In this child care benefits study conducted by UrbanSitter, 71% of working parents say it’s difficult to find child care right now.
Continue reading5 Fast Facts for HR Thought Leaders
Get in the know with these quick HR industry facts for Q4 2021. Also, help make the transition back into the workplace more smooth for your clients by discussing backup child care with them to help them combat the “talent tsunami.”
Continue readingBack To School Transitions Tips for Parents During COVID-19
How to help parents return to office after COVID
UrbanSitter shares five essential strategies that employers can use to help parents return to the office after COVID ends.
Continue reading5 Ways for Employers to Support Working Parents, Now and Post-pandemic
Helpful tips for evolving company benefits and policies to better support working parents and curb burnout and attrition due to the pandemic.
Continue readingIntroducing COVID-19 Vaccine Badges
Now, parents and sitters can add a COVID-19 vaccine badge to their UrbanSitter profile for simplified hiring.
Continue readingHow to find a sitter for your pandemic pod
Meet super talented virtual babysitters
Virtual babysitting opens up a world of exciting possibilities for kids to take yoga lessons, drawing classes, and even get homeschool help—all from the safety of home, while their parents get tasks done or work from home.
And, since virtual babysitting takes place over video chat, parents can hire sitters who live anywhere in the country, so they can book the best of the best. To book a virtual babysitter, hire one of the sitters below or post a job on UrbanSitter (Hint: Set your address to any major city for the biggest selection of sitters!). And, be sure to book jobs in your sitter’s local timezone.
Here are a few super talented babysitters ready to engage and entertain kids with a virtual babysitting session!
Singing & Music
Mirella
Singing, reading, homeschooling, teaching Spanish
110 Reviews | 102 Repeat families
Mae
Singing, reading, acting out stories, finger play
32 Reviews | 23 Repeat families
Shernaleria
Singing, reading stories, learning the alphabet and counting
42 Reviews | 45 Repeat families
Danelle
Singing, reading, telling jokes, teaching knitting
28 Reviews | 26 Repeat families
Gerri
Singing, storytelling/reading, science experiments, crafts, cooking, tutoring
16 Reviews | 1 Repeat family
Sheena
Singing, reading
36 Reviews | 24 Repeat families
Ashlyn
Singing, teaching piano
11 Reviews | 9 Repeat families
Marizza
Singing, story time, helping with schoolwork
11 Reviews | 8 Repeat families
Monique
Singing, reading, helping with homework
6 Reviews | 2 Repeat families
Tamara
Singing, doing flash cards
7 Reviews | 8 Repeat families
Yoga & Dance
Caroline
Yoga, teaching violin
18 Reviews | 17 Repeat families
Leigh
Dance parties, yoga, reading, help with homework
7 Reviews | 8 Repeat families
Kelly
Ballet, choreography, coloring, drawing, origami
62 Reviews | 60 Repeat families
Sarah
Yoga, children’s games
18 Reviews | 16 Repeat families
Zara
Dancing, yoga, reading, home schooling
21 Reviews | 15 Repeat families
Blanca
Exercising, Spanish language, meditation
19 Reviews | 9 Repeat families
Leslie
Yoga, teaching art, reading, homeschooling
18 Reviews | 8 Repeat families
Daphne
Dance, yoga, story time, singing
18 Reviews | 8 Repeat families
Deserae
Yoga, homeschooling
6 Reviews | 2 Repeat families
Amy
Yoga, cooking, music
7 Reviews | 4 Repeat families
Homeschool & Tutoring
Fiorella
Homeschooling (elementary), tutoring, reading, stretching exercises
45 Reviews | 35 Repeat families
Rasa
Homeschooling, tutoring, teaching Dutch
50 Reviews | 51 Repeat families
Sarah
Homeschooling (preschool, elementary), reading stories
23 Reviews | 14 Repeat families
Emily
Homeschooling, reading stories, playing games
17 Reviews | 15 Repeat families
Laura
Homeschooling (elementary)
6 Reviews | 3 Repeat families
Ingrisds
Tutoring in phonics, elementary math, elementary science, middle and high school writing, biology, algebra, geometry, trigonometry
7 Reviews
Paige
Homeschooling, reading stories
6 Reviews | 3 Repeat families
Sarah
Tutoring in math
13 Reviews | 6 Repeat families
Reading & Storytime
Brunna
Reading stories, playing games, creating stories together
37 Reviews | 21 Repeat families
Laura
Reading, art, science projects
30 Reviews | 20 Repeat families
Feiben
Reading, storytime
9 Reviews | 5 Repeat families
Haley
Reading
9 Reviews | 6 Repeat families
Leah
Reading stories, dance parties, I spy
9 Reviews | 7 Repeat families
Sil
Telling stories, puzzles, teaching meditation, drawing together
8 Reviews | 9 Repeat families
Sandra
Reading stories, practicing ABC’s, math, science, art
6 Reviews | 6 Repeat families
Catalina
Reading stories, Spanish language
6 Reviews | 5 Repeat families
Tykisha
Teaching
18 Reviews | 17 Repeat families
Barbara
Homework help (K-4th grade)
13 Reviews | 26 Repeat families
For the latest updates on UrbanSitter COVID-19 childcare, please visit our FAQ: Coronavirus Precautions and Resources.
Child care options as parents return to work
If you’re a working parent returning to the office, there are still plenty of flexible child care options to fit your schedule.
Continue readingKeeping Families and Caregivers Healthy
Updated 3/25/20
Family and sitter health is a top priority for the UrbanSitter community. With concerns over Coronavirus increasing coupled with school closures and geographic areas under “shelter-in-place” restrictions we would like to remind our community of the following:
- We encourage everyone to refer to the CDC and local department of health websites for specific instructions and restrictions, which may vary by city or county.
- If your area has a “shelter-in-place” order in effect, check your area’s guidelines to understand any policies related to childcare. For example, in the San Francisco Bay Area, where a “shelter-in-place” order is in effect, home-based care for seniors, adults or children is currently classified as an “essential service” and permitted in all seven impacted counties, as long as the care is performed in the family’s home. In Colorado, however, there are more restrictions and unless the caregiver is living with the family, providing medical care to the child or is providing care in order to allow parents/guardians to work for an Essential Business or perform an Essential Government function it is not permitted. All parties must comply with all other aspects of the shelter-in-place order. Regulations vary both by location and time period so please regularly check your local department of health websites.
- We encourage open communication regarding family and sitter health status. So, as always, if a child, a family member or caregiver is sick or has a fever, please disclose this information, with symptoms and relevant doctor information, to the other party so that families and caregivers can make informed decisions about whether to cancel a job. Specific to the Coronavirus, the CDC recommends that people should self-quarantine for 14 days if you have been in contact in the last 14-days with someone diagnosed with COVID-19.
- Jobs should be canceled if a caregiver or anyone in the family they are working for fits into one of the above categories. Jobs should not be posted and booking requests should not be sent if a family member fits any of those criteria as well. Click here for more information.
- Families and childcare providers should continue to follow CDC guidelines for keeping homes safe. This includes good hygiene practices such as washing hands upon arrival, before handling food and at regular intervals.
We also encourage creative solutions for childcare. Anything we can all to do reduce the number of social interactions we’re having the better, so parents and sitters may start to see requests from each other such as:
- Parents may start requesting remote sitting, using online video conferencing, to keep kids entertained and help with homeschooling. These jobs might be for shorter increments of time. Sitters and parents can think creatively about virtual activities like storytime, charades and age-appropriate games like, “I spy…”
- Parents who need in-home childcare and have a spare room may offer to have the childcare provider “shelter in place” with them.
- Sitters may ask for a minimum number of hours per week with each family to be able to limit the number of families they are working with.
- Sitters may ask for rides to and from work if they do not have cars, to avoid public transportation.
We hope everyone stays healthy.
Your UrbanSitter Team
(As of 3/13/2020)
Family and sitter health is top priority for the UrbanSitter community. With concerns over Coronavirus increasing and school closures happening around the country, we wanted to remind our community of the following:
We are encouraging open communication regarding family and sitter health status. So, as always, if a child, a family member or caregiver is sick or has a fever, please disclose this information, with symptoms and relevant doctor information, to the other party so that families and caregivers can make informed decisions about whether to cancel a job.
Specific to the Coronavirus, the CDC recommends that people should self-quarantine for 14 days if:
- You have been in contact in the last 14-days with someone diagnosed with COVID-19
- You have traveled to a CDC-designated level 2 or 3 area in the last 14 days
Jobs should be canceled if a caregiver or anyone in the family they are working for fits into one of the above categories. Jobs should not be posted and booking requests should not be sent if a family member fits any of that criteria as well.
The CDC also recommends the following steps to protect yourself and other family members:
- Get your flu shot to protect against flu or symptoms similar to novel coronavirus.
- Wash your hands with liquid soap and water, and rub for at least 20 seconds.
- Cover your cough or sneeze.
- Stay home if you are sick, and keep sick family members at home until symptoms resolve.
Additionally, here are some requests that both parties should expect to encounter when communicating about child care jobs and scheduling bookings:
- Sharing information about any travel within the past 14 days
- Request to take temperature before leaving for the job or upon arrival at the job (for both sitter and family)
- Disclosing information about exposure to large groups, events or activities within the past 14 days
- Request to wash hands immediately upon arrival
Here are the latest recommendations from the CDC on how to keep workplaces and homes safe.
As the situation is changing rapidly, the CDC and local department of health websites are great sources for the most up-to-date information and recommendations.
We hope everyone stays healthy.
Your UrbanSitter Team