Other Frequently Asked Questions

When we opened in 2011, there were no centres offering web-based booking for hourly childcare that we knew of, in Vancouver, Canada, or the US. There still aren’t very many. The BC Occasional Care License allows us to operate without an attached outside space, with children from 18 months to kindergarten supervised by certified Responsible Adults, for no more than 40 hours per month. We developed our booking software so families can schedule their childcare, and our staff can manage the ins and outs.

Why is Buddings a BC Benefit Company?

Our company values include operating in a sustainable and responsible manner, and we believe that our actions should have a triple win, whenever possible. This thinking led us to create our semi-annual clothing swaps, so families could pass children’s clothes and accessories on to others who could use them. The events were a great opportunity to introduce our daycare to new families, too!

Being a registered Benefit Company requires us to promote a public good,  beyond our company and our customers (who benefit from our amazing service, of course), and for us, reducing waste and consumption, and keeping usable materials in circulation, helps everyone. We were going to try to save the world anyway. 😉

Buddings.ca doesn’t store any credit card information. Our payment form is held with Elavon Merchant Services, one of the biggest third party processors in the world, and all credit card info is encrypted so even the staff don’t have access. Your Buddings account id is an alphanumeric address, so unless you share your password, other users will never see your info. The sites are hosted with Amazon Web Services (another big name), and we keep our family files with Canadian cloud storage company, Sync.ca, whose servers are in Canada, to meet privacy requirements.

As a web-supported business caring for a vulnerable population, we aim to make our processes smooth and efficient, while considering confidentiality from every angle.

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 send any kind of food for your child.

Please Note: We are not nut-free.

Buddings sells time, and there’s no expiry. When you buy hours, we commit to provide childcare, and like a commitment to a gym, or any other service provider, it is up to you to use it, manage it, or cancel it, according to our policies.

The business owner Talia Erickson at talia@buddings.ca.