How to find last-minute or emergency childcare

And how to be a step ahead when you need it 

With changing guidelines and an altered professional landscape, finding childcare is more stressful than ever, especially when it comes to last-minute or emergency childcare. Maybe your regular nanny had to call out sick at the last minute, pre-school had a temporary closure, or you just wanted to have a date-night when your schedules lined up. Then the question comes up: how do you find emergency childcare? We have the answers you need. 

Build your pool of emergency babysitters

For many, one backup sitter is not enough. Having a neighbor kid’s phone number on the fridge may be helpful, but it’s just as likely that person is not available when you need them. By trying out different sitters and gathering a roster of caregivers you and your kids really like, you’ll have a better chance of booking one when you’re in a pinch (even if takes 15 texts to get there). 

Check online childcare listing services

Most parents who have looked for long-term childcare have, at one point or another, come across online childcare listing services like care.com. Here, innumerable caregivers and just as many families wade through piles of profiles and jobs, hoping to find an arrangement that lines up.

While these sites do provide a connection point for families and caregivers, the main issue with them is how hard it is to find great caregivers who are experienced and trustworthy – not an ideal case when you’re looking for someone last-minute.

Use corporate backup childcare

One increasingly popular way many parents get emergency childcare is through corporate backup care. This kind of backup care involves the employer paying for a service where employees can access in-home caregivers or daycare centers for last-minute or short-term arrangements.

More often seen in larger corporations as part of a benefits package to employers, backup care is catching on among smaller employers as well, as they try to draw the best employees with attractive benefits.

Smart Sitting has long been a partner with leading childcare provider Bright Horizons, connecting parents with stellar babysitters and nannies for in-home childcare through their companies’ corporate backup care arrangements. 

Try Always On from Smart Sitting

As a long-time nanny agency in New York and around the country, we at Smart Sitting are no strangers to parents’ frantic emergency childcare needs. We know that when parents need last-minute babysitting, they still want to make sure their caregiver is experienced, professional, and going to be lovely with their children. Many parents fear that if they don’t have time to wait, they have to forego all those qualities in a caregiver. 

Enter Always On, Smart Sitting’s premier emergency childcare service. We’ve set up a system that connects you with trusted, talented, and fully-screened sitters from our network of childcare professionals who are ready to hit the ground running and get right into the groove of your particular family. 

With a subscription to Always On, you’re essentially setting yourself up with childcare insurance, making sure that you are never left stranded or having to hand over your keys - and your kids - to a total stranger and hoping for the best.

Once you register for Always On, you can easily book a sitter and keep track of your favorites through our convenient app. Payment, employment details, and paperwork are all handled by us, so all you need to do is click confirm in the app, and your childcare panic is instantly replaced with peace of mind. 

Want to set your family up for smooth, easy, and reliable access to some of the best emergency childcare professionals in town? Register for Always On today and let us know more about your ideal childcare scenario. One of our dedicated team members will be in touch with you and take it from there.

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