SitterTree Resources: Insights on Babysitting and Childcare

Spoiler: families have had it rough this year. But there have been a few bright spots.

The survey revealed families are roughly spending 5% LESS on childcare since the pandemic began-$687/mo down from $722/mo (weighted average).

In fact, many more families are spending virtually nothing on childcare since the crisis began-and only a handful more families have increased their spending. We noted a 15% movement of families from “the middle,” roughly $500-$2000/mo, to either extreme in monthly spending, either $0/mo or $2000+/mo.

When it comes to schooling, 45% of SitterTree families are sending their kids to school full-time-a higher total than we expected. The majority of the 45% are either enrolled in private school or private pre-school. The second-largest schooling group, at 19%, are full-time remote learners.

64% of families indicated they want to send their kids back to school full time in January 2021. Meaning: parents are tired of remote learning. No surprise there. 19% of families remain undecided, waiting for school districts to announce their decisions. Our data also included a small group of homeschooling parents and parents of non-schooled babies and toddlers.

Parents also expressed clear dissatisfaction with their current child care options, not surprising in a year that has put stress on parents in every conceivable way. In general, parents are no more satisfied with their childcare situation than they are with their cable company or internet service provider.*

However, SitterTree is a bright spot within the childcare industry, with a comparatively excellent net promoter score.** Based on open feedback from parents, we believe this stems mostly from our high-caliber sitters, our industry-leading screening process, and our top-notch customer service.

Here’s one of just 2000+ 5-start reviews we’ve received since the pandemic began:

Zooming in on parents, 72% haven’t been on a date in months-if at all. Based on open feedback, this seems due to a perceived lack of safety as well as the fact that most date-night spots are closed, have limited capacity or service, or are perceived as unsafe. Those who are going on dates seem to be spending A LOT of time outside. 

We also found that we tend to serve smaller families, which came as a surprise to our team. 77% of our customers have 2 or fewer children (34% have just one child). 

Though two-children families are just under the 2.3 average for Atlanta, our hypothesis was that we served larger families that needed a break. Instead, what we found is that we’re actually serving NEWER families. In fact, SitterTree was THE VERY FIRST babysitting experience for many of our families-which may come as a shock to any parent who had a kid prior to 2017. 

SitterTree was THE VERY FIRST babysitting experience for many of our families-which may come as a shock to any parent who had a kid prior to 2017. 

Finally, when asked what they liked most about SitterTree, parents overwhelmingly highlighted SItterTree’s industry-leading vetting process and the ability of our sitters to engage children. Beyond safety and quality, families indicated they enjoy the ease of use of the SitterTree platform.

We also surveyed 119 Atlanta-based SitterTree sitters. Here are some of our key findings:

First, it’s notable that 55% of our sitters have been tested for COVID within the last month-in large part thanks to frequent, convenient, ubiquitous testing on college campuses. 

COVID is also responsible for an increase in the average education level of our sitters. Nearly half (49%) of our sitters have completed their bachelor’s degree, with another 20% either working on or having completed their master’s or Ph.D. Though we’re proud of our sitters’ education, this also demonstrates a weak US job market-especially for young, female professionals. 

This trend is also demonstrated in our sitters’ age distribution. Over 26% of our sitters are now at least 25 years old, a slight uptick from pre-COVID times.

Finally, we wanted to take a minute to brag on ourselves. SitterTree sitters really love working for SitterTree-giving us an exceptionally high Net Promoter Score of just over 85%.*** We’re so very proud to serve our sitter community. 

Featured Families

Every month, SitterTree features a family that has been recognized as being ‘awesome’ by our sitter community.

December 8, 2020 – The Samples’s

Member since October 2016. Smyrna, GA.

SitterTree sitters are amazing young ladies who I am happy to have around my kids as role models. The kids love having sitters come over- it’s better than a holiday for them! Win, win!

I love being able to schedule a job and know that someone amazing will be available to accept.  That way, I am able to make commitments without waiting for individual sitters to get back to me.

I’ve got a ton of favorites, but my absolute favorites are Jenny R. and Canaan A..  I wish they could be my sisters, they’re so awesome.

December 1, 2020 – The Fernandez’s

Member since August 2018. Smyrna, GA.

Reliability

I (Jaime) trust SitterTree because I trust the leadership of the company, I have come to love and adore the sitters, I appreciate it’s reliability and ease of use and I know I can always count on this service to care for my most precious gifts.

Yes! Jalen B., Anokhi P., Madison H. and Angel R. are our most favorites! The kids always have a wonderful time with them and are sad to see them leave.

From the moment you sign up, SitterTree is here to support you. Our coordinators remain informed about every member of our community so we can provide the highest quality of care when you need it. Whether you’re working with a SitterTree church, group or family, safety is our number one goal. Always reach out to your community coordinator or SitterTree Support for more information. This is your guide to safer, smarter sitting for infants. Parents will appreciate the few extra minutes you spend. Learning these tips can be life-saving.

Safety for Infants

• Safe Sleep: Are you assigned to a family with infants? Be sure to be in the know about Children’s Healthcare Safe Sleep practices.
• Changing Table Safety: Avoid changing table injuries by ensuring supplies are within reach, constantly supervising, and never walking out of reach of the infant.
• Diaper Changing: Need a refresher on diaper changing techniques? Check out this helpful video for tips!  (Hint: diapers have a front and a back)

Safety Starts With You

1. Jobs: Only accept jobs booked through SitterTree
2. Payments: Only accept payments through SitterTree
3. Location: Share your job location with a trusted friend
4. Reviews: Review every job within 24 hours

Facebook Mom group feeds are filled with posts and comments regarding the next big decision for parents: to send kids back to school or keep them at home for virtual schooling this fall.

The decision is agonizing. Moms (and kids) long for some semblance of normalcy while weighing serious health decisions about safety. To further complicate things, parents are faced with how to manage their roles as mom/dad, employee, and teacher. (Who can forget the Spring 2019 memes depicting moms day-drinking, night-drinking, and promising higher pay for teachers?)

We thought we’d share the top resources and reasons to help make the decision:

What do the Experts say?

In May, our friends at the Cen CDC Considerations for Schools

Recently released school safety guidelines are not helping to ease their minds.  In June, Georgia’s Department of Education (GaDoe) released Georgia’s K-12 Recovery Plan. At the same time, the challenge of juggling mom + employee + teacher responsibilities remains fresh on the mind.

Learn More: Georgia Education and Child Care Standards

In Alpharetta,

Atlanta babysitting app, SitterTree, has broadened its services to meet the needs of working families struggling to find sustainable child care. SitterTree offers families a simple platform to post jobs for pre-vetted college and young professional sitters near their home. Sitters undergo rigorous screening, including interviews and background checks, before gaining access to job postings.

Date-night babysitting may be on hold, but working parents have found their favorite sitters are more valuable than ever.

• Sitter Learning Assistants — while teachers share virtual lessons, learning assistants provide an extra hand (and focus) during 3+ hours of the virtual school day.
• Learning Pods — two to four families sign up and book together, cutting the hourly cost of booking a sitter by up to 4x! Great for moms of toddlers who would otherwise utilize cost-efficient group child care.
• Weekly Sitters — booking the same sitter on a consistent weekly basis provides structured work and playtime for moms and kids. Consistency also limits exposure.

In-home child care is the new norm. Due to health risks, grandparents are no longer a viable option. Moreover, daycares require children to remain home if any family member shows symptoms of coronavirus. Unfortunately, symptoms like these are the norm for preschoolers — even pre-Covid — and will ultimately lead to regular interruptions for working parents.  

Sitters, meanwhile, are concerned for their own safety. They must take efforts to limit their exposure by working with fewer families — meaning the supply of sitters is limited. Scheduling back-to-school child care may be increasingly challenging for parents who wait.  

Scheduling isn’t the only challenge. Cost has long been a barrier for families in need of reliable childcare, leading many families to opt for more affordable group settings.

Enter coronavirus. These same group settings are now a cause for concern.

Daycares protect families by requiring children to remain home for several days when any family member has symptoms of coronavirus (fever, cough, etc).  Unfortunately, for families of preschoolers, these symptoms can be a weekly occurrence—making group childcare very unpredictable.

SitterTree offers families a more affordable and reliable means for booking in-home child care.

Families purchase a Sitter Pass for $30/month and set their own hourly rates* when posting jobs. Within minutes of posting, sitters begin applying. Parents can review individual profiles, reviews, and social distancing practices before selecting a sitter.  

As businesses extend work-from-home options to their employees, they must also consider the cost of not assisting families with child care. SitterTree offers businesses an easy way to supplement child care expenses for essential staff. Employers may choose to cover monthly booking fees and/or supplement hourly wages paid to sitters.

SitterTree is not new to serving families in the Greater Atlanta area. Started in a dorm room at Oglethorpe University, in Brookhaven, SitterTree has completed more than 43,000 jobs to date. For more information, download the app or visit sittertree.com.

*Minimum required $13/hr rate, three-hour minimum required. 

https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/dekalb-county/day-cares-preschools-reopen-soon-will-parents-send-their-kids/HXGJNAD2HZBSXMOFHN66TMR7JQ/

In the week since Fulton, Dekalb, Gwinnett, and Cobb County schools announced they would start the year virtually, Atlanta Facebook mom groups surged with private tutor requests-at top dollar rates- and threads on how to grapple with mounting anxiety. After hearing about the closures, one mom lamented: “I had to go for a run and have a good cry.”

If the ‘mom-plate’ was full before virtual schooling. Now, it overfloweth. 

Prior to the announcements, many moms intended to send their children to school for in-person classes. They envisioned first-day-of-school rituals and pictures. They took comfort knowing trained teachers would guide their children’s learning. They longed for a break.

SitterTree is adapting to meet Atlanta’s urgent child care needs. In March, SitterTree pivoted to provide child care for essential medical personnel throughout Georgia. Now, SitterTree is using our model of recruiting and onboarding quality babysitters to resource parents with experienced Learning Assistants to support children’s virtual schooling.

Schools are responsible for providing trained virtual teachers, but virtual teachers cannot help with logging in, recovering passwords, troubleshooting technology, downloading assignments, sharpening pencils, or helping students stay on task. Teachers will also be limited in their ability to engage children individually, offer encouragement, or provide emotional support.

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SitterTree’s Learning Assistants are personal academic champions. They are also experienced babysitters, which means they know how to relate to children outside of the classroom.

SitterTree has enhanced sitter profiles to include a new ‘Learning Assistant’ badge for experienced sitters who demonstrate the ability to ‘encourage, engage and inspire child(ren) during virtual schooling.’ In addition, all SitterTree Learning Assistants provide detailed descriptions of their social distancing practices.

While some moms may be thinking: “I don’t want just a babysitter,”  SitterTree Founder, Jody Stephenson says:

“Parents should not underestimate the value of providing their children with a learning peer, friend, and non-parental guide – for everyone’s emotional well-being! At the end of the last school year, one mom shared with our SitterTree team: “By the end of the Spring 2020 semester, my child’s emotional needs superseded his academic needs.”

 

Moms, especially working moms, face more responsibility this fall. Hiring a Learning Assistant is one way to ensure your family has a consistent, trusted support system while limiting exposure and keeping your circle small. Offload your mom-plate.

What happens when your child catches a cold? Is there child care for sick children?

Schools and daycares have ramped up safety — including extra precautions when it comes to run-of-the-mill sick policies. Thus, when your kid gets the sniffles, you’re faced with a daunting challenge of finding alternative child care.

“If I had a dime for every runny nose I’ve wiped … I would be a millionaire,” said every preschool parent ever.

We’ve all seen the Petrie dish that is a room full of adorable preschoolers in action. Drool, boogers, constant touching, swapping, sneezing, and transferring cute little germs in every imaginable way.

Pre-pandemic, this was an accepted way of life. Remedy: a prescribed shot of Dayquil in your coffee — every morning now through high school graduation.

But now, inconvenient bugs like the common cold have become a REALLY. BIG. DEAL. As you may have noticed, colds (and allergies) share many of the symptoms of COVID-19. Should little Susie or Johnny exhibit any of these symptoms, they become persona non grata at daycare for 5 to 14 days. Which means, once again, juggling parenting duties, actual work, and Zoom calls.

Prevention 101

Let’s hire a babysitter! The solution you wished you had considered earlier. Hiring a sitter — assuming they are practicing diligent social distancing measures — is the absolute safest (and most practical) childcare decision you can make.

But while a healthy family can book a sitter in minutes, families with sick kids raise a red flag for sitters. In the before-times: sitters considered a common cold as a risk to their schooling or social calendar. Now, it’s a risk to their income.

Unfortunately, with cold and flu season on the horizon, the risk of look-alike symptoms is not going away. Now is the time to consider taking steps to prevent look-alike symptoms.

Three tips to avoid a child care crisis in your home.

The writing is on all the wall — in big, green snotty letters. There is no plan B for when your kids get sick and you need backup childcare. You are Plan B. Thus, foolproof your Plan A:

1. Start a Neighborhood Playgroup – Kids need socialization. Scratch your child’s social itch by forming a small playgroup with up to four children. Have everyone chip in $5 per child, per hour and schedule a sitter to provide short lessons and activities for your crew.
2. Hire a Weekly Sitter – Not comfortable with small groups quite yet? Book the same sitter on a regular, weekly schedule. A familiar face (albeit, perhaps in a mask), will provide structure for your child while also providing a friend who isn’t ‘mom.’
   • We hear federal assistance to assist families with in-home child care is on the congressional docket. In the meantime, why not ask your employer if they will subsidize a portion of the expense?
3. Invite Grandma to Visit – For families maintaining strict social distancing, invite Grandma to visit for a few weeks (or months). She may be just what the doctor (or therapist) ordered.

Book a Learning Assistant or Weekly Sitter.

When Atlanta went #fullQuar, SitterTree pivoted from a date-night babysitting model to booking far more full-time sitters. SitterTree is in the business of equipping families with full-time childcare options.  

Defining Reality

As you’re probably aware, our kids are stuck at home . . . with us. Schools and daycares are closed, as are most gyms and activity centers. 

Our role of provider or home maker has been expanded to include teacher, gym coach, cafeteria lady, and—sadly—classmate. The mental and physical energy required to balance work and home has increased exponentially. 

Some parents have handled these past two months with poise and expertise. You know the ones—the Instagram-friendlies who take their kids on “science hikes” and are still managing a “homework calendar.” 

My wife and I are on the opposite end of that spectrum. We are drowning in the Sea of Quarantine. Limiting our four-year-old’s daily “Frozen/ToyStory/Tumbleleaf” consumption to under two hours is a win. Craft time has been a constant source of fun, but we literally have thousands of “masterpieces” scattered throughout our house.

When it comes to getting work done, I’m grateful my wife tackles the majority of our kids’ needs. At the same time, she is also left asking for a daily miracle—an hour or two of time (and energy) to devote to her part-time work. I know many of you are in the same boat. 

Heading into the summer, many of us will continue working from home. Some of you will be required to head back into the office. Yet, our children still need the same constant home care we’ve managed these past few months. What are we to do?

Hire a sitter.

Expanding Your Circle

Like many Americans, you may be  reluctant to break quarantine. 

Think of hiring a sitter as “expanding your circle.” It’s the first small step towards a post-Covid world. My wife and I have a niece that lives just a few hours north of us. If she weren’t already nannying for a family full-time this summer, we would have gladly welcomed her into our home to help watch our kids. Since that’s not an option, a regular, vetted sitter is the best alternative.  

If you do decide to hire a sitter, here are three quick ways to ensure your “circle” stays closed and safe:

1. Hire the same sitter.

The best way to keep your “circle’s” diameter small is to hire the same sitter. We have dozens, nay, hundreds of sitters ready to work. If you need help with this, our support team is more than happy to help!

2. Pay your sitter a higher hourly rate in exchange for exclusivity.

Stating the obvious: babysitting is a job, and babysitters need money to live. 

When Atlanta went #fullQuar, SitterTree pivoted from a date-night babysitting model to booking far more full-time sitters. SitterTree ≠ NannyTree, but we are in the business of equipping families with full-time child care this summer.  

We have recruited and vetted sitters just for this purpose. Our sitters have gone from working 4 hour jobs to 8 hour jobs—with the majority of them working 24-40 hours per week. 

For their own safety, our sitters have indicated that they prefer to work for the same family. If you want to book one of our best sitters on a daily basis, even if just for three hours per day, consider paying a slightly higher hourly rate for the privilege of exclusivity. 

3. Initiate daily, frank conversations about safety practices.

Before your sitter arrives, spend a few minutes recapping how both your family (safety is a two-way street) and your sitter are adhering to safety measures. If something feels uncomfortable, say so in a patient and judgment-free manner. Better to clear the air than let fear and speculation haunt you. What could be worse than nagging anxiety during a global pandemic?

The SitterTree team is working on ways to help with this communication by adding Personal Safety Practices to every family and sitter profile. We should have an app update for you in the coming days!

Staying Vigilant

Hopefully this goes without saying: follow widely-accepted safety norms. 

• Wear a face mask when in public
• Wash your hands regularly (and for a minimum of 20 seconds)
• Wash hands before/after critical touch points (meal prep, diaper change, sneezing, potty)
• Practice social distancing
• Avoid people at high-risk (elderly, immunocompromised)
• Cancel any job if you are ill and/or experiencing COVID-19 symptoms—or if you have been in contact with anyone experiencing symptoms

A few bonus tips:

• Have the sitter remove their shoes when entering your home 
• Routinely clean frequently touched surfaces in your home
• Spend as much time playing outside as possible

Alternative Strategies

Paying a sitter for 40 hours isn’t always a possibility. What can you do to recruit the help you need when the funds aren’t readily available?

1. Consider working fewer hours each day, and spread your work week out by an additional day. Try 4 or 6 hour shifts 6 days per week, and hire a sitter to tag in for you as needed. 
2. Ask your employer for assistance. Since operations expenses are down (utilities, supplies, rent), see if there are funds in the coffer to offset child care costs or to cover your monthly Sitter Pass. 

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There’s no perfect solution for our quarantine woes, but hiring a sitter may just be a right next step.

If you have questions about getting started, myself and the rest of the SitterTree team are here to help you. Let’s do this!

*Through June 2020, Sitter Pass members can book unlimited sitters and nannies for no additional service fees. Don’t have a Sitter Pass? Get one here.

*Sitter Pass must be valid through all booking dates. Sitter Passes are nonrefundable.

For the past several weeks, most of the people we know have been experiencing a feeling of vagueness like something has just happened but we don’t know what. 

At times we’ve felt lonely and isolated. At times the uncertainty of tomorrow has weighed heavily on us. We awake to a new day and realize it’s going to be the same as yesterday. Or we wake to a new day, expecting it to be like the day before and it isn’t.

Our children look to us for answers and we don’t always have words for them. Our schedule gets interrupted a thousand times a day. The tasks we thought were so routine and artless become challenges we never seem to finish. The expectations we put on ourselves become impossible to carry out and worst of all, everybody else seems to be accomplishing so much. We see pictures of the gourmet dish they prepared for their family or their perfectly organized closet, and we feel like failures. We measure ourselves with others like ourselves and we seem to come up short. We have emotions and fears that we’ve never experienced. We’re weary of doing the same things over and over, every day—the things nobody seems to notice.

We can’t help wondering when this will end . . . how it will end . . . what things will look like when it does end . . . and deep inside we know something has changed. Life as we once knew it has ceased to exist.

But wait.

Are we talking about COVID-19 behavior, or are we talking about motherhood?

In a very broad sense of the word, the shelter-in-place directive mirrors the feelings every mother feels at some point in her motherhood journey. The isolation; the uncertainty; the new territory we have to navigate; the separation from others; the unanswerable questions regarding the end of it all.

The truth is, Sweet Mothers, we were created for such a time as this. Everything our culture is going through just now is a part of our maternal DNA. We have the internal fortitude to cope with this quarantine. 

My thoughts now go to this challenge: Let’s not waste this opportunity. 

Ironically, our circumstances might answer a deep longing children have to connect with their parents; namely, having time together without interruption. Certainly children enjoy playing with their friends but without realizing it, even this can become a substitution for the yearning to connect with the people who are most near and dear to them. As years go by, the substitution can become a habit that sets up a lifetime of disconnection.

MOMS, THIS IS OUR TIME. Even with my own family of adult sons and their wives and children, I don’t want to waste the chance for us to become closer in relationship. We don’t want to look back months from now and realize we didn’t take advantage of getting to know one another better while the normal activities have slowed down. 

 This is the chance to study our children and see what makes them tick. As we struggle with getting everything done, it’s time to let go of things that can wait. Our routines have been completely scrambled. Maybe this is when we need to establish new priorities during quarantine.

So how do we do that?

1. BE AVAILABLE. Our children are feeling the uneasiness we carry inside, even when we seem to be coping. Let them know we’re accessible. Take time to cuddle them (especially when grandparents and others they love aren’t as available as usual). 
2. BE CREATIVE. This means we have to think of ways we can be together, whether this means literally (at a social distance) or virtually. Depending on the age of the children, each family can establish a rhythm of connection that might continue long after this crisis passes. In our own family, we have a son who plays guitar and piano. Our plan is to invite our family members who can to meet together on the lawn and bring blankets and sit and sing—or listen. And do it more than once. 
3. BE REASSURING. Yes, this time will eventually end. The world might not be exactly as it was, but hopefully it will be better. Let the children know that the closeness we’ve established while we’re quarantined will continue. We, as well as our children, need to feel that we’re safe together. 
4. BE CONFIDENT. We can DO THIS THING! I believe God has planted within mothers the potential to make it through the storms of life. But we were never meant to accomplish this on our own. We have available His Spirit to help us.

So, take heart, MOMS! We were made for such a time as this.

No matter how you are feeding your baby, meal time is a great time to talk, because your baby is especially focused on you. Talk with your baby and describe foods and sensations they experience. 

Conversation Starters for Meal Time

• “Are you feeling hungry? Let’s get you into your chair so you can eat. I’m going to pick you up and put you in your chair. Ready? 1, 2,
  3…UP WE GO!”
• “That was a big bite! Chew it all up before you swallow it. Would you like another bite? No? All done? Okay, we’re all done with eating
  our meal.”
• It’s time to eat! Would you like to eat some (favorite food)? You like that, don’t you? Let’s try eating some of this.
• I know you are hungry. Here is your milk. Let me hold you while you drink your milk. Would you like some milk? What is in your bottle? Is it milk?
• Would you like some more? Oh yes, you want some more, let me get you some more. Can you eat some more? Here, let’s try to eat two more bites. Do you like that? Do you want more?
• An apple is a fruit. I’m going to cut up some fruit for our snack. This fruit is red and crunchy. Would you like for me to peel this fruit for you? Fruits are sweet and delicious.
• What is making you upset? Are you hungry? Here, let’s eat this food. Then you won’t be hungry. Are you still hungry? Would you like some more to eat? You must not be hungry! You won’t eat a single thing.

Talking Tips are provided by Talk With Me Baby, an Atlanta organization working to bring the concept of language nutrition into public awareness and educate caregivers on the importance of talking with their baby every day, in an effort to close the word gap.