Should I stay at home with my little kids or get a job when I arrive in Canada? This is one of the most recurring questions I get from young moms who wish to immigrate to Canada.
As a prospective/new immigrant to Canada with little kids less than 5 years, you are probably confused on how to approach working and taking care of your kids.
As a young mom with three little toddlers (ages 5,3 and 1), I want to provide insight on possible options to explore if you intend to immigrate to Canada with toddlers or kids less than 12 years with or without your spouse accompanying you.
The Dilemma
Life in Canada is pretty busy and more challenging for a new immigrant without friends and family. In Canada, almost everything involves a do-it-yourself approach unless, of course, you have lots of money to engage professional services/help (which can be very expensive).
To survive this dilemma, you need to be very strategic in your choices.
Should you get a job or should you stay home with the kids? This is a personal decision you will need to take based on current experiences and facts.
Here are some things to consider before you make the decision.
Child care is expensive in Canada
Daycare is expensive and costs between CAD$1000 and CAD$1500 depending on the province, city, and ages of the kids.
It is also difficult to find daycares with availability as there are often long waitlists to get a spot up to a year.
Unlicensed/home daycares may have spaces but since they are unlicensed, you will have to bear the associated risks in the event of an unpleasant experience/happening.
A stay-at-home parent will not have to worry about childcare whereas a working parent will definitely need child care in this case daycare.
Before and after-school care is difficult to find and is an additional expense
If you have school-aged kids, you will need to arrange for before and after-school care as school starts at 8.30 am and closes at 2.30 pm. You will need this because if you have a day job, you will be required to resume at 8 am (sometimes earlier depending on the job) and close by 4 pm or 5 pm.
Before and after-school care usually cost between CAD$25 and CAD$40 per day.
Nannies are expensive
Hiring a nanny would be another option to explore if you cannot find daycare but this is an expensive option. Most professional nannies charge between CAD$20 to CAD$30 per hour or more.
Also, most people may not be comfortable with leaving their children with strangers (even though you can do a background check and ask for references). You are not absolutely sure the person will not abuse your kids while you are at work (maybe you can install CCTV in all the rooms which may be expensive)
Questions to ask before you choose to work or stay at home
A big question you need to ask yourself is “Will the job be worth it”?
Can the pay cover the cost of childcare for my kids especially if they are more than two and less than 5 years old?
Can the pay justify the combination of my overall household expenditure, time, energy, and moments away from my kids (especially for those without their spouses)?
If the answer to these questions is YES, then you can go ahead with the job. Otherwise, you might be better off with another option.
What to do as a stay-at-home parent
So what other thing can you do with little kids to earn some income?
Remote or work from home jobs? Well, this is an option but continue reading.
You are probably underestimating the amount of energy and time required to raise these kids in Canada without help
You were probably used to having help, a nanny or relative assist you with house chores and taking care of your kids. As a new immigrant in Canada, you will most likely do everything by yourself.
By the time you are done with chores, booking and meeting up with kids’ or personal appointments, managing tantrums, preparing food, taking care of their various needs as well as your own, you will discover that 24 hours is not enough.
You will be exhausted that it will be difficult to concentrate on the job from home. You will also be interrupted a million times by your kids with unimportant requests which you will need to attend to else, they won’t let you be.
Your performance on the remote job will be poor. In fact, most work-from-home jobs will still require you to have childcare for the kids.
So what do I advise?
Option 1: Learn a skill and explore self-employment or freelancing if you wish to stay at home
Learn a skill before you arrive and lean towards self-employment or freelancing.
Create an alternative career path before you relocate to keep you busy and supplement your spouse’s income until you have at least a kid that is 12 years old and can watch the others. In Canada, it is not allowed for kids less than 12 years old to be alone at home for extended hours without adult supervision.
Thoroughly review your strengths, interests, and transferrable skills to discover what you can do to earn some money.
Here are some lucrative small business/ freelancing options to consider.
- Blogging
- Social Media Management
- Virtual Assistant
- Bookkeeping
- Financial Advisor
- Small Business Tax Accountant
- Content Writing
- Technical writing
- Private Tutoring
- Babysitting (as a licensed/unlicensed day home)
- Personal Shopper
- Drop Shipping
- E-commerce (set up an online store – apparel, food, books, unique hard-to-find items etc.)
- Handy skills like catering, hair braiding, photography, events management, baking/pastry making, tailoring etc.
Anything you can stay at home to do at your convenience is what you should be working towards before you relocate.
No matter how small the income is, it will help to keep your brain active, prevent depression and ensure you still have a career while taking a break from your main career until the kids grow up or until you can afford child care.
Option 2: Get a shift job if you have a spouse
You and your spouse should get jobs with alternate shifts. One spouse can get a day job while the other works night shifts so that someone is home to watch the kids at any point in time.
This is the most common arrangement for families that need two sources of income and cannot afford child care.
Also, one spouse can look for weekend-only jobs so he/she will be home weekdays to take care of the kids while the other parent is at work.
CAVEAT: If you are a single parent, you do not have an option but to get a job to take care of your bills. You need to plan ahead before you arrive on how to handle the numerous parental responsibilities in addition to your full-time job.
The key is to know what your options are and what you will do before you arrive. When you know this, you will be able to focus your job search on the option that works for you.
Early preparation is crucial to easy settlement in Canada as a new immigrant.
Some goodnews about childcare in BC
There is a government subsidy available (Affordable Child Care Benefit in British Columbia) for daycare, preschool, before and after school care provided both parents are either working or studying full-time.
Find out if you are eligible and the requirements to apply whether you choose to get a job or stay-at-home.
If you choose to get a job, the government will pay part of the daycare fees depending on family your income.
If you choose to stay at home and send the kids to preschool to have some me-time, the government will also pay part of the preschool fees depending on your family income.
To understand more about the BC school system, read this post.
If you need help finding childcare in BC, get in touch with BC Settlement Buddy for assistance.
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