Frequently Asked Question

There are a few ways Buddings is different from other childcare options available in Vancouver, but lots of things are the same. We offer engaging play-based curriculum for toddlers and preschoolers , led by Early Childhood Educators. Our centre features the play areas and development zones you expect from a professional childcare centre. And families register their child with the centre prior to dropping them off.

The difference is, at Buddings, you can schedule this level of childcare around your daily life commitments, conveniently and cost-effectively. You never pay for time you don’t need, and you can change it up anytime, up to 40 hours a month. It’s flexible, occasional childcare.

Our How It Works Section is a great place to start if you’re wondering what Buddings is all about. If you’ve already read through the 5 sections there, you may have some more specific questions. We have tried to anticipate some of these here, but we’re always ready to add to our list. If you don’t find an answer to your questions, please Contact Us.

The answer is maybe. Buddings offers flexible occasional care for modern families and could be for you if any of the following are true:

1. You don’t necessarily need full-time childcare, but you would like to put your child in a professional childcare program for the social and developmental benefits.
2. You need childcare at variable times, depending on the commitments that arise for work and busy family social lives.
3. You have a few regular appointments and classes each week when you need childcare.
4. You could use a bit of time to yourself at the end of the day to run a few errands.
5. You have a working childcare arrangement in place but it’s nice to have a back-up.

Buddings accommodates toddlers from 18 – 35 months, and preschoolers from 3 to 5 years of age.

An occasional childcare centre is one where each child attends no more than 40 hours in a calendar month. At Buddings, families can register for one month, or several at a time, and can book between 10 and 40 hours for each one.

Definitely! Our license was issued in Nov. 2011, and we treat our good standing with Vancouver Coastal Health with utmost respect.

Yes! Buddings is fully insured for liability, fire and theft. 

At Buddings, living sustainably means recognizing that our natural resources are not infinite; balancing our needs with our impact. We believe teaching children to appreciate nature, their food, and where products come from can be incorporated into the learning environment. Our toys, books, art materials and snack time ingredients are all carefully selected for the lessons they teach and the questions they raise.

Raising children, having a career, and a social life is a juggling act that modern families are always working to balance, and doing it all “sustainably” can feel like an extra ball in the air. Let us help! Visit our Spotlight Section to find out about cool, ways to lower your household environmental impact, awesome alternatives to damaging products and activities, and some of the great ways we’ve found to make “sustainability” fit into our life.

You can choose the Usage Package that fits your scheduling needs.

10 hours/month = $200
20 hours/month = $350
30 hours/month = $510
40 hours/month = $660

If you need additional hours mid-month, you can always go back and re-order, but you will never be permitted to purchase more than 40 hours in a calendar month.

When you open your Buddings Account for the first time (after attending the Parent Interview and completing the necessary paperwork), you will find 3 hours already available for booking. The hours can be used anytime, and it’s our way of inviting you to test out the convenience and flexibility of our service. If you use it and like it, you will qualify for an additional 7 hours for free by purchasing a package within 30 days of activating the account. Easy!

3 hours to try us out, and 7 more for signing up.

Yes, we do. The discounts are between $50 and $200, depending on the package selected.

10hr x 2 = $400 – $50 = $350
20hr x 2 = $700 – $100 = $600
30hr x 2 = $1,020 – $150 = $870
40hr x 2 = $1,320 – $200 = $1,120

Buddings is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 7pm. We are closed on statutory holidays, from Christmas to New Years and for one week through the summer, which will be announced by the end of April so families can make their own plans.

The Buddings Account is the password protected user’s area of the website, where you can find information about the hours balance and usage, invoices and payment history, information on file about you and your child, and access to the booking calendar.

All of them. Please read the Policies Section very carefully.

If you’re ready to apply, it’s as easy as 1, 2, 3.

1. An online application form, followed by direct communication within 2 – 5 days with additional information about your application status
2. An invitation to come in for an interview with centre staff, while your child checks out the centre.
3. Emailed instructions on setting up a username and password to access the Buddings Account, where the first payment and reservations may be made.

Contact information for one or more guardians is kept on file for the duration of your child’s registration with Buddings. This includes: name, contact phone and email, workplace and other pertinent information.

Most of it is collected on the application to Become a Buddy, with some more specific questions at the interview. Guardians can access and update the information through their Buddings Account.

Specific information related to the needs and preferences of your child will be kept on file for the duration of their registration with Buddings. This includes: name, birthday, likes, dislikes, allergies, etc.

Payments are made in advance and until the payment is received, reservations cannot be made, so it really depends on when you want to start booking your time. You can even purchase different hour packages for consecutive months, or purchase and book time up to 4 months in advance.

Parents are able to reserve time at Buddings through our online Booking Calendar. This is a live total of the available hours at the centre and tracks each child’s time, as well as keeps a history of the bookings that have passed.

The million-dollar question… Buddings accommodates up to 100 families per season and there is always some shuffling as kids start school, families move, etc. When the centre is full for the season, we’ll add up to 100 people to our Waitlist. If a spot becomes available, families will be contacted for interview. Our newsletter is a good place to start for information about the centre’s capacity and the goings on.

Upon application, you will be invited to join our newsletter list, from which you can easily “unsubscribe” any time.

While fees for childcare are paid in advance, the Incidentals Invoice is a cumulative total of other costs incurred throughout the season. These items include:

• Snacks – $2 per snack
• Simple Late Fees – $15 for every 30 minutes for parents more than 10 minutes late when a space is available for the extra child
• Inconvenience Late Fees – $50 for every 30 minutes that a parent is late when the centre cannot accommodate an extra child
• Late Return Fee – $5 per day for borrowed items returned late, such as bike seats, trail-a-bikes, or trailers.
• Replacement FOB Fee – $50 per lost FOB

The CCRR are resource centres throughout BC providing information for families on selecting childcare services, childcare centre ratings and complaints lists, and provide a forum for service providers to communicate and collaborate. For Vancouver, the centre is called West Coast Childcare Resource Centre, and can be found online at http://www.wstcoast.org/marketplace.html.

Buddings is proud to be a part of the community of childcare providers. Our staff will occasionally attend professional development workshops and seminars. Please let us know if there’s a topic you think we should consider.

Snacks at Buddings are always healthy and delicious, made from locally sourced, organic and Fairtrade products, and exposing children to a variety of foods. Opting in for the daily snacks costs $2 and gives your child the opportunity to take part in cooking the food they’ll be eating.

Snack hours are 10:00am and 3:00pm. Meals are not provided at Buddings, but you can always send along food for your child.

There are two different types of late fees at Buddings, and which one you’ll get will depend on the centre’s capacity for the next hour.

The Simple Late Fee is a $15 fee applied to your Buddings Account for every 30 minutes that you are late to pick-up your child – after 10 minutes – providing that the centre had space to accommodate your child for the extra time.

If the next hour is fully booked, however, being late to pick-up your child means that another family will be unable to drop their child off. The Inconvenience Late Fee is a $50 fee applied for every 30 minutes.

The centre may not have more than 20 children in attendance at one time, but you can avoid surprises by logging into the Buddings Account to verify availability.

If you are going to be more than 30 minutes late ALWAYS call the centre, as we will be waiting to hear from you.

You can schedule your hours at Buddings anytime, up to 40 hours per month. Notifications regarding usage and hours balance will be available in the Buddings Account. Additional hours can be purchased mid-month, as long as the total does not exceed 40 hours per month.

Hours do not roll-over. The Buddings Account gives the balance of hours and usage each time you log in, and we will be offering lots of great activities and special events to help you use your time, but once the month ends, unused hours will be lost. No refund will be issued for unused hours.

When you choose your hours package for the month in the Packages section of the Buddings Account, you can pay with a credit card right there. The payments are processed through Elavon, the worlds largest credit card processor. A receipt will be emailed for your records. The Incidentals Invoice will be sent to you at the end of the month, and will appear on your dashboard. It can be paid there directly and is due upon receipt.

The beauty of Buddings is that your usage is completely up to you. If you need to increase, reduce, or cancel your usage, you can! If you know that you won’t be coming back, we would appreciate hearing from you, however, especially if there is a particular shortcoming that we’ve failed to address. 

Buddings follows the Emergent Child Curriculum, which means that lesson plans are developed around the interests of the children, and activities are led towards completion, rather than “taught.”

Because the lesson is in a format that the children want to follow, they learn much more naturally, taking in complex information about the world. They will be learning how materials can be combined to create works of art, how gravity and other physical forces act on objects, and valuable social rules for engaging with their peers. They will learn that through music and movement, stories, group games, and lots of self-guided exploring.

Further, they will be learning about the natural world, their place in it, and practical lessons on how to live in balance. Everyday that your child comes home from Buddings, they will have stories to tell and adventures to share.

A visit to our centre will answer this question much better than an FAQ box, but if you haven’t made it down yet, you’ll be pleased to know that Buddings regularly offers lots of different learning areas, including:

• Dramatic Play
• House Corner
• Block Area
• Sand and Water Tables
• Book Area
• Tables for Puzzles and Manipulative Tasks
• Kitchen Area
• Music Centre
• Arts and Crafts Area
• Garden Area
• Quiet Area
• Group/Circle Time Area

On occasion, we’ll also have special activities that bring in even more opportunities for exploration.

Find our staff bios and more in the About Us Section.