Full-time Childcare

Full-time Childcare

Making the Right Decision

Families with preschool children face important decisions regarding how and in what manner their children will be cared for especially during the daytime.  Between childbirth and age six, your child will develop rapidly.  Before your son or daughter is ready to enter Grade One, he or she will have undergone tremendous physical, emotional and social development.  The care received during the first six years of your child’s life is very important.  With the need for both parents to earn a paycheque, you may be considering what environment is best for your child while you are at work.  An increasing number of families have decided a full-time caregiver (i.e., nanny) is the best care option for their child.

Finding a Nanny

To find a nanny you can look in many places, including help wanted ads as posted in newspapers, bulletin boards, webpages or  referrals from friends. These approaches can be time-consuming and also can result in negative experiences, especially when using the internet. We meet with you to find out what you need and screen applicants, so that you only meet with qualified caregivers. Once hired, we stay engaged, making sure that you are fully satisfied.

Characteristics of a Nanny

A nanny is a child care specialist. A nanny’s workplace is in a family’s private home and his/her job is to provide one-on-one attention and the best possible care for the family’s children.  Although the work is full-time, the nanny may or may not live with the family. The nanny’s role is to provide support to the family by serving as a loving, nurturing and trustworthy companion to the children. A nanny tends to have special child care skills and a deep love and understanding of children. A nanny offers the family convenient, high quality care to meet each child’s physical, emotional, social and intellectual needs.

Duties and Responsibilities of a Nanny

A nanny is responsible for the complete care of their employer’s children. Duties include tending to each child’s basic physical needs, meal planning and preparation, laundry and clothing care, organization of play activities and outings, providing behavioral guidelines and disciplining when appropriate, intellectual stimulation, language activities and provide transportation when required. Housekeeping responsibilities are primarily child related.  Bahay CAREgiver Services helps families develop a list of duties and responsibilities for the caregiver to ensure the best care that matches the needs of your child or children.  It is important to establish as early as possible the duties and responsibilities of your caregiver.

Consistent Care

The caregiver will be solely devoted to the needs of your children. The caregiver knows your children’s needs and requirements.  Daycare centres may have a high-turnover of staff and, therefore, cannot offer the same consistent level of service.  At a daycare centre your child is just one of many children.  Hiring a full-time caregiver provides consistent quality care for your children in their own home.

Skills and Training

Nannies available from Bahay CAREgiver Services have a range of skills and experience.  Many have nursing degrees or equivalent education as well as having worked many years as a caregiver.

Finding the Right “Fit”

Certainly your caregiver requires the right skills and experiences for the specific needs of your children and family. More importantly, however, you and your children need to be comfortable with the personal qualities of your nanny.  A nanny must be able to communicate well with both children and parents. Depending on the individual family, the nanny may be treated as an employee, a cherished friend or as a member of the family. Bahay CAREgiver services has developed a detailed screening process that helps to match the right caregiver with the needs of your family.  We will help you develop a list of priorities to help you choose the best nanny for your family. For example: What qualities are important to you? Flexibility? Enthusiasm? Independence?  How much and what type of work experiences and/or education is important to you in the nanny who will care for your children?

Cost Effective

Hiring a live-in or live-out Nanny/Caregivers is likely more cost effective than a for-profit daycare centre.