Trust and recognition.

Paragon Personnel Ltd. has achieved a high standard in delivering its
services during the last 29 years and was successful in building a good
reputation among thousands of clients over the years. This nanny agency is a
member of the Better Business Bureau (BBB) of the lower mainland in B.C. The BBB
is recognized as an unbiased organization that sets and upholds high
standards for fair and honest business practices.

Paragon Personnel Ltd. has been a BBB Accredited business since January
1984. That is to say that it supports and accepts BBB’s standards for ethics
and integrity and meets the BBB Accreditation standards. Based on BBB files,
this business has a Rating of A+ (Click here for more information)

Most recently, Paragon Personnel Ltd. was congratulated for 25 years of
accreditation with the local chapter of the Better Business Bureau. The BBB
reliability report indicates that this company meets their standards of
ethics and has no consumer complaints registered during all these years.

Mother’s day is a wonderful time for each of us to take a moment and celebrate Mom.

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!

“I was a single mother. I definitely need to work and I definitely needed childcare. After the baby was born, I had a month to relax and recover from my episiotomy. I didn’t even sit at my desk the entire month (because of the baby, not the episiotomy). But then I had to get some childcare help. I had to get back to work. I had a career; I had responsibilities. One time, the baby’s father looked after him while I ran to the office. But when I got home, I discovered that he was holding a business meeting instead of the baby. Clearly this was not a solution to my need for childcare!

Maybe there are more choices now, but I was on the leading edge of the childcare and maternal employment wave, and the pickin’s were pretty slim. My first “childcare” was a young student who came to my house several hours a week. Usually I ended up sending her to run errands for me, because the baby was always asleep when she arrived. It was helpful to have a personal shopper, but it wasn’t childcare. I started interviewing nannies – quite a few nannies. I finally found one that I liked. She had a young child herself and she seemed kind and knowledgeable. She sure seemed to know more about babies than I did. But when I called to offer her the job, I discovered that the rate that I thought was for the month was for the week! That woke me up in a hurry. I wasn’t going to be able to afford an in-home caregiver.
Visit our Forum: CAREGIVERS in CANADA.

I looked in the paper for women who watched children in their homes. There weren’t many in the neighborhood, and being in the neighborhood was important to me. Eventually, I found a woman who stayed home because she had a toddler herself, and she wanted to care for one more child to make a little extra money. I sounded promising; it was affordable and there was only one other child, so I was sure that my son would get plenty of attention. Within a month, though, this woman had taken in another child, and soon she said she was looking for another one. That wasn’t the direction I wanted to go, so I got on the childcare carousel again. I found another home with a woman who was staying home with her own toddler. This worked well . . . until she got pregnant and decided she wouldn’t do childcare anymore.

I was back to the now all-too-familiar task of interviewing care providers. My first choice – a wonderful woman with a background as a nursery school teacher – had changed her mind by the time I called to hire her. She was going to do something entirely different. I don’t remember what it was now – maybe making jewelry. So I went to my second choice – a young woman who had just graduated from college with a degree in animal science. I was her second choice too. She hadn’t be able to land a job at the zoo, so she thought that taking care of babies would be the next thing. She wasn’t ideal, but I needed someone right away, and she worked out okay, I guess. She was shy and quiet, and she didn’t talk to the baby as much as I would have liked. But she was careful and caring. She took my son to the park; she played with him in the yard. He was safe and seemed content.

At the end of the year, though, my job required me to move across the country. So back on the childcare carousel I went, before my son had even had his second birthday. This time, I went to the university and checked with a childcare expert. She recommended the childcare home where her son had gone. We tried it. It was clean and there were lots of toys. The care providers were very professional. But before the end of the year, I decided to look into nursery schools. My son was almost three, and I thought he would benefit from a more educational program. I was lucky to find a Montessori school and talk the director into accepting my son even though he wasn’t toilet trained. “Never mind”, she said, “he soon will be.” She was wrong about that (every day I picked up a little wet baggie when I picked up my son), but she was right to take him. He enjoyed it and thrived. But six months later, it was time to move again, and the childcare search recommenced. I found another Montessori school and I liked it. The director was intelligent; the teacher were fabulous – full of ideas and energy. Unfortunately, my son did not share my opinion. Every morning was a struggle to leave him inside the gate in tears. So once again, we moved to a new center. Although it was a longer drive, I had met the owner and liked her. She helped my son get integrated into the new class and watched out for him there. He was never really happy about going, but he tolerated it, and we stayed there until he started elementary school. At long last, after a dizzying five – year, eight – childcare – arrangements ride on the childcare carousel, I was able to jump off and move on.”

- Kathleen, age 60 (What We Know about Childcare- Alison Clarke-Stewart, Virginia D. Allhusen)

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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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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.

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A part-time nanny is required when parents need help with the care of the children for less than 40 hours a week. For example, care for the children before or after school, or when a parent is working from home and a nanny is needed to watch the children only for a few hours a day. Even for a stay at home mom, a part-time nanny is ideal when she needs time for herself to run errands or go to the gym, to mention just a few. In general, a part-time nanny hourly salary is higher than the full time one. Consider the following:

1. The cost and the time consuming transportation to and from the employer’s home is the same for either case. However, the ratio between time consumed and daily income is much less favorable for the part time nanny.
2. Job security is at a lower level for part-timers as conditions may change more often
3. More flexibility is required to meet the employer’s changing schedule.

Because of these and other factors, it is considered a lot harder to find a suitable part-time nanny.

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

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If you are looking for a nanny job, PARAGON Personnel Ltd. can assist you in your job search as we specialize in placing nannies with families all over BC.

Contact us at 604-298-6633 so we can find out some information about you – your background, current and previous childcare experience. Please specify if you are looking for a Live-in position or Live-out – Full Time, Part Time or Temporary.

You will be asked to come for a personal interview at our office. Please bring your resume and reference letters from your previous employers. If you are not a Canadian citizen, you are also required to bring your passport for identification and verification of your legal status in Canada.

PARAGON Personnel Ltd. will conduct a background screening to check your employment history.
When completed, we will arrange for interviews with our clients. During your interview, it is important to ask your prospective employer about your duties, responsibilities, work schedule and salary offered. You may also discuss issues like overtime compensation, medical insurance and/or any other relevant information regarding the position.
Do you have more questions? Visit our Forum: CAREGIVERS in CANADA.

Once all issues are discussed and agreed upon, we will provide a contract of employment for both sides to sign and keep one copy of the signed document. If you are under the Live-In Caregiver Program, we will initiate all procedures required to obtain a new work permit for you through Human Resources and Immigration Canada.

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