On this special day tell your mom (again and again) how much you love her, make a poem, write a letter, take mom out to her favorite restaurant, buy flowers, give her a day off (let her relax while the rest of the family does the work), etc.

Touch your mothers heart by writing these sentimental quotes in Mother’s Day cards, letters or gift wraps.

• “A mother’s arms are more comforting than anyone else’s.” — Diana, Princess of Wales

• “By and large, mothers and housewives are the only workers who do not have regular time off. They are the great vacationless class.” — Anne Morrow Lindbergh

• “A mother is not a person to lean on, but a person to make leaning unnecessary.” — Dorothy Canfield Fisher

• “Never marry a man who hates his mother, because he’ll end up hating you.” — Jill Bennett

• “It is not until you become a mother than your judgment slowly turns to compassion and understanding.” — Erma Bombeck

• “Becoming a mother makes you the mother of all children. From now on each wounded, abandoned, frightened child is yours. You live in the suffering mothers of every race and creed and weep with them. You long to comfort all who are desolate.” – Charlotte Gray

• “At work, you think of the children you have left at home.At home, you think of the work you’ve left unfinished. Such a struggle is unleashed within yourself. Your heart is rent.” — Golda Meir

• “All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That’s his.” — Oscar Wilde

• “There is only one pretty child in the world, and every mother has it.” – Chinese Proverb

Mothers Day Poem
M – O – T – H – E – R
“M” is for the million things she gave me,
“O” means only that she’s growing old,
“T” is for the tears she shed to save me,
“H” is for her heart of purest gold;
“E” is for her eyes, with love-light shining,
“R” means right, and right she’ll always be,
Put them all together, they spell
“MOTHER,”
A word that means the world to me.

Howard Johnson (c. 1915)

HAVE A HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!

Choosing child care is an important and sometimes hard decision. If you go back to work, it may mean the end of the special time with your child. For some parents it may feel good, since it means that you have time to do some things for yourself again. Whether you need child care for a very small number of hours or full-time (40 hours a week), spend the time needed to find the setting that is right for you and your child.

There are many child-care choices available. Some families have grandparents or other family to look after their children, while others have a babysitter or a nanny to come to their home. Some take their child to a family daycare provider who cares for a small group of children of different ages in their own home. And still others choose group child care at a centre.

Think about what it is that you are looking for or need.

Plan What Will Work for Your Family

• Do you need care full-time, part-time, or for only a few days a month?
• Can you get your child to daycare or does the caregiver need to come to you?
• Do you need care for the same days each week? Or will you need someone at short notice, or someone who can stay at night if necessary, or someone to care for your child on different days each week?
• How many hours of child care do you need each day? Think about travel time to and from daycare.
• Can you find child care close to your workplace?
• How much can you pay? (Find out about child care subsidies)

Plan What Will Work for Your Child

• Does your child like large groups, small groups or does he like one-to-one attention?
• Do you think he will be happy at home with one caregiver? Having brothers or sisters at home helps.
• Does you child like going out and having lots of things to do, or does he like quiet times the best?

Children can be happy in many different sorts of child-care settings.

(Toddler’s First Steps – A Best Chance Guide to Parenting Your Six-Month to Three-Year-Old)
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When families decide to have a nanny in their home, they think about what it means to have a new person on her own with their children. They think about the changes that will take place and how the kids will accept the stranger. In most cases, a nanny is not hired for a short term. Parents don’t like to change nannies and the nannies don’t like to change families. In many cases the children get attached to the nanny and she is considered a part of the family.
Do you have more questions? Visit our Forum: CAREGIVERS in CANADA.

If a family does not need a nanny on regular basis but only for a few hours sporadically, then a babysitter will be more appropriate then a nanny full-time. The question is where to look for a babysitter when your needs are for only a short period of time knowing that is not easy to have the same person babysitting whenever is required.

One should try as many ways as possible including friends’ and relatives’ referrals, newspapers and bulletin board advertisements and not in the least, domestic help agencies, especially those specialized in nannies. Although, a nanny or domestic help agency will ask you for a fee for finding a babysitter, the advantage is that the agency will do the screening process and if the babysitter is not available, the agency will provide a substitute for her.

Regardless of the screening done by the nanny agency, you should interview the baby-sitter at your home so you will have a better sense about the interaction with your kids and if they will feel comfortable with her at home.

Some questions to ask of potential babysitters:

1. How would you make sure that my child does not play with dangerous objects or swallow poisons?
2. Have you ever taken care of an injured child? What would you do if my child fell off a swing? How would you decide when to call an ambulance?
3. What would you do if there were an emergency in the house like a fire or a gas leak?
4. Do you plan to have children of your own? What do you like about children/
5. Have you ever taken care of your younger brothers or sisters? What do you dislike about children?
6. What would you do if my child complained that he was bored?
7. Tell me how you plan to spend the day (evening) while you are caring for my child?
8. If my child broke an expensive object in the house or refused to eat her dinner, what would you do?
9. What do you feel are your main duties as a babysitter?

The following are tips on choosing and orienting a babysitter:

• Choose babysitters who demonstrates knowledge of how to prevent injuries. They should have taken first aid training or a babysitting course that includes first aid. The Canadian Red Cross Society offers these types of courses.
• Orient a new babysitter to your home. Show the babysitter the first aid supplies, emergency telephone numbers, the escape plan in case of fire and how to control heat, stove, lights and fuse box.
• Be clear about activities and areas that are off limits to children.
• Leave the telephone number where you will be and the number of a neighbour who could be of assistance in an emergency.
• After the children are put to bed, the sitter should check each of them once an hour. Make it clear that the babysitter should not sleep.
• The babysitter should not be allowed to entertain friends. He or she is hired to do a job and should not be distracted.
• The telephone should not be used for personal calls. It is for emergency use only.
• The babysitter should know what the child is doing at all times.
• If possible, avoid asking babysitters to give medicine. If you must, give them careful instructions.
• Babysitters should not smoke. Smoking is a fire and health hazard. Smoke may cause or worsen children’s colds, flu, asthma and bronchitis.
• Babysitters should not be expected to do chores. Their concerns is for the safety of the child.
• Check out your babysitters thoroughly. Make unscheduled visits home until you are sure you can trust them.

Before you leave home give to your babysitters a written list of the chores needed for your child’s well being, instructions, everyday telephone numbers, phone numbers to be used in case of emergency.

Here is a sample information sheet you can leave with your babysitter:

INFORMATION FOR BABYSITTERS

Parents Names:________________________

The House Address:_____________________

The Phone Number of the House:___________

Mother’s Work Phone:____________________

Mother’s Mobile Phone:___________________

Father’s Work Phone:_____________________

Father’s Mobile Phone:____________________

Neighbour’s or Relative’s Name:______________

Neighbour’s or Relative’s Phone Number:______

Child’s Bedtime:__________________________

Mealtime Instructions:_____________________
________________________________________
________________________________________

Special Instructions:______________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________

Fire:_________________________________911
Police:________________________________911
Ambulance:____________________________911
Poison Control Center:______________________

Doctor’s Name:____________________________

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Finding a Nanny For Your Family

by Andrea Taylor / BC Parent Magazine

Childcare is one of the most important decisions working parents have to make. If you have decided to hire a nanny, you may not be aware of your options for an in home caregiver. What are you looking for? You may want to sit down and make a list of all your requirements. Depending upon your children’s age, you may want to involve them in this part of the process.

Your options for finding a nanny are agencies, advertising in the newspaper or through a recommendation. Nanny agencies are numerous. Some will provide you with referrals and others will act as a screening service. Most will provide assistance with contractual agreements. They will let you know what your rights are and the rights of your employee. They will have done reference checks and conducted interviews; only sending those applicants they feel will be suitable to your family. The final decision does of course lie with you and you may go back to the agency if you are unhappy with the after a probationary period. Any professional service would provide you with all the information you require to make an informed decision.

The interview stage should involve you, your partner and your children. The first part of the interview is spent getting to know each applicant asking about their interests and experience. After an informal time you may want to ask what they would be doing with the children giving them scenarios to see how they would handle certain situations.

Parents may make an agreement that without them both being one hundred percent certain, they would not hire a person. If you have the time take it, because your nanny is the most important employee you would ever hire. Having a nanny, the right one for your children, can be a rewarding relationship for both your children and the nanny. This unique relationship is a partnership with you and your partner in raising your children.
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