How is a babysitter and HDC Provider....

[Samantha33]

5LM or anyone else who can answer this question. How is a babysitter and HDC Provider classified differently? We are speaking with our MP and want to be able to articulate ourselves properly.

[Wonderwiper]

I don't believe there is a 'legal' difference but may be wrong! This article outlines the basic differences. From KeloLand.com:

IS IT BABYSITTING OR CHILD CARE?
*

Who does it?*

Babysitting: Usually teenagers*
Child Care: Usually adult females*

What is it?*

Babysitting: Temporary care of children. Usually part-time.*
Child Care: Permanent care of children. Can be part- or full-time.*

When is it done?*

Babysitting: Nights, weekends*
Child Care: Daily during typical working hours*

How often is it done?*

Babysitting: Once or twice a week, or less*
Child Care: Every working day of the year*

Why is it done?*

Babysitting: For the sitter - to earn spending money. For the parent - to get *a break from the kids.*
Child Care: For the provider - to self-support for the parent - to provide care, guidance, and educational opportunities for children while parents work.*

How is it done?*

Babysitting: Babysitter usually cares for one family's children at a time. Can be actively engaged with the children in play or be passively involved (supervising children while they are playing or asleep while babysitter engages in other activities like studying,
watching TV, talking on the phone). Meets the custodial need for
the children: feeds, changes diapers, bathes, beds.*

Child Care: Child care provider meets the developmental and educational needs of young children. S/he stimulates language, intellectual, self-help, social/emotional, fine motor, and gross motor development by providing developmentally appropriate
activities. is actively engaged with groups of young children from
several families simultaneously. Guides children toward positive
behavior.*


Where is it done?*

Babysitting: Typically the babysitter comes to the home of the
family where services are required.*

Child Care: In child care facilities that are environments specifically designed for children.*

How much does it cost?
*
Babysitting: Usually a nominal per hour rate is charged based on the number of children. Often left up to the discretion of the
parent.*

Child Care: Child care is a business. Parents may be billed an hourly rate per child, or billed weekly at a predetermined rate per child. Some centers offer sliding fee scales for more than one
child in a family or for low-income families.*

What kind of training is required?*

Babysitting: No training is required. Most babysitters have no
training. *Some may attend a brief 1-2 hour workshop on "how
to baby-sit".*
Child Care: Training varies from those who hold a baccalaureate degree, associates degree, or just the minimum required training.*

[MonkeyPrincess]

very good explanation!

[Monday 2 Friday Mama]

I love this question (sarcasm here) Okay - so let's start by addressing the fact that a babysitter and a home daycare provider ARE going to share some common qualities. Ideally they both should love children and have a temperament well suited to working with young children (creative, patient, understanding of children's perspectives) Differences between the two include the following: a caregiver will spend significantly more time with your child than any babysitter ever will. If we assume an average day length of 10 hours, this means we will be spending 50 hours a week (minimum) with your child. A babysitter is someone who holds the fort for a couple of hours in the evening while you catch a movie. They may only be interacting with your son/daughter for an hour before they put them down for the night. I (as a caregiver) spend a LOT of time with your child. I pick up where you (the parents) have left off. I try to be on the same page as you with discipline techniques (consistency is the Golden Rule when working with children) as I will definitely have to discipline them at some point while they are in my care. A babysitter can just report back to the parents any undesirable behaviours and let them "handle it". I will be helping you potty train your child - I think anyone who's ever had to do this will agree that it's a job and a half. :laugh: I will be socializing your child and teaching them how to be a respectful, positive member of society. There are many lessons learned here at daycare, and they are not learned in the 2-3 hours that parents have with their children after work. The choices that I make here at daycare in regards to the foods that I serve will affect your child's immediate health and their growth, as well as laying the groundwork for their relationship with food for the rest of their life. As a daycare provider I attend courses and training to ensure that I am able to help your child in an emergency situation, and to allow me to offer a stimulating, developmentally appropriate environment (in addition to a loving home while you are at work) As your child's caregiver I will be working with you, your child and your family for months/years - not just the odd Friday evening for a couple of hours. Parents make a huge amount of fuss over the friends that their child hangs out with as they get older. Your son/daughter is going to spend more time with me over the next 3 years than they will spend with any BFF as a teenager - if you would screen your child's future friends why wouldn't you want to check me out thoroughly ? Make sure that we share similar values and ideals when it comes to children because your child's caregiver has a huge impact on the person that they develop into.

[bright sparks]

I don't believe there is a 'legal' difference but may be wrong! This article outlines the basic differences. From KeloLand.com:

IS IT BABYSITTING OR CHILD CARE?
*

Who does it?*

Babysitting: Usually teenagers*
Child Care: Usually adult females*

What is it?*

Babysitting: Temporary care of children. Usually part-time.*
Child Care: Permanent care of children. Can be part- or full-time.*

When is it done?*

Babysitting: Nights, weekends*
Child Care: Daily during typical working hours*

How often is it done?*

Babysitting: Once or twice a week, or less*
Child Care: Every working day of the year*

Why is it done?*

Babysitting: For the sitter - to earn spending money. For the parent - to get *a break from the kids.*
Child Care: For the provider - to self-support for the parent - to provide care, guidance, and educational opportunities for children while parents work.*

How is it done?*

Babysitting: Babysitter usually cares for one family's children at a time. Can be actively engaged with the children in play or be passively involved (supervising children while they are playing or asleep while babysitter engages in other activities like studying,
watching TV, talking on the phone). Meets the custodial need for
the children: feeds, changes diapers, bathes, beds.*

Child Care: Child care provider meets the developmental and educational needs of young children. S/he stimulates language, intellectual, self-help, social/emotional, fine motor, and gross motor development by providing developmentally appropriate
activities. is actively engaged with groups of young children from
several families simultaneously. Guides children toward positive
behavior.*


Where is it done?*

Babysitting: Typically the babysitter comes to the home of the
family where services are required.*

Child Care: In child care facilities that are environments specifically designed for children.*

How much does it cost?
*
Babysitting: Usually a nominal per hour rate is charged based on the number of children. Often left up to the discretion of the
parent.*

Child Care: Child care is a business. Parents may be billed an hourly rate per child, or billed weekly at a predetermined rate per child. Some centers offer sliding fee scales for more than one
child in a family or for low-income families.*

What kind of training is required?*

Babysitting: No training is required. Most babysitters have no
training. *Some may attend a brief 1-2 hour workshop on "how
to baby-sit".*
Child Care: Training varies from those who hold a baccalaureate degree, associates degree, or just the minimum required training.*

Some of this is inaccurate. I can only speak from my experience and as a provider in Ontario. Education. ..babysitters, some have no training but I would hazard a guess that an ever increasing amount are taking a babysitting course which is not 1-2 hours of "how to babysit" My kids have both taken the course and it runs 8 hours and covers a lot including health and safety, cooking, diapering and toileting, activities, emergency procedures, amongst other things. Education for daycare providers...In Ontario there is NO MANDATORY TRAINING REQUIRED.
Now lots of providers have experience as mothers, experience from working in a childcare field even holding an ECE diploma and others have sought out training courses specifically geared towards the home daycare provider job role. There are providers with allsorts of educational backgrounds, some with masters degrees and higher and others with nothing who can all bring enrichment to children's lives. The article implies that there is training that home daycare providers have to be able to do their job but most do not do the OPTIONAL course because they don't have to and still do an amazing job of being a daycare provider.

I am not going to play up the role of a home daycare provider by down playing a babysitters role. It is very different than ours but not insignificant or demeaning. I just wanted to clear up the poor info in that section of the article because if the shoe were on the other foot it wouldn't be fair for someone to imply how much better they were than us and not be given the opportunity to correct them. I am a great daycare provider and the babysitters I have had have been as equally good in the role they fulfill.

[Wonderwiper]

Oh come on...I said it's a BASIC example of the differences. It is not specific on location. The article says nothing about a day care provider being better than a babysitter.

[5 Little Monkeys]

Here is a link to babysitting info...http://www.redcross.ca/what-we-do/first-aid-and-cpr/first-aid-at-home/first-aid-training/babysitting and also http://www.manitobaparentzo ne.ca/middle-years/behaviour/learning-responsibility.html

And one for daycare providers....http://www.gov.mb.ca/fs/childcare/elcc_services.html

Daycare providers are adults who have to follow ratio rules.....babysitter s tend to be teenagers (but not always!) and pretty much have 0 ratio rules. If your 14 year old daughter was left in charge of her 5 other siblings it would be perfectly fine. If a pdcp had 5 (in MB) that would be illegal.

[playfelt]

There is usually a difference in who employs too. A parent tends to hire a babysitter and set the rules even if they take their kids to the sitters house and mostly they are the only other family there. A daycare provider offers her services under her terms to usually several families at once from her own home with her own rules.

[bright sparks]

Oh come on...I said it's a BASIC example of the differences. It is not specific on location. The article says nothing about a day care provider being better than a babysitter.

No Need to get upset over my response. This article was not written by you so was not a response directed at you simply me opinion based on how I interpreted it and the inaccuracies of the article not whether it was basic or in depth. I was simply commenting on false information. Basic information can still be accurate information and the particular point I commented on was not true.

[bright sparks]

No Need to get upset over my response. This article was not written by you so was not a response directed at you simply me opinion based on how I interpreted it and the inaccuracies of the article not whether it was basic or in depth. I was simply commenting on false information. Basic information can still be accurate information and the particular point I commented on was not true.

Oh and just to add, the article doesn't have to say that a hdcp is better than a babysitter to imply it and obviously everything is subjective based on each individuals perspective but from mine, I think the article could be interpreted in that way. That's just my opinion.

[Judy Trickett]

Babysitters are teenagers that come over after my kids have gone to bed, sit on my couch, watch TV while texting and eat food from my pantry while I pay them twice as much per hour as the average daycare provider earns.

On the other hand, dcproviders are caretakers who consistently care for the same children and who are legally responsible for the care of those children and anything that happens to them while in their charge, who are subject to laws and regulation and get paid less than the teenage babysitter, all things considered.

I know that sounds flippant but it's true. Most providers make between $3.50 and $4.00 per hour for every daycare child in their care. But my teenage babysitter would come and sit on my couch for four hours and make $40 for her time with NO expenses to her, and really, zero responsibility or legal ramifications should something have happened.

[bright sparks]

Babysitting costs what it costs and IMO you either pay it and suck it up or don't. You do have a choice and if for some reason you don't have a choice, it's not productive to let it drive you crazy, either accept it or find an alternative that suits you better. Also not all babysitters sit on their ass for the duration of the time they are there. Once the kiddies have gone to bed then of course it's tv and texting time. If you have a babysitter who charges $10 an hour and they do absolutely nothing with your kids and eat you out of house and home, then it's either time to find a new babysitter or set some ground rules on your expectations. I have obviously been very lucky by the sounds of things that my babysitters have ALL done plenty of activities with my kids, and through all of our relocations we have had 6 babysitters in total. Once my babysitters turn 16/17 I start to look for new ones as I see a change in them and think this is the time when they are starting to want to text more and would prefer to be out driving to their mates places and hanging out at the mall etc. Nearly every time I've returned home there has been some craft project drying, kids outside playing tag with the sitter or some other outdoor activity, or they have helped them with homework. I always leave specific snacks out for the sitter that they can totally have free run over or sometimes do tell them to help themselves if I am happy with that. If I wasn't happy with my babysitter, I would get rid of them, not complain about them and carry on with it.

[bright sparks]

No I didn't miss your points at all. I totally agree that providers are under paid and the comparison in pay between sitters and hdcp is ridiculous and not fair. What I was saying is that if you don't like that your babysitter sits on their ass then do something about it. Let them know what you expect for the $10 an hour and if they won't do that, then find someone else. The complaining about it doesn't help. Of course you can not like it and complain about it, that's our prerogative , but it's not like you don't have the option of finding a babysitter who better meet your needs by setting these expectations from day one. I will pay you this much per hour but this is what I expect from you and this is what you are being paid to do. If they don't like it then don't use them.

I was simply commenting on the fact that not all babysitters sit on their ass and do nothing. They definitely don't deserve as much per hour when you compare what us providers do for our measly hourly rate, but they aren't all lazy sods either.

[5 Little Monkeys]

Yes, I agree with BS. If a babysitter wasn't doing what I expected for the amount I was paying I would either let her know or move on to another babysitter. I don't pay any other service provider money time and time again if I'm not happy with their work.