What it covers, stage by stage
A newborn’s first weeks. Postpartum and newborn support at home: newborn care, feeding support, light housekeeping and time for the parents to rest. $38/hr, or $42/hr overnight between 10 PM and 6 AM. Postpartum support →
Childhood. Childcare for ages 0–12, daytime or overnight, from $32/hr — $38/hr for a baby under 12 months — with every child in the home included. After-school pickup and care is $36/hr, and event nannies for weddings and celebrations are $40/hr per nanny. Childcare →
Autistic children. In-home respite at $42/hr, being staffed by specialists trained in behaviour intervention — respite, not a therapy programme. It is arranged directly today, by email at hello@puffinservices.com or by phone on (604) 283-2829, not through online booking, and it is being designed to accept eligible MCFD Autism Funding. Speech-language, occupational therapy and behaviour intervention support are in development. Respite for autistic children →
Adults and ageing parents. Personal care and family respite from a certified Health Care Assistant at $42/hr, or one-to-one companion care — company, outings and light help at home — at $38/hr. Health Care Assistant support → Companion care →
What varies between lifecycle care providers
Four questions separate one version of this model from another. None has a single right answer; each hands a family a different amount of work.
- Who employs the caregiver? If the provider does, it carries the employer’s obligations — the WorkSafeBC registration, the payroll, the liability. If the answer is you, those move into your household at every stage you use them.
- How is the price set? A published list you can check before you book, or a quote per family. Look for per-child fees, memberships and minimums.
- Where do they operate? A local company licensed where you live, or a platform or network covering many regions.
- Which stages can you book today? A provider can describe a stage it has not opened yet. Ask which services take bookings now, and how.
How Puffin’s version works
Employed caregivers. Every hourly caregiver is a Puffin employee, with a clear police vulnerable sector check before a first shift. WorkSafeBC coverage and commercial general liability insurance are ours, not your household’s (Terms, section 14). One exception, stated plainly: a nanny found through placement becomes your family’s employee.
One published price list. The same rates for every family, published in full on every rate: no quotes, no per-child fee for childcare, no membership. What changes the rate is published too — a baby under 12 months, hours between 10 PM and 6 AM, and overtime at 1.5× past 8 hours with one caregiver. Your card is held when you book and charged after the shift, and cancelling 24 hours or more before is free (Terms, sections 5 and 6).
Local, and licensed where it works. Puffin is based in Surrey and licensed under an Intermunicipal Business Licence across 16 municipalities in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley, with the same rates in every one of them.
One account across the stages. The details you give for a child, for postpartum support or for a parent’s care are kept on your account and offered again at the next booking, so the second stage does not start from nothing.
Where it stops
- Pregnancy and birth. Postpartum support starts after the baby arrives. Support during pregnancy and labour is a birth doula’s work, which Puffin does not offer.
- Teenagers. Childcare covers ages 0–12. There is no service for ages 13–17.
- Pediatric therapy. In development; autism respite is arranged by email or phone rather than booked online.
- Nanny placement. Coming soon. When it opens, it is a one-time search, and the nanny you hire becomes your employee.
- Where and when. In-home hourly care covers the 16 licensed municipalities (event nannies work events across BC), booked online at least 24 hours ahead; for a same-day need, call (604) 283-2829.
The short version
The only employed-caregiver, flat-rate lifecycle care company in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley.
By that we mean three things together: every hourly caregiver is a Puffin employee; one published price list, the same for every family — no quotes, no membership, and no per-child fee for in-home childcare; and care from a newborn’s first weeks, through childhood, to care for ageing parents — with in-home respite for autistic children arranged directly, and pediatric therapy in development.
It rests on a review of the care providers families in this region use, none of which combined all of those. If that stops being true, this sentence changes.
Or compare the models first: agency vs. marketplace.
Questions
No. It is a general description of care provided across a family’s life stages, used widely in the care industry. This page explains the version Puffin runs.
No. Each booking stands alone — no membership and no ongoing commitment. Book one service once, or several over the years.
Not at Puffin. Postpartum support begins after the birth; support during pregnancy and labour is a birth doula’s role, which we do not offer.
Not yet. It is $42/hr and arranged directly — email hello@puffinservices.com or call (604) 283-2829, and a person will tell you honestly what can be arranged.