As a work-from-home mom, I feel I get the best of both worlds: spending lots of time with my son, and also getting to continue doing the work I love as a self-employed photographer. However, other work-from-home parents can probably agree that these benefits come with a cost: instead of sleeping when baby sleeps, or having family time when your partner is home from work, you are working. Your life is eat-mom-work-sleep-repeat.

After chatting with another mom at the park, I was lucky to find an incredible home daycare only 4 DOORS away from ours, so I could catch up on work from home a couple days a week and free up more time for myself. But what if I hadn’t run into that mom who happened to know about the available daycare spot? Well this is exactly the problem I’m going to face again soon, since we’re moving to a new neighbourhood.

Well, instead of running into another resourceful mom at the park, I’ve had the chance to chat with Christine from Babysits, and I now know exactly how we’re going to find childcare when we move! You might think that looking online for childcare is the obvious best route, but for me, it really wasn’t so simple last time I tried this. I found myself lost in a sea of Facebook group posts, or scouring Google search results, feeling overwhelmed and uncertain. Babysits makes the search process so simple, yet so reliable and thorough.

Christine does a much better job of explaining the benefits of finding childcare online, so she agreed to write this guest article. Thanks Christine! I hope this helps someone out there like it helped me.

The Benefits of Finding Babysitters Online

Author: Christine Sabol

Becoming a parent has a running list of responsibilities to plan, learn and complete. What happens when the unexpected happens or when you just need a little time to yourself? Who do you call to help you watch your kids while you run some errands or visit friends you haven’t seen? In the past, you might have asked the other neighbor kids or gone to the local grocery store and checked the notice board. In this modern age, we now have a tool right at our fingertips! Owing to the internet and the growth in the number of babysitting platforms, finding a babysitter has never been easier! Here are the 5 benefits to finding childcare online.

1)    Parents can compare prices

Who doesn’t like to find a good deal? Back in the day, you give your teen babysitter a price that you think is fair and they usually accept because well, it’s their first job. Now, the importance of finding a safe, experienced and reliable sitter is of utmost importance. With online babysitting platforms, you can search through different local babysitter profiles and compare their hourly rates. On the profiles, babysitters set their hourly rate so parents can decide which price is right for them. No surprises when everything is posted upfront.

2)    Parents can read reviews about the babysitters they are interested in

We live in an age where the opinions of people who are like us matter. Before, there was no system in place if a babysitter was irresponsible and so it was just trial and error. As a parent, how important is it that the person who will possibly care for your child be well recommended and have shining star reviews? With Babysits, babysitters, nannies and parents are all encouraged to write reviews on their experience with the people that they make appointments with. Accompanied by honest communication, the childcare community grows more safe and trustworthy with each appointment, thus strengthening our mission.

3)    Local parents and babysitters are within reach

In the past, babysitters were shared through word of mouth or through family and friends. Because of the lack of technology, parents only had one, two or maybe three babysitters they could call in a pinch. Now, with the simplicity of apps on smartphones, babysitters and parents can now browse each other’s profiles, giving them a better sense of who they may potentially work with. With Babysits, you can look at photos, read experience descriptions and even watch videos babysitters have created! It is a great way to get to know the babysitter and decide if they are right for the family before they make contact.

4)    Last minute appointments are possible

Remember when you would have to call the babysitter a couple of weeks in advance and make an appointment? And then oops she/he gets sick and can’t make it so now you can’t make it to the show you bought tickets for.  The internet has created a plethora of resources to help find responsible and reliable babysitters. Babysits gives you the power to contact babysitters until you find one that fits your family’s needs. And if that means having to message a few as backup, that is possible! We do recommend meeting the potential babysitter for an informal meeting before the scheduled date, just so parents can feel safe and confident in their decision.

5)    Parents can filter for their expectations

There are so many capable babysitters online but often it can be overwhelming trying to sort through. Using a babysitting platform can give you the tools to sort for certain aspects you want your babysitter to have. Maybe you want a babysitter who has many years of experience caring for infants, or maybe you want a French speaking nanny who can practice the household mother tongue while watching the children. Other than finding nannies, sitters or parent-to-parent care online, there are no other ways of finding exactly what you need.

As friends and family cannot always be a consistent support system, most parents look for a babysitter in the neighborhood. The girl next door is often called in to look after the little ones for a day. But admit it, do you actually know if this is the best babysitter in the area? Now that technology has created an online marketplace for parents to find childcare, it seems like the old ways of finding babysitters is gone with the wind. With so many options to find childcare, using an online babysitting platform seems the easiest and reliable.

Babysits has hundreds of thousands of parents and babysitters connected online and via a mobile app. Babysits is now the easiest way to find and plan childcare services and childcare work.