it. It's an amazing, rewarding career. I've loved every minute of it.”
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