Nanny Canada

If your family has two or more children, childcare performed by a nanny is likely to be a money-saver. Pay rates in this case range from the minimum wage ($8.00 per hour in B. C.) to about $10.00 per hour. At the lower end of the scale, the cost of having a nanny is comparable with that of keeping two children in day care.

Even if you have one child, a live-in nanny still have an advantage. You can confidently leave for work in the morning without rushing your child to a the day care. If you are on shift work, a nanny can adjust her hours to accommodate yours. Also, beyond the care for your children, some domestic chores can be performed by the nanny allowing you to spend more quality time with your children after a day’s work. These criteria also apply to a live-out nanny who visits your home daily. However, a live-in has the advantages of never arriving late for work and having little chance of canceling at the last minute.
Do you have more questions? Visit our Forum: CAREGIVERS in CANADA.

The biggest bonus in this case is that nannies are less likely than other types of caregivers to switch employment. Therefore, a nanny can give your child a sense of consistency. Between one and three years of age, children establish strong bonds with caregivers. At this stage, a child’s language skills are too undeveloped to understand why the childcare arrangement has changed. When a nanny suddenly leaves, a toddler may react with aggressive behaviour or retreat into babyish activities like thumb-sucking. The child is displaying bewilderment over the loss.

From age three to six, a child will be more understanding but will still experience distress if a favourite caregiver leaves. This happens often with informal baby-sitting arrangements. Even at day-care centers with prescribed child-minding philosophies, staff turnover is high. Live-in nannies are more stable because leaving their jobs means leaving their homes.

If you like this post then please consider subscribing to our RSS feed.

3 Comments »

The Live-in Caregiver Program is a special program whose objective is to bring workers to Canada to do live-in work as caregivers when there are not enough Canadians to fill the available positions.

A live-in caregiver is someone who provides care to children, the elderly or the disabled in a private household.

Successful applicants receive an employment authorization allowing them to work in Canada as live-in caregivers. After two years of employment, which must be completed within three years of the caregiver’s arrival in Canada, program participants can apply in Canada to become permanent residents. They may be granted permanent resident status provided they meet certain requirements.

Do you have more questions? Visit our Forum: CAREGIVERS in CANADA.

There are three main requirements you will have to meet to qualify under the Live-in Caregiver Program:

• Successful completion of the equivalent of a Canadian high school education. This requirement will help to ensure that participants who apply for permanent residence after two years will be able to succeed in the general labour market. Studies indicate that the majority of new jobs in Canada require at least a high school education.
• Six months of full-time training or 12 months of experience in paid employment in a field or occupation related to the job you are seeking as a live-in caregiver. You may have gained your training or experience in early childhood education, geriatric care,pediatric nursing or first aid, to name just a few areas. You may have completed your training as part of your formal education. In order to meet the criteria for experience, you must have completed one year of full-time paid employment, including at least six months of continuous employment with one employer, in that field or occupation. This experience must have been obtained within the three years immediately prior to the day on which you submit an application for an employment authorization to a visa officer.
• Ability to speak, read and understand either English or French. You must be able to function independently in a home setting. For example, you must be able to contact emergency services if required and to understand labels on medication. You will be unsupervised for most of the day and may be put in a position of having to communicate with someone outside the home. A good knowledge of English or French will also enable you to read and understand for yourself what your rights and obligations are.

Subscribe in a reader

130 Comments »