Snow Day Savvy for Parents
Whew! If you live in the northeast, 2026’s winter season has been epic. While making snow men and sledding down neighborhood hills can be fantastic fun for kiddos, snow days complicate things for parents. What do you do if school closes? Do you have a backup plan if your regular childcare falls through? Here’s everything you need to be prepared for the next bomb cyclone, or any wrench the weather throws your way – including a helpful preparedness checklist!
What to do if school closes
When school is fully closed, having your nanny or babysitter step up for full coverage can be a real life saver. Decide in advance whether your caregiver is expected to work on snow days, and if so, whether their hours, duties, or location change. After-school sitters can often be called upon to extend their hours, for instance, especially with advance notice.
This may include:
Arriving earlier
Staying later
Staying overnight the night before a storm
Shifting to a shorter day
Be sure to put this in your job description so everyone knows the plan and no one is left wondering the morning of. A nanny with advanced warning can also make plans for fun ways to spend the day – especially helpful if you’re also unexpectedly working from home.
What if school goes virtual?
If school moves to virtual, the same general principle applies if your nanny needs to cover more hours than usual. Beforehand, clarify whether your nanny is responsible for managing log-ins, troubleshooting tech, keeping younger siblings occupied during live sessions, preparing lunch/snacks, and helping with assignments.
As you know, virtual school days require a fair amount of juggling and more hands-on support, especially for younger kids, so the power move here is being prepared. Align on expectations and compensation ahead of time.
Also think through space and structure. Children on virtual days need a quiet, supervised learning area and a loose schedule for breaks, outdoor time (if safe), and independent play. If a parent plans to work from home that day, decide who is “on point” during school hours so the child isn’t getting mixed messages. Clear roles prevent stress for everyone.
What to do if there’s a last-minute change
Snow doesn’t always announce itself ahead of time. What may have been forecast as a one-inch dusting can overnight turn into a subway-stopping winter storm. If you live in a region that may get snow in winter, you’re always going to be better off if you’re prepared for the surprise.
Create a rapid-response communication plan.
Agree that as soon as a district alert comes in, you will text your caregiver with a simple status update: “School closed – can you come in for the full day?” or “Early out today – can you pick up at noon?”
Caregivers should confirm their travel ability early so families can pivot if roads or transit are unsafe.
Having a default plan — for example, “Snow day = nanny works if safe to travel” — removes the need for real-time decision-making.
For your own work, it may help to keep a short list of priority work commitments that truly cannot be moved. On a morning with sudden changes, this helps you quickly decide whether you need full coverage, partial coverage, or to tag-team the day. Flexibility and a willingness to figure it out together is key, and helps everyone have a smooth day!
How to plan in advance for a snow day
If you live in a place where it snows sometimes, well, it just might. Even if you hire your nanny in June, keep snow days in mind and put a clause in the contract. This will save you and your nanny so much headache when winter comes.
Decide how snow days are handled for pay, hours, and duties, and whether there is a minimum notice for schedule changes.
Build a practical plan: stock easy meals, set aside simple indoor activities, make sure devices are charged, and keep snow gear accessible for quick outdoor breaks.
For families who rely on public transit caregivers, consider options like adjusting start times or offering a car service when weather is severe.
Have a backup plan if your nanny can’t come in. A backup sitter in your neighborhood who can wade over by foot is the dream. (And if you don’t have one, Smart Sitting has you covered – see more below.)
What if your nanny can’t make it because of snow or weather?
We get it – trying to work while your kids are home and also helping them through a virtual school day is the kind of stuff that makes a parent want to lock themselves in the closet and not come out till spring. And you’re meant to do it without your nanny??
But the bottom line and the baseline expectation has to be safety, for your family and for your caregiver. As a nanny agency, we will always stand by a nanny’s right not to travel in dangerous conditions. For the February storm in the New York City, for instance, the mayor closed the roads and told New Yorkers only to travel in emergencies – that’s serious stuff.
If your nanny can’t come in, shift immediately to your backup plan rather than trying to problem-solve in the moment. Some families offer the option for the nanny to stay overnight before a major storm. If this works for you and your nanny, make sure the nanny is compensated and that the overnight setup is comfortable for everyone.
Always on Through Smart Sitting: Your Easiest Backup Plan
Here’s the power move, parents: have a reliable backup plan that pulls from a whole team of experts and a vast network of caregivers. We created Always On, our backup babysitting service, to help parents with any number of backup care needs. Need a date night sitter? Always On. Know your nanny has a PTO trip coming up? Always On.
But Always On really shines when you’re in a bind. When the subways are down, your nanny can’t make it in, and the kids are home from school? We can send you a thoroughly vetted backup sitter who lives nearby and can get to you despite the snow. A dedicated team member will personally find the right sitter for you, even with short notice.
Learn more about Always On backup babysitting.
Your 3-step Fallback Plan
The best way to be prepared is to have several options ready. These are our top three options for a fallback plan in the snow – if you can set up all three, you’ll coast through snow days like you’re an Olympic Luger.
Share support: Do you have friends in the building or neighborhood with kids? Make a plan for shared childcare duties during snow days – if everyone takes the kids for a few hours, everyone can get some work done. If you have family nearby, they’re also a great support.
A flexible, prepared work strategy, if possible: a pre-approved work-from-home day, the ability to shift hours earlier/later, or a job-share with your partner where each person takes half a day can all make a snow days easier while still getting work done
A professional backup support: Hi, it’s us! Being set up with a nanny agency like Smart Sitting means you can guarantee childcare on days when you’re home, school’s out, your nanny can’t make it
Snow Day Planning Checklist for Parents
Before winter starts
Review your work agreement and confirm the snow day policy: is your nanny or sitter expected to work? What if schools close or go virtual? How is pay handled if travel is unsafe?
Identify your three backup layers:
Emergency babysitting service
Nearby family/friends who have agreed in advance
A flexible work plan
Talk through transportation expectations and safety boundaries.
Decide how delayed openings and early dismissals will work.
Set expectations for virtual school support (log-ins, supervision, homework help, meal prep, care for siblings).
Create a rapid communication plan for weather mornings (who texts whom and by when).
At the start of each storm forecast
Confirm the next day’s plan with your caregiver.
Charge devices and locate school log-in information.
Prep easy meals, snacks, and bottles/lunches.
Put out snow gear, extra clothes, and indoor activity options.
Adjust your work calendar if needed/possible.
The morning of a closure or delay
Send one clear status text as soon as you receive the school alert.
Confirm arrival time or backup plan.
Reset the day’s expectations (lighter schedule, rest time, outdoor play if safe).
If your caregiver cannot travel
Activate backup care immediately.
Shift to your flexible work plan.
Let Smart Sitting Help
As an NYC-made nanny agency with 17 years under our belt, we’ve seen our fair share of monster winter storms (remember the historic blizzard of 2016??). This means we’ve dug ourselves – and quite a few families – out from the challenge that is a snow day. We vet all our sitters and nannies, get to know them, and know where they live – all so we can make smart matches with neighborhood families and sitters who we know can be relied upon to step in when the going gets tough.
Whether you’re looking for a full-time, long-term nanny, a part-time after-school sitter, or just fill-in help when your regular childcare falls through, we’ve got you. Get started by telling us a bit about your family via the button below, and a member of our team will take it from there!
Pro Tip for Snow Days:
Work a snow day clause into your nanny agreement. It may mention that if school is closed or moves to virtual learning and it is safe for your caregiver to travel, the caregiver will work regular hours or amended hours, as agreed. Duties may include full-day care, virtual learning supervision, meal preparation, and age-appropriate activities for the children.