Even under normal circumstances looking for childcare is stressful. Juggling the cost with what values are right for you and your kids, with the distance from your work and home is a lot, but throw a global pandemic on top of it and suddenly there’s a whole new set of things to worry about.
After 18 months off, Jane’s maternity leave is ending and like so many families before us, we have gone through the stressful process of looking for childcare for Clara and Ryker. At first, the sheer amount of options were overwhelming. Do we want a daycare? A day home? A nanny? What makes a daycare different from a day home? Do we want an outdoor daycare? Montessori? Do we want a nanny? Can we afford a nanny? Who regulates day homes? Are they safe? We had so many questions and didn’t really know where to start the process. Luckily my interview with the Good Nanny gave us a starting point for Nanny’s and a neighbour down the street runs a day home and offered us advice on where to look up information.
The number one thing we learned is this: There is no right and wrong choice, there is just the right choice for your family at this time.
Since we have just gone through it, I thought it would be helpful to put together a resource for other parents looking into childcare for their kids. No matter if you’re looking for a daycare, day home or nanny in Calgary or somewhere else, this is at least a start for you on your journey.
How to decide which is right for you
This was perhaps the hardest part of the whole process for us. It is so hard to know what is right, and there are so many different factors for each family/child.
Ultimately, we decided on a nanny. The biggest surprise for us was that with two kids it was equal to, or in some cases cheaper, than sending the kids to a daycare or day home.
Here are some questions you may want to consider when starting your search.
- Do you want all of your children to attend the same program?
- Do you need part-time options?
- Do you need infant care?
- Do you prefer a smaller setting or a family setting for child care?
- What hours of service would accommodate your family’s schedule and child care needs?
- Do you need a location that is accessible to your home or work? (e.g. on a bus route).
- Do you require transportation for your children to and from school?
- Do you prefer a program that offers meals and snacks or would you prefer to provide your own?
- Do you require child care for children with disabilities?
- What amount of program fees are affordable for your family?
Again, I can’t reiterate this enough, there is no right answer. In fact, they all might have pros and cons, the hard part is deciding what are the biggest factors for your family. For us, reducing the risk of COVID and being able to have the kids at home was what lead us to our decision for a nanny, but we HEAVILY weighed the other options, especially since Clara is so social.
Daycare or Day Home
First, it’s important to note the difference between a daycare and a day home. In general, a day home is different from a daycare center in that a day home is typically provided in a professional caregiver’s home or another private residence. A daycare centre is typically more of an institutional setting and can be structured similarly to a school.
In Alberta, licensed child care programs must meet the requirements laid out in the Child Care Licensing Act and the Child Care Licensing Regulation. These rules and standards set the benchmark to make sure children’s health and safety needs are being met. Day Care facilities are regularly inspected by Alberta Human Services through child and family services.
Day homes are monitored by a contracted family day home agency to ensure the health and safety of children. Alberta Human Services contracts with approved family day home agencies that recruit and provide training to family day home providers.
Approved family day home providers may care for up to six children with no more than three under three-years-old and no more than two under two-years-old, including the provider’s own children.
The Alberta Governments Child Care Lookup is a great first step for looking for a daycare or a day home. Once you have narrowed your choices down you’ll want to take a tour of the daycare or day home and ask lots of questions. You can find lots of resources for what questions to ask, like this list.
Nanny
Again, our biggest surprise when looking at nannies was the cost. For two kids, it was comparable or in some cases cheaper, than putting them in a daycare or a day home. Rates may vary depending on your city/town/province/country, but for us looking in Calgary in September of 2020, most nannies were in the $15-$26 an hour range. The four we ended up interviewing in person were asking $17-$20 an hour.
When searching for a nanny you can look at canadiannanny.ca or go through an agency like Nannies on Call, New Mummy Company or Diamond Personnel. Agencies will take a finders fee but will also have vetted nannies for you to interview right away.
Whether you’re going to look on your own or through an agency you’ll want to make sure that your future nanny has CPR, First Aid, Child Intervention Check, and a police background check. Both child intervention checks and police background checks can be obtained at any police station for a fee of $55. It’s also worth noting that child-related offences won’t’ show up on the police background check, only on the child intervention check.
Once you’ve found a list of nannies you’d like to interview, start with a phone interview and ask about experience, schedule, location, transportation and questions relevant to your kids and your family. Once you’ve short-listed a few candidates, arrange a time for them to come to your house and meet your kids. See how they interact, how your kids like them, and if they’re the right fit for your family.
Resources
- My interview with The Good Nanny
- Alberta Governments Choosing Child Care Guide
- Alberta Governments Child Care Look Up
- Questions to ask when touring a daycare
- Canadian Nanny
- Nannies On Call
- New Mummy Company
- Diamond Personnel
- Police Background Checks Calgary
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