Karitane

It was the best experience for the first time in my life i felt there is help available for parents who is struggling with toddler behaviour and sleeping routine. The nurses were soo nice and helpful.
Thank you so much Karitane

At my baby's 4 month check up I was told that he should be sleeping independently by now and that I should go to Karitane for support. Being an incredibly sleep deprived, emotionally unstable new parent I didn't trust my instincts but followed this advice. I had phone consults with Karitane nurses and followed their online infant sleep advice for 3 days. For 3 days I tried the 'eat, play, sleep', shush and pat method and followed their wake windows. For 3 days my baby screamed and I cried. When I called Karitane bawling they gave me sympathy but blamed my baby for being difficult and said I needed to keep pushing through with it despite how obviously distraught I was. In another call I was given the advice to not feed on demand but to push the feeds out to 3 and then 4 hours. This particular bad piece of advice made me realise that I was listening to the wrong people. The Australian Breastfeeding Association and the WHO both recommend feeding on demand, feeding to sleep and holding your baby. We have so much research now on attachment and breastfeeding and they're benefits yet the government is still supporting old fashioned programs like this. When I stopped taking this bad advice and went with my baby's needs I learnt that he had a higher needs temperament, he had much lower sleep needs than the average and eventually, without any crying or stress or training, he was able to nap in a bed and not on me. I hope this review can save at least one parent from the trauma this program can put you through. Trust your instincts. You know your baby best.

Cannot recommend Karitane enough! All the nurses were very hands on and easy to form a relationship with. My daughter took to so many of them on the first day. Karitane provided a safe space for us to work on our sleeping goals and my anxiety.

I have so much Gratitude, Love, Admiration and Respect for all the workers in this Beautiful place. So Helpful, Accommodating and Safe. I will always Treasure the amount of Wisdom, Guidance and Support that I have received from everyone in Karitane. Each individual person so Amiable. All these Lovely Ladies Encouraging, Informative, Warm and Welcoming, Nurturing and Professional. I feel Truly Blessed to have had the Time, Assistance and Experience in this Safe Space that truly Benefited myself and my child. So much Love and Appreciation to you Karitane from our Grateful Hearts.

I had a very insightful week at Karitane. I had the best time I could ever with my baby Elina. I found my baby wasn’t feeding well and had difficulty settling; so I was offered a week stay at Karitane. There were several nurses looking after me including Kiran, Stephanie, Zora, Heaven, Lucy, Claurinda and Sarah the lactation nurse. On arrival I had my baby checked by a Paediatrician. Then over several days I had different nurses recommend different solutions and teaching me different techniques to settle and feed. It’s very helpful getting a wide variety of information and then applying it and seeing what works for me and baby; as not one shoe fits all. It is important to stay open minded, believe in the process and ask questions. There are lovely Counselors and social workers there to talk to to discuss motherhood with etc also there are other mothers there to socialise with and recognise other difficulties mothers can have at different stages of their child’s development and learning from them through discussion. Everyday we had the option to participate in an activity for ourselves; sometimes with our children. There is also a playroom run by lovely Tekeesha that also runs playgroups outside of Karitane so you can continue in participating in your child’s social life (and yours) outside Karitane. Tekeesha taught me about sensory play and things my baby was capable of playing with. She also gave me ideas of the sort of play I can participate in for my baby or I can create with everyday items. The food there was abundant and lovely. The kitchen was always accessible and you can find something to eat and drink anytime during the stay. The room was an ensuite with a little sink and bench area to bath your baby, with a change table area and shelves. Plenty of space.

All nurses and staff have expertise and backgrounds and specialties in different areas so it’s helpful to ask and follow their recommendations. There was also lounge areas with mindfulness colouring books and DVDs to watch if you have any downtime. They helped hold my baby and take care of her when I was needing to shower etc I enjoyed meeting other mothers too and we had a pram walk day. Upon arrival you can help yourself to an airport-like trolley to bring your things in. I felt like it worked on my subconscious that I was going on a holiday; and it felt like one: D

I had so much fun and was very very very sad leaving. I have learnt a lot and I am glad I had this experience with Elina. I would defiantly come back again in the future (if needed) and would recommend it to everyone and anyone that wishes to learn about their baby, motherhood or aren’t quite sure to reach out to Karitane. I love Karitane ️

I finished my stay with my 17-month-old daughter at Karitane Carramar 0n 6th May 2022, and I must say that Karitane Residential unit is the worst. If I could give a negative rating in all areas, it would be appropriate. I have given feedback to my GP and my paediatrician not to recommend any parents to Karitane in the future. Karitane is waste of time, energy, and unnecessary utilisation of our Medicare. NSW Government must do an impromptu visit to keep a track of the following issues:

1) The nurses there are NOT TRANSPARENT of their act. It caught my attention that they are monetising parents in terms of vouchers. When asked, they mentioned that parents facing financial hardship are being given the voucher. The actual scenario is quite different. I know the person who got that does not have any financial crisis. Instead, the person is financially secure. They give lame excuses which are unacceptable and bribe people to say good things about them. Probably, the staffs keep some of the vouchers themselves for them.
2) Nursing staff including kitchen staff, STEAL children/parents’ food from the fridge in the communal room. It happened to me not once, twice but a couple of times. My baby is a fussy eater and doesn’t want to eat in one go. It was also confirmed that I can put back food in the fridge if we want to eat later. But after leaving the food in the fridge, I could not find the food again after 2-3 hours on the same day. They charge from parents’ Medicare cards for stay and food but are not ashamed of eating someone else’s food.
3) Nurses at Karitane (names – Kiran, Natasha, Stephanie, Lucy, Quynh, and others) are INCOMPETENT in handling babies. They are the least knowledgeable nurses I have ever seen across the globe. There is no communication being cascaded in an unbiased way. Anything they couldn’t provide an answer to, they were projecting their lack of knowledge onto my daughter saying she is different than other babies. Whereas, starting from my paediatrician, my GP to childcare no one has ever confirmed that my daughter is different.
4) Playgroup at Karitane is managed by Takisha (a Caribbean origin lady) and she is a shirker. She along with other nurses DISCRIMINATE babies/parents by their race, ethnicity, and age. She discriminated against my daughter Since our admission. She loves doing gossip about others except doing her duties. She gave us agenda for the whole week and only did some work on a few days.
5) Staff at Karitane spread FALSE/MISLEADING INFORMATION. Before admission, I was told they will provide meal charts and other documents so that parents can take those with them for future reference. When Asked Lucy about that, she mentioned that my daughter is different. Hence, they can’t provide a meal chart. I am surprised to see the nurses’ audacity and feeling superior to a doctor/paediatrician and judging people. The nurses even told me that my daughter could have hearing problems even though I kept on saying that our paediatrician has confirmed there are no issues with my daughter’s hearing.
6) No Paediatrician comes to the center. They assure parents by telling lies that a specialist will come but they don’t know when. After telling the lies for a couple of days a GP came and asked some random questions to me. The whole purpose of going there was to get support for my baby which was also promised to be given by Karitane but after going there realised how FRAUDULENT Karitane staff can be. Rubbish!

I am very sure that organisations like Karitane do not help people and in the name of charity, the organisation is making money without providing actual support. NSW Government should revisit its purpose of existence and cancel its license upon failure to provide the support they claim to provide.

This review is 18 years late. The staff here are amazing and the techniques which they taught life changing. We went from a child who would take almost an hour to put to sleep, wake every 45 minutes to 1.5 hours, to sleeping solid 10 hours. After 11 months we took our child in to Karitane. I was so sleep deprived at work, I was forgetting key things. The most telling was no memory of a 3 hour meeting. Our lives went from one of total sleep depravation, exhaustion and no control/hope, to the total opposite. This was an overnight change. The first night that we stayed there, they took our child and put him to sleep in 5 minutes and we were allowed to get much needed rest. One method of controlled crying which they taught us, I then passed on to friends of mine around the world. This was even to one friend who was struggling with her fifth child. It was the same wonderful result and I even got letters thanking me and have been nicknamed the baby whisperer. However, this was thanks to Karitane and being taught by them. They gave to us and we happily helped those in our circle. Thank you Karitane!

The ladies here are absolutely wonderful. I was quite desperate for help. Lisa and Julie helped me most days and gave me the confidence to wean my toddler of frequent night wakes for milk without the pressure or guilt of doing so. I think it would have been much better having an in person experience but due to covid it is obviously not possible. Would def recommend!

I am still in disbelief about the positive impact that the nurses had on my entire family within 4 days and 4 nights. Due to lock down, the 'stay' was replaced with phone and video calls. The nurses were able to make such intuitive decisions for my children and their routines, completely via screens. I was a bit nervous about settling my little ones once 24/7 support was gone, but just 2 days after completing our time with Karitane, I could put my 11 month in her cot, and she would either go to sleep alone, or with a gentle pat of the cot mattress! My 3 year old now has my undivided attention when it's time to wind down and read books before bed. I know that there will be days that won't be as smooth, but this is a massive step in the right direction for a mum who battled colic, (unwanted) co-sleeping, 5+ night wakings and feeding to sleep.

The nurses were incredibly kind and non judgmental about how things had been going. I felt so supported and encouraged every step of the way. If anyone is having a hard time with their young children's sleep, don't wait to contact Karitane! Life changing.

Big thanks for Carrama Karitane Team for help me with my baby 10 weeks. Especially, Kathy and Wendy for your caring, and supporting. The result is so much better than I expected. Many thanks️?

My wife and I spent five days with our baby there recently. The nurses are really nice and helpful. They are firm but caring. Thank you so much.
Victor and Fatima

This place helped me a lot and I did a very good research based treatment with them for my son and couldn't ask for more. It made a huge difference in my son's personality, cognitive and social skills. They took a very good care of me and the babies and helped establish a good sleeping-feeding routine. I am so satisfied with their service and wish them so the best. Dr. Nancy with who I had the treatment is one of a kind person and therapist.

The staff are unbelievably brilliant! I can not recommend this place enough. They helped us when we felt so hopeless and lost. Amy and the team gave us direction, confidence and hope.

All the nurses and support staff were amazing! Everyone is so patient, understanding and knowledgeable. Thank you to everyone!

Poor internal communication between the staff.we had a traumatize experience with them. Never talk to the nurse consultant Jenny.

Complete waste of time. Literally feel like you are staying there on your own. Short staffed and every nurse tells you something completly different to the last like they have had no training at All. All the other families I stay there with felt the same way and couldn't beleive the lack of support.

This is the best place for parenting support. They really helped me out when I was in bad place.