LF a nanny in Calgary

[ruddstud]

We are currently looking for a nanny for our 4yr old and 1 year old. If you know of someone or can recommend someone pm me please.
Thanks

[albertGQ]

I will also be looking for a nanny in September. Can people post in this thread what the going rate is for live in nannies and non-live in nannies?

My kids will be almost four and 1.5 years at the time

TIA!

[KTrain]

We had a live-out nanny for our 3 and 2 year old. We paid her $14 an hour.

We used Kijiji for our search and had a few good applicants and a lot of flakes. Also, you'll probably receive a few applications from mothers who want to bring their child along as well.

If I could suggest anything, make it a requirement that they have "reliable transportation" or live fairly close to you. It narrows the field of applicants but there will be fewer excuses for being late. We had an applicant living in Crowfoot apply with us when we live in McKenzie Towne. I didn't even bother calling her because I knew she would grow tired of traveling an hour both ways every day and I'd be searching again in a month.

[SilverGS]

Live-out Nannies will be more expensive. If you are okay with live-in nannies you can always hire one from overseas

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/work/ap...-caregiver.asp

There is a bit to do to get them over and the process will take several months but in the end the cost would be less than a live-out nanny and you wouldn't have to worry about them getting there in the morning.

There are several companies that will help you find and bring over nannies from overseas as well

http://www.nannyconnection.ca/

[KTrain]

Keep in mind that live-in nannies are harder to get rid of too...

You might want to spend a little more money on a live-out nanny to test the waters and see if having a nanny is a good fit for you.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by SilverGS

Live-out Nannies will be more expensive. If you are okay with live-in nannies you can always hire one from overseas

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/work/ap...-caregiver.asp

There is a bit to do to get them over and the process will take several months but in the end the cost would be less than a live-out nanny and you wouldn't have to worry about them getting there in the morning.

There are several companies that will help you find and bring over nannies from overseas as well

http://www.nannyconnection.ca/

Be very careful of this. If you don't follow employment standards (and one of the selling points is that you can underpay these people because they just want their citizenship eventually) it will backfire. I have heard a few stories of these overseas employees wising up to certain discrepancies in their pay vs. what is legally required.

We looked into it very seriously, but in the end decided not to. The applicants we talked to only went to some very basic course in child-minding and English skills were not at a high enough level.

The whole thing just involved a lot of lying and scheming to save money on something you shouldn't be trying to save money on when you're thinking about your children or the well-being of your house.

[prarieboy]

We got a nanny through "nanniesRus"

They sent over several ladies for us to interview and we found a fantastic nanny for our boys. We never had to tell her anything. After one week she was running the house like she'd been there forever. Was great with the kids and she would even shovel the drive some days. I miss her

The nanny we have now is related to our past nanny and we brought her here from the Phillipines. She's great with the kids but not nearly as good with the house. All in all having a nanny (live-in) has been really good for us. My brother in law was not so lucky. They did a phone interview and ended up with a girl who was only interested in gaining citizenship. They got a nanny cam and she was fired within two weeks.

I would definately recommend going through an agency and doing an interview at your house so you can see how the nanny is with your kids and her general personality.

If you have any questions let me know.

[SilverGS]

Originally Posted by KTrain

Keep in mind that live-in nannies are harder to get rid of too...

You might want to spend a little more money on a live-out nanny to test the waters and see if having a nanny is a good fit for you.

As far as I know it's a contract with a 2 week out like pretty much every where else.

Originally Posted by Wormius

Be very careful of this. If you don't follow employment standards (and one of the selling points is that you can underpay these people because they just want their citizenship eventually) it will backfire. I have heard a few stories of these overseas employees wising up to certain discrepancies in their pay vs. what is legally required.

We looked into it very seriously, but in the end decided not to. The applicants we talked to only went to some very basic course in child-minding and English skills were not at a high enough level.

The whole thing just involved a lot of lying and scheming to save money on something you shouldn't be trying to save money on when you're thinking about your children or the well-being of your house.

Well of course you need to follow all the legal rules for paying them but a live-in nanny may only cost $10/$11/hour plus there is a set amount you are allowed to deduct for room and board. Obviously, having someone living with you is something you would have to be okay with.

I feel like this is like interviewing and hiring for any position. You are going to get your great nannies, ok nannies, and down right terrible ones. There are plenty out there that have quite a few years experience and not just a base class as well. You just need to find the right one. Have to do your own due diligence when selecting a nanny to watch your kids whether they are live-in or live-out or whether they make $11/hour vs $18/hour. Just because someone makes more doesn't mean they will be better.

I think the prudent course of action would be don't just pick someone because they are cheaper. Do your due diligence in the interview. Check references and what not and look for experience. Pick the one you feel is best based on that and not on what they make.

Going through an agency might be better because all of them pre-screen the candidates and also help you find a replacement in case they don't work out. Probably worth the $1000 or so they might charge.

[KTrain]

Originally Posted by SilverGS

As far as I know it's a contract with a 2 week out like pretty much every where else.

I would be hesitant to bring someone over from another country if there's a chance I would have to fire them and kick them out of my house with 2 weeks notice.

From my experience looking for nannies, there are a ton of potential candidates already in Calgary that could be interviewed.

My suggestion would be to look at agencies that are offering current residents a position or try to find someone yourself.

[SilverGS]

Originally Posted by KTrain

I would be hesitant to bring someone over from another country if there's a chance I would have to fire them and kick them out of my house with 2 weeks notice.

From my experience looking for nannies, there are a ton of potential candidates already in Calgary that could be interviewed.

My suggestion would be to look at agencies that are offering current residents a position or try to find someone yourself.

To each there own but most people I know who have done it have not had any issues whatsoever. Maybe one that didn't work out to at least 10 that have. There is always a risk but generally it works out since they want to stay and usually start off working pretty hard to ensure they don't get let go right away. Just have to watch they don't slack off 6 months down the road.

It's a risk for both sides. A company I used to work for did it to a guy who moved here from Tor. Had him move down here and when he didn't work out after a month or so let him go.

The advantage to someone here though you have a lot less paperwork to do and they may even be driving to get themselves around which is a plus if you have kids to ferry around to different classes.