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Whether you are attempting to balance your job with the joys and demands of caring for your child or wanting to find time for personal development, a babysitter app or website would be ideal. The first and most important question when hiring a babysitter is, of course, which app to use and how much will it cost. Thankfully, there is a more intelligent approach to finding an answer to this question and a trusted babysitter.
You should download one of these babysitting apps to discover the caretaker of your dreams. These apps typically allow parents to browse through a database of babysitters, view their profiles, read reviews, and book a sitter for a specific date and time. Read on to learn more about the top babysitting apps and websites that offer reliable childcare.
Key Pointers
- Babysitters offer a safe and reliable childcare option for parents who work, run errands, or need some personal time.
- Some babysitting apps also provide babysitters trained in language teaching, music, and other activities that can benefit a child’s development.
- Sittercity, UrbanSitter, Care.com, and Helpr, are some babysitting websites and apps that can assist you in finding a dependable babysitter for your child.
Essential Features Of Babysitting Apps And Websites
Modern parents can access various online resources, including babysitting apps and websites. However, before you choose an app, you should understand its features and other benefits.
- Availability feature: It allows parents to check the availability of babysitters for childcare.
- Viewing the profiles: Parents can check and verify the profiles of the babysitters registered on the app.
- Cost estimation: Parents can use this function to find babysitters by pre-estimating their fees.
- Background checks and screening: Parents can screen profiles to ensure the safety of their children.
- Ratings and reviews: Parents can read reviews on babysitters left by other parents.
- Booking or scheduling features: This feature helps parents to book and schedule childcare services.
- Push notification feature: Parents may keep an eye on their children by using this feature, which alerts them about the whereabouts of their children.
- Live tracking: This feature gives parents peace of mind by allowing them to track their babysitter.
- Online payment: Parents can easily pay their babysitters through the app.
- View history: Parents can view the last 24 hours of their children’s activity and a map of all the places they visited.
Top 16 Babysitting Apps And Websites To Find A Babysitter
Here is a list of the best babysitter apps available to help you find reliable childcare.
1. Sittercity
Sittercity connects millions of families with caregivers and provides the easiest way to find a babysitter in your area
. You only need to create a profile of a family on the app and post a requirement for a babysitter, including details such as schedule, duration, start date, the number of children, specific job requirements, location, and written description of the opportunity.
Once you post your requirement for a babysitter, you will get a list of available babysitters near you. You can sort through the suggestions and read the reviews to choose the best babysitter. Now, you can connect with a suitable babysitter via phone or in person.
This app offers highly skilled and thoroughly verified babysitters, both full-time and part-time.
Special features
- Search by zip code
- Detailed profiles
- Ratings and reviews
- Secure messaging
- Dedicated trust and safety team
- Access to background checks
2. UrbanSitter
UrbanSitter gives you an easy way to find, interview, and book a trusted babysitter who’s passed safety and background checks. The best part is this app makes it easy for you to book the caregiver, whether you need one for a last-minute date night, for your child’s homework, or even as a backup.
All you have to do is provide details regarding groups you have been with for some time, including the child’s school, parenting groups, sports organizations, and churches, on your profile. Once you have put in this information, you can look for various babysitters with their fees. You can then select the top babysitters from the search lists based on ratings and reviews.
Special features
- Plugging into your existing networks
- Mandatory background checks for safety and transparency
- Easy payment system
- Last-minute bookings are accepted, and you can get a reply in less than three minutes
3. Care.com
is a user-friendly babysitting software that helps you discover the ideal childcare. It connects you with the right people, whether you need a babysitter for a one-time event, a date night, or full-time care. This app offers you a detailed sitter profile, including any required references. After downloading the app, you will have to set up a profile and provide information about your family, including the number of children, their ages, and the time you require a babysitter. After you’ve created your profile, the registered sitters will start responding. But, you have to pay an extra charge if you wish to do a background check of a sitter.
Special features
- Offers customized services for tutoring, housework, pet care, senior care, or childcare
- Search and view caregiver profiles, photos, and reviews
- Get instant alerts when interested caregivers respond
- Manage bookings, interviews, and screening
- Make fast and easy payments through the app
4. Au Pair in America
Au Pair in America is the world’s most experienced live-in cultural child care program, with au pairs from various countries available for placement. Au pairs and EduCare companions are typically young overseas visitors who come to the country on a J-1 Visitor Exchange Visa to live with an American family and take care of their young children to learn better and appreciate American culture. In America, Au Pair blends cultural interaction with live-in child care to provide a mutually gratifying experience for the entire family.
All you have to do is register and create a free account, and complete the online application. Then, you can search, interview, select the au pair, check the babysitting rates and pick an arrival date.
Special features
- Full program support, including help choosing your au pair, organizing logistics, giving your family and au pair orientation, local license, and medical insurance for the au pair
- Round-the-clock emergency assistance
- A flexible care schedule and an Extended Payment Plan
- User-friendly online search tool
Create an account to register and view au pair profiles
Quick tip5. Helpr
Helpr is one of the best baby apps that provide in-home childcare with a vetted professional within three hours or up to three months in advance to improve the lives of working parents. Upon registering, you’ll be able to add local sitters to your “Favorites” list to send a specific request.
All babysitters undergo a strict screening procedure, including an online application, an in-person interview, ID verification, a criminal background check, CPR certification, calls to professional childcare references, and a review of their social media accounts.
Special features
- Gap care, school/daycare/preschool closures and holidays, mild sick days, health appointments, late or early working hours, and wellness needs such as “me-time,” exercise, date-nights, and self-care
- Payments are accepted by credit on the app
6. eNannySource
You can check this website if you want more frequent childcare than an occasional babysitter. It makes finding the right nanny easier through its extensive database of nanny profiles. They also provide tips and tools to help you through the screening and hiring process. Their services include:
- Full-time nannies
- Part-time nannies
- Live-in nannies
- Live-out nannies
- Nannies who specialize in caring for newborns, infants, toddlers and young children
Once you sign up as a member, you may create a public web profile to describe your family, your employment needs, and your ideal professional nanny. The next step is to look through the credentials of experienced and dedicated nannies to find one.
Special features
- Free nanny search tool
- New nannies are added every day
- Check out the reviews of other families
- Contact nannies in your area
- Receive email alerts for new nannies in your area
- Access Nanny Success Kit, a step-by-step guide for screening and hiring a nanny
and find an ideal nanny in your area.
7. SeekingSitters and Nannies
SeekingSitters and Nannies is a babysitter website that provides a secure and straightforward solution for child care. It is a platform that offers in-home childcare, daycare alternatives, childcare solutions, and babysitting services.
Before providing any possible sitters to families, they conduct a complete background check on each one using an elaborate background screening system such as face-to-face interviews, experience verification, records screening, and character evaluation. Families can register to make sitter requests, evaluate profiles, and check the profiles of the babysitting team currently operating in their area.
Special features
- Fast communication
- Nationwide locations
- Full- and part-time sitters or schedule daily, weekly, or monthly care
to connect with screened babysitters.
8. Bambino
This babysitting app has modernized the process for parents to locate, reserve, and pay for reliable local babysitters. Bambino offers the largest network of highly approved sitters, which makes babysitting simple. The sitters provide adaptable solutions for various needs, including on-demand assistance, backup child care, before- and after-school care, date evenings, and more.
This app’s usage of social connections is one of its best characteristics. You can use Facebook to ask your friends for recommendations on a particular sitter. This well-known app for finding babysitters also connects you with sitters your friends have used.
Special features
- Easy booking
- Access to neighborhood babysitters
- Recommendations by friends and neighbors
- Standardized pay rates
- In-app payments
9. Bubble
Bubble is a safe, dependable, and simple-to-use babysitter app. At the least, sitters and nannies are confirmed, with their backgrounds and references reviewed. Additionally, you may read reviews from other parents, check who your friends have reserved, and view their credentials, experience, and interests. You have all control and freedom before making a reservation.
Bubble registers you using your Facebook account, which serves as identification. It meets all your demands, whether you require an after-school sitter or a babysitter on short notice for a date night. You may also post jobs and look through sitter profiles.
Special Features
- Last-minute and regular babysitting help
- Browse sitters profiles
- View the babysitters your friends trust
- Read parent reviews
- Chat with your babysitter before you book
- Set up a virtual or in-person meet-up
- Every babysitter is fully insured
10. Sittr
Finding a trustworthy nanny has never been so simple. Thanks to the simple app, Sittr, which functions in three easy steps. First, you can utilize various filters to seek a babysitter in the region. You can also read reviews of local, trustworthy babysitters. Finally, based on the study, you can easily select a babysitter and pay in advance.
Special features
- Background verification of the babysitters
- Checks the first-aid certificates of the sitters
- Insurance coverage to the caregivers
Research finds11. Juggle
Juggle is a platform committed to safer, wiser, and more accessible childcare. Enthusiastic, involved, educated, and experienced babysitters are hired from nearby universities after conducting background checks. As a result, finding trustworthy individuals to assist busy families in managing life’s daily demands—kids, pets, housekeeping, homework, etc.—has been made easier.
Families only need to choose the date and time they require a babysitter while using the app. The icons next to each babysitter’s name indicate their respective feedback. You can make direct payments through the app at a predetermined hourly rate.
Special features
- Stringent babysitter recruitment process and background checks
- Seamless payments and on-demand services
- Offers trusted sitters, tutors, and personal assistants
12. Usit
Usit is a babysitting app that connects households to college students, creating more opportunities for students and possibilities for parents. It is currently available in Atlanta and provides babysitters from the top universities near you. Sitters are at least 18 years of age.
Special features
The Usit team and parents vet them in your community through a four-step process:
- Background checks by a third party source known as Checkr
- Usit sitter training test
- University vetted
- Daily quality checks
Download for iOS
13. Swishboom
Swishboom is a babysitting app that simplifies the scheduling and hiring of babysitters. Families can submit a job description for a babysitter and look through their profiles. Unfortunately, background checks don’t always paint a whole image of a dependable, competent, and trustworthy babysitter.
Hence, Swishboom conducts a thorough background investigation and verification process for babysitters, including checking social media, the Sex-Offender Registry, email addresses, and phone numbers, as well as checking references from three people.
Special features
- Builds your personal trusted network
- Schedules sitters fast
- Thorough verification process of babysitters
14. Babysits
Babysits is a user-friendly and transparent platform. It is simple to find, connect with, and schedule babysitting jobs. It benefits parents by providing the finest search experience possible. Choosing the ideal babysitter for your family is simple, thanks to the abundance of search possibilities. In addition, the user-friendly messaging service and calendar helps facilitate communication with the babysitters.
Special features
- Search before you even sign up
- Read reviews and references
- Benefit from secure messaging
- Push notifications
- Plan appointments
- Free for babysitters, affordable for parents
- Set your rates and schedules
- Screen, interview and make your choice
15. Nanny Lane
Nanny Lane is a platform that allows you to seamlessly connect with potential nannies or families, all without any upfront fees. To get started, simply sign up, create your profile, search for nannies, and send messages to connect with them. Opting for the ‘plus’ membership provides you with the assistance of a hiring assistant, aiding in the candidate search based on your specified requirements. It’s important to note that these services are available only to individuals 18 years of age or above.
Special features
- Chat without charges
- Flexible childcare
- Connect without sharing personal details
- Report concerns, exclude undesirables
- Budget-friendly payroll service
to find a nanny that aligns with your preferences.
16. Vivvi
Vivvi is a convenient babysitting website because everything from hiring your carer to payroll, training, background checks, insurance, and benefits is taken care of. With flexible enrollment options and extended hours, Vivvi offers care and education that fits families’ schedules.
The caregivers are trained and committed to assisting your child in meeting developmental goals. You can sign your child up for a campus program or hire a babysitter to watch them at home.
Special features
- Unrivaled flexible enrollment options
- Leading health and safety standards
to get a perfect home caregiver for your family!
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Is virtual babysitting a real thing?
Yes, virtual sitting is a new trend. During a virtual sitting, a professional is employed to engage children briefly in digital activities. The sessions can assist kids with their education, play games to keep them entertained, or guide them through online activities. Numerous websites offer virtual babysitting services, including Sittercity, Care.com, and others.
2. Do I need to tip babysitters?
Whether or not to tip a babysitter depends on how effectively they take care of your children and is a matter of personal preference. It is not obligatory. Giving them a tip, though, could be a pleasant way to show them that you value their expertise and relationship with your children.
3. What are the responsibilities of a babysitter hired through a babysitting app?
A babysitter hired through a babysitting app must ensure the safety and well-being of the children in their care, follow any specific instructions provided by the parents, maintain clear communication, create a safe and nurturing environment for children, and engage in age-appropriate activities or tasks as agreed upon with the parents.
4. How much does it cost to use a babysitting app?
The cost of using a babysitting app can vary based on the app used, location, service duration, and any additional subscription fee. It is best to check with the app or service provider for accurate pricing information.
5. What are the advantages of using a babysitting app over traditional babysitting services?
Using a babysitting app offers advantages such as flexibility to choose, convenient booking, timely scheduling features, and user reviews for background checks. In addition, apps offer wide options to find sitters that suit individual needs and preferences while providing an efficient and user-friendly platform for facilitating childcare arrangements.
6. What are the legal implications of using a babysitting app to find a babysitter?
The legal implications of using a babysitting app can vary depending on the specific app, local regulations, and the nature of the arrangement. Reviewing the terms of service, privacy policies, and relevant laws regarding employment, liability, and child protection in your jurisdiction is essential. Communicate openly with the babysitter to ensure compliance with legal requirements, such as background checks or necessary certifications. Consulting legal professionals or relevant authorities can provide specific guidance based on your location and circumstances.
Managing a hectic schedule while juggling work and children requires tremendous effort. Babysitters can come to your rescue when you need to attend an important meeting, head out for some me-time, or want to catch up on some sleep. By connecting you with reliable caretakers, babysitting apps and websites can save your day and provide much-needed breathing space.
Infographic: Why Do Parents Need A Babysitter?
How do you determine whether hiring a nanny is the best daycare option for your child? Of course, the primary responsibility of your babysitter is to watch your children and ensure their safety, but there are several other advantages to hiring a babysitter. Let’s explore the benefits of having a babysitter work for you and your family. Illustration: Momjunction Design Team
Illustration: Best Babysitting Apps For Reliable Childcare
Image: Dalle E/MomJunction Design Team
Check out this video to learn about the best babysitting apps! Get the scoop on the top apps to help you find the perfect babysitter for your family.
References
- Kathleen McCartney; (1991); What Do We Know About the Effects of Early Child Care?
https://www.purdue.edu/hhs/hdfs/fii/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/s_mifis01c03.pdf
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