familyof4

Hi

I will be moving to Canada with a 14 yr old and a 6 yr old, while I know the 14 yr old won't need child care, my 6 yr old will need after school care and holiday care as I will have a full/part time job.

Does schools have after school care?? And do they have holiday clubs or child minders?? If so what's the average cost if this?

Thanks Michelle x

puggirl

hi there i live in new brunswick my daughter goes to a daycare which costs 27 dollars per day, when school finishes the school bus takes the after school kids to the daycare where they stay until their parents pick them up it seems the norm for the school bus to pick up at schools and drop at daycares as most parents work it seems to be plentifull here and well organised, as i pay 27 for the whole day i would imagine after school is around 10/15 dollars per day they also offer programmes for when the schools break up so the kids can go every day i hope this helps a little you will also find lots of mums advertising to pick up kids and look after them in their homes as well good luck with your move

Novocastrian

Can't you just ask the 14 yr old to look after the 6 yr old for a couple of hours?

familyof4

i did think about that, in the school holidays but i wasnt sure on the law's in Canada regarding a minor looking after another

I suppose its the after school care i would still need as my 14 yr old wont be able to pick up the 6 yr old as they will be at different schools right??

Michelle

TheThornes

I drive a school bus and have a number of Kindergarten and Grade 1 students who don't go to their own homes straight from school. Some ride mornings only and then go to after school care provided in the school grounds, some get picked up at school by another after school care agency, and some get off at stops and go to day homes (childminders). I also have one Kindergarten student who is met off the bus by her older brother (I think he is 13 or 14 as he is at middle school). His bus arrives at the stop a few minutes before my bus so he is there to walk her home. It's never happened yet but I guess there's always the risk that his bus will be delayed and he won't be there first (although we do have a back up plan if this happened - she wouldn't just be left alone).

My youngest is 6 too and that's why I drive a school bus - I never need to worry about child care as I'm always off when the kids are off.

iaink

Gotta be 12. Attending a st Johns/ redcross/ YMCA childminding course would be a good idea.

A bit hard on them for the full summer though... thats why camps are so popular. (and tax deductable)

iaink

Same with my better half. The money isnt great though, especially considering all the extra work that goes on outside of the time actually spent driving the bus.

britsnake

Regarding the 14 year old looking after the 6 year old. Even though they are in different schools it should not be a problem as they will hopefully have access to a school bus which will drop them quite close to your house.

In my school board the high school finishes earlier than the Elementary school. If this is the case, then there should not be a problem with the 14 year old watching them. Many of the schools also ofter after school care and some even have a late bus.

You might be able to make an arrangement with another parent in the area to watch your child for a couple of hours after school. In my neighbourhood, it is not uncommon for 5 year olds and six year olds to play out at each others houses.

I was shocked at first when I saw a 4 year old knocking at my door (no parents in sight) asking if my children could come to his house. Now I am used to it. I did make sure to go round and meet his parents. But of course it will depend what kind of neibourhood you will be living in.

As the summers in Canada are quite long, there are always programs for children. In my province they are called day camps.

Over the summer i often see them walking down the streets on the way to the park or some other activity.

iaink

It really depends on the school hours, with split starting hours to accommodate double bus runs there is some danger that the high school kids could finish their day an hour after the juniors. For example in my area some schools start at 8, others at 9, with a similar difference in end times.

They would have to check with the school board in question.

britsnake

You could of course hire someone.

In my area many people put up adverts in colleges and universities or in the local paper for this kind of thing.

There are many high school children whose first job was looking after a neighbours child for a couple of hours. You would have to make sure you got someone responsible.

On a side note sometimes summer camps staff their organisations with older high school students (because they are cheap).

They are not always well run, so you would need to check them out carefully.

Almost Canadian

Depends upon the rules of the Province you live in. Child minding course can be done by 11 year olds in Alberta

Alan2005

You need to do a course to look after your younger brother or sister? What an amazing country we live in.

iaink

No, you dont need to, but its not going to do any harm to give them the confidence to know that they can deal with it if something bad does happen...

If they want to earn some cash as a babysitter its something parents look for anyway, so it opens doors to that too...

TheThornes

Agreed. I do a double bus run. The elementary school I drive for starts around 8.05am and the high school not until 8.50am. Again, in the afternoons, the high school finishes about an hour later than the elementary, apart from on Fridays when the high school finishes about half an hour BEFORE the elementary. It all gets very confusing!

The other set of schools in our town all finish around the same time as the elementary, middle and high schools are all located right by each other and the kids from all three schools ride the same buses at the same time so, in that situation, an older sibling in say high school would be riding the same bus as a younger sibling in elementary school.

It will all come down to exactly where you're living and what schools and times etc as to whether you could work it or not.

I agree with Iiank's earlier comment about the bus driving being poor pay (especially when I think about the income I used to earn back in the UK!) but, then again, I'm saving a fortune on child care costs and I get to spend quality time with my kids so it certainly suits for now whilst they're still young.