How do I hire a nanny?

I'm writing this as an FAQ because I get this question alot and I figure it will be a good rapid response for someone.  Please note that this is the procedure for Canada only, for hiring in the "Foreign Live-in Caregiver Program".

Even if she is someone already in Ottawa and already holding a work permit with another employer family, she will still require a work permit with you. In order for her to apply for a work permit, you need a positive LMO.

0) Go the CRA website and apply for a Business Number. You need this item first before you can apply for the LMO.

1) Go to the HRSDC.gc.ca site and search caregiver, there you will find the first link for the application of the LMO (Labour Market Opinion). You will need a "positive" LMO document in your hand in order for your  nanny to apply for the work permit.

2) There is document checklist and the complete procedure on how to do it. There were big
changes since I've done it three years ago, as of April 2011.  You will need the Long Form Birth Certificate for all your children. This was not a requirement previously, so I totally had to scramble and get these for my kids this time around.

3) You must advertise this job on Job Bank.gc.ca at the hourly rate of $10.25 per hour. There are already templates and job descriptions.  This part is easy. Just be prepared to receive applicants from Hong Kong, Peru, Columbia, Africa and pretty much everywhere but Canada LOL. You will get a few from Ottawa but I have a mixed opinion about them (like the Mr. Manager from McDonald's who wanted a nanny job with my kids??  He did have CPR and First Aid and some experience working at kids camp)

4) Previously, I had to prepare a Recruitment Report to accompany the LMO application, but I don't remember seeing that in the checklist this time around, but I wrote one anyway.

5) Later when this is all sorted out, you can use the CRA online payroll calculater to figure out how to deduct taxes biweekly or semi-monthly and how to remit these to CRA.

TIPS
Apply by mail. DO NOT apply online. I did that before and it was hard for them to merge all the documents that you would send in my mail anyway, together with the file. The agent I dealt with was very nice and she told me to redo the application, print it out and fax it to her. I eventually did the scan/ email thing to send it to her, but she did say it was more complicated than just mailing everything in one go.  So I stress, apply by mail.

Verify the checklist. DO NOT forget anything. If you forget anything your application will be rejected because there is absolutely no way for them to add a document to your file (not impossible but it's not
good)

Keep a signed copie of everything for yourself. The contract, the attestation of identity etc.

I'm a little bit confused if it is possible to get an LMO with or without the nanny's name. I've always had a nanny's name identified.  Previously you could get a blanket LMO and go through your search after the fact.  Presently it appears you have to identify the nanny before you get an  LMO. It's a little bit tricky to meet your nanny, then pick her name and gaurantee her to start at a far future date.... maybe if you go through an  agency? Or if you identified a family in Ottawa and you knew that their nanny would be finished with them for sure in April?

Hint:If you hire directly from the Philipines like I tried, the process takes 18 months+ from the first interview at the Canadian Embassy in Philipines, and that is a long time for someone, they are young they could get married/ have a baby/ change their mind. It's much faster to hire her from Hong Kong; the paperwork would normally take only 4 months!  Other items that the employer must pay for: one way airfare from overseas, three months of health coverage before OHIP kicks in and workers comp (insurance).

TIMELINE
I have an update because the worker visa for my prospective nanny is about to be issued. There was a tremendous amount of paperwork I recently completed in the last two months after many months of silence.

Begin February 2011 - LMO and Job Bank Posting

Late Spring 2011 - LMO approved, deadline for her to apply for the work permit by Fall 2011.

September 2012 - She completes forms at the Canadian Embassy in Manilla.

Begin February 2012 - I receive a letter from the Canadian Embassy in Manila that my application for a foreign live-in caregiver nanny is being considered but they need supporting documentation to prove the following:

• My children's live birth (long form birth certificate. Wow, they didn't even need this to get their own passports)
• Additional proof that I still have kids (ya know what I mean?) I provided an annual statement for the Universal Child Care benefit that lists their names.
• Ownership of my house, certificate of title, MPLS property tax assessment, builder floor plan or MLS listing (proves I can provide private accomodations)
• T4 or CRA Assessment for previous two years of myself and/or spouse (proves I can pay the wages)
• Description of my work and business hours (proves that I have a job, that I have normal hours so I probably would not make my nanny work too much overtime)
• Description of children's school schedule and routine
• Contract with Nanny
• Description of arrangement with present or previous nanny(s)
• Copy of one CRA Monthly Remittance Record

Overseas, my prospective employee Vicky had to complete an English proficiency test, a medical fitness test, proof of education (I asked for a nursing graduate) and proof of the certified training in childcare-babysitting, first aid etc.

March 2012 - I was asked to send a final letter to reaffirm that all the conditions remain current

Summer 2012 - perhaps in the next few weeks the visa will be issued and my new nanny will arrive! Time to look for some deals on international air fares.

Fall 2012 - we are a military family, so we accept posting to an air base far from the capital city. We are also expecting a fourth baby! These are both changes in the family situation that I am required to inform the Visa office. However I decide to not change anything to impede the application further for these reasons

1) Vicky is the sister of my first nanny Rose. She has agreed to move with me wherever we go
2) We are moving to a bigger house with more bedrooms, how could the Visa office refuse it?
3) We are having another baby, an even bigger reason to have a nanny.
4) We still own the original property and my mail gets forwarded to me anyway. What's the big deal to anyone anyway?

January 2013 - I send a web form request to the Canadian Embassy in the Philipines for an update, but I get the stock reply, please keep waiting.

Spring 2013 - I am in touch with Vicky weekly, but there is still no indication to either of us when the work permit will be issued if ever...

Dr Suess paints the Room

AJ started writing his name "AJ" sometime just before Canada Day (not yet age 3). He announced at the park that he was writing the "A" sound .The letter A looked a bit like a triangle, and I showed him how to write the J sound like a hook. He put the two together side by side and he's been very good at autographing birthday cards, Sunday School homework etc.

Maggie took a little bit more encouragement to begin writing, in August! Through tears and madness, Brian showed her to write M, A, G and E. She already knew I, X and O obviously but she had no desire or interest to write whatsoever. I never forced the issue because the teacher at the JK orientation said it was not an expectation for the start of Kindergarten. However, Brian was persistent. Sometime during the week that I was away in Las Vegas, Maggie learned to write her name! What an triumph. The only thing is, the letters though always in sequrence are rarely in a straight line. She's signed an envelope where M A G G I E end up in a counterclockwise spiral. All the letters are complete but not in a left to right sequence.

I decided to award their success in writing with posters of the alphabet by Dr Suess. I secretly pasted these on the wall in their room, while everyone was playing outside just to surprise them.  Lincoln gave me a hand though, by staying out of the way. But he was pointing and reaching at the letters, and once again trying to tell me all kinds of things about them.  Later Maggie went upstairs to retrieve a toy from the room, and she announced "What did Dr Suess paint on the wall?" AJ ran upstairs to look and they were both so happy. "Why are there Dr Suess pictures on the wall, mommy?" Anyway, I hope that it helps them to see the capital and lowercase letters side by side and with the objects from the story, they can learn the letter sounds too.

Walking Tall

Lincoln officially started walking on August 1 at 11.5 months. I had arrived home from Las Vegas just the day before so I'm pleased that I didn't miss a thing. Within a week he had mastered walking across the room without too much stumbling; unless he's moving too quickly with a bit too much momentum and he can't stop. He ends up falling forward on his hands.

I know he can clearly say dada and mama, A-J! , wow and oo-oo-ooh, this this this. Lots of random babbling with furrowed eyebrows and other facial expressions, while pointing and describing images in a book. He knows exactly what he's saying; Maggie and AJ try their best to be translators.

Lincoln is 74 cm tall and 23 pounds. We have switched him to the forward facing Sunshine Radian seat, while Maggie and AJ ride in the back row.

Dragon Eye Seedlings

My kids have been attending a morning playgroup at church and they've learned about seeds and how things grow. Here is theme poem (actions):

I plant a little seed in the cold cold ground.
Up comes the sun, warm and round.
Down comes the rain, soft and slow.
Up comes the seedling, grow, Grow, GROW!

Previously, Maggie also invented other verses and words, speaking in prose... something about snow on the ground, and the sun, and ice. I should really write these down. It doesn't make sense to me, but it must make perfect sense to her. Much like Lincoln when he goes on with his seemingly random chatter, and he's happy when we appear to understand.

But I do have a wonderful story about AJ and his knowledge of seeds, or rather, his knowledge of what happens to seeds when eaten.

Dragon Eyes
The kids were eating a giant bowl of the peeled dragon eye fruits; a translucent white flesh with single dark, chocolate brown stone-seed.  Resembles very much like a slippery, wet eyeball. Grandma kept warning them, don't eat the stone. AJ pipes up, "Mommy, what will happen to me if I eat the seed?" I warned him that if he swallowe the seed, a dragon-eye tree would sprout from his tummy.  He calmly corrected me right away, "No, mommy. I'm gonna be eat it and I will poo it out". What comes in, must go out. There's no fooling this guy!

The World According to Preschoolers

CHICKEN AND EGG
Brian asks Maggie, "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?"
Maggie: "Egg"
Where does the egg come from
Maggie: "Hatch"
From what?
Maggie: "A hen"
Where does the hen come from?
Maggie: "A farm"

FOOD CHAIN
AJ and Maggie are often concerned about which animal eats what, as in a food chain sequence.
Who eats bugs? Spiders
Who eats spiders? Other spiders
WHo eats other spiders? Birds
Who eats birds? Cats
Who eats cats? No one. (really?)

Do sharks eat humans? Sometimes.
Who eats sharks? Humans.


Who eats squid-Ursula? Daddy
Who eats jellyfish? Daddy

What do gophers eat? Carrots, tomatoes, leaves
Who eats gophers? Fox, wolves
Who eats fox, wolves? Coyotes
Who eats coyotes? No one, but hunters shoot them.

Later we talk about vultures.
What do vultures eat? Dead animals on the street.
Do vultures eat humans? Well if they're dead in the street
Do vultures eat humans in a grave? No they can't; there's a box.



DINOSAURS
AJ: Do dinosaurs eat humans?
Mom: No, humans were not there at the same time as dinosaurs.
Maggie: Humans live far far away.
AJ: Who eats dinosaurs?
Maggie/ Mom:Other dinosaurs.
AJ:What do other dinosaurs eat?
Mom: Leaves, ferns.
Maggie: Yah dinosaurs hate kid-meat. Kids are yuck.

WHERE DO BABIES COME FROM?
Maggie: When I was a baby I busted out of your tummy right?
(Background: I used to affectionately refer to Lincoln as a belly-buster because of his excessive burps and belly busting spit up. She didn't quite understand that meant, so I said it was because he busted out of my tummy).
Another time, Maggie: When I was a small baby, I was at your wedding right?
Mom: No, you were just a small dot. Actually you were an egg.
(Background: She asks me this everytime we drive by the church on the army base where we got married)
Another time, Maggie: So I was a small egg at your wedding?
Mom: Well, just an egg part, but not like a real egg. Also part of you was in Daddy's pouch.
(Background: I hope that she won't ask where is Daddy's pouch, I guess I could say his pants, those would be still correct answers. I believe in telling the whole truth but in age appropriate language).


MAKING STUFF
The kids watch a show called Making Stuff on TVO kids, so they get a sense of what things are created by God, what is built by Bob the Builder, and what is made by robots.
They ask me all the time, who made this, who made that. Here are some model answers they know and now quiz each other.

Made by God - Rocks, bugs, spiders, animals, humans, skeletons, dinosaurs
Made by Bob the Builder - house, Vanessa's house, bridges, roads
Robots - Hot Wheels, cars, cups, plates, pianos, tools, glass

I try my best to offer the whole truth, but sometimes I have to simplify the lingo

God Made Me

So I have a funny story about Maggie... she asks alot of questions about who made this and that in this world. She confirms with me that God made trees, birds, animals, grass etc. She had thought that God made the plastic, glass and ceramic objects around the house too, but I told her those were made by robots in factories. And then the question about houses, well according to Maggie, Bob the Builder built our house (and yours too).

Maggie is very interested in skulls and skeletons, as see on the cover of a spring 2010 National Geographic magazine. She was explaining to AJ that she has a skeleton in her body. She said that Mommy has a bigger skeleton and Maggie has a baby one. She also told me that "God made skeletons because God made me."

She also started to draw people with faces (two eyes, a nose and a straight line for a mouth) with two arms and legs, or hair. She's been doodling on a Magna Doodle, otherwise I would love to keep all of these drawings. She draws the sun alot, and she was trying to draw the turtle toy and Buzz Lighyear. I drew Buzz and she added the details.

Sounds of the Night

Last week, we were reading a book from the Baby Einstein series, The ABC's of Art. There are a series of famous paintings of certain objects that would correspond to subjects beginning with the letters A to M in this book. Also included are a few thought provoking questions. We got to the page about E for Elephants. They were splashing in the water at sunset. One of the questions was, what time of day is this, and what sounds would you hear? Maggie responded with the na-na-na song, that is na-na-na to the tune of Brahm's Lullaby, their favorite lullaby for naptime/ goodnight time. So cute!

Also wanted to record some of AJ's words that start or contain L.

Mommy, can I sit on your wap? (lap)
I wuv you (love)
I yike you (like)
My hair is bwrown.
Maggie's hair is bwack.