Conference Childcare in BC: What Organisers Need to Arrange

Conference childcare is an access decision dressed up as a logistics one. A parent of a two-year-old, without local family, does not attend a three-day conference. Offering care is often the difference between a demographic being represented on your attendee list and not.

This is what arranging it in British Columbia actually involves.

The cost shape of a multi-day programme

$40 per hour, per nanny. Four-hour minimum per day. Past eight hours in a single day, $60 per hour — and **the threshold resets each morning**.

That last detail is what makes conferences cheaper per hour than they look. Three days of eight-hour care never touches the overtime rate, no matter how many total hours accumulate.

Two nannies across a three-day conference, eight hours a day: 2 × 8 × $40 = $640 per day, **$1,920** for the three days. The same 24 hours of care compressed into fewer, longer days would cost more.

A smaller programme — one nanny, two days, six hours each — is 2 × (6 × $40) = **$480**.

Sizing it before registration closes

Staffing follows ages: infant under 12 months counts 2 points, toddler 12–35 months counts 1.5, child 3 and over counts 1, one nanny per 4 points.

For a conference the honest problem is that you are sizing from a registration form rather than from a known guest list. Two things help:

**Ask for ages at registration, not just a headcount.** "Childcare needed: yes/no" is not enough information to staff from. "Childcare needed — child's age" is.

**Book per day, not for the block.** Each day is entered separately with its own hours, so a conference where Wednesday needs two nannies and Thursday needs three is a normal booking rather than an exception. You are not committing to a uniform number across the programme.

The selector runs 1 to 10 and the formula's number is a default you can override in either direction.

The room

A conference childcare room is a bigger ask than a wedding side room, because it is occupied all day for several days.

Caregivers bring age-appropriate activities. The venue provides the space.

What organisers underestimate

**Handover time.** Twelve children arriving at 8:45 for a 9:00 start does not work. Build a 20-minute drop-in window into your programme.

**Collection authority.** At a conference, the person collecting a child may be a delegate the caregiver has never met. Collect the authorised names at registration.

**The first-time verification step.** Any family booking in-home care with Puffin for the first time completes photo ID verification reviewed by an administrator. For a conference this sits with whoever holds the booking, not with each attending parent — but it should be done well before the event week.

**Lead time.** The formal minimum is 24 hours and there is no same-day booking, but a multi-day programme needs caregivers matched to it. Book it when you book the venue.

Who the caregivers are

Employed by Puffin Services rather than contracted, insured through Puffin, and CRRP vulnerable-sector cleared before any placement. For an organiser this matters because your delegates are handing over their children on your recommendation — the vetting standard is something you are implicitly vouching for.

Where

Across the 16 municipalities Puffin Services covers in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley, at identical rates with no travel surcharge.